Test questions
According to the Declaration of Independence, governments get their "just powers" from
"the consent of the governed."
What did Thomas Jefferson mean when he wrote "all men are created equal"?
All people are entitled to equal protection under the law.
Which of the following best describes Americans' tolerance of leaders who make deceptive claims in recent years?
Americans have become more tolerant of leaders who slant the facts.
Which of the following was not provided for by the Articles of Confederation?
An independent federal executive
Which of the following would create a situation in which states must use their own money to comply with a federal law?
An unfunded mandate
Where in the Constitution is the Full Faith and Credit Clause located?
Article IV, Section 1
Which of the following is not discussed in the Full Faith and Credit Clause?
Ballot boxes
Why might recent state legalization of marijuana use create a problem?
Because the federal government still outlaws marijuana.
Under the evidentiary interpretation, who or what has absolute power to decide what effects the judgments of one state will have on another?
Congress
What provided the constitutional basis for the Great Society's social welfare programs?
Congress' power to tax and spend money
Which represents the most significant change in federal law resulting from the 1990s period of devolution?
Creation of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families under the Welfare Reform Act
Which of the following demonstrated a judicial check on legislative power?
Declaring DOMA unconstitutional
In the field of American education, which is the following is typically carried out by the national government?
Developing workplace safety guidelines
In the early 1900s, African Americans were legally forbidden to travel in the same buses, attend the same schools, and dine in the same restaurants as white people. Today, this would be regarded a violation of the core principle of
Equality
What system of government does the United States have?
Federal
Which of the following was an argument in favor of federalism at the time of the writing of the Constitution?
Federalism will protect liberty. Federalism will force officials to be more responsive to the people. Federalism will provide for a stronger national government than existed under the Articles of Confederation.
Which of the following statements about democracy, as currently practiced in the United States, is most accurate?
In the United States, national public policy is determined by the people's representatives, not by the people themselves.
Who was serving as chief justice of the Supreme Court when it decided the case of Marbury v. Madison?
John Marshall
The debate over representation in the new Congress pitted which two groups against one another?
Large states versus small states
Which branch of government establishes the lower court system?
Legislative
The European philosopher whose concept of natural rights had a great impact on American politics is
Locke.
________ is an illustration of cooperative federalism.
Medicaid
The origin of the concept of separation of powers is most associated with
Montesquieu.
What recent issue is given as an example of a controversy involving the Full Faith and Credit Clause?
Same-sex marriage
Which event best showcased the inadequacies of the Articles of Confederation?
Shays' Rebellion
What document outlines the current division of power between national and state governments in the United States?
The Constitution
Where is the Bill of Rights found in the Constitution?
The first ten amendments
Which of the following actions taken by America in the past is a violation of its own cultural ideals?
The suspension of Chinese immigration in 1882
________ was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence.
Thomas Jefferson
How many federal branches of government are there in the United States?
Three
The compromise reached over the counting of slaves for purposes of representation in the House of Representatives was called the
Three-fifths compromise.
Why did the writers of the American Constitution divide authority among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches?
To keep a check on the power of the majority
Why did the framers establish a system of separation of powers and checks and balances?
To minimize the threat of tyranny
Under which system does the central government hold the majority of power?
Unitary
Which of the following is not a check on the executive by the legislative branch?
Vetoing acts of Congress
The Great Compromise produced
a bicameral Congress.
The Federalists gained enough votes to get the Constitution ratified when they promised this:
a bill of rights to be quickly added to the Constitution
The Bill of Rights added to the Constitution, among other things,
a guarantee of freedom of speech.
The framers of the Constitution preferred which of the following political arrangements?
a republic as opposed to a pure democracy
McCulloch v. Maryland
affirmed that national law is supreme to conflicting state law.
Which of the following best describes the importance of the Marbury v. Madison case?
asserted the power of the judiciary to decide whether a government official or institution has acted within the limits of the Constitution and, if not, to declare its action null or void.
During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the national government
asserted the power to regulate the nation's economy.
What type of government suppresses individuality, forcing people to think and act in prescribed ways or risk punishment?
authoritarian
recognized right of officials to exercise power as a result of the positions they hold
authority
The Virginia Plan called for a ____________ legislature, while the New Jersey plan proposed a ___________ legislature.
bicameral, unicameral
federal grants-in-aid that permit state and local officials to decide how the money will be spent within a general area, such as education or health
block grants
federal grants-in-aid to states and localities that can be used only for designated projects
categorical grants
Federal grants-in-aid used only for a designated activity are called
categorical grants.
If a state accepts a federal grant-in-aid, it must
comply with federal restrictions on its use.
a governmental system in which sovereignty is vested entirely in subnational (state) governments
confederacy
Which choice below describes the American change in governmental structure in 1787?
confederal to federal
The first plan of government for the United States was a
confederation.
The "Three-Fifths Compromise" was a response to
conflict over the institution of slavery.
A federal system is one where
constitutional authority is divided between a national government and state governments.
idea that there are lawful limits on the power of government
constitutionalism
In an oligarchy
control rests with a small group, such as military officers or a few wealthy families.
Shays' Rebellion
convinced many political leaders that the national government was too weak.
