Reference no: EM131300590

United States Government Assignment

1. The Framers' concerns about direct democracy are well illustrated by the fact that the Constitution ______.
a. uses the word democracy only once, in the Preamble
b. uses the word democracy only in reference to Congress
c. does not feature the word democracy at all
d. uses only the word democratic
e. frequently uses the word democracy, but never in reference to the enumeration of a formal power

2. When the Framers of the Constitution wrote "republican form of government," they were referring to what we call ______.
a. direct democracy
b. democratic centralism
c. mob rule
d. town meetings
e. representative democracy

3. One distinctive feature of many European democracies is that very few offices are ________.
a. independent
b. effective
c. elective
d. active
e. efficient

4. Variants of direct democracy include programs of citizen participation and _______.
a. interest group cooperation
b. guerrilla warfare
c. competitive elections
d. political party centralism
e. community control

5. A modern example of direct democracy would be _________.
a. citizens electing local boards to make decisions
b. citizens running for political office
c. citizens voting on referendum issues
d. citizens writing elected officials to express opinions on policy
e. citizens working for politicians

6. In a referendum, citizens express their opinions about issues by means of ________.
a. letters
b. the ballot
c. town meetings
d. petitions
e. protests

7. Which statement best reflects the views of the Framers of the Constitution?
a. Elected officials should register majority sentiments.
b. The will of the people was not synonymous with the public good.
c. The views of the people are trustworthy because most are informed and can make reasonable choices.
d. A government should be able to do a great deal of good as quickly and as efficiently as possible.
e. Majority opinion matters above all.

8. Karl Marx is associated with the view that elites reflect a(n) _____.
a. dominant social class
b. group of business, military, labor-union, and elected officials
c. array of appointed bureaucrats
d. large number of organized interests
e. flexible alliance of religious and cultural leaders

9. Karl Marx argued that governments were dominated by business owners, who he called the "______", until a revolution replaced them with rule by laborers, who he called the "______"
a. proletariat; bourgeoisie
b. bourgeoisie; proletariat
c. power elite; middle class
d. working class; lower class
e. laborites; working class

10. Who argued that American democracy is dominated by a small "power elite"?
a. C. Wright Mills
b. Karl Marx
c. David B. Truman
d. Max Weber
e. Samuel P. Huntington

11. The effect of Shays's Rebellion on attendance by delegates at the planned Constitutional Convention of 1787 was to _______.
a. encourage attendance by delegates fearing the collapse of state governments
b. encourage attendance by delegates fearing intervention by the British
c. discourage attendance by delegates fearing a public outcry against any strengthening of the Articles of Confederation
d. discourage attendance by delegates fearing intervention by the British
e. discourage attendance by delegates who fought in the Revolutionary War

12. Which state refused to send a delegate to the Constitutional Convention?
a. New York
b. Pennsylvania
c. Massachusetts
d. Virginia
e. Rhode Island

13. Which delegate was known worldwide as a famous scientist at the time of the convention?
a. Washington
b. Franklin
c. Madison
d. Hamilton
e. Adams

14. The Constitutional Convention delegates' defense of liberty as a natural right was derived from the writings of the philosopher ______.
a. John Locke
b. Montesquieu
c. Rousseau
d. Thomas Hobbes
e. Kant

15. The "state of nature" referred to by Locke means ________.
a. a society without government
b. a government without society
c. the formation of government along the lines of natural law
d. the clash between government and society
e. the very highest form of government

16. Madison dramatized his perspective in a Federalist paper by observing that "if men were______, no government would be necessary."
a. Federalists
b. Anti-Federalists
c. angels
d. aristocrats
e. Puritans

17. The New Jersey Plan was a reaction by some states primarily to the fear that _________.
a. the legislative veto power called for by the Virginia Plan would seriously undermine individual states' rights
b. the weak central government devised by the Virginia Plan would grant too much power to rural states
c. the strong central government devised by the Virginia Plan would grant too little power to the states
d. the Virginia Plan gave too much power to populous states
e. Hamilton's suggestions about the executive branch would be accepted by the convention

18. In United States v. Lopez (1995), the Supreme Court ruled that Congress overstepped its power to regulate commerce by prohibiting in _______ a school zone.
a. guns
b. adult bookstores
c. cigarette sales
d. alcohol sales
e. dog races

19. In United States v. Morrison, the Supreme Court ruled that violence against women _______.
a. was not an appropriate focus of punitive damages
b. did not substantially affect interstate commerce
c. could not be made the responsibility of distant relatives
d. was nonjusticiable
e. could not be regulated by law

