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592 Cards in this Set

  • Front
  • Back

Which of the following is an example of check and balances, as established by the Constitution?

(D) The election of the President by the electoral college rather than by direct election

The graph below support which of the following statements?

(A) People with higher incomes are more likely to think of themselves as conservative than are those with lower incomes

A primary election in which voters are required to identify a part preference before the election and are not allowed to split their ticket is called

(C) a closed primary

When selecting a vice-presidential candidate, a presidential nominee is usually concerned primarily with choosing a running mate who

(B) adds balance and appeal to the national ticket

The primary function of political action committees (PAC's) is to

(E) raise campaign funds to support favored candidates

Which of the following conclusions about income distribution during the Reagan administration is supported the table below?

(C) The share of income received by the highest fifth increased, whereas the share received by the lowest fifth decreased

Registered voters directly elect which of the following?


I. The President and Vice President


II. Supreme Court Justices


III. Members of the Senate


IV. Members of the House of Representatives

(D) III and IV only

The role of a conference committee in Congress is to

(E) reconcile differences in bills passed by the House and Senate

Supreme Court justices were given tenure subject to good behavior by the framers of the Constitution in order to ensure that

(A) justices are free from direct political pressures

The committee system is more important in the house than in the Senate because

(D) the House is so large that more work can be accomplished in committees than on the floor

The most important source of the Supreme Court's caseload is

(B) its appellate jurisdiction

The President attempting to influence Congress to pass a legislative program might employ all the following strategies EXCEPT

(C) denying campaign reelection funds to legislators who oppose the President's policy stand

Presidents have had the most success in changeling the direction of decisions of the federal judiciary by

(D) using the appointment process to select judges with judicial philosophies similar to those of the President

Which of the following did the most to expand civil rights in the 1950's?

(E) The Supreme Court decision declaring state-mandated school segregation to be unconstitutional

The importance of Shay's Rebellion to the development of the US Constitution was that it

(C) indicated that a strong, constitutionally designed national government was needed to protect property and maintain order

Which of the following is true about the right of free speech, as currently interpreted by the Supreme Court

(A) It protects the right to express opinions even without the actual use of words

In a federal system of government, political power is primarily

(D) divided between the central government and regional governments

Which of the following generalization about grip voting tendencies is true?

(E) African American Democrats ten to support the more liberal candidates withing wither party

A corpoarte lobbyist would be LEAST likely to have an informational discussions about a pending policy matter with which if the following?

(D) A federal judge in whose court a case important to the corporation is being heard.

Which of the following is a significant trend in the presidential nominating process over the past three decades?

(B) increasing importance of presidential primaries rather than state conventions

Congressional standing committees are best described as

(D) permanent subject-matter committees

All of the following powers are granted to the President by the Constitution EXCEPT

(E) forming new cabinet-level departments

In which of the following Congress move to regain powers previously lost to the executive branch?

(A) Budget and Impoundment Control Act

The data displayed in the table below best support which of the following statements?

(C) House seats are safer from election turnover than are Senate seats

Which of the following actions can Congress take if the Supreme Court finds a federal law unconstitutional?

(D) try to amend the Constitution

Which of the following statements about Congress is true?

(B) The legislative process is frequently lengthy, decentralized, and characterized by compromise and bargaining.

Which of the following is articulated in the War powers Resolution?

(C) The President must bring troops home from hostilities within 60 to 90 days unless Congress extends the time.

Discrimination in public accommodations was made illegal in the Unites States as a direct result of the

(C) Civil Rights of 1964

Most of the individual protections of the Bill of Rights now apply to the states because of the Supreme Court's interpretation of the Constitution's

(E) Fourteenth Amendment

In the McCulloch vs Maryland, the Supreme Court established which of the following principles?

(A) States cannot interfere with or tax the legitimate activites of the federal government.

Political socialization is the process by which

(D) political values are passed to the next generation

Which of the following is the most important influence on the choice made by voters in presidential elections?

(A) Partisan identification

The advantages of incumbency in congressional elections include which of the following.


I. Incumbents receive more campaign contributions than do challengers.


II. Incumbents are able to provide important services for individual voters.


III. The government provides campaign funds for incumbents.


IV. The President usually endorses incumbents for reelections.


V. Most American voters believe Congress does a good job.

(A) I and II only.

Which of the following statements about rules of procedure in the House and Senate is correct?

(E) The House operates more formal rules, while the Senate operates more on informal understandings.

Which of the following procedures results in the removal of the President from office?

(B) The house cotes for impeachment, an the State conducts a trail and reaches a guilty verdict.

Interest groups and political parties both promote United States democracy by

(C) linking citizens to the political process

Which of the following statements accurately describes the selection of the caseload for the Unites States Supreme Court?