A public policy program on which national, state, and local policymakers collaborate is an example of
cooperative federalism
situation in which the national, state, and local levels work together to solve problems
cooperative federalism
A blending of state and national authority is associated with ________ federalism, while a separation of national and state authority is associated with ________ federalism.
cooperative; dual
The influence of business firms on public policy, as through the use of lobbyists, is called
corporate power
a form of government in which the people govern, either directly or through elected representatives
democracy
The United States has certain rules in place to keep government in check. These rules include which of the following?
democracy. constitutionalism. free markets.
passing down of authority from the national government to the state and local governments
devolution
The federal government's power to tax, regulate commerce among the states, and declare war are all examples of ________ powers.
enumerated
seventeen powers granted to the national government under Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution
enumerated powers
notion that individuals are equal in their moral worth and thereby entitled to equal treatment under the law
equality
Cooperative federalism is based on the viewpoint that federalism is a fixed principle for allocating power between the national government and the states
false
a governmental system in which authority is divided between two sovereign levels of government: national and regional
federalism
a term that refers to the expenditure of federal funds on programs run in part through states and localities
fiscal federalism
Roughly one in every ________ dollars spent by local and state governments in recent decades was raised not by them but by the government in Washington.
five
Following the legalization of same-sex marriage, the next battlefront for the LGBT community is
full civil rights protections regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity
federal cash payments to states and localities for programs they administer
grant-in-aid
federal government's constitutional authority (through the "necessary and proper" clause) to take action that is not expressly authorized by the Constitution but that supports actions that are so authorized
implied powers
idea that people should take the initiative, be self-sufficient, and accumulate the material advantages necessary for their well-being
individualism
Enormous concentrations of wealth and power exist in the U.S. private sector, primarily in the hands of:
large corporations.
Under the Virginia Plan
large states would have more representatives in both chambers of Congress.
Which of the following terms is defined as the principle that individuals should be free to act and think as they choose, provided they do not infringe unreasonably on the freedom and well-being of others?
liberty
principle that individuals should be free to act and think as they choose, provided they do not infringe unreasonably on the freedom and well-being of others
liberty
The idea that government should be restricted in its lawful uses of power and hence in its ability to deprive people of their liberty is expressed by the term
limited government.
idea that the majority prevails not only in elections but also in policy determination
majoritarianism
Which of the following is a national power only?
national defense
authority granted Congress in Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution "to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper" for the implementation of its enumerated powers
necessary and proper clasue
Which of the following is most closely related to the concept of implied powers?
necessary and proper clause
Under the New Jersey Plan, each state would have ____ vote(s) in Congress.
one
condition in which opinions and actions in response to political issues and situations divide substantially along political party lines
party polarization
Devolution is the
passing of authority from the national government to the state and local levels.
The fact that many people seek out information from blogs, websites, and other media sources matching what they already believe shows that:
paying closer attention to politics does not necessarily make a person better informed.
theory of American politics that holds that society's interests are substantially represented through power exercised by groups
pluralism
widely shared and deep-seated political beliefs of a particular people
political culture
systematic study of government and politics
political science
The systematic study of government and politics is termed
political science.
process through which a society settles its conflicts
politics
The process by which a society settles its conflicts and allocates the resulting benefits and costs is called
politics.
ability of persons, groups, or institutions to influence political developments
power
Which of the following is almost exclusively a state power?
registering voters
powers granted to the states under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution
reserved powers
principle that the people are the ultimate source and proper beneficiary of governing authority; in practice, a government based on majority rule
self- government
The fact that the United States uses primary elections and has more elected officials than other countries is a reflection of the belief in
self-government
Marbury v. Madison is a landmark Supreme Court decision because it
set the precedent for judicial review
supreme (or ultimate) authority to govern within a certain geographical area
sovereignity
Article VI of the Constitution, which makes national law supreme over state law when the national government is acting within its constitutional limits
supremacy clause
Which of the following is a concurrent power held by both the national government and state governments?
taxation
The Connecticut or Great Compromise called for the election of a single executive by
the Electoral College.
Presidential appointments and treaties must be approved by
the Senate.
All of the following were major controversies at the Constitutional Convention EXCEPT
the division of power between the national government and the states.
Since the 1930s, the creation of the federal departments of Transportation, Health and Human Services, and Education, serves as an example of
the expansion of the federal government into policy areas traditionally reserved to the states.
Where is the Bill of Rights found in the Constitution?
the first ten amendments
In a democratic society, who or what is responsible for personal development?
the individual
Marguerite is a conservative voter. She routinely listens to partisan talk shows for several hours a day. It is likely that Marguerite is among
the most misinformed citizens.
The Greek words demos and kratis together mean
the people rule.
The Tenth Amendment addressed the concerns of Anti-Federalists about
the powers of state governments.
National authority has greatly expanded in the twentieth century in large part because
the states and the federal government have become increasingly interdependent.
Which of the following is an example of checks and balances?
the veto the impeachment process judicial review
In a constitutional system
there are lawful restrictions on a government's power.
In a constitutional system,
there are lawful restrictions on a government's power.
Amendments to the U.S. Constitution can only be ratified if approved by
three-fourths of state legislatures or three-fourths of special state conventions.
To the framers, the great danger of democratic government was the risk of
tyranny of the majority.
a governmental system in which the national government alone has sovereign (ultimate) authority
unitary system
A defining characteristic of American politics is the
widespread sharing of power.