Political Science- Test 1

What is the most frequent number of judges on a panel hearing cases for the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit?

3

Approximately what percentage of presidential vetoes are overridden by Congress with a two-thirds vote?

4%

Because the majority party that controls the House of Commons determines the prime minister of the United Kingdom, we label it as which of the following?

A parliamentary democracy

Who was the leader who, as a youth, was taught personally by Aristotle?

Alexander

Which of the following was a leader of the federalists during the debate over ratifying the Constitution?

Alexander Hamilton

Based on the requirements of the US Constitution, what did the Founding Fathers want members of Congress to be?

Americans citizens of some age and experience, connected to both their states and their country

Presidential system are characterized by which of the following?

An executive branch that is independent from the legislature

The democratic movements that have spread across the Middle East in 2011 are known as what?

Arab Spring

Who was the philosopher who first challenged Plato's theories?

Aristotle

Approaches to government spending that are designed to lower the deficit through tax increases or cutting government spending are known as what?

Austerity measures

Which form of government grants almost all power to an individual leader?

Autocracy

Thomas Hobbes argued that human behavior is all of the following EXCEPT?

Best understood using historical standards of morality established by religion

How did the delegates to the Constitutional Convention compromise on the composition of the federal judicial branch?

By establishing a Supreme Court and then letting Congress decide whether to establish lower courts

Which of the following leaders offers an example of the Machiavelli's advice to use violence to enhance political power?

Cesare Borgia

which if the following refers to the political system under which the economy is controlled and directed by the state?

Communism

What is the term of committee formed of senior members of both chambers that merges House and Senate versions of the same bill into a single compromise version?

Conference committee

Which approach to fighting terrorism in Afghanistan requires the United States to assist in Afghanistan's economic and political development?

Counterinsurgency

What are the two most important powers that the Founding Fathers saw as vested in the legislative branch?

Declaring war and controlling government finances

Which was the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution?

Delaware

Which social and political movement primarily seeks to prevent the further deterioration of our natural resources?

Environmentalism

What is the term of the mechanism by which senators can halt legislation by prolonging debate indefinitely?

Filibuster

Machiavelli proposes that the prince, who possesses both strength and cunningness, will be able to control the people through the use of which of the following>

Force, Threats and Gifts

What is NOT true of India's divided executive system?

Formal constitutional authority ( Article 77) of the executive branch is given to the prime minister

Machiavelli asserted that The Prince can best lead by applying the finest traits associated with which two member of the animal kingdom?

Fox and Lion

Who gave the Constitutional Convention of 1787 a greater air of importance just by attending?

George Washington

The massive displacement of people from Syria has led to which European nation taking in the largest of refugees?

Germany

Which of the following is an example of a state threatening to cut off economic aid to another state in order to achieve a desired objective?

Hard power

How did Plato view democracy, based on his experiences?

He distrusted it as the cause of Socrates'' execution and Athens' defeat in the Peloponnesian war

What was Trump's initial policy regarding the DACA ( Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) program?

He sought to end the program but was prevented from doing so by the courts

What was the primary concern of the Sophists?

How Greeks should conduct their lives

which of the following refers to a social science researcher who makes an educated guess based on previously understood facts?

Hypothesis

Which of the following characteristics is common to both right- and left-wing populists?

Identification as a political "outsider" favoring redistribution of political power

Left-wing populism is often characterized by what key characteristics?

Increased regulation of the economy

What feature of modern life may lead to greater focus on identity politics?

Increased social media use

How does the Federal Constitutional Court compare to the US Supreme court in the numbers and scope of the cases that it hears?

It hears from a lot more plaintiffs of more types on many more cases

What distinguishes the judiciary in most systems from other branches of government?

It is the least representative of constituencies

Under which chief justice did the judicial branch become fully coequal with the executive and legislative branches and take on the role of judicial review?

John Marshall

What concept of the Sophists did Plato reject in The Republic?

Justice and virtue serve the interests of the rich and powerful

Which of the following refers to a person who believes it is the duty of the government to ameliorate social conditions and create a more equitable society?

Liberal

Which statement is most reflective of the outlook of a judicial activist?

Life changed too much over the years to strictly follow the literal words of a centuries-old US Constitution

What Supreme Court decision first established that the federal government had implied as well as enumerated powers?

