Mad Hatter$
Created in 2010 by:
· Central Organizer:
Amara Galileo
· Unit I – III Multiple Choice coordinator
Jason Morris
· Answerer:
Zack Patterson
· Unit IV – VI Multiple Choice coordinator:
Brook Augustine
· Short Answer Questions coordinator:
Amanda Winward
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
Section I
Time – 55 minutes
80 Questions
Directions: Each of the questions or incomplete statements below is followed by five suggested answers or completions. Select the one that is best in each case and then place the letter of your choice in corresponding box on the answer sheet.
- If you decided that you wanted to achieve some formal authority in U.S. society, you would be best advised to
a. get a formal education.
b. join a political party.
c. pursue elective or appointive office.
d. join an effective interest group.
e. become well versed in the law.
2. According to Alexis de Tocqueville, one of the reasons a democratic republic took root in the United States was because of the
a. minimal taxes imposed by the government.
b. insistence on economic equality for all.
c. presence of fertile lands and rich resources.
d. absence of foreign intervention.
e. high levels of religiosity.
3. One reason why public policy often differs from public opinion is that
a. the U.S. Constitution places many checks on the influence of public opinion.
b. public opinion polling tends to express the opinions of a political elite.
c. while public opinion is easy to gauge, public policy is not.
d. public opinion tends to change much more slowly than public policy.
e. public opinion is rarely informed at the beginning of the policy making process.
4. In Europe, candidates for elective office are generally nominated by
a. local referenda.
b. aristocrats.
c. party leaders.
d. prime ministers.
e. national primaries.
5. Besides the United States, which other nations have congresses?
a. Great Britain only
b. most European nations and China
c. most European nations only
d. Great Britain and most European nations only
e. most Latin American countries only
6. Presidents, even with great majorities of their own party in Congress, experience difficulty in exercising legislative leadership because
a. the president must compete against interest groups for influence.
b. the president is unable to control Congress, unlike a prime minister.
c. the president's use of the veto is ineffective with Congress.
d. members of Congress attract greater publicity when challenging the president.
e. members of Congress are able to thwart presidential aspirations through the technicalities of committees and floor rules.
7. The chief judicial weapon in the government's system of checks and balances is known as
a. judicial activism.
b. judicial interpretivism.
c. judicial review.
d. judicial standing.
e. judicial bypass.
8. When did the U.S. Constitution become a source of legitimate authority?
a. at the time of the American Revolution
b. when it was written in Philadelphia
c. after 1787, gradually
d. only in recent years
e. after the Supreme Court’s decision in Marbury
9. A political ______deals with what a government should do, while a political ______deals with how government should operate.
a. constitution, administration
b. administration, constitution
c. culture, ideology
d. ideology, culture
e. culture, administration
10. Young people are most inclined to agree with their parents on the issue of
a. political efficacy.
b. party identification.
c. policy preferences.
d. civil liberties.
e. constitutional interpretation.
11. American political parties, unlike those of most other democratic nations, are closely regulated by
a. minorities.
b. the Constitution.
c. powerful machines.
d. the executive branch of government.
e. state and federal laws.
12. Under the original U.S. Constitution, members of the Senate, unlike members of the House, were selected by
a. direct elections.
b. the president.
c. state legislatures.
d. primary runoffs.
e. regional coalitions.
13. The House of Representatives has ______to decide the winner of a presidential election.
a. never had
b. rarely had
c. frequently had
d. never been given the power
e. never recognized its own power
14. Between 1789 and the Civil War, the Supreme Court was primarily occupied with the issues of
a. states' rights and slavery.
b. trade relations and states' rights.
c. national supremacy and trade relations.
d. slavery and national supremacy.
e. commerce and civil liberties.
15.Democracy in the United States is distinguished from many European democracies by the fact that, in the United States,
a. many more offices are elective.
b. more campaign money comes from public sources.
c. more people participate in the electoral process.
d. the government plays a more active role in elections.
e. the government frequently changes hands.
