Texas Government Questions with CORRECT Answers (Verified Update)
Q1: Which of the following was passed by the U.S. Congress as part of the Compromise of 1850?
A. The present boundaries of Texas were established in exchange for a payment from the
federal government.
B. Texas was required to sell all public lands within five years.
C. Texas was returned to Mexican jurisdiction.
D. Texas is allowed to divide itself into as many as seven separate states.
Answer: A. The present boundaries of Texas were established in exchange for a payment from the
federal government.
Q2: Elections for amendments to the Texas Constitution tend to have very low levels of voter
turnout.
A. True
B. False
Answer: A. True
Q3: The Texas Constitution lists reasons why judges in Texas can be impeached, including for
"habitual drunkenness."
A. True
B. False
Answer: A. True
Q4: Checks and balances are not part of the state government created by the Texas Constitution
of 1845.
A. True
B. False
Answer: B. False
Q5: The most recent attempt to fully rewrite the Texas Constitution was in 1974.
A. True
B. False
Answer: A. True
,Q6: Which of the following statements about the powers of the national government is most
accurate?
A. Powers of the national government are delegated by the state governments.
B. The national government can only undertake activities that are explicitly described in the
Constitution.
C. Powers of the national government are equal to the powers of the state governments.
D. The amount of power the national government has exercised has grown over the last 200
years as a result of the "necessary and proper clause."
Answer: D. The amount of power the national government has exercised has grown over the last 200
years as a result of the "necessary and proper clause."
Q7: Under the Texas Constitution, who has the power of impeachment?
A. The legislative branch
B. The executive branch
C. The judicial branch
D. The Texas Constitution does not address impeachment-only the voters can remove
someone from office through a formal petition and recall election.
Answer: A. The legislative branch
Q8: Why did Texas need to create a new constitution in 1861?
A. The Constitution of the United States was amended requiring that all states adopt
unicameral legislatures, therefore the Texas Constitution had to be rewritten.
B. Constitutions must be revised every few years as a matter of good governance, and 1861
was the date for the next scheduled revision.
C. Texas was no longer part of the Confederacy in 1861, so the constitution needed to be
rewritten to reflect that status.
D. After Texas joined the Confederacy in February 1861, a new constitution was needed since
Texas was no longer part of the United States.
Answer: D. After Texas joined the Confederacy in February 1861, a new constitution was needed
since Texas was no longer part of the United States.
Q9: Who dominated the secession convention of 1861?
A. Landowners and cattlemen
B. Supporters of the Union
C. Lawyers and slaveowners
D. Supporters of Governor Sam Houston
Answer: C. Lawyers and slaveowners
, Q10: Which of the following is found in the Texas Constitution, but not in the U.S. Constitution?
A. Equal Rights Amendment
B. Bill of Rights
C. separation of powers
D. supremacy clause
Answer: A. Equal Rights Amendment
Q11: The large growth in Austin's population in the second half of the twentieth century was
driven by
A. residents leaving urban centers such as Houston and Dallas.
B. the effects of climate change in other parts of the state.
C. substantial increases in enrollment at The University of Texas at Austin and Austin
Community College.
D. tech corporations moving into the area and diversifying the economy of the region.
Answer: D. tech corporations moving into the area and diversifying the economy of the region.
Q12: The regulation of oil and energy in Texas is performed by
Answer: the Texas Railroad Commission.
Q13: Which two Texas metropolitan areas are national centers for the high-tech industry?
Answer: Dallas and Austin-San Marcos
Q14: Since the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, the Border region of Texas,
including El Paso, McAllen, and Brownsville, has remained a stronghold of which party?
Answer: Democratic Party
Q15: Texas is often characterized as a "low tax, low social service" state. This is a consequence of
Answer: the "traditionalistic individualistic" political culture in Texas.
Q16: As people have moved throughout Texas over time, the process of urbanization and
suburbanization has tended to concentrate ________________ in rural areas and
___________________ in urban and even some suburban areas.
Answer: Republicans; Democrats
Q17: While new technologies such as horizontal drilling and fracking have allowed greater access
to oil and natural gas in Texas, these technologies have also raised environmental concerns
mostly due to
Answer: their need for substantial amounts of water.
