In America’s federal system, power is divided between different levels of government. Which of the following institutions is typically responsible for coordinating public safety and medical transportation in the event that you get injured in a car accident?
A) B) C) D)
Definition
D)
Term
If you take a bus or car trip to another region of the country, you will likely travel on an interstate highway. Which level of government is primarily responsible for funding the construction and maintenance of these interstate highways?
A)
B)
C)
D)
Correct answer(s): E
Definition
D)
Term
Every time you start a new job your employer needs to send your information to the government for taxing purposes. What piece of identification information, obtained from the federal government, must you provide?
A) B) C) D)
Definition
D)
Term
According to the Declaration of Independence, from what source does our national government derive its powers?
A) B) C) The people D) The executive branch
Definition
C) The people
Term
The idea that men form governments largely to preserve life, liberty, and property comes from
A) John Locke. B) C) D)
Definition
A) John Locke.
Term
Hobbes argued that the best protection for the rights of the weak in a polity was
A) B) C) D) E)
Definition
C)
Term
As defined in our text, an example of the American Dream is
A) B) C) D)
Definition
D)
Term
Someone who favors government intervention to regulate sexual and social behavior, to restrict abortion, and to ban same-sex marriage is best described as
A) B) a libertarian. C) a social conservative. D) a liberal.
Definition
C) a social conservative.
Term
The Founders expressed reservations about direct democracy. Which of the following was one of their chief concerns?
A) Direct democracy would lead to mob rule and a violation of individual property rights. B) Direct democracy was too similar to the current form of government in England. C) Canada’s experiment in direct democracy had led to a French victory in the French and Indian War. D) Direct democracy had been practiced in ancient Sparta and the Founders had little respect for classical society.
Definition
A) Direct democracy would lead to mob rule and a violation of individual property rights.
Term
Which of the following branches of government routinely receives the lowest rating in public opinion polls?
A) Congress B) The president C) The Supreme Court D) The Peace Corps
Definition
A) Congress
Term
Which of the following campaign slogans is the most aligned with the thought of Thomas Hobbes?
A) Freedom for all B) Government of laws, not of men C) Order before liberty D) Life, liberty, and property
Definition
C) Order before liberty
Term
Which of the following factors united citizens at the time of the Founding?
A) Skepticism about organized religion and a strong interest in science B) A single language and a shared Protestant-Christian heritage C) A bitter hatred of England D) A shared middle-class existence
Definition
B) A single language and a shared Protestant-Christian heritage
Term
When was the last time that Congress exercised its Constitutional power to declare war?
A) Against the Axis powers in World War II B) Against North Korea in 1950 C) Against North Vietnam in 1966 D) Against Iraq in 2003
Definition
A) Against the Axis powers in World War II
Term
Which of the following is an example of checks and balances?
A) Police must read suspects their rights before arresting them. B) Under the Senate’s filibuster rules, a minority of members can block action on a bill. C) A citizen must be at least 35 years of age to hold the office of president. D) The president can veto a piece of legislation that is passed by Congress.
Definition
D) The president can veto a piece of legislation that is passed by Congress.
Term
If two citizens from another country come onto American soil and have a child, is that child an American citizen?
A) B) C) D) No.
Definition
A)
Term
The Twenty-sixth Amendment, ratified in 1971, extended voting rights to all
A) African-American male citizens. B) female citizens. C) naturalized immigrants. D) citizens 18 years of age or older.
Definition
D) citizens 18 years of age or older.
Term
The major weakness of the Articles of Confederation was its
A) lack of a national court in which British loyalists could sue Americans. B) powerful executive branch. C) lack of a strong national government. D) powerful revenue collecting agency.
Definition
C) lack of a strong national government.
Term
A type of government in which the national government derives its power from the states is called
A) a confederation. B) a federal system. C) a unitary system. D) a democracy.
Definition
A) a confederation.
Term
The most serious disagreement in the debate between large and small states at the Constitutional Convention was the issue of
A) representation in Congress. B) judicial power. C) westward expansion. D) taxation.
Definition
A) representation in Congress.
Term
Why did the Framers create the Electoral College?
A) To prevent partisan bickering about who would be president B) Because they didn’t trust the masses to elect the president directly C) So that ordinary Americans could influence the selection of the president D) To placate the British Parliament
Definition
B) Because they didn’t trust the masses to elect the president directly
Term
A large portion of early colonists came to the New World
A) to escape religious persecution.
B) to sell land.
C) to find a more generous government.
D) to avoid disease.
Definition
A) to escape religious persecution.
Term
The British used the principle of mercantilism to justify
A) its legal authority over the colonies. B) its assistance in the French and Indian Wars. C) strict import and export controls on the colonies. D) allowing colonists to levy their own taxes.
Definition
C) strict import and export controls on the colonies.
Term
In 1781, the thirteen colonies adopted the ________ as the basis of their government.
A) Constitution B) Virginia Plan C) Articles of Confederation D) Declaration of Independence
Definition
C) Articles of Confederation
Term
________ highlighted the weaknesses of the new national government under the Articles of Confederation.
A) The selection of a Southerner as president B) Shays’s Rebellion C) The Whiskey Rebellion D) The universal adoption of the Treaty of Paris and its provisions
Definition
B) Shays’s Rebellion
Term
In the debate over enforcement of medical marijuana laws in California, you’ll hear political analysts refer to the “supremacy clause” in the Constitution. What does this clause mean?
