Political Science 101- Am. Gov.
In 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court declared that the Second Amendment protects citizen participation in militias.
an individual's right to possess a firearm at home for self-defense.
Which of the following was a part of the 1964 Civil Rights Act?
authorization of the executive branch to implement federal court orders to desegregate schools
In 2000, the Supreme Court extended the highest degree of First Amendment protection to cable television in United States v. Playboy Entertainment Group under the reasoning that
parents had adequate control over what obscene material entered their homes.
What prompted the South's general move from the Democratic to the Republican camp during the 1960s?
opposition to the Democratic Party's racial integration policies
Which constitutional amendment abolished slavery?
13th amendment
As of 2009, approximately what percentage of senators and representatives in the U.S. Congress were women?
17 percent
When did American women officially attain the right to vote?
1920
Which of the following elections represented a modern low point for voter turnout, with only 52 percent of eligible voters participating?
1996
Federalism
A system that distributes power between state and national governments is called
Which of the following is true of the differences in political socialization or political views based on race?
African Americans are more likely to exhibit the phenomenon of "linked fate."
In 1990 Congress passed the ____, which guarantees equal employment rights and access to public businesses for the disabled.
Americans with Disabilities Act
Which of the following was not explicitly granted in the Bill of Rights?
right to privacy
By far the MOST important piece of legislation passed by Congress fostering equal opportunity in the United States was the
Civil Rights Act of 1964.
suppremacy clause
Federal preemptions allow Congress to impose national priorities upon states through national legislation, a power that is rooted in the Constitution's
Which of the following was primarily used to pressure Congress regarding the proposed laws known as SOPA and PIPA?
online protests
When the Supreme Court decided in ____ that violations of Title IX of the 1972 Education Act could be remedied with monetary damages, schools were forced to take seriously the issue of sexual harassment.
Franklin v. Gwinnett County Public Schools
How did the Great Depression affect the nature of federalism in the United States?
It brought a dramatic increase in the growth and power of the national government over commerce, though for the most part state power was not directly curtailed.
Why is post-New Deal federalism sometimes referred to as "marble-cake federalism"?
It developed into cooperative federalism, a system in which national grants encouraged states to implement national policies, somewhat blurring the lines between national and state governments.
In the case of Lemon v. Kurtzman, the Supreme Court held that government aid to religious schools would be accepted as constitutional if which of the following conditions (among others) was met?
It had a secular purpose.
How did the media affect the Bush administration's decision to go to war in Iraq in 2003?
It helped to increase the public popularity of the preparations for war.
What conclusion does political scientist John Zaller make about a person's public opinion?
It is merely a reflection of whatever recent elite message an individual best remembers.
In what way did the comity clause seek to promote national unity?
It prevented states from discriminating against someone from another state or giving special privileges to their own residents.
In what specific way did the Obama administration grant more power to the states than had the George W. Bush administration?
It reversed the Bush policy of preemption in certain areas by granting states more control in the areas of social policy and the environment.
In what way did the Supreme Court begin to indicate it was changing its position on racial discrimination prior to World War II?
It was stricter about the criterion of equal facilities in the "separate but equal" rule.
The Supreme Court ruled in ____________ that the right to privacy did extend to the private lives of homosexuals.
Lawrence v. Texas
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the right of the national government to create a national bank and reaffirmed the notion of national supremacy in which landmark case?
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
Which of the following best summarizes the Supreme Court's ruling in Brown v. Board of Education?
Racially segregated schools can never be equal and therefore the "separate but equal" clause violates the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Which of the following statements is true of education as an agent of socialization?
Research finds education to be a strong predictor of tolerance for racial minorities
Necessary and Proper Clause
The national government's implied powers are granted through which one of the following?
The policy of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" concerned
allowing gays and lesbians to serve in the military as long as they did not openly proclaim their sexual orientation or engage in homosexual activity.
In Grutter v. Bollinger, what ruling did the Supreme Court make about the use of affirmative action in university admissions?
The university could consider minority status as a plus factor in admissions.
What might be the primary reason that presidential candidates spend more time campaigning in Ohio, Florida, and Pennsylvania than they do in California, New York, or Texas?
They are battleground states.
Which government has the authority to regulate interstate commerce in the United States?
United States v. Lopez (1995)
Who of the following is most likely to vote?
a 40-year-old dermatologist
What is an unfunded mandate?
a federal law that requires the states to do certain things but does not provide state governments with the funding to implement these policies
unitary system
a government in which the national government holds the ultimate authority.
Political scientist Martin Gilens found that when Americans with different income levels differ in their policy preferences,
actual policies reflect the preferences of the most affluent.
Which type of grant provides the most control to state and local governments in the distribution of federal grants-in-aid?
block
Protection of citizens from improper government action is the definition of
civil liberties
In the 1963 case Gideon v. Wainwright, the accused, Clarence Earl Gideon, made a petition on behalf of himself and ultimately won a landmark ruling on the right to
counsel in all federal cases.
Legal segregation is called ____ segregation.
de jure
Division of current public opinion about the death penalty results in part from
differing opinions as to what constitutes "cruel and unusual punishment."
The Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth amendments, taken together, define
due process of law.
