Straighterline American Government Test Questions with Correct Answers, A+

A - Which one of the following is NOT true of cultural or political beliefs in America. A. America's origins as a wilderness society led to the belief that government is responsible for providing material assistance to its citizens. B. Americans place a greater emphasis than Europeans on personal advancement through education. C. Never has an American majority expressed a willingness to entrust health insurance fully to the government. D. America has a strong individualistic culture/ E. America's individualistic culture has not proven to be an absolute barrier to government assistance. A - The United States has certain rules in place to keep politics withing peaceful bounds. These rules include all of the following except. A. Autocracy. B.Democracy. C. Constitutionalism. D. Free markets. E. None of these answers is correct. B - In a constitutional system, A.there are no restrictions on the lawful uses of power, as long as this power is obtained by majority rule. B. there are lawful restrictions on a government's power. C. the economy is based on the free enterprise system. D. officials govern according to the traditions established by their predecessors. E. all citizens have absolute free speech rights. A. - A government's authority A. is evidenced when a 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. A. - The process by which a society settles its conflicts and allocates the resulting benefits and cots is called. A. Politics. B. Government. C. Elitism. D. Socialism. E. Communism. C. - __________ is the ability of persons, groups, or institutions to influence political developments. A. Apathy. B. Politics. C. Power. D. Liberty. E. Political culture. B - The Greek words demos and kratis together mean A. majority rule is sacred. B. the people rule. C. government is good. D. politics is immoral E. the king is good. E. - John Stuart Mill believed that any form of government should be judged on its ability to. A. offer the individual a "plethora of policy options" in the democratic process. B. transfer power peacefully from one set of governing officials to the next. C. provide social services for its citizenry. D. maintain peace and order in the territory over which it has control. E. promote the individual as " a progressive being." A. - What is major barrier to political thinking? A. unwillingness of citizens to make the effort. B. lack of access to governmental institutions. C. elite control of political power resources. D. failure of politicians and government institutions to communicate policy details to the public. E. lack of access to news media sources outside sensationalist television or internet content. C - What type of government suppresses individuality, forcing people to think and act in prescribed ways or risk punishment? a. communistic b. socialistic c. authoritarian d. egalitarian e. republican C - In an oligarchy, a. the state is run by corporate interests and companies instead of individuals. b. control rests with a small group of popularly elected individuals. c. control rests with a single individual, such as a dictator. d. control rests with a small group, such as military officers or a few wealthy families. e. the state controls all aspects of individuals' lives, including family relations and the practice of religion. C - Pluralism contends that, on most issues, a. corporate elites have more control over economic policy than do "the politicians in the visible government." b. the will of the majority of the voting public determines government policy. c. it is the preference of the special interest that largely determines what government does. d. true authority lies with the elected politicians, and not with the public that put them in office. e. the diverse nature of the citizenry enhances the democratic process in policymaking. D - What new policy was established by the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark Gideon v. Wainwright ruling? a. the right to trial by jury b. the need to charge an arrested suspect with a specific crime within 24 hours of arrest c. the requirement that police read a suspect his rights before or during arrest d. government provision of free legal counsel to the accused if they are too poor to hire a lawyer e. the practice of allowing a suspect out on bail until the time of the trial C - Roughly two-thirds of all lobbyists in the nation's capital represent a. activist organizations. b. labor unions. c. business firms. d. foreign-based political action groups. e. nonprofit organizations A - What is a major limit on majoritarianism suggested by the text? a. The public as a whole takes an interest in only a few of the hundreds of policy decisions that U.S. officials make each year. b. The public lacks access to the information required to take informed political action on most issues dealt with by the government each year. c. The actions of special interest groups are ultimately more influential than the voting power of the public. d. The rapid turnover of government officials and members of the legislature prevents the majority public from making a sustained effort for any single issue. e. The most power tends to reside with a wealthy minority of the voting public, preventing the majority public from setting the issue agenda. A - Research suggests which of the following is primarily to blame for the increase in faulty perceptions of news items among the public? a. changes in the forms of communication b. a failure of government officials to communicate truthfully c. a growing disinterest in seeking out news items d. the growing public gap in access to more advanced forms of media transmission, such as the Internet e. the increasing political polarization of elected politicians C - As described in the text, "political thinking" a. is the reflection of an individual's ideological position when applied to political issues. b. results from an individual allowing personal bias to inform all thoughts about political issues, instead of doing objective learning or research to form an opinion. c. involves the careful gathering and sifting of information in the process of forming a knowledgeable view about a political issue. d. is the result of an individual's attempts to seek out news media that reinforce a pre-existing political bias. e. is a strategy taken by those seeking election to public office in which their publicly stated positions are designed to maximize their attractiveness to the widest voting bloc. D - Which of the following characterizes journalist Walter Lippmann's views on democracy? a. He felt that well-funded private interest groups and lobbyists had taken the true majoritarian power of democracy away from the voting public. b. He felt that modern democratic government had become an unhealthy, pluralistic enterprise. c. He believed that among forms of government, only democracy could provide a citizen with the ability to be a "progressive being." d. He worried that most citizens are too uninformed to play the role democracy assigns them. e. None of these answers is correct. B - Which of the following is a difference between communism and socialism, as described by the text? a. Under socialism, the government owns some firms, but under communism, the government does not own any major assets. b. Under communism, the government assumes total management of the economy, whereas under socialism, the government does not try to manage the overall economy. c. Under socialism, the economy operates mainly through private transactions, but under communism, the government owns a number of major industries and tries to provide for people's basic economic needs. d. Under communism, the government manages the economy completely but does not attempt to provide for people's basic needs; under socialism, the government does not manage the economy completely, but does attempt to provide for people's basic needs. e. Under socialism, the government owns more industries than a communist government, but provides less direct benefit for individuals' welfare.