(D) the Supreme Court is free to choose the cases it hears with only a few limitations.

The boundaries of the United States congressional districts are usually determined by

(B) the state legislatures

Public monies are used to help finance which of the following campaigns?


I. Presidential


II. Congressional


III. Gubernatorial

(A) I only

Diversity of public policy throughout the United States is primarily a consequence of

(A) federalism

All of the following have contributed to an increase in presidential power in the post- 1945 era EXCEPT

(E) legislation granting the President the power to impound funds appropriated by Congress

One of the formal tools used by Congress for oversight of the bureaucracy is

(B) authorization of spending

Decisions reached by the Supreme Court under the leadership of Chief Justice Earl Warren (1953-1969) did all of the following EXCEPT

(C) invalidate state abortion statues

The "Miranda warning" represents an attempt to protect criminal suspects against

(A) unfair police interrogation

The reserved powers of the state governments can best be described as those powers

(A) not specifically granted to the national government or denied to the states

Critical election in the United States typically have occurred

(E) when groups of voters have changed their traditional patterns of party loyalties

When 18 to 21 year old received the right to vote in 1971, in the 1972 national elections they did which of the following?

(D) turned out at a lower rate than the rest of the electorate

The largest amount of political coverage in newspapers during presidential campaigns is devoted to

(A) day-to-day campaign activities

A state has 11 electoral votes. In a presidential election, the Democratic candidate receives 48 percent of the state's popular vote, the Republican candidate receives 40 percent of the vote, and an independent candidate receives 12 percent of the vote.

(C) the Democratic candidate will receive all 11 electoral votes

Which of the following is the most accurate statement about political parties in the United States?

(B) The percentage of voters identifying themselves as either Democrats or Republicans has been declining since the 1970's.

The congressional power that has been contested most frequently in the federal courts is the power to

(E) regulate interstate commerce

Which of the following is an accurate statement about committees in Congress?

(D) Standing committees oversee the bureaucracy's implementation of legislation

The request of recent Presidents of the line-item veto is a challenge to which of the following principles?

(A) Separation of powers

Which of the following form an "iron triangle"?

(E) Executive department, Congressional committee, interest group

An election involving more than two candidates in which the person who receives the most votes is the winner is called

(C) a plurality election

Cabinet members often do not have a dominant influence in presidential decision-making because

(D) presidential goals often conflict with the institutional goals of individual cabinet-level agencies

A fundamental source of power for the federal bureaucracy lies in its

(E) ability to set specific guidelines after receiving a general mandate from Congress

The establishment clause in the First Amendment does which of the following?

(C) Prohibits the setting up of a state church

Griswold v Connecticut and Roe v Wade are similar Supreme Court cases in that both cases are based on the

(B) right of privacy

The framers of the Constitution all believed that one of the primary functions of government is

(B) protecting individual property rights

In The Federalist papers, James Madison expressed the view that political factions

(D) are undesirable but inevitable in a free nation

Agreement amount four justices on the Supreme Court is always sufficient to

(E) accept a case for consideration

Which f the following is true of nominees for federal judgeship?

(E) They are appointed for life by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate

In selecting members of the White House staff, Presidents primarily seek people who

(B) are personally loyal to the President

The author of the cartoon above would most likely agree with which of the following?

(B) The exclusionary rule can protect the right; of those accused of violating the law.

All of the following statements pertaining to the presidential veto are true EXCEPT

(D) A President may veto part of bill

Which of the following is a correct statement about political action committees (PAC's)?

(C) The amount of money that PAC's can contribute directly to an individual candidate is limited by law.

A "cloture motion" passed in the Senate does which of the following?

(B) cuts off debate on a bill

The use of direct primaries instead of the conventions systems in selecting presidential candidates results in which of the following?


I. A weakening of party control over nominations


II. A reduction in the costs of election campaigns


III. An increase in the number of people involved in the choice of candidates


IV. An increase in voter turnout in midterm elections

(A) I and III only

Which of the following factors best accounts for the rise of interest groups and the decline of political parties in recent years?

(E) interest groups are better able to articulate specific policy positions than are political parties.

Which of the following best characterizes the influence of the news media on public opinion in the Unites States?

(B) they affect which issues the public thinks are important

Of the following, which group voted most heavily Democratic in presidential election between 164 and 1992

(D) Black Americans

To enforce the Fourteenth Amendment more clearly, Congress passed the

(A) Civil Rights Act of 1964

In the Unites States, most criminal cases end in

(A) a plea bargain negotiated by the defense and prosecution

Interpretations of this clause have been central to attempts to define the nature of which of the following aspects of the United States political system?

