GOVT 2306 Exam 1 Review
Which court case involved the University of Texas at Austin encouraging African American students to attend a black law school that had been set up by Texas to provide a separate but equal education for black Texans?
Sweatt v. Painter
Which country is the top importer of Texas exports?
Mexico
During the nullification crisis of 1833, South Carolina tried to assert the right to veto (or nullify)
National legislation passed by congress
The Mexican War of Independence against _________ grew out of the __________.
Spain; Napoleonic Wars
In his landmark cases, Chief Justice Marshall generally
Supported the authority of the federal government over that of state governments
Article VI (6) of the U.S. Constitution contains the
Supremacy clause
When compared to the rest of the nation, the population of Texas is
is relatively young
Which of the following political groups have traditionally had the LEAST influence on Texas politics?
labor unions
The Mexican War of Independence against _________ grew out of the __________.
o Spain; Napoleonic Wars
Higher education in Texas has benefited most from what industry?
oil & gas
States that exhibit a distinctive culture that is the "product of their entire history" are an example of
political culture
The term privatization of public property established
property rules and regulations under which economic development would take place in the state.
The legal doctrine at issue in the Plessy v. Ferguson case is the
separate but equal doctrine
Big Bend is found in what region of Texas?
the Basin and Range Province
The regulation of oil and energy in Texas is performed by
the Texas Railroad Commission
Political culture is a term used to describe
the broadly shared values and beliefs about government.
The economy of San Antonio rests on all of the following EXCEPT?
the high-tech industry
Which of the following does NOT reflect one of the historic characteristics that make up Texas political culture?
the strong role of labor unions
Approximately how long did one-party Democratic rule last in Texas?
100 years
In addition to the preamble and appendix, how many articles are contained in the Texas constitution?
17
In what year was Texas's current constitution ratified?
1876
What year was the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) signed?
1992
Discussion of the judicial department is in Article _________ of the Texas Constitution
5
Texas has operated under how many constitutions?
7
Which article of the Texas Constitution discusses free public education?
7
The Texas Constitution is
A long, complex, and detailed document
The drive to rewrite the Texas Constitution in the 1970's grew out of
A major stock fraud involving bribery of several elected officials, state party officials, and bankers.
The Constitution of Reconstruction created
A strong governor's office
The Texas Constitution requires which of the following for amendment?
A two-thirds vote in both houses of state legislature and a majority vote from the voters of Texas
Which racial or ethnic group in Texas is concentrated in East Texas?
African Americans
According to the tenth amendment, any powers not delegated to the national government by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the state,
Belong to either the people or the state
In ______________, the Supreme Court held that segregated public schools were inherently unequal
Brown v. Board of Education
As federal regulations became more intrusive, forcing states to change their policies in order to meet national goals, some people began calling our system a _____________ federalism
Coercive
Which statement best describes the post-Civil War governorship of E.J. Davis?
Davis was a Republican who used the centralized powers of the governorship to maintain control over his regime
Since late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, the Border region, including El Paso, McAllen, and Brownsville, has remained politically a _______ bastion
Democratic Party
Politically, urban areas and suburban areas in Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth can be characterized as ________ and ________ areas.
Democratic; Republican
The understanding that the national government and state governments are both sovereign within their sphere of influence is called
Dual Federalism
In which 1989 court case did the Texas Supreme Court unanimously declare that the huge disparities between rich and poor school districts were unacceptable and order changes in the financing of Texas public schools?
Edgewood v Kirby
What does the Texas Constitution contain that the U.S. Constitution does not?
Equal rights amendment
The 1819 McCulloch v. Maryland case _____________ the powers of the federal government
Expanded
Dual federalism is also known as
Layer-cake federalism
The Texas Constitutional Convention of 1974
Failed to agree on a proposed constitution
T/F: According to Section 2 of the voting Rights Act, it is still possible to sue a state in district court if a voting procedure change negatively affects minority voters
False
T/F: During the Nullification Crisis of 1833, South Carolina and several northern states attempted to nullify key provisions of Franklin Delano Roosevelts New Deal
False
T/F: Houston is the second-largest city in the United States
False
T/F: Oil was the primary industry in Texas during the nineteenth century.
False
T/F: The Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prevents state governments from imposing cruel and unusual punishments
False
T/F: The Texas Constitution created a unicameral legislature
False
T/F: The Texas Constitution makes no requirements for the establishment and upkeep of a public school system
False
T/F: The U.S. Supreme Court in Texas v. White et al (1869) ruled that Texas did secede from the union.
