Straighterline American Government Final Exam Questions and Answers (Graded A)

Based on his conception of responsible citizenship, John Stuart Mill felt that the best form of government was - ANSWER-Democracy Which important aspect of European thought had a big impact on the formation of the political culture of America? - ANSWER-Enlightenment Which of the following is NOT one of the core values of American political culture? - ANSWER-Cooperation French philosopher Michel Foucault referred to politics as - ANSWER-War by other means What new policy was established by the US Surpreme Court's landmark Gideon v. Wainwright ruling? - ANSWER-Government provision of free legal counsel to the accused if they are too poor to hire a lawyer Research suggests which of the following is primary to blame for misinformation about politica affairs spreading easily? - ANSWER-Lack of exposure to other sources of information The process by which a society settles its conflicts and allocates the resulting benefits and costs is called? - ANSWER-Politics Compared to two decades ago, contemporary Americans are, on average - ANSWER-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 students later participation in the nations civic and political life is - ANSWER-A solid understanding of public affairs To the framers, the great danger of democratic government was the risk of - ANSWER-Tyranny of the majority The European philosopher whose concept of natural rights had a great impact on American politics is - ANSWER-Locke The direct election of US senators came about due to - ANSWER-Political pressure from the Progressives The term for office for a US senator is _____ years, while that of a member of the US House is _____ years. - ANSWER-Six: two Where is the Bill of Rights found in the Constitution? - ANSWER-The first ten amendments Marbury v. Madison is a landmark Surpreme Court decision because it - ANSWER-Set the precedent for judicial review The following two changes were created during the Progressive era - ANSWER-Direct primaries and the direct election of US senators The type of government created in the US in 1787 can be called - ANSWER-A constitutional democratic republic The Constitution allows states to - ANSWER-govern intrastate commerce. According to ________, a large republic is less likely to have an all-powerful faction. - ANSWER-James Madison According to the Anti-Federalists, too strong of a national government meant - ANSWER-Eventual encroachment upon the sovereignty of the states The American political system is a _____ in which constitutional authority is divided between a national government and state governments - ANSWER-Federal system During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the national government - ANSWER-Asserted the power to regulate the nations economy Which decision is indicative of how the Surpreme Court interpreted the Fourteenth Amendment and state discretion in civil rights matters in the decades after the Civil War? - ANSWER-Plessy v. Ferguson The "separate but equal" standard was created by - ANSWER-The Surpreme Court Through its Dred Scott decision, the Supreme Court - ANSWER-ruled that Congress could not outlaw slavery anywhere in the United States. The individual right that is widely regarded as the most basic of individual rights is: - ANSWER-freedom of expression The Supreme Court ruled in the landmark case Gitlow v. New York - ANSWER-States do not have complete power over what their residents can legally say In 1987 the Supreme Court ruled that creationism - ANSWER-is a religious doctrine, not a scientific theory. The inclusion of certain provisions of the Bill of Rights in the Fourteenth Amendment, so that these rights are protected from infringements by the state governments, is called - ANSWER-Selective incorporation In the Constitution, procedural due process is protected by the - ANSWER-Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Eighth Amendment Today, women currently hold about ________ of the seats in the House of Representatives - ANSWER-19 percent All of the following statements about Asian American rights are true EXCEPT that - ANSWER-Asian Americans have the second highest median family income of any group The Supreme Court concept of suspect classifications suggests that - ANSWER-laws that classify people differently on the basis of their race or ethnicity are presumed to have discrimination as their purpose Any law that includes a gender classification is subject to the - ANSWER-Intermediate scrutiny test Which of the following groups is LEAST likely to identify with the Democratic Party? - ANSWER-White Southerners Public support for same-sex marriage has - ANSWER-increased significantly since the 1990s Party identification refers to - ANSWER-an emotional attachment to a political party What term do scholars use for a purported opinion offered by a respondent who is unfamiliar with the specific issue? - ANSWER-non-opinion According to a recent Pew Research Center poll, young adults are substantially more likely than senior citizens to support - ANSWER-stronger environmental regulations Libertarians are opposed to governmental intervention - ANSWER-in both the economic and social spheres Voter turnout is highest in which country? - ANSWER-Belgium which of the following groups of people is MOST adversely affected by our country's voter registration system? - ANSWER-those with less income The Tea Party - ANSWER-has been backed by wealthy conservative donors Literacy tests were used to - ANSWER-disenfranchise African Americans in the South Congressional campaigns are controlled by - ANSWER-the candidate If a minor party gains a large following, it is almost certain that - ANSWER-one or both major parties will absorb its issues and the minor party will lose support Negative campaigning in presidential elections were first used in - ANSWER-the early years of the country The largest share of campaign spending in a Presidential election goes to - ANSWER-media Yellow journalism contributed most notably to public support for the - ANSWER-Spanish-American War One of the reasons the reporting of national news is relatively uniform among news sourcs is that - ANSWER-the network newscasts are brief and the day's top stories tend to dominate ____ wrote that "Liberty is a faction what air is to fire." - ANSWER-James Madison The theory that society's interests are most effectively represented through group action is - ANSWER-pluralist theory Which of the following statements would NOT be accepted by supporters of the pluralist view of interest groups? - ANSWER-The opinion of the majority should always prevail, in a policy dispute, over the opinion of a more intense and directly affected minority. Theodore Lowi's theory of interest-group liberalism - ANSWER-deals with the tendency of officials to support the policy demands of the interest group or groups that have a special stake in a policy. Grassroots lobbying is based on the assumption that officials will respond to - ANSWER-pressure from constituents An informal grouping of officials, lobbyists, and policy specialists who come together temporarily around a policy problem is - ANSWER-an issue network The term iron triangle refers to - ANSWER-A small and informal but relatively stable set of bureaucrats, legislators, and lobbyists who are concerned with promoting a particular interest. Why have issue networks become more prevalent? - ANSWER-the increasing complexity of policy problems The second largest number of PACs are those associated with - ANSWER-single-issue groups, such as environmental groups and right-to-life groups. Which of the following organizations is NOT an example of a single-issue group? - ANSWER-American Conservative Union The Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010) ultimately led to the creation of - ANSWER-super PACs PACs tend to contribute the most money to - ANSWER-incumbents The most numerous economic groups are - ANSWER-business groups The framers of the Constitution saw the ____ as the preeminent component of the federal government - ANSWER-Congress What percentage of state legislators are women? - ANSWER-more than 20 percent The modern Congress is different from the nineteenth-century Congress in that most members - ANSWER-are now professional politicians who want to stay in Congress Approximately ___ percent of House incumbents win reelection - ANSWER-92 Senators are generally less likely to take directions from their leaders than House members because - ANSWER-senators think of themselves as being equals and are only willing to be led by persuasion By and large, partisanship is - ANSWER-a huge source of both cohesion and division within Congress The most powerful person from the minority party in the House is the - ANSWER-minority leader Bills are formally introduced in Congress by - ANSWER-members of Congress only If the Rules Committee applies the "closed rule" to a bill, - ANSWER-no amendments will be permitted The trading of votes between members of Congress so that each gets the legislation he or she wants is called - ANSWER-logrolling There are currently ____ voting members of the US House of Representatives and ____ voting members of the US Senate. - ANSWER-435; 100 A bill has been approved in the House and Senate, albeit in slightly different versions. The bill now goes to - ANSWER-a conference committee