(D) Federalism

The practical effect of this clause has been to

(B) allow the national government to extend its powers beyond those enumerated in the Constitution

Those who believe that the Supreme Court in its ruling should defer to the elective institutions of the government are advocating

(C) "judicial restraint"

In general, Congress is most likely to defer to the President

(A) in the area of foreign policy

In trying to influence legislation, The President is generally ore successful than congressional leaders in

(E) using the media to set the policy agenda

Supporters of granting the President a line-item veto would most likely argue that this power would increase a President's ability to

(C) control federal spending

Which of the following is true of an executive agreement made between a United States President and another head of state?

(A) It does not require Senate approval, but may require congressional allocation of funds for implementation

Over the past 20 years, reforms of the presidential nomination process have had which of the following effects?

(D) The number of female delegates and minority-group delegates at Democratic national conventions has grown substantially

All of the following are reasons incumbents in the House of Representatives enjoy an electoral advantage over challenges EXCEPT that incumbents

(A) get substantial financial support from their party's national committee

The Office of Management and Budget has the primary responsibility for doing which of the following?

(B) Preparing the budget

The boundary lines of congressional districts are drawn by

(E) state legislatures

The most common form of political activity undertaken by United States citizens is

(E) voting in presidential elections

Which of the following statements best describes how United States citizens regard the right of free speech and assembly?

(A) A majority agrees in principle with these rights, but in practice many people are often intolerant of views they do ont support.

The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution has been interpreted by the Supreme Court to

(C) make most rights contained i the Bill of Rights applicable to the states

The legislative process at the national level reflects the intent of the framers of the Constitution to create a legislature that would

(B) be cautious and deliberate

All of the following are consequences of the federal system in the United States EXCEPT

(E) a strict division of power among levels of government

Which of the following is true about divided part control of the presidency and Congress?

(D) it reflects a frequent election pattern over the past three decades

The Freedom of Information Act was designed primarily to give

(D) citizens access to information from the executive branch

Which of the following is true of the electoral college system?

(B) It encourages candidates to concentrate their campaigns in competitive, populous states.

The congressional system of standing committees is significant because it

(A) fosters the development of expertise by members

Election for the House of Representatives provide

(A) approximately equal representation for every voter

In contrast to revenue sharing, categorical grants-in-aid provide state and local governments with

(E) funds to administer programs clearly specified by the federal government

Which of the following is empowered to create new federal courts and specify the number of judges who will sit on them?

(B) Congress

The Wars Powers Resolution (1973) was designed to

(D) assure congressional involvement in decisions committing military forces in hostile situations overseas

The primary reason for the current existence of only two major political parties in the United States is that

(C) a winner-take-all electoral system makes it difficult for new parties to emerge and survive

An interest group would likely have the greatest influence on policy matters involving

(A) narrow issues, only a few interest groups, and technical information

Which of the following has the most influence on the outcome of a congressional election?

(B) A candidate's incumbency status

Which of the following is an accurate statement about the voter turnout rate in the Unites States?

(C) It is lower than in most other Western democracies

Which of the following is an accurate statement that could be used to refute the argument that a realignment took place in 1980's?

(E) Republican dominance in presidential elections did not extend to congressional, state, and local elections.

Compared to voters in general election, voters in presidential primary elections are

(E) more likely to be affluent

Which of the following was an argument used by the Supreme Court in upholding federal statues outlawing segregation in public accommodations?

(A) Such segregation affected interstate commerce and Congress therefore had the authority to allow it.

The clear-and-present-dancer test devised by the Supreme Court was designed to defined the conditions under which the public authorities could

(D) limit free speech

As originally ratified the United States Constitution included provisions designed to

(C) increased the economic powers of the central government

Which of the following accurately characterizes the main difference between elite theories and pluralist theories of politics in the Unites States?

(B) Elite theories argue that a single minority dominates politics in all policy areas; pluralist theories argue that many minorities compete for power in different policy areas

A committee chair in the House of Representatives is always

(D) a member of the majority party in the chamber

Which of the following is true of independent regulatory agencies?

(E) They tend to be freer from presidential control than are cabinet departments.

Which of the following are difference between the legislative process in the House of Representatives and that in the States


I. Debate is more restricted on the House floor than on the Senate floor.


II. The amendment process is more restricted in the House than in the Senate.


III. Bills are more likely to bypass committee consideration in the House than in the Senate.


IV. A Rules Committee sets the guidelines for floor debates in the House but not in the Senate.

(D) I, II, and IV only

Communication between congressional representatives and constituents occurs mainly through

(C) the personal staffs of representatives

The Supreme Court's decisions about abortion in Roe v Wade was based on

(A) the right to privacy implied in the Bill of Rights

Which of the following trends was evident in presidential elections in the 1980's?