False
T/F: The first federal constitution that Texas operated under was the British constitution.
False
T/F: The state of Texas has had three constitutions in the course of its history.
False
T/F: There have been no serious attempts in recent years to change the Texas Constitution.
False
T/F: Under the Texas Constitution, it is unconstitutional to impeach elected officeholders
False
A system of government in which power is divided between a central government and a regional government is known as
Federalism
Controversy surrounding the Affordable Care Act is an example of the friction inherent in
Federalism
The system of distributing powers between states and a central government is called?
Federalism
___________ percent of the world's population lives in the countries that are organized around federal principle where there is a national government and regional government
Forty
During which president's administration did the federal government's power, especially with regard to the economy, increase the most?
Franklin Roosevelt
Texas political life grew out of which region?
Gulf Coastal Plains
Which city in Texas currently has the largest population?
Houston
The supremacy clause, stipulated in Article VI (6) of the constitution, holds that
In a conflict between federal and state laws, the former will override that latter
Which is a correct statement about the Tenth Amendment?
In spite of this amendment, the U.S. Supreme Court in McCulloch v. Maryland permitted federal action through implied powers
_______________ provide(s) state constitutional protections that go above rights guaranteed by the U.S Constitution
Independent state grounds
Which of the following combinations of political cultures has most influenced Texas history and politics?
Individualistic and Traditionalistic
The use of block grants, allowing states considerable leeway in how federal money is spent, was championed by President __________ under the name New Federalism.
Nixon
Which event occurred at Spindletop, Texas?
Oil was discovered
The Texas Constitution of 1876 was written to
Prevent the expansion of governmental authority that was perceived as acting against the interest of the people.
Until a national database was created, background checks by local law enforcement under the Brady Act were suspended flowing the Supreme Court's ruling in
Printz v. United States
A defining characteristic of federalism is that
Rather than being held exclusively or primarily by one body, governing authority is divided at different levels between several bodies
The reconstruction governor who initially refused to leave office after being ousted by voters was?
Richard Coke
Which court case in 2013 struck down the formula for determining the states covered under the Section 5 preclearance requirement of the Voting Rights Act of 1965?
Shelby County v. Holder
The white primary, which was the practice of excluding African Americans from Democratic Party primary elections in Texas, was found unconstitutional as a result of which court case?
Smith v. Allwright
Traditionalistic political cultures, according to Daniel Elazar, are typically found in the
South
Which of the following statements about the Texas Constitutional Convention of 1865 is FALSE
Texas had to return to the federal government parts of Oklahoma seized by Texas Confederate soldiers
Which Supreme Court case in 1869 resolved the debate over whether states can secede from the Union?
Texas v. White
The main problem that stalled the admission of Texas into the United States was
That Texas would be a proslavery state
What is the major difference between the Bill of Rights in the Texas constitution and the U.S. Bill of Rights?
The Texas Constitution grants Texans rights that are not found in the U.S Constitution.
T/F: Unfunded mandates requiring states to meet federal guidelines without financial support are associated with coercive federalism
True
Which is a true statement about the powers of the national government?
The amount of power the national government has exercised has grown over the last 200 years as a result of the "necessary and proper clause"
The current Texas Constitution borrowed all of the following from the Constitution of 1827 EXCEPT
The establishment of Catholicism as the state religion
In the case of Gibbons v. Ogden (1824), the Supreme Court decided that
The federal government's authority to regulate international and interstate commerce bestowed on it some power to regulate interstate commerce
Which provision of the 1836 Constitution was the most important adaption of Spanish-American Law for the Texas republic?
The idea of community property
Which statement regarding urbanization in Texas is INCORRECT?
The origins of cities in Texas are found in Native American civilizations
In Wickard v. Filburn, the Supreme Court decided that
The regulatory power of the national government under the interstate commerce clause was so broad that there seemed no boundaries on national power
Which of the following is NOT found in the Texas Bill of Rights?
The right to employment
Which of the following statements about republican government is INCORRECT?
The right to republican government is not guaranteed in the Texas Bill of Rights
Which of the following ideas does NOT unite the U.S. and Texas constitutional experiences?
The subordinate role that Texas has in the federal system
Which amendment was commonly referred to as the States' Rights Amendment?
The tenth amendment
Who made up the Grange, and what did they have on the writing of the Texas Constitution?