McCulloch v. Maryland

Which demographic group was Donald Trump most successful with in the 2016 presidential election?

Men

In the wake of McCulloch v. Maryland, can states tax federal government entities?

No, they have no power to do so

What is the term for a bill that combines a number of smaller ones into ne, larger piece of legislation?

Omnibus bill

What is the definition of a court of original jurisdiction?

One where cases are first heard

What is the process by which citizens develop the values, attitudes, beliefs, and opinions that enable them to support the political system?

Political Socialization

Which of these political situations would NOT be considered a letter-day example of Machiavelli's theories on gaining and maintaining political power?

President Bashar Al-Assad's violent suppression of protests in Syria

What was the main goal of the Allied powers in designing a governmental and judicial system for West Germany after World War 2?

Prevention of one person or party from gaining too much power

In Loving v. Virginia (1967), what kind of state laws did the Supreme Court overturn?

Prohibitions against interracial marriage

What was the alias used by the three authors of the Federalist Papers?

Publius

Concerning trends in modern populist movements have been the trends toward less focus on policy and ideological preferences and more focus on which of the following?

Racial and ethnic identity

Who was the first president of India and the leader who generates a constitutional crisis in the 1950s by violating the conventions if cabinet government intended by India's Constituent Assembly?

Rajendra Prasad

The American and French Revolutions signaled to the masses that the only way for government to preserve rights is through which of the following?

Representation

Known by some as the American Machiavelli, who argued the presidents must above all else have the political skills to persuade the "Washington establishment" and the American public to act on their agenda?

Richard Neustadt

Which type of theory most closely linked with Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau typically provides an observation on human nature, an observation on problems that arise because of a lack of government, and a recommendation for a best form of government?

Social Contract Theory

When the US Constitution was adopted, who elected members to the Senate?

State legislatures

Thomas Hobbes advocated for which type of government?

Strong authoritarian

What was the name of educational institution founded by Plato to offer full range of academic subjects?

The Academy

Why did Machiavelli's The Prince have a greater impact with future leaders than The Discourses of the First Ten Books of Titus Livius?

The Prince was shorter and more straight forward in its analysis than The Discourses.

The president of the United States in empowered to negotiate treaties with foreign nations. Treaties, however, do not become officially ratified until ratified by which of the following?

The Senate with a two-thirds vote

What country is considered the model for parliamentary democracy around the world?

The United Kingdom

How did Harold Lasswell define politics?

The concept of who gets what, when and how

British debate on parliamentary systems emerged from the traditional dispute between which of the following?

The monarch and Parliament

What is judicial review?

The power constitutionally granted to high courts to overturn the actions of executives and legislatures

Which of the following is NOT a potential concern about a presidential system, particularly in a newly emerging democracy?

The president may too easily be impeached

If a member of Congress spends too much time in his or her home district, what is he or she likely to lose?

The respect of colleagues in Washington, DC

The presidential campaign of Donald Trump significantly addressed all of the following issues EXCEPT which?

The rising cost of education

According to his political theory, John Locke perceived the legislature as what?

The sacred and supreme center of government

Who does Plato see as the lowest from of ruler?

The tyrant

How does Plato divide the universe in his theory of forms?

The visible world and the intelligible world

What are the Soros amendment in Hungary?

They are amendments designed to limit nongovernmental organizations from assisting asylum seekers

Why did the Founding Fathers give Congress the power "to declare war," instead of their original concept," to make war"?

They did not want to limit decisions of the executive branch if Congress was not in session

What was the main handicap of the Anti-Federalists in their efforts to prevent the adoption of the US Constitution?

They had no alternative plan

How did the other states respond to Shay's Rebellion?

They refused to help Massachusetts

How did the Sophists change Greek philosophy?

They shifted attention from the universe to the individual

Which political theorist argued that all human nature is driven by our pursuit of pleasures and an avoidance of pain?

Thomas Hobbes

What is the inly amendment to be ratified entirely by state conventions rather than by state legislatures?

Twenty-First Amendment, ending Prohibition

What did Aristotle see as the human activity that was closest to the divine?

Two person procreating

What principle of the Baron de Montesquieu did the Founding Fathers embrace in the Constitution?

Tyranny is more likely to occur if law-making and enforcement are placed in the same branch

If the president receives a bill and does not sign or veto it and Congress is on session, what happens to the bill?

it becomes a law