(B) The decline of Democratic party strength among White southerners

Which of the following statements about incumbent senators running for reelection is correct?

(C) Incumbent senators are less likely to be reelected than are incumbent members of the House of Representatives

An important change in political culture sine 1950 is that United States citizens have become

(C) less trusting of governmental institutions and leaders T

The most common criterion that people use when voting for a presidential candidate is the candidate's

(B) party identification

Protection of the legal rights of women has been facilitated by the passage of which of the following?


I. The Equal Rights Amendment


II. The Equal Pay Act of 1963


III. The Civil Rights Act of 1964


IV. The Education Amendments Act of 1972

(D) II, III, and IV only

Considering all elections at all level of government, which of the following best describes electoral behavior in the United States?

(B) The majority of the electorate does not vote in most elections.

In which of the following scenarios would a presidential veto most likely be upheld?

(E) Two-thirds of the representatives and senators are members of the same party as the President.

Which of the following statements about voting patterns is best supported by the above table?

(A) Women were more likely than men to vote Democratic.

The data in the above table provide clear evidence that

(B) the vote in the Midwest predicted the outcome rather consistently

The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution has been interpreted by the Supreme Court to

(B) reserve powers to the states

Which of the following statements can be supported from information in the table above?


I. Federal grants to state and local governments have increased substantially in total dollar amount since 1950.


II. In 1994 the federal government devoted a larger percentage of outlays to grants than in 19980.


III. Between 1980 and 1990, grants decreased as a percentage of federal outlays.


IV. IN 1994 states were more dependent on federal grants for revenue than in 1900, 1970, or 1960.

(E) I, III, and IV only

When a lower court decision is appealed to the Supreme Court, which of the following is most likely to occur?

(E) The Supreme Court will not hear the appeal

Which of the following is true of amicus curiae briefs?

(A) They are used by interest groups to lobby courts.

The terms "fiscal federalism" and "cooperative federalism" refer to situations in which

(E) federal, state, and local governments work together to complete a project, with the federal government providing much of the project funding

Which of the following is a result of the electoral college system?

(D) Candidates focus on the states with the largest populations.

Which of the following committees of the House Representatives sets the conditions for debate and amendment of most legislation?

(D) Rules

Of the following, which has been used most to expand the power of the national government?

(A) The commerce clause of the Constitution

Which of the following statements best describes the organization of the two major political parties in the Unites States?

(E) Separate and largely independent part organizations exist at national, state, and local levels.

Following the Civil, War, Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was designed to overturn the

(A) Dred Scott decision

Which of the following best illustrates the point being made in the cartoon above?

(C) Presidents can have an influence on public policy far beyond their terms of office.

The table best supports which of the following statements about party identification and voting behavior?

(E) People with strong Democratic party identification tend to vote for the Democratic party.

The tables best supports which of the following statements about the two elections for which data are provided?

(D) Pure Independents were less likely to vote for the Democratic presidential candidate in 1988 than for Democratic House candidates in 1990.

In recent presidential administration, the presidential staff for the President has been made up of members of the

(A) White House Office

The procedure for formally amending the United States Constitution best illustrates which of the following?

(E) The federal structure of the United States government

Which of the following best explains why delegates to both the Republican and Democratic Conventions in 1996 were much more likely to have college and postgraduate degrees than was the rest of the voting population?

(C) Political activism increases with education levels.

Congressional district boundaries are usually redrawn every ten years by the

(B) state legislatures

The franking privilege refers to the

(E) right of members of Congress to send mail to their constituents at the government's expends

Which of the following took place after presidential candidates Truman in 1948, Nixon in 1968, and Clinton in 1992 won only pluralities of the popular vote?

(C) The winning candidate took office after receiving less than 50% of the popular cotes cast.

Which of the following is generally true of the gerrymandering of congressional districts?

(D) It creates districts that favor one political party over another

The "wall of separation" doctrine refers to the

(D) division of church and state

Lobbyists true to influence legislators mainly through

(E) providing legislators with information on technical issues

The table above supports which of the following conclusions?


I. A plurality of the people has consistently supported Democrats


II. Support for the two major parties increased slightly between 1952 and 1994.


III. The largest percentage increase in political identification between 1952 and 1994 occurred among independents.

(C) III only

States and localities have the most discretion in establishing policy when federal funding is derived from

(C) block grants

Which if the following best explains the trend depicted in the chart above?

(D) The Voting Rights Act of 1965

Which of the following statements about trends in presidential approval ratings is supported bu information presented in the graph above?

(D) A President's popularity tends to fall during his term in office.

In Miranda v Arizona, The United States Supreme Court declared that

(D) police must inform criminal suspects of their constitutional rights before questioning suspects after arrest

Which of the following is NOT a presidential role authorized by the Constitution?