20. In ____ , the Supreme Court held that Congress could not require local police officers to conduct background checks on all gun purchasers because doing so would violate the Tenth Amendment.
a. United States v. Morrison
b. McCulloch v. Maryland
c. United States v. Lopez
d. Printz v. United States
e. Marbury v. Madison

21. In this 1999 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that state employees could not sue to force state compliance with federal fair-labor laws.
a. McCulloch v. Maryland
b. Printz v. United States
c. Alden v. Maine
d. United States v. Lopez
e. United States v. Morrison

22. Under their police powers, states can enact and enforce all of the following EXCEPT:
a. criminal codes
b. laws requiring children to attend school
c. restrictions on the availability of pornographic materials
d. standards for DUI convictions
e. the regulation of interstate commerce

23. Which of the following countries does NOT have a federal system of government?
a. United States
b. Italy
c. Canada
d. Germany
e. Australia

24. Which of the following allows national governments the right to alter or even abolish local government?
a. a constitutional government
b. Federalism
c. a unitary system
d. Socialism
e. a confederation

25. When U.S. Nazis sought to parade in Skokie, Illinois, where many Jews lived, the courts _____.
a. found them a clear and present danger
b. upheld their right to parade peacefully
c. refused to rule one way or another
d. allowed the police full discretion
e. allowed their arrests and convictions

26. Written defamation of character is known as _____.
a. slander
b. obscenity
c. incitement
d. political falsehood
e. libel

27. Slander differs from libel in that it refers to _____.
a. oral statements
b. written statements
c. public officials
d. private individuals
e. historic figures

28. If you, as a private individual, are grievously harmed by the statements of someone who can also prove that the statements are true, you _______.
a. can sue that person for libel
b. can collect damages if you demonstrate malice
c. cannot collect damages from that person
d. can collect for slander, but not for libel
e. can collect for libel, but not for slander

29. If you, as a public figure, are grievously harmed by the written statements of someone who cannot prove that they are true, you _____.
a. can sue the person for slander
b. can collect damages if you demonstrate malice
c. cannot sue the person
d. can collect damages if you demonstrate intention to benefit
e. can sue for obscene use of language

30. Justice Potter Stewart's oft-quoted dictum on hard-core as opposed to soft-core pornography was _____.
a. "I know it when I see it."
b. "Different strokes for different folks."
c. "It won't play in Peoria."
d. "One man's meat is another man's poison."
e. "What could go wrong?"

31. The Supreme Court's current definition of obscenity denies free-speech protection to materials or activities that _____.
a. depict sexuality in a way that is degrading to its subjects
b. promote violence against women or children
c. lack serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value
d. present a clear and present danger to community standards of decency
e. do not appeal to the prurient interest

32. A great change in the status of American women took place when _____.
a. many of them were successful on Wall Street in the 1930s
b. they began to serve as presidents of several prestigious law schools
c. they began to outperform men in civil service tests
d. millions were hired in defense plants during World War II
e. they formed a congressional caucus in the 1920s

33. In 1963, the publication of _____ by Betty Friedan strengthened the feminist movement.
a. The Other Half
b. The Silent Spring
c. The Feminine Mystique
d. The Great Dilemma
e. The Crisis

34. Congress responded to the feminist movement by passing laws that _____.
a. prohibited discrimination on the basis of gender in employment and among students in any school receiving federal funds
b. gave women equal access to all private organizations
c. outlawed all-male schools
d. provided free daycare and maternal care to all working mothers
e. prohibited gender discrimination except when there was a compelling justification

35. Which of the following is an example of a law that would only have to pass the reasonable standard where the government argues for the distinction on a rational basis.
a. Laws requiring somebody to be 21 to legally purchase alcohol.
b. Men being punished for statutory rape even if women are not punished.
c. Laws barring one religious group from solicitation.
d. State laws setting different ages at which men and women legally become adults.
e. Women being barred from jobs by height and weight requirements.

36. Which of the following is NOT considered illegal discrimination?
a. Setting different ages at which men and women legally become adults.
b. Barring women from jobs by arbitrary height and weight requirements.
c. Paying coaches of girls' sports differently than the coaches of boys' sports.
d. Requiring women to take mandatory pregnancy leaves.
e. Allowing women to remain military officers longer than men without being promoted.

37. News coverage by the Associated Press had to be nonpartisan because:
a. its funding came from the federal government.
b. its reporters' standards were highly professional.
c. government regulations required it.
d. it served subscribers of various political hues.
e. its managers held the parties in contempt.

38. The medium that first allowed public officials to reach the public in a relatively unfiltered manner was:
a. the national magazine.
b. the national newspaper.
c. radio.
d. the New York Times.
e. the wire service.

