Download Pols 101 Review Questions with Certified Solutions: American Politics and Government and more Exams Political Science in PDF only on Docsity!
Pols 101 Review Questions With
Certified Solutions
Which of the following has democracy come to mean in practice?
Select one:
a. pluralistic government through the combination of popularly elected representatives and the influence of interest groups
b. oligarchic government through a legislature chosen through popular election
c. elitist control through interest group politics
d. pluralism through the election of representatives and the influence of corporate interests
e. majority rule through the free and open election of representatives ✔✔majority rule through the free and open election of representatives
According to the Declaration of Independence, governments get their "just powers" from:
Select one:
a. "God Almighty."
b. "the consent of the governed."
c. "the various factions."
d. "the teachings of Jesus Christ."
e. "the benevolence of a just king." ✔✔"the consent of the governed."
According to political scientist Louis Hartz, the United States
Select one:
a. constitutes a "corporate dictatorship."
b. was "born free."
c. formed a perfect union.
d. is basically a monarchical state.
e. "perfected" socialist democracy. ✔✔was "born free."
French philosopher Michel Foucault referred to politics as:"________."
Select one:
a. like making sausage
b. the burden of citizens
c. a means to an end
d. war by other means
e. a necessary evil ✔✔war by other means
Select one:
a. majoritarianism
b. elitism
c. corporate power
d. judicial action
e. constitutionalism
Feedback ✔✔corporate power
A government's authority
Select one:
a. is evidenced when government officials use their right to exercise power.
b. is by definition not coercive.
c. does not include the power to arrest and imprison.
d. ensures that lawlessness prevails most of the time.
e. is based on pluralism. ✔✔is evidenced when government officials use their right to exercise power.
Compared to two decades ago, contemporary Americans are, on average,
Select one:
a. far better informed about political affairs.
b. at about the same level of being informed about political affairs.
c. getting most of their news from traditional media sources such as newspapers.
d. much more knowledgeable about the functioning of America's political institutions.
e. paying more attention to news sources that have an obvious ideological bias. ✔✔paying more attention to news sources that have an obvious ideological bias.
In a survey of college students, the Intercollegiate Studies Association found that the best predictor of a student's later participation in the nation's civic and political life is
Select one:
a. a college degree.
b. a solid understanding of public affairs.
c. participation in student government.
d. participation in Greek life.
e. attending a school with a residential campus versus a "commuter" campus. ✔✔a solid understanding of public affairs.
Which of the following chronologies is correct?
e. Created a strong Executive branch. ✔✔Created a weak national government subordinate to the states.
Progressive reforms included
Select one:
a. primary elections.
b. direct election of U.S. senators.
c. the initiative and referendum.
d. recall elections.
e. All these answers are correct. ✔✔e. All these answers are correct.
All but one state constitution formed after the American Revolution
Select one:
a. provided for choosing governors in direct annual elections.
b. provided for a less direct form of self-government than the national-level framers intended.
c. provided for annual legislative elections.
d. included more severe checks and balances than the U.S. Constitution.
e. drastically limited the power of the executive in comparison to the legislature. ✔✔provided for annual legislative elections.
The term of office for a U.S. senator is ________ years, while that of a member of the U.S. House is ________ years.
Select one:
a. six; two
b. four; two
c. six; four
d. four; four
e. eight; four ✔✔a. six; two
Where is the Bill of Rights found in the Constitution?
Select one:
a. Article I, Section 8
b. Article II
c. the first ten amendments
d. amendments 17 through 26
d. establish a government strong enough to forge a union that was secure in its defense and stable in its economy.
e. limit the power of the presidency.
Feedback ✔✔establish a government strong enough to forge a union that was secure in its defense and stable in its economy.
________ opposed the ratification of the U.S. Constitution.
Select one:
a. George Washington
b. Patrick Henry
c. James Madison
d. Benjamin Franklin
e. John Adams ✔✔b. Patrick Henry
If a state accepts a federal grant-in-aid, it must
Select one:
a. comply with federal restrictions on its use.
b. reimburse the federal government after a specified period.
c. match the funds with twice that amount in state funds.
d. reduce its income tax rates to adjust for the increased income.
e. None of these answers is correct. ✔✔a. comply with federal restrictions on its use.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
Select one:
a. increased state control over health insurance.
b. decreased state control over health insurance.
c. had no significant impact on state control over health insurance.
d. ended government regulation of health insurance.
e. None of these answers is correct. ✔✔b. decreased state control over health insurance.