(B) to lead the political party of the President

Which of the following statements about voting behavior in the United States is correct?

(A) College graduates are more likely to vote than are those who have at most a high school diploma.

An electoral system based on singe-member districts is usually characterized by

(D) domination of the legislature by two political parties

Which of the following is true under the system of check and balances?

(B) The Senate must ratify treaties negotiated by the President before they become law

A major reason why the majority of Supreme Court justices have had political experience prior to appointment to the Court is that

(B) Presidents seek to place individuals on the Court whose policy views are similar to their own

The Supreme Court ruled the legislative veto unconstitutional on the grounds that such vetoes

(B) violated the principle of separation of powers

The President can do which of the following without seeking the consent of either the House of the Senate?

(D) Deploy troops

Which of the following is true about the line-item veto?

(B) It is used by many state governors.

In The Federalist No. 10, James Madison argued that factions in a republic are

(B) natural but controllable by institutions

Which of the following actions by the federal government bust illustrates the concept of unfunded mandates?

(B) requiring states and municipalities to provide certain services for their citizens without providing resources to pay for those services

The term "horse-race journalism" refers to the tendency of the media to

(B) cover campaigns by emphasizing the relative standings of the candidates in the polls rather than the issues they discuss

Which of the following is a provision of federal election laws?

(E) In areas with significant populations of linguistic minorities, voting materials must be made available in the preferred languages of the population

The largest portion of "uncontrollable spending" in the federal budget is designed for which of the following?

(B) Entitlement spending

The Supreme Court established the incorporation doctrine when the Court

(A) interpreted the Fourteenth Amendment as extending most of the requirements of the Bill of Rights to the states as well as the federal government

Of the following, the most important role in the political socialization of children is played by

(C) the family

The 1973 Roe v Wade decision that upheld a woman's right to secure an abortion was based on the right to

(A) privacy implied in the Bill of Rights

Which of the following was the most important effect of replacing the Articles of Confederation with the Constitution of 1787?

(D) The creation of a strong national government

The doctrine of original intent holds that

(B) the meaning of the Constitution depends on the intention of the framers

A major difference between the House of Representatives and the Senate is that

(E) there is unlimited debate in the Senate but not in the House

Senate confirmation is required for which of the following presidential appointments?


I. Secretary of state


II. White House chief of staff


III. Directory of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)


IV. Attorney general

(D) I, III, and IV only

All of the following serve as checks on the power of the federal courts EXCEPT:

(B) The voters can oust federal judges in national elections.

To which of the following congressional committees would a proposal to reform the national income-tax system initially be sent?

(B) House Ways and Means Committee

Political action committees (PAC's) representing which of the following groups have increased in the number most substantial since the mid- 1970's

(B) business

Since the 1970's, Presidents have made use of executive orders at an increasing rate because executive orders

(C) do not need to be passed by COngress

Which if the following is NOT a core value of United States political culture?

(C) Economic equality

The concept of "critical elections" is most closely associated with

(E) party realignment

Which of the following statements is supported by the chart above?

(E) President Reagan nominated the smallest percentage of women to the judiciary.

Federal benefits that must be funded by Congress and must be paid to all citizens who meet eligibility criteria are called

(B) individual entitlements

Which of the following is one of the central concerns of the First Amendment?

(D) The right of citizens to petition of the government for redress of grievances.

When a child's parents both identify strongly with the same political party, the child will most likely

(B) identify with the parent's party

The Connecticut (Great) Compromise provided for

(E) a bicameral legislature with one house's composition based upon state population and another's on equal state representation

The term "party machine" usually refers to a

(C) local party organization that is tightly discipline and well staffed and relies on patronage to create party loyalty

Which of the following demographic groups has voted most consistently for the Democratic Party in national elections over the last three decades?

(A) African Americans

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an example of

(B) an independent agency

Which of the following best describes gerrymandering?

(C) They party in control of the state legislature draws district boundaries in such a way as to favor its own candidates in subsequent elections

Which of the following has authority over the printing of currency?

(C) The Department of the Treasury

A nonlitigant group or individual that wants to attempt to influence the court in a particular case can file

(A) an amicus curiae brief

Which of the following best defines civil liberties?

(B) Provisions in the Bill of Rights that provide guarantees against arbitrary interference by government

The theory that all interest are and should be free to compete for influence in government, resulting in healthy democratic compromise and balance, is called

(C) pluralism

A tax whereby poor citizens pay a higher percentage of their incomes compared with wealthier citizens is known as a

(A) regressive tax

Which two principles are addressed in the excerpt above?


I. The incorporation doctrine


II. The concept of eminent domain


III. The exclusionary rule


IV. The "wall of separation" doctrine

(B) I and III

The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (McCain-Feingold) did which of the following?