39. During the 2010 midterm elections, more than half of all Americans used _______ to get political news about the elections.
a. the Internet
b. newspapers
c. radio
d. NPR
e. the BBC

40. When it comes to the freedom of the press, the First Amendment has been interpreted as meaning that no government, federal or state, can:
a. place "prior restraints" on the press except under very narrowly defined circumstances.
b. regulate the types of words used on broadcast television.
c. regulate advertisements on network television.
d. place conditions on cable providers.
e. release information on private citizens without their consent.

41. Selective attention is the idea that:
a. people easily remember ideas they disagree with.
b. people seek messages that agree with their own.
c. newspapers give more attention to popular stories.
d. people will tune out messages they do not agree with.
e. television stations cannot give one candidate more time than another.

42. Elections based on a plurality system discourage new parties from forming because _____.
a. a plurality system discourages patronage and reduces voter interest in joining a party
b. a plurality system requires parties to form alliances with other parties to win elections
c. under this winner-take-all system, parties must be broadly based in order to gain alliances and support
d. a plurality system requires each party to be as narrowly based as possible, leaving little room for new parties
e. a plurality system gives an advantage to savvy political unknowns who can grab the media spotlight

43. National surveys indicate the majority of Americans tend to see Democrats handling which issue better than Republicans?
a. health care
b. crime
c. national defense
d. foreign trade
e. taxes

44. The two-party system has worked in the United States, but not in Europe, because _____.
a. Americans are more aggressive and less deferential
b. fewer Americans want to participate in party activities
c. Americans agree on enough issues to form broad coalitions
d. Americans are more economically conservative than Europeans
e. Europeans are less ideological than Americans

45. Which of the following organized interests was NOT part of the original process of bargaining during the 1920s through the 1950s?
a. business
b. labor
c. professional groups
d. environmentalists
e. farming

46. Eugene Debs of the Socialist Party won nearly _____ of the vote in the presidential election of 1912.
a. 6 percent
b. 15 percent
c. 25 percent
d. 31 percent
e. 43 percent

47. The Populist Party is an example of a(n) _____.
a. ideological party
b. one-issue party
c. economic-protest party
d. factional party
e. major party

48. Many strong social movements in the United States (for example, the antiwar movement of the late 1960s) never produced a significant third party. One reason is that _____.
a. most states have laws against the formation of third parties
b. dissident elements were able to influence elections through party primaries and national conventions
c. the size of these social movements was never large enough to encourage the formation of parties
d. formation of a third party would undermine the goals of these movements
e. such movements typically failed to generate significant interest in mainstream politics

49. The experience with 527 organizations in the 2004 elections suggests that campaign finance laws_____.
a. are an effective way to minimize interest group participation
b. are an effective way to reduce campaign spending
c. facilitate coordination of efforts between candidates and groups
d. are not likely to take money out of politics
e. have restricted speech considerably

50. Many scholars argue that the foremost factor in determining how people vote is _____.
a. debate performance
b. candidate experience
c. campaign spending
d. a candidate's image
e. party identification

51. Democrats could be predicted to win every presidential election if the only factor were_____.
a. candidate appeal
b. campaign issues
c. debate performance
d. money spent
e. party identification

52. Which party tends to be more loyal to its candidate in presidential elections?
a. Democrat
b. Republican
c. Independent
d. Green
e. No clear-cut difference exists among the parties.

53. When a voter votes for the candidate whom he or she considers more likely to do a better job in office, that voting is referred to as _____.
a. "clothespin" voting
b. ideological voting
c. prospective voting
d. retrospective voting
e. "coattails" voting

54. The text suggests that political junkies are more likely to engage in _____ voting.
a. issueless
b. ideological
c. prospective
d. retrospective
e. sociotropic

55. The text indicates that elections are decided by _____voters.
a. "clothespin"
b. ideological
c. prospective
d. retrospective
e. sociotropic

56. In the 1980 presidential election, many people voted for Ronald Reagan over Jimmy Carter as a vote against Carter, not out of loyalty to Reagan. Such a vote is referred to as a(n)_____.
a. spin vote
b. retrospective vote
c. prospective vote
d. informed vote
e. inclined vote

57. Some scholars believe that retrospective voting is heavily based on_____.
a. international affairs
b. the crime rate
c. economic conditions
d. immigration policy
e. support for education

58. The text says that many voters dislike negative ads, and statistically_____.
a. they do not influence the campaign
b. they increase voter turnout
c. they decrease voter turnout
d. they influence people to vote for third parties
e. they have little influence on voters

