Chapter 1: The American System
Advanced Government Study Guide
Mr. Faulhaber
1. A type of government in which power rests in the hand of a single person
2. The government structure so all key powers are in the hands of the state or
provincial governmentsa. Confederate System
b. Sovereignty
3. The ability to create and enforce laws without any higher authority c. Civic Duty d. Democracy
4. A type of government in which power rests in the hand of a fewe. Oligarchy
f. Autocracy
5. Foregoing personal gain and interest for the public goodg. Unitary System
h. Social Contract
6.The government structure so all key powers are in the hands of the centrali. Divine Right
governmentj. Federal System
7. The government structure in which all key powers are shared between the
central and state or provincial governments
8. A type of government in which power rests in the hands of the people
9. Agreement between the governed and government
10. God given right to rule
11. Which of the following is a justification for taxation in a democracy?
a. the government must survive, even at the expense of individual freedom
b. the government must be able to provide services for its citizens
c. the government needs to make sure that there are not too many rich people
d. the government must assert its authority over the people
e. the government must assure the rights of the minority are protected through a well funded and regulated militia
12. The pluralist view holds all of the following except____.
a. No single elite has a monopoly on political resources
b. Policies are the result of a complex pattern of shifting alliances
c. Political resources are not distributed equally
d. Political elites do not respond to the interests of their followers
e. Political elites are divided
13. The relationship between the two central questions addressed by your text “Who governs? and To what ends?” can best be described in what way?
a. They are two distinct questions, but each must be considered with the other in mind.
b. Who governs? deals with the purpose of politics; To what ends? deals with who holds political power.
c. They are essentially two different versions of the same question.
d. They are questions which cannot be separated without considering the very nature of politics.
e. They are two separate and distinct questions that should be addressed without reference to each other.
14. Individuals have power when they are able to
a. serve their fellow human beings.
b. get elected to office.
c. be present at behind-the-scenes political meetings.
d. get others to do what they want.
e. vote without being influenced by outside forces.
15. Your text notes that, over time, more and more issues in this country have tended to become _____ ones.
a. moral
b. private
c. economic
d. international
e. public
16. Compared with the 1950s, government’s involvement in the everyday lives of Americans in the 1990s is
a. considerably greater
b. slightly greater
c. considerably less
d. about the same
e. slightly less
17. People who run for office are trying to achieve what kind of authority?
a. lasting
b. formal
c. respected
d. ultimate
e. informal
18. The financial position of the states and national governments under the Articles of Confederation could be best described as____.
a. Sound, strong, and based on a large surplus of revenue
b. Sound, strong, but uncertain around the edges.
c. Uniformly stable at the state level, but the national government struggled with debt.
d. Stable at the national level with little cause for concern in any of the states.
e. Growing debt at the national level and several states with financial crises.
19. In recent times, Aristotle’s ideal of democracy has been most closely approximated by
a. the Constitutional Convention.
b. the AFL-CIO
c. the New England town meeting
d. the Southeastern United States before the Civil War
e. the U.S. House of Representatives
20. Representative democracy allows individuals to gain political power through
a. competitive elections
b. nonpartisan elections
c. reciprocal elections
d. media campaigns
e. quadrennial elections
21. Marx’s view of government would dispose one to view an administration’s proposal of a large military budget as a(n)____.
a. exercise in bargaining and compromise
b. service to defense corporations
c. search for national security
d. ploy to appease the international community
e. threat to world peace
22. Community control and citizen participation in government programs are variants of which type of democracy?
a. residual democracy.
b. representative democracy
c. “the rule of the many”
d. democratic centralism
e. direct democracy
23. Critics of representative democracy have pointed out all of the following except
a. it responds too slowly
b. it serves special interests
c. it is unresponsive to majority opinion
d. it does not adequately protect basic liberties
e. A and C.
24. Society analyzed as consisting of capitalists and workers in the theories of the
a. functionalists
b. tsarists
c. elitists
d. pluralists
e. Marxists
25. Most people holding national political office are____.
a. Middle class
b. Middle age.
c. Males.
d. Protestant.
e. All of the above.
26. The fact that the rich are taxed more heavily than the poor and that amendments that gave voting rights to minorities were passed by large majorities suggests that___.
a. Few people pay attention to political processes.
b. Government does not always adopt policies that are to the narrow advantage of those who hold political office.
c. Power is distributed in such a manner that very few people can exercise it in a meaningful fashion.
d. “Who governs?” and “To what ends?” are really the same question.
e. Knowing who governs is usually a good predictor of what policies will be adopted.