(C) It banned soft money donations to national parties.

Which of the following best describes pork barrel politics?

(D) Members of Congress negotiate bills so that individual districts get money for projects that do not benefit the nation as a whole

Citizens who believe that their votes will have no effect on the outcome of an election have a

(D) low level of political efficacy

The United States Supreme Court has used which of the following to incorporate the Bill of Rights into state law?

(B) The Fourteenth Amendment

Enumerated powers of the federal government include all of the following EXCEPT the power to

(D)regulate intrastate commerce

Which of the following did the Supreme Court establish in Marbury v Madison?

(A) The Supreme Court can declare federal legislation invalid if the legislation violates the Constitution.

The process known as front-loading refers to

(C) the tendency of states to choose an early date on the primary calender

Which of the following is true of both members of the House of Representatives and senators?

(A) They must be citizens of the United States.

Fiscal policies refer to the government's power to

(B) tax and spend

The franking privilege is one example of

(E) an incumbency advantage

Which of the following is a type of primary election that requires registration as a party affiliated to vote?

(B) closed

Which of the following is filed when an imprisoned person wants to be brought before a judge so that the judge can determine whether his or her imprisonment is legal?

(D) Habeas corpus petition

In The Federalist Papers, James Madison argues that political liberty is best protected by

(E) the fragmentation of political power i a large republic

The committee that resolves differences between House and Senate versions of a bill is called a

(D) conference committee

A bill of attainder is a

(D) law that declares that an action of an individual can be punished without a trail

The number of justices on the United States Supreme Court is set by

(B) Congress

The president's role as chief diplomat is derived from

(B) delegated powers

Which of the following is true of the seniority system of Congress is relation to committee leadership and committee staffing.

(E) The chairs of congressional committees tend to be senior members of the body's majority party.

Jim Crow laws, still in place in the early 1960s in the South, were outlawed by the

(C) passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act

The government depicted above is best described by which of the following terms?

(D) Divided government

An election in which there is a significant shift in the bases of electoral support from one political party to another is called a

(E) realigning election

The primary function of the White House staff is to

(B) advise the president

In Gideon v Wainwright, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the

(D) Sixth Amendment right-to-counsel provision applies to those accused to major crimes under state laws

One example of constitutional checks and balances is

(C) the House can impeach federal judges and the president, and the Senate holds the impeachment

The War Powers Resolution does which of the following?

(C) Requires that the president notify Congress within 48 hours of deploying troops

Which of the following describes the result in a winner-take-all, single-member-district plurality system?

(A) The candidate who receives the most votes in the election wins.

The three points of an iron triangle include

(B) an administrative agency, an interest group, and congressional committee

The free rider problem occurs when

(B) people benefit from an interest group's efforts without making an contribution

Which of the following policies involves more state spending than federal spending?

(C) Education

All of the following United States Supreme Court decisions strengthened the power of the federal government EXCEPT

(C) Dred Scott v Sandford

According to the clear and present danger test, speech my be restricted

(A) when it incites violent action

The constitutional powers of the president include all of the following EXCEPT

(C) declaring war

A major difference between political parties and interest groups is that

(C) political parties seek to gain control of government, while interest groups seek to influence public policy

A referendum can best be described as a vote to

(C) determine whether citizens support an action by their state legislature

Which of the following most accurately describes media coverage of elections?

(E) Network news coverage is usually dominated by reporters who offer relatively short sound bites from the candidates

The Senate must confirm all of the following presidential appointments EXCEPT

(C) House of Representatives only

Which of the following forms of financial aid from the national government gives the states the broadest discretion in the spending of money?

(D) Block grants

Congressional legislative powers include all of the following EXCEPT

(E) pardoning felons

A prominent example of the process of returning more of the responsibilities of governing from the national level to the state level is

(C) welfare reform

The term "split-ticket voting" is most accurately described as

(D) voting for candidates of different parties on the same ballot

Members of Congress who have adopted the delegate role of representation normally case their votes based on which of the following?

(A) The preferences of the majority of their constituents

Under the Articles of Confederation, which of the following were true?


I. Congress could not tax the states directly


II. The executive branch of government exercise more power than Congress


III. Congress was a unicameral body


IV. States were represented in Congress proportionally according to population

(B) I and III

When contributing to congressional campaigns, political action committees (PACs) are most likely to contribute to

(A) incumbents of both major parties

Which of the following best explains why cabinet secretaries might not aggressively pursue the president's policy agenda?

(B) Cabinet secretaries may develop strong loyalty to their departments

When the effects of income and education are eliminated, which of the following statements about voting rates is true?