59. The Supreme Court upheld Senator Mike Gravel's reading of the Pentagon Papers, which were, at the time, secret government documents about the Vietnam War, into the Congressional Record because _____.
a. the speech did not present a clear and present danger to the United States
b. the speech did not incite an imminent lawless action
c. senators have unlimited freedom of speech
d. it was "privileged speech" and beyond challenge
e. he invoked the Fifth Amendment during his testimony

60. Most of the power in Congress is found in _____.
a. the chairmanship of committees and subcommittees
b. specialized caucuses
c. state delegations
d. party leaders
e. the minority leadership

61. _____ committees are more or less permanent bodies with specific legislative responsibilities.
a. Standing
b. Select
c. Conference
d. Joint
e. Rejoinder

62. The type of committee most likely to deal with a bill near the end of its legislative process is the _____ committee.
a. standing
b. select
c. conference
d. rules
e. rejoinder

63. Where is the real work of Congress done?
a. on the House floor
b. on the Senate floor
c. in the caucuses
d. in lobbying events
e. in the committees in both houses

64. The original purpose of the General Accounting Office (GAO), now the Government Accountability Office, was to perform _____.
a. research in the Library of Congress
b. audits of financial records
c. evaluations of technological advancements
d. employment application evaluations
e. audits of high-ranking military officers

65. The staff agency that advises Congress on the probable economic effect of different spending programs and the cost of proposed policies is the _____.
a. Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
b. General Accounting Office (GAO)
c. Congressional Research Service (CRS)
d. Office of Technology Assessment (OTA)
e. Congressional Research Fund (CRF)

66. The position of "acting president" was created by _____.
a. an act of Congress
b. executive reorganization
c. the Twenty-fifth Amendment
d. the original U.S. Constitution
e. an executive order

67. How many presidents have been impeached?
a. 5
b. 4
c. 3
d. 1
e. 2

68. The authors suggest that, ultimately, "red tape" comes from _____.
a. power hungry bureaucrats
b. Congress
c. the executive branch
d. us, the people
e. iron triangles

69. Iron triangles are less common today than they once were because _____.
a. agencies today are pressured by so many interest groups
b. they are no longer allowed by many agencies
c. congressional leadership is so much stronger today
d. the courts have stepped in to limit the intervention of interest groups in agency affairs
e. special interests have aligned themselves with congressional leaders

70. _____are a type of alliance described by Hugh Heclo that consists of people in Washington-based interest groups, on congressional staffs, in universities and think tanks, and in the mass media, who regularly debate a particular government policy.
a. Authorizing committees
b. Issue networks
c. Iron triangles
d. Fluid networks
e. Political caucuses

71. An agency cannot spend any money without approval from _____.
a. the president
b. the head of the agency
c. the issue network
d. Congress
e. the iron triangle

72. When a law originating in a legislative committee specifies a maximum amount of money an agency can spend, it is referred to as _____.
a. allocation legislation
b. appropriation measures
c. monetary-enhancement legislation
d. fiscal policy
e. authorization legislation

73. When Congress formally sets aside money for a specific use, it is called a(n)_____.
a. allocation
b. appropriation
c. monetary-enhancement measure
d. fiscal measure
e. authorization measure

74. _____funds operate outside of the regular government budget, and appropriations committees have no control over these expenditures.
a. Trust
b. Monetary
c. Treasury
d. Federal reserve
e. Authorized

75. The process of revising agency budget requests is commonly called _____.
a. gutting
b. reconciling
c. bait and switch
d. marking up
e. red-marking

76. The power of the House Appropriations Committee over agency budgets has recently diminished, in part because of _____.
a. an increase in marking-up practices by other House committees
b. the large amount of Congress's time taken up with trying to keep spending down
c. the 1983 Supreme Court ruling on the legislative veto
d. a decline in the use of trust funds by Congress
e. an increase in legislative inducements to restrict spending on entitlement programs

77. One way that appropriations committees have lost their power is because Congress changed many programs from permanent ____ authorization to authorization.
a. monthly
b. three-year
c. annual
d. bimonthly
e. nonrenewable

78. Prior to 1983, an executive decision must lie before Congress for 30 or 90 days before it can take effect because of the requirement called a _____.
a. pocket veto
b. regular veto
c. line-item veto
d. congressional veto
e. legislative veto

79. The effect of a legislative veto was to _____.
a. give Congress control over certain executive decisions
b. strip House chairpersons of powers of appropriation
c. give Congress control over the appointment of agency heads
d. strip House chairpersons of powers of authorization
e. return power to subcommittees