27. Regarding the role of self-interest in the positions that people take on important issues, it is safest to say that
a. self-interest is rarely an important factor in understanding political attitudes and behavior
b. the self-interest of individuals is usually a complete guide to their actions
c. economic self-interest may be important but is usually not the only guide to people’s actions
d. organizational self-interest rather than economic self-interest is usually the best guide to people’s actions
e. political preferences can be predicted invariably by knowing an individual’s economic or organizational position
28. Those who emphasize the role in politics of shifting coalitions of groups are referred to as____.
a. isolationists
b. Marxists
c. elitists
d. structuralists
e. pluralists
29. James Madison believed that various groups, or factions, would compete within our democratic system. The result would be effective policy-making. Madison’s theory can best be described as
a. pluralism
b. Marxism
c. bureaucratic elitism
d. hyperpluralism
e. elitism
30. For representative democracy to work, all of the following must be present EXCEPT
a. the opportunity for individuals to run for office
b. freedom of expression
c. voter turnout above 60 percent
d. competition among political parties
e. voter perception that there is a meaningful choice
31. All of the following statements about the beliefs of the framers of the Constitution are true EXCEPT
a. they favored representative democracy over direct democracy
b. they believed that most citizens did not have the time, information, and expertise to make informed choices
c. they believed that government decisions should mirror popular viewpoints
d. they recognized that representative democracy would proceed slowly
e. they insisted on the protection of civil rights and civil liberties
32. The text insists that if we wish to understand power, we must also understand___.
a. Powerlessness.
b. Preferences.
c. Economic.
d. Ambiguities.
e. Weakness.
33. All of the following are criticisms of direct democracy EXCEPT
a. people have limited time and energy to consider the issues
b. people don’t have enough expertise in many policy areas
c. people make decisions based on fleeting passions
d. people will respond to popular demagogues
e. direct democracies have never been successful
34. What is one of the best barometers for measuring changes in who governs?
a. public opinion polls
b. an analysis of the topics covered in campaign speeches
c. an examination of the amount of coverage given by the media
d. an analysis of the policy process and changes in the laws
e. there is no real way of measuring political change
35. What is the most basic definition of democracy?
a. rule by the many
b. rule by representatives who are directly elected
c. any system of government with elections
d. any system of government with a written constitution
e. any system where citizenship is widely extended by most adults
36. The Framers of the Constitution mistrusted direct democracy for all of the following reasons EXCEPT____.
a. they believed that direct democracy might lead to a tyrannical popular majority
b. they supposed that most citizens did not have the time, information, interest, and expertise to make reasonable choices
c. they suspected that direct democracy would be too slow and inefficient to make good policy
d. they thought the nation was too big for a direct democracy to be effective
e. they believed that basic rights, like freedom of speech, should not hinge on a popular vote
37. Which of the following institutions established in the Constitution make public policy?
a. the Senate, the president, and political parties
b. the Congress, the presidency, and the courts
c. the Congress, the courts, and the military
d. the Congress, the presidency, and the military
e. the Congress, the president, and bureaucracy
38. According to Tocqueville, Americans are fond of explaining their actions in terms of____.
a. Self-interest.
b. Moral percepts.
c. Religious commitments.
d. Disinterested and spontaneous impulses.
e. Philosophical skepticism.
39. Which of the following statements about political power, or “who governs?” is most accurate?
a. The key to understanding power is to understand the monetary costs of different political decisions.
b. Political power can usually be inferred by knowing what laws are on the books.
c. Political power can usually be inferred by knowing what administrative actions have been taken.
d. Power cannot be realized without institutional arrangements.
e. Most power derives from psychological and social factors such as friendship, loyalty, and prestige.
40. The trouble with trying to infer the distribution of political power from examining the laws on the books is that___.
a. Laws may be enacted in a great variety of circumstances.
b. Laws are made to be broken.
c. Legislative codes may be so obscure as to defy anyone’s comprehension.
d. Many congressional enactments never get recorded at all.
e. The judicial branch is rarely independent from the legislative branch.
SHORT ANSWER:
1. Both the national and state governments have a representative democracy. However, on the state level some citizens can experience direct democracy through their use of legislative initiatives and referendums.
a. Differentiate between a representative democracy and a direct democracy
b. Explain the fears the founding fathers had of creating a pure democracy
c. define referendums and initiatives and provide an example
d. Explain how these two tools you defined in (c) provide citizens with the ability to shape their government
“If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.”- Federalist #51
2. Define power explain how it relates to the U.S. Constitution and the purpose of the type of government the framers were trying to achieve in 1787.
3. According to the text, the two great political questions are who governs and to what ends. Early in our nation’s history, the federal government had little power and few resources. Gradually, the federal government assumed greater and greater responsibilities.
a) Evaluate the role of the government according to progressives, conservatives and libertarians; Who Governs
b) Describe how much power each ideology believes the government can and should legitimately assume; To What Ends
3. Some people argue that they don’t like government because they don’t like politics. What is meant by politics and how do people engage in politics at home and in school? Identify the requirements for representative democracy to work.
4. If you believe that the United States is an oligarchy, explain which of the four elite theories you would be ascribing to and why.
5. Explain what power involves and differentiate it from authority. Identify, describe, and give examples the basic premises of the four elite theories.
6. The legitimacy of the United States government has increased over time. Identify and explain how legitimacy was increased by TWO of the following:
- the Constitutional Convention
- the Civil War
- the new Deal