In Lochner v. New York (1905), the Supreme Court ruled that
Select one:
a. the doctrine of separate but equal was constitutional.
b. state regulation of labor practices violated firms' property rights.
c. the Fourth Amendment did not apply to interstate commerce.
d. factory practices could only be regulated by the states.
d. prior restraint should apply only in rare circumstances, and it is better to hold the press responsible for what it has printed than to restrict what it may print.
e. prior restraint should be used fairly frequently in a democracy. ✔✔d. prior restraint should apply only in rare circumstances, and it is better to hold the press responsible for what it has printed than to restrict what it may print.
How did the Supreme Court's position on the rights of the accused in state courts change in the 1960s?
Select one:
a. The Supreme Court began to allow states greater freedom to interpret the rights of the accused.
b. The Supreme Court began to dramatically reduce federal power to force the states to make special accommodations for the rights of accused minorities.
c. The Supreme Court began to protect the rights of the accused from action by the states.
d. The Supreme Court position did not change noticeably.
e. The Supreme Court ceased to enforce the practice of selective incorporation. ✔✔c. The Supreme Court began to protect the rights of the accused from action by the states.
In the Constitution, procedural due process is protected by the
Select one:
a. Fourth Amendment.
b. Fifth Amendment.
c. Sixth Amendment.
d. Eighth Amendment.
e. All these answers are correct. ✔✔e. All these answers are correct.
Under the Bush administration, individuals classified as "enemy combatants" were held at detention facilities outside of the US and used secret military tribunals. The Supreme Court ruled:
Select one:
a. because they are not US citizens Constitutional protections do not apply.
b. the President can do what they want when they use their "war time powers."
c. they have the right to challenge their detention in court.
d. since they are terrorists during "war time" they have no rights.
e. the government must prove "beyond a reasonable doubt" that their detention is for a valid reason. ✔✔c. they have the right to challenge their detention in court.
The Edward Snowden leaks about the NSA surveillance program:
Select one:
a. 7 percent
b. 19 percent
c. 28 percent
d. 37 percent
e. 49 percent ✔✔b. 19 percent
All of the following statements about Asian American rights are true EXCEPT that
Select one:
a. they have not attained a proportionate share of top business positions.
b. Asian Americans are an upwardly mobile group but are underrepresented in top positions in society due to past and present discrimination.
c. Asian Americans have the highest percentage of two-parent families of any racial group.
d. Asian Americans have made notable educational advancements.
e. Asian Americans have the second highest median family income of any group. ✔✔e. Asian Americans have the second highest median family income of any group.
Politically, the fight for civil rights in Congress in the 1960s was led primarily by
Select one:
a. southern Democrats.
b. southern Republicans.
c. Republicans.
d. Democrats.
e. an about equal coalition of Democrats and Republicans. ✔✔e. an about equal coalition of Democrats and Republicans.
Feedback
The first woman to serve on the Supreme Court was:
Select one:
a. Ruth Bader Ginsburg
b. Geraldine Ferraro
c. Sandra Day O'Conner
d. Elena Kagan
e. Sonia Sotomajor ✔✔c. Sandra Day O'Conner
Which ethnic group tends to be underrepresented the most politically, in comparison with other minority groups?
Select one:
b. Abraham Lincoln
c. Gunnar Myrdal
d. Justice Roberts
e. Martin Luther King Jr. ✔✔c. Gunnar Myrdal
n terms of party identification, about two-thirds of adults call themselves
Select one:
a. liberals.
b. Republicans or Democrats.
c. Republicans.
d. Independents.
e. Democrats. ✔✔b. Republicans or Democrats.
Gender, race, religion, level of education, age, income, and religion are all examples of:
Select one:
a. group orientation that determines our opinions on policy.
b. factors that bias our opinions.
c. factors that are irrelevant to how we vote.
d. factors which political party we belong to.
e. factors that create "information cocoons." ✔✔a. group orientation that determines our opinions on policy.
The country with the highest degree of national pride is
Select one:
a. Canada
b. Germany
c. United States
d. Spain
e. France ✔✔c. United States
To accurately poll the citizens of the United States as opposed to the citizens of a single state,
Select one:
a. a much larger sample size will be required.
b. the sample requirements will be nearly the same.
c. a smaller sample size will be required.
d. less randomization will be needed because the sample size will be larger.