They were an agricultural group who wanted a government that would improve the plight of farmers
Who were the Radical Republicans?
Those Republicans after the civil war who controlled Reconstructions policy in the former Confederate states
T/F: on average, Texans are younger than the rest of the citizens of the United States
True
In 1950, the Supreme Court case Sweatt v. Painter
guaranteed African Americans admission to Texas's graduate and professional schools
Which of the following is a function of a state constitution?
To forbid certain government actions by establishing civil liberties
Which of the following was NOT a goal for those writing the Texas Constitution of 1876?
To give independence to the judiciary by making all judges appointed instead of elected
T/F: Although James Madison personally did not believe that the Tenth Amendment was necessary, he urged that it be adopted
True
T/F: Between the beginning of 2008 and the end of 2015, Texas sued the Obama administration 39 times
True
T/F: Conservative rancher/banker Dolph Briscoe was the first governor in the history of the state not to receive a majority of the popular vote.
True
T/F: Cotton is one of the oldest crops grown in Texas.
True
T/F: Drilling and fracking led to a new boom era of oil and gas production in Texas from 2008 and carrying through until today.
True
T/F: Like the one-party Democratic state, Texas provincialism has faded as a defining feature of the political culture.
True
T/F: Local governments are the creation of the states
True
T/F: Many of the political conflicts in the nation have been fought over the proper roles of states versus the national government
True
T/F: New Federalism was President Richard Nixon's attempt to give individual states greater control over how they spent federal money
True
T/F: One advantage that a federal system has over a highly centralized government is that it allows states to experiment with ways to improve public policy
True
T/F: One of the major issues of the civil War was how the federal system was to be understood.
True
T/F: People of Asian origin make up about 4.5 percent of the population of Texas today.
True
T/F: Replacing the Articles of Confederation of 1787, the new U.S. Constitution allowed both the federal government and state governments to retain significant measures of sovereignty
True
T/F: Since 2002, all major statewide elected offices have been controlled by Republicans
True
T/F: Texas has a Bill of Rights containing more liberties than those found in the U.S. Bill of Rights.
True
T/F: The Border region is typically a Democratic Party bastion
True
T/F: The Constitution of 1866 did not exclude former secessionists from voting.
True
T/F: The Tenth Amendment is also known as the states' rights amendment
True
T/F: The Texas Constitution became a place where special interests could seek to promote and protects their own agendas.
True
T/F: The Texas Constitution created a plural executive, consisting of multiple elected executive officers
True
T/F: The Texas Constitution of 1869 was written by members of the Republican party, including ten African Americans.
True
T/F: The Texas Constitution of 1876 was designed to limit the power of government, especially of the governor's office
True
T/F: The Texas Constitution of 1876 was designed to limit the power of government, especially of the governor's office.
True
T/F: The constitution of 1866 granted the governor a line-item veto on appropriations.
True
T/F: The current Texas Constitution has been amended more than 400 times
True
T/F: The drive to rewrite the Texas Constitution grew out of a major stock fraud that broke in the early 1970's involving the Sharpstown State Bankers life Insurance Corporation.
True
T/F: The fifteenth amendment gives states leeway to expand the rights of their citizens
True
T/F: The great Depression of 1929 was the catalysts that led to many Americans to support the New Deal
True
T/F: There are rights guaranteed to Texans in Article 1 of the Texas Constitution that go far beyond those of the U.S. Constitution.
True
T/F: Throughout Texas's history, business interests have dominated Texas political culture.
True
T/F: Two of the most important factors that may have helped Texas escape the worst of the Great Recession were an increasingly diversified economy lubricated by international trade and a resurgent oil and gas industry
True
T/F: Unfunded mandates infringe upon state sovereignty
True
Which of the following requires state governments to spend their own money to meet standards imposed on them by the federal government
Unfunded mandates
For eligible participants, the Social Security Act of 1935 instituted all of the following EXCEPT
Universal health care for all Americans
The domination of Texas politics by Republicans after the civil War ended
With the election of governor Richard Coke in 1873
Which factor contributed to the increase in the population of Texas?
a natural increase of births in proportion to deaths
Which of the following has traditionally dominated the political culture of Texas?
business interests
Following the Civil War, the _____ industry took off
cattle
Historically, the economy of Fort Worth has been associated with what industry?
cattle
Technological change in Texas is best evidenced by the
development of a high-tech industry after a slump in oil prices