A) State laws supersede federal laws B) State and federal laws are equally supreme C) The Supreme Court has the final say on all laws D) Federal laws supersede state laws
Definition
D) Federal laws supersede state laws
Term
If you were living under a unitary (or undivided) system of government,
A) all power would be concentrated at the state level. B) power would be dispersed between the national and state levels. C) all power would be concentrated at the national level. D) power would be divided between the two houses of the legislature.
Definition
C) all power would be concentrated at the national level.
Term
The Founders adopted a federal (or shared) system of government because they feared
A) the concentration of power in a single government. B) a second invasion by British army and naval forces. C) the corruption of political party leadership. D) direct democratic rule by the people.
Definition
A) the concentration of power in a single government.
Term
Under the Constitution, which of the following powers is reserved for the federal government?
A) Collecting taxes B) Making treaties with foreign nations C) Regulating intrastate commerce D) Chartering local governments
Definition
B) Making treaties with foreign nations
Term
Prior to passage of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913,which required the direct election of US senators by citizens, if you wanted to serve in the United States Senate you had to be appointed by
A) the electoral college. B) the Supreme Court. C) the President of the United States. D) your state legislature.
Definition
D) your state legislature.
Term
A state which sought to restrict access to abortion services and also wished to make a claim to authority under the Constitution would most likely cite its
A) rights under cooperative federalism. B) rights under the necessary and proper clause. C) reserved powers. D) rights under the commerce clause.
Definition
C) reserved powers.
Term
During the early years of the New Deal, the Supreme Court
A) ruled many programs unconstitutional. B) continued to enforce the supremacy clause, thus ruling New Deal programs constitutional. C) cooperated with the administration to combat the Depression. D) worked in favor of programs designed to combat the crisis.
Definition
A) ruled many programs unconstitutional.
Term
What question of state authority did the court address in McCulloch v. Maryland?
A) The state’s ability to operate its own state bank independently of the national bank B) The state’s ability to operate the national bank concurrently with the federal government C) The state’s ability to place a tax on the national bank D) The state’s ability to appoint managers to the national bank
Definition
C) The state’s ability to place a tax on the national bank
Term
Which of the following is an example of a concurrent power found in the Constitution?
A) Establish rules of naturalization B) Take measures for public health, safety, and morals C) Establish courts D) Ratify amendments to the U.S. Constitution
Definition
C) Establish courts
Term
Which of the following is an example of an enumerated power found in the Constitution?
A) Borrow money B) Make and enforce laws C) Charter banks and corporations D) Establish a post office
Definition
D) Establish a post office
Term
Which of the following best summarizes how Congress has used the commerce clause to justify various legislations?
A) Sparingly B) Carefully C) Broadly D) Haphazardly
Definition
C) Broadly
Term
Civil liberties provide all citizens with fundamental liberties such as speech and religion. Where would you find these in the U.S. Constitution?
A) The Bill of Rights B) The Declaration of Independence C) Article I D) Article II
Definition
A) The Bill of Rights
Term
Civil liberties protect which of the following?
A) The individual from the state B) The state from the individual C) The state from the forces of global institutions D) The weak from the strong
Definition
A) The individual from the state
Term
Freedom of speech is guaranteed by the First Amendment, but that guarantee is not absolute. Which of the following kinds of speech is NOT protected by the Constitution?
A) Hate speech B) Intentional lying C) Irreverent speech D) Anti-patriotic speech
Definition
A) Hate speech
Term
The government may take your property away from you, such as the house you have lived in all your life, only under what circumstance?
A) For public purpose, upon making just compensation B) When the property affects someone besides the owner C) When the owner of the property commits a crime D) When the property becomes valueless
Definition
A) For public purpose, upon making just compensation
Term
The doctrine which holds that the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment requires state and local governments to guarantee the rights of their citizens is known as
A) emancipation. B) incorporation. C) dual federalism. D) substantive due process.
Definition
B) incorporation.
Term
When the government prohibits speech or publication before the fact, this is called
A) a priori limitation. B) prior restraint. C) selective incorporation. D) prohibition.
Definition
B) prior restraint.
Term
The Second Amendment was added to the Constitution to
A) make sure that every citizen was armed. B) prohibit Congress from disarming state militias. C) guarantee the right to hunt. D) ensure that states could not maintain their own armies.
Definition
B) prohibit Congress from disarming state militias.
Term
Which of the following can the police search without a warrant?
A) Houses of suspected drug dealers B) Farmer’s fields containing "No Trespassing" signs C) The human body to retrieve evidence of a crime D) Cars where the owner has denied permission to search
Definition
B) Farmer’s fields containing "No Trespassing" signs
Term
The ruling in the Pentagon Papers case demonstrated
A) the Court’s reluctance to go against the government during a time of war. B) the Court’s willingness to uphold treason convictions. C) the Court’s intolerance of prior restraint. D) the Court’s willingness to abridge freedom of the press.
Definition
C) the Court’s intolerance of prior restraint.
Term
Which of the following is an example of something that is NOT protected by the First Amendment?
A) Displaying a red communist flag B) Wearing a black armband to protest a war C) Burning the U.S. flag D) Burning a cross
Definition
D) Burning a cross
Term
The Supreme Court has ruled that a search warrant is not necessary
A) if consent is obtained prior to the search. B) during a time or war or national emergency. C) when an officer is acting in "good faith." D) when investigating treason and capital crimes.
Definition
A) if consent is obtained prior to the search.
Term
Roe v. Wade legalized most abortions under which of the following circumstances?
A) Those that take place during the first trimester of pregnancy B) Those that take place during the first and second trimesters of pregnancy C) Only those when the mother’s life is at risk D) Only those where the father of the unborn child approves
Definition
B) Those that take place during the first and second trimesters of pregnancy