(A) Black citizens vote at a higher rate than White citizens

Which of the following is a unique power held by members of the Senate?

(C) The ability to filibuster

If Congress adjourns during the ten days the president has to consider a bill passed by both house of Congress, but which the president has not yet signed, what is the result?

(E) pocket veto

When none of the presidential candidates receives a majority of the votes in the electoral college, the winner is chosen by the

(C) House of Representatives only

In the organization of government, the principle of federalism is best illustrated by the

(C) representation system for election senators

All of the following contribute to the success of incumbent members of Congress in election campaigns EXCEPT

(B) Incumbents tend to understand national issues better than do their challengers

The voting patterns of members of Congress correlate most strongly with

(D) their political party affiliation

The Constitution and its amendments expressly prohibit all of the following EXCEPT

(E) sex discrimination in employment

In vetoing a bill, the President does which of the following?

(D) rejects all sections of the bill

All of the following are true about the relationship between regulatory agencies and the industries they regulate EXCEPT:

(D) Agencies usually make decisions without consulting the regulated industry

The largest source of federal revenue is the

(D) income tax

The chart above supports which of the following conclusions?

(E) The gender gap among those who identified with the Republican party was narrowest for those between 35 and 34 years of age

In Brown v Board of Education of Topeka, the Supreme Court established which of the following principles?

(D) Separation of students by race, even in equally good schools, is unconstitutional

Which of the following statements about Democrats and Republicans is true?

(B) Republicans are more likely than Democrats to label themselves "conservatives"

Of the following groups of eligible voters, which is LEAST likely to vote?

The young with low education levels

All of the following were concerns about the Articles of Confederation that led to the calling of the Constitution Convention of 1787 EXCEPT

(A) dissatisfaction over safeguards of individual rights and liberties

A member of the House of Representative who wished to be influential in the House itself would most likely seek a place on which of the following committees?

(D) Rules

Political parties serve which of the following functions in the Unites States?


I. Informing the public about political issues


II. Mobilizing voters and getting them to the polls


III. Organizing diverse interest withing society


IV. Establishing the riles governing financial contributions to political candidates

(D) I, II, and III only

The primary election system of selecting presidential candidates has had which of the following effects?

(B) It has loosened the hold of party leaders over the nomination process.

Of the following, which best predicts the likelihood that citizens will vote?

(C) their educational level

In the United States, which of the following is a rule on voting found in the Constitution or its amendments?

(B) no person eighteen years of age or olddr may be denied the right to vote on account of age

Which of the following statements about the federal government between 1949 and 1978 is supported by the chart?

(D) a relatively stable number of employees administered larger federal budgets and enforced more regulations

Which of the following public policy problems is most likely to result from the situation shown in the chart?

(A) Government employees may become responsible for larger bodies of regulation than they can effectively monitor

Which of the following is argued by James Madison in The Federalist paper number 10?

(A) A system of republican representation helps to limit the excesses of factionalism

An interest group is most likely to have influence in Congress when the issue at stake

(A) is narrow in scope and low public visibility

Federal spending for which of the following is determined by laws that lie outside the regular budgetary process?

(E) entitlement programs such as Social Security

Which of the following can be concluded from the figures in the table above?

(D) In terms of support for Reagan, the gap between Black people and White people grew between 1980 and 1984.

Of the following, which is the most important reason that voter turnout is lower in the Unites States than in most other industrial democracies?

(C) It has traditionally been more difficult to register to vote in the United States than in most other industrial democracies.

Which of the following is true of a presidential veto of a piece of legislation?

(A) it is rarely overridden by Congress

The Articles of Confederation implemented the principle of

(E) state sovereignty

Which of the following is a way Congress can influence of federal judiciary

(C) It can change appellate jurisdiction of federal courts

The framers of the Constitution intended to establish

(A) a representative republic

Which of the following powers is shared by the House of Representatives and the Senate?

(B) establishing federal courts

Which of the following committees plays a major role in the House in shaping tax policy

(B) it prohibits Congress from establishing a state religion

Which of the following best describes a purpose of the Establishment Clause?

(B) Ways and means

Which of the following is most frequently reported in the media during a presidential election?

(A) results from public onion polls that indicate which candidate are most likely to win

The passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a significant political event because it

(D) was instrumental in increasing the number of African Americans and other minority voters

Many scholars argue that categorical grants-in-aid do which of the following?

(D) weaken the power of state governors and legislature

Party identification in the United States is most successfully transmitted by which of the following?

(E) Family

Advocates of shifting the task of drawing United States House districts from state legislatures to independent commissions?

(C) Independent commissions significantly reduce the influence of partisan gerrymandering in the redistricting process

Which of the following is NOT an explanation for low voter turnout?