16. Which of the following statements about political ideology is correct?
a. Political ideology is synonymous with political culture.
b. Political ideology is a patterned set of ways of thinking about how politics and government should be carried out.
c. People can share a common political culture but disagree on ideology.
d. Political ideology has four important elements: liberty, equality, democracy, and civic duty.
e. Ideology is a prerequisite to the development of political culture.
17. Which religious group is most likely to have liberal political attitudes?
a. Jews
b. Protestants
c. Catholics
d. white Protestants.
e. No significant difference exists among these three groups.
18. As a result of changes made by the parties in the 1960s and 1970s, the Democrats have become more ______and the Republican Party has become more ______.
a. libertarian … liberal
b. factionalized … bureaucratized
c. unified … people-oriented
d. traditional … modern
e. organized … popular
19. The Senate, not the House, became the crucial forum for debating the issue of slavery because
a. the House at that time was dominated by the executive branch.
b. the Senate had the larger black representation.
c. senators were picked by the state legislatures.
d. House rules favored incumbents over challengers.
e. the House was too decentralized.
20. When no candidate receives a majority of votes in the electoral college, the House of Representatives decides who will win a presidential election. This circumstance
a. has never occurred.
b. has occurred only twice.
c. occurs once every 28 to 36 years.
d. has occurred four times in this century.
e. occurs frequently when the country is at war.
21. The Founders expected that judicial review would be relatively passive because
a. judges would merely find and apply the existing law.
b. judges would be constrained by the legislature.
c. cases would involve only direct disputes between individuals.
d. judges would be empowered to award money damages only.
e. judges would generally be unanimous in their decision making.
22. Majoritarian politics comes into play when
a. the major party prevails on an issue.
b. a political elite comes to power.
c. public opinion is unified.
d. an absolute majority is required to win an election.
e. leaders feel constrained to follow the popular will.
23. The Framers would have considered a clause in the U.S. Constitution prohibiting censorship of the press
a. undesirable.
b. unreasonable.
c. unnecessary.
d. unenforceable.
e. all of these.
24. Compared with other Western nations, the percentage of registered voters in the United States who actually vote is
a. much lower.
b. much higher.
c. about the same.
d. approximately the same as the number of eligible voters.
e. unknown.
25. Almost all elections in the United States are based on
a. the plurality system.
b. the majority system.
c. proportional representation.
d. retention and recall.
e. a combination of systems.
26. One proposed explanation for why congressional seats have become less marginal is that
a. the growing strength of the party system makes it less likely for challengers to appeal to average voters.
b. incumbents find it easier than challengers to make their names known.
c. incumbents are less likely than challengers to become associated with the "mess" in Washington.
d. changing demographics have made an increasing number of districts overwhelmingly Democratic or Republican.
e. incumbents are less ideological than challengers and link themselves with Congress as an institution
27. The era from 1836 to 1932: commonly viewed as one of
a. presidential dominance.
b. a true balance of powers.
c. Supreme Court dominance.
d. presidential and Supreme Court dominance.
e. congressional dominance.
28. In Federalist 78, Alexander Hamilton described the judiciary as
a. "the sword of the community"
b. "least dangerous" to political rights
c. "command[ing] the purse"
d. "encouraging factions"
e. “beyond reproach.”
29. Those who emphasize the role in politics of shifting coalitions of groups are referred to as
a. Marxists.
b. structuralists.
c. elitists.
d. pluralists.
e. isolationists.
30. The Bill of Rights was added to the U.S. Constitution at the insistence of the
a. Founders.
b. state ratifying conventions.
c. First Continental Congress.
d. Federalist Party.
e. Alexander Hamilton.
31. A 2001 study found that motor-voter registrants were
a. much more likely to vote than other new registrants.
b. slightly more likely to vote than other new registrants.
c. about as likely to vote as other new registrants.
d. less likely to vote than other new registrants.
e. None of these.