Under current Court interpretations of the First Amendment, a public official could potentially win a libel suit against the press if they can show that the printed material
not matter of public concern
What factor has traditionally made Iowa and New Hampshire so important in the presidential nominating process and boosted their primary voter participation?
early timing
Taking private property for public use is covered under the provision of
eminent domain
Which of the following values or outcomes would likely be opposed by most Americans?
equality of income
The ____________ was for many years interpreted by the Supreme Court, based on Jefferson's language, to mean that a wall of separation exists between church and state.
establishment clause
When using a simple random sample
every individual in a population has an equal probability of being selected as a respondent.
The Supreme Court case of Mapp v. Ohio illustrated the
exclusionary rule
Between 1960 and 2013, Americans trust in their government has
fallen sharply for both Democrats and Republicans.
Which of the following agents of socialization provides most people with their initial orientation to politics?
family
The First Amendment's ____ protects the right to believe in and practice one's religion of choice.
free exercise clause
Which of the following types of federal grants is most completely suited to the goal of devolution in New Federalism?
general revenue-sharing grants
To draw voting districts so that one group or party is advantaged is called
gerrymandering.
An example of speech plus would be
giving a speech against abortion and then distributing informational leaflets.
Which of the following has been a key characteristic of federalism in the United States since the year 2000?
greater state initiative in the realm of immigration law and policy due to federal inaction
When hearing gender-related discrimination cases, the Court typically uses the doctrine of ____ scrutiny.
intermediate
A libertarian would likely argue for
less involvement in global affairs
Which form of speech is not protected under the First Amendment, even conditionally?
libel and slander
Which of the following strategies for improving civil rights was favored by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)?
litigation through the courts
Recent studies by political scientists show that the average American exhibits
little knowledge of political institutions, processes, or leaders.
If given the choices below, most Americans would probably classify themselves as
moderate.
Voter turnout is highest for elections at which level of government?
national
Which government has the authority to declare war in the United States?
national
Which government has the authority to regulate interstate commerce in the United States?
national
Beginning in 1896 and lasting through the mid-twentieth century, the Supreme Court interpreted the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause to
permit a system of segregated social facilities
What is the so-called gender gap?
political and voting differences between men and women
The processes through which underlying political beliefs and values are formed are collectively called
political socialization
Which of the following places restraints on how the government is supposed to act?
procedural liberties
What relatively recent barrier to voter participation has become a bitterly fought partisan battle?
proof of identity requirement for voters
The Civil Rights Act of 1875 attempted to
protect African Americans from discrimination in public accommodations such as hotels and theaters.
The term used to denote the beliefs that people have about political issues, events, institutions, and personalities is
public opinion
___ are scientific instruments for measuring public opinion.
public-opinion polls
What is wrong with the following poll question: "Do you think it was appropriate for President Bush to lie so that he could start a war with Iraq?"
push polling
The "pupil placement" strategy was designed to
put the burden of transferring to an all-white school on the nonwhite children and their parents, making it almost impossible for a court order to help with integration.
What two forms of sexual harassment are generally recognized by the Supreme Court?
quid pro quo" and "hostile environment"
Under the equal protection clause, what level of scrutiny would most likely be applied to a federal regulatory scheme such as motor vehicle licensing?
rational basis
The practice of financial institutions refusing to lend money for housing mortgages for entire neighborhoods is called
redlining.
The Full Faith and Credit Clause
requires that each state's laws be honored by the other states.
In the 1989 case Webster v. Reproductive Health Services, the Supreme Court ruled that
restrictions on the use of public medical facilities for abortion was constitutional.
McDonald v. Chicago applied which civil liberty to the states for the first time?
right to bear arms
Which of the following best describes the concept of civil rights?
rules governing who may participate in the political process and regulating the ways in which the government may or may not treat its citizens
Which kind of polling error arises when a sample of public opinion overrepresents or underrepresents some opinions?
selection bias
What process has gradually applied most of the protections of the Bill of Rights as limitations on state government power?
selective incorporation
Miranda rights concern
self-incrimination
Conservatives typically favor
smaller government
Which of the following would be most likely to argue that more government is necessary to promote justice and to reduce economic and social inequality, even to the point of collective government ownership?
socialism
expressed powers
specific powers granted by the U.S. Constitution to the national government.
In 1967, the Supreme Court ruled in Loving v. Virginia that Group of answer choices
state laws barring interracial marriage are unconstitutional.
What was the Seneca Falls Convention?
the convention that wrote and debated the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions
James Madison and other framers of the Constitution thought that ____ would always be the most prevalent source of conflict in political life.
the inherent gulf between the rich and the poor
Which of the following has been a result of partisan realignment in the South and congressional redistricting?
the near-elimination of liberal Republicans in Congress
the 10th amendment states that
the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
The bandwagon effect has been particularly problematic in
the presidential nomination process.
What is the practice of restrictive covenants?
the seller of a home adding a clause to the sales contract that requires the buyer to agree not to sell the home later to an African American, a Jew, etc
Voter registration is determined and controlled by
the states.
What has been the defining characteristic of post-New Deal cooperative federalism?
the use of grants-in-aid to encourage states to pursue nationally defined goals
Which of the following groups tends to hold the most conservative moral views?
white Catholics