(C) Laws protecting minority voting rights

Which of the following individuals would be most likely to vote in a Republican primary?

(E) A 45-year-old white businessman from South Carlolina who attends church weekly

In the United States political system, the term Federalism refers to

(C) the division of powers between the level government

Rules and regulations created by an agency such as the Federal Communications Commissions are called

(E) administrative law

The agenda-setting function of the media refers to the power to

(E) decided which issues are important enough to bring to public attention

Which of the following is true of political action committees (PACs)?

(A) They make campaign contributions in hopes of gaining access to legislators

Which of the following is a correct statement about the federal government's role in interstate commerce?

(E) The federal government's role has been greatly expanded through the interpretation of the interstate commerce clause

Even with large majorities of their own party in Congress, presidents experience difficulty in exercising legislative leadership because

(B) the weak nature of political parties hampers the president's ability to control Congress

Which of the following constitutional provisions broadened the power of Congress?

(A) The necessary and proper clause

The most widely performed act of political participation in the United States is

(C) voting in presidential elections

According to James Madison, which of the following best controls the effects of factions?

(C) a large republic

Generally, when is a president more likely to get congressional approval of proposed policies?

(E) In foreign affairs rather than in domestic affairs

Legislation forbidding flag burning was deemed unconstitutional because it violated the

(C) First Amendment's protection of expression

Voter turnout tends to be highest among

(A) college-educated voters

Which of the following actions by a congressional representative is an example of "pork barreling"?

(B) Directing federal funds into the representative's district through legislation

In response to the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (McCain-Feingold Act), the United States Supreme Court, in Citizen United v Federal Election Commission (2010), ruled that

(B) independent campaign expenditures by corporation and unions are protected by the First Amendment

The primary responsibility for determining monetary policy in the United States rests with the

(C) Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

All of the following make it difficult for presidents to control the actions of federal agencies EXCEPT

(E) the appointment of cabinet heads

Which of the following is an example of checks and balances in action in the United States government

(C) The president vetoes a bill passed by Congress.

In Roe v Wade, the majority of Supreme Court justices determined that

(D) the United States Constutution implies a right to privacy and thus made abortions legal

Congressional oversight refers to the power of Congress to

(C) exercise some control over executive agencies

With respect to prayer in public schools, the United States Supreme Court has ruled that

(A) state-sponsored prayer violates the establishment clause of the First Amendment

Executive agreements have been cited as evidence that

(A) modern presidents often try to avoid legislate checks and balances on their authority

The grandfather clause is significant in United States political history for which of the following reasons?

(C) It was means whereby Black citizens in southern states were disenfranchised

Most of the work of legislating in Congress takes place in

(E) standing committees

Which of the following describes the social contract theory as advanced by John Locke?

(C) it is an agreement is which of the government promises to protect that natural rights of people

Which of the following is a primary function of the Senate Judiciary Committee?

(C) conducting hearings on judicial appointments made by the president

In the United States judicial system, when a judge decides a case based on decisions rendered in similar cases in the past, the judge is following the principle of

(B) stare decisis

After a constitutional amendment has been proposed by houses of Congress, its adoption requires

(D) ratification by three-fourths of the states

One of the best strategies that interest groups can use to achieve their goals is

(B) lobbying members of Congress to make small changes in existing policy

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are examples

(B) independent agencies

In which of the following circumstances would the rule of four applied?

(D) at least four justices on the Supreme Court agree that a case should be put on the Court's docket

Why is federal case law more frequently established by the United States courts of appeal than by the United States Supreme Court?

(A) Courts of appeal must decide cases appeal to it from the lower courts, while the Supreme Court can choose its cases and hears relatively few each year.

All of the following are examples of a linkage influencing the policy process EXCEPT

(A) the president delivering the State of the Union speech

Which of the following is a principle underlying the Bill of Rights?

(B) Some rights are fundamental and should not be subject to majoritarian control.

Since the 1960s, support for the Democratic Party has declined the most among which of the following groups?

(E) White southerners

The House Rules Committee is an important part of the legislative process because it

(C) determines the terms and conditions of debate when a bill foes to the House floor

The president cannot veto which of the following?

(A) Joint resolutions that propose constitutional amendments

To influence policy making by the federal courts, the president may do all of the following except

(C) fire and replace federal judges

An example of discretionary item in the federal budget is

(B) spending on national parks

Which of the following is LEAST characteristic of the history of political parts in the United States during the twentieth century.

(E) The splitting of the two major parties into multiparty system

The United States Supreme Court decision in Brown v Board of Education of Topeka was based on which of the following?

(C) The Fourteenth Amendment''s guarantee of equal protection

When a bill passed the House and the Senate in different versions, the bill is resolved by which of the following purposes EXCEPT to

(C) bring the opposition