32. Among the major changes in elections in campaigns are all of the following except
a. money matters more than ever.
b. parties are less important.
c. fund raising is a non-stop activity.
d. media are more important.
e. debates are more important.
33. Staff members are most likely to see themselves entirely as personal advocates if they work
a. for a committee minority.
b. on a research agency in Congress.
c. for a committee majority.
d. for a courtroom.
e. for individual members of Congress.
34. One reason a president has relatively little power over his cabinet departments is because he
a. cannot appoint their heads.
b. requires Senate approval of his choices for heads of these departments.
c. must share power with the judicial branch of government.
d. must share power with the legislative branch of government.
e. cannot appoint more than a fraction of their employees.
35. The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 did all of the following except
a. cut tax rates on some income groups.
b. increase the tax credit for children.
c. eliminate the “marriage penalty.”
d. phase out the tax on estates of deceased persons.
e. make it easier to deduct expenses.
36. The liberties that the colonists fought to protect were based on
a. the language of the individual states' constitutions.
b. the rights proclaimed originally by the king of Great Britain.
c. a historical understanding of the essentials of human progress.
d. colonial charters.
e. natural rights created by God.
37. Which act made it a crime to write, utter, or publish "any false, scandalous, and malicious material" aimed at the government with the intent to defame it?
a. the Sedition Act of 1798
b. the Espionage Act of 1917
c. the Smith Act of 1940
d. the Internal Control Act of 1960
e. the F.O.L.E. Act of 1975
38. In the United States, unlike Great Britain, interest groups can easily gain access to government because
a. political parties are relatively powerful.
b. power is centralized in the legislative branch.
c. important decisions are made in only a few places.
d. our constitutional system is so limited.
e. political authority is widely dispersed.
39. In America, candidates win party nominations primarily through
a. convention politics.
b. the decision-making of state party leaders.
c. the decision-making of national party leaders.
d. seniority.
e. individual effort.
40. Compared to the political agenda in the 1930s, today's political agenda—the issues that politics chooses to address—is
a. much longer.
b. slightly longer.
c. about the same.
d. slightly shorter.
e. much shorter.
41. When an agency such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) makes an important decision, it is quite likely to be taken to court. This is an example of what is meant by the term
a. government bureaucracy.
b. impedimentary government.
c. red tape.
d. adversary culture.
e. reciprocal administration.
42. Which of the following presidential administrations is associated with a large federal tax cut?
a. John F. Kennedy.
b. Ronald Reagan.
c. George W. Bush.
d. All of these.
e. B and C.
43. "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" were
a. rights commonly listed in colonial charters.
b. Jefferson's variation on commonly listed rights.
c. explicitly named in the preamble to the U.S. Constitution.
d. enumerated in the Bill of Rights.
e. incorporated in the First Amendment.
44. The crucial phrase of the constitutional amendment that allowed federal judges to supervise criminal procedures in the states was
a. "cruel and unusual punishment."
b. "honor roll of fundamental categories."
c. "equal protection."
d. "due process of law."
e. “commerce clause.”
45. At some time in your life, you have probably joined a group largely for companionship and pleasure. Such a group was satisfying your ______needs.
a. material
b. purposive
c. party
d. solidary
e. concurrent
46. A major difference between presidential and congressional campaigns is that
a. more people vote in congressional elections.
b. presidential races are generally less competitive.
c. presidential candidates can more credibly take credit for improvements in a district.
d. presidential incumbents can better provide services for their constituents.
e. congressional incumbents can more easily duck responsibility.
47. Which of the following occurred during a Republican presidential administration?
a. president-imposed peacetime wage and price controls.
b. a presidential proposal for a guaranteed annual income for every family, working or not.
c. a presidential order for federal troops to go into Little Rock, Arkansas, to enforce school-desegregation.
d. an increase in federal payments to farmers that was six times larger than they had been in the previous decade.