Q1: Which of the following was passed by the U.S. Congress as part of the Compromise of 1850?
A. The present boundaries of Texas were established in exchange for a payment from the
federal government.
B. Texas was required to sell all public lands within five years.
C. Texas was returned to Mexican jurisdiction.
D. Texas is allowed to divide itself into as many as seven separate states.
Answer: A. The present boundaries of Texas were established in exchange for a payment from the
federal government.
Q2: Elections for amendments to the Texas Constitution tend to have very low levels of voter
turnout.
A. True
B. False
Answer: A. True
Q3: The Texas Constitution lists reasons why judges in Texas can be impeached, including for
"habitual drunkenness."
A. True
B. False
Answer: A. True
Q4: Checks and balances are not part of the state government created by the Texas Constitution
of 1845.
A. True
B. False
Answer: B. False
Q5: The most recent attempt to fully rewrite the Texas Constitution was in 1974.
A. True
B. False
Answer: A. True
,Q6: Which of the following statements about the powers of the national government is most
accurate?
A. Powers of the national government are delegated by the state governments.
B. The national government can only undertake activities that are explicitly described in the
Constitution.
C. Powers of the national government are equal to the powers of the state governments.
D. The amount of power the national government has exercised has grown over the last 200
years as a result of the "necessary and proper clause."
Answer: D. The amount of power the national government has exercised has grown over the last 200
years as a result of the "necessary and proper clause."
Q7: Under the Texas Constitution, who has the power of impeachment?
A. The legislative branch
B. The executive branch
C. The judicial branch
D. The Texas Constitution does not address impeachment-only the voters can remove
someone from office through a formal petition and recall election.
Answer: A. The legislative branch
Q8: Why did Texas need to create a new constitution in 1861?
A. The Constitution of the United States was amended requiring that all states adopt
unicameral legislatures, therefore the Texas Constitution had to be rewritten.
B. Constitutions must be revised every few years as a matter of good governance, and 1861
was the date for the next scheduled revision.
C. Texas was no longer part of the Confederacy in 1861, so the constitution needed to be
rewritten to reflect that status.
D. After Texas joined the Confederacy in February 1861, a new constitution was needed since
Texas was no longer part of the United States.
Answer: D. After Texas joined the Confederacy in February 1861, a new constitution was needed
since Texas was no longer part of the United States.
Q9: Who dominated the secession convention of 1861?
A. Landowners and cattlemen
B. Supporters of the Union
C. Lawyers and slaveowners
D. Supporters of Governor Sam Houston
Answer: C. Lawyers and slaveowners
, Q10: Which of the following is found in the Texas Constitution, but not in the U.S. Constitution?
A. Equal Rights Amendment
B. Bill of Rights
C. separation of powers
D. supremacy clause
Answer: A. Equal Rights Amendment
Q11: The large growth in Austin's population in the second half of the twentieth century was
driven by
A. residents leaving urban centers such as Houston and Dallas.
B. the effects of climate change in other parts of the state.
C. substantial increases in enrollment at The University of Texas at Austin and Austin
Community College.
D. tech corporations moving into the area and diversifying the economy of the region.
Answer: D. tech corporations moving into the area and diversifying the economy of the region.
Q12: The regulation of oil and energy in Texas is performed by
Answer: the Texas Railroad Commission.
Q13: Which two Texas metropolitan areas are national centers for the high-tech industry?
Answer: Dallas and Austin-San Marcos
Q14: Since the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, the Border region of Texas,
including El Paso, McAllen, and Brownsville, has remained a stronghold of which party?
Answer: Democratic Party
Q15: Texas is often characterized as a "low tax, low social service" state. This is a consequence of
Answer: the "traditionalistic individualistic" political culture in Texas.
Q16: As people have moved throughout Texas over time, the process of urbanization and
suburbanization has tended to concentrate ________________ in rural areas and
___________________ in urban and even some suburban areas.
Answer: Republicans; Democrats
Q17: While new technologies such as horizontal drilling and fracking have allowed greater access
to oil and natural gas in Texas, these technologies have also raised environmental concerns
mostly due to
Answer: their need for substantial amounts of water.