80. The legislative veto was declared unconstitutional in _____.
a. Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Chadha
b. United States v. Nixon
c. Brown v. Board of Education
d. Marbury v. Madison
e. Donnell v. Tarkenton

81. If California and Arizona sue each other over water usage from the Colorado River, the case can be heard only _____.
a. by the federal waters rights court
b. by the Supreme Court
c. by the high courts in both states
d. by the U.S. Justice Department
e. by a high court of a state not involved in the case

82. The litigation involving four police officers accused of beating Rodney King illustrates the fact that _____.
a. some defendants are tried in both state and federal courts
b. some cases can be tried only in state courts
c. civil rights cases can be tried only in federal courts
d. one level of government can block the prosecutions of another
e. cases cannot be appealed across the state and federal judiciary

83. Certiorari is a Latin word meaning, roughly, _____.
a. "beyond all uncertainties"
b. "certified"
c. "to be heard"
d. "rule of four"
e. "made more certain"

84. The Supreme Court will grant cert and hear a case if at least _____ justices agree to do so.
a. two
b. three
c. four
d. five
e. six

85. One unintended consequence of the Supreme Court's heavy caseload is an increase in the influence wielded by _____.
a. the chief justice
b. associate justices
c. the attorney general
d. the deputy attorney general
e. law clerks

86. Which of the following is NOT true about AFDC?
a. The states had to provide child-care programs for working AFDC parents.
b. Women on AFDC needed to identify their children's fathers.
c. The states had to establish mandatory job-training programs for many AFDC recipients.
d. The states had to give Medicaid to AFDC recipients.
e. Public opinion remained high, and the program received almost universal support.

87. Since 1963, how many major federal laws have been enacted dealing with the environment?
a. more than 36
b. 100
c. 150
d. less than 10
e. none

88. The early environmental movement was launched, in part, in reaction to _____.
a. the appearance of dead whales on the West Coast
b. the overpopulation of deer in Oregon
c. an outbreak of diseases among birds in the Northeast
d. an oil spill on the beaches of Santa Barbara, California
e. a natural-gas eruption in Destin, Florida

89. This president created the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
a. John Kennedy
b. Lyndon Johnson
c. Richard Nixon
d. Jimmy Carter
e. Harry Truman

90. The national event held on April 22, 1970, that celebrated the new environmental movement was called _____ Day.
a. Global Awareness
b. Greenpeace
c. National Conservation
d. Clean Air
e. Earth

91. The cap and trade provisions passed by the House in the American Clean Energy and Security Act _____.
a. did not set emissions standards for carbon dioxide
b. far surpassed requirements imposed by the Kyoto Treaty
c. were lauded as an effective way to dramatically reduce pollution
d. proved to significantly slow economic growth of big business
e. failed to come to a vote in the Senate

92. The constitutional power to declare war and to regulate commerce with other nations is vested in:
a. the State Department.
b. the Senate.
c. the president.
d. the Pentagon.
e. Congress.

93. Presidents have viewed the War Powers Act as:
a. being unconstitutional.
b. being a legitimate use of congressional power.
c. helping America's image abroad.
d. strengthening their power in foreign affairs.
e. being constitutional.

94. This president signed a law creating the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
a. Richard Nixon
b. Jimmy Carter
c. Barack Obama
d. Bill Clinton
e. George W. Bush

95. In which situation did the president not benefit from the "rally 'round the flag" effect?
a. Kennedy, after the Bay of Pigs
b. Reagan, when he invaded Grenada
c. George H. W. Bush, when he sent troops to fight Iraq
d. Clinton, when he sent troops to Bosnia
e. George W. Bush, after the September 11 attacks

96. In his book The Cold War, _____ argued against the policy of containing the Soviet Union.
a. John Foster Dulles
b. Averell Harriman
c. Walter Lippmann
d. George Kennan
e. Henry Cabot Lodge

97. Public opinion supports _____ the role of the federal government.
a. localizing
b. centralizing
c. expanding
d. outsourcing
e. decreasing

98. Under the Old System, people voted:
a. at a high rate.
b. at a low rate.
c. for radical candidates.
d. seldom or never.
e. for candidates supportive of social programs.

99. Lyndon Johnson was able to get his Great Society programs through Congress because:
a. most of the public favored the programs.
b. Democrats controlled both houses of Congress by large margins.
c. most Republicans worked with him on these issues.
d. he obtained strong international support.
e. the federal government had surplus funds to be spent.

100. The ultimate cause of red tape, bureaucratic stalemates, and confusion might be the fact that:
a. public officials are strictly self-interested.
b. bureaucrats are incompetent.
c. there is too much separation of powers.
d. citizens want different and often conflicting things.
e. federalism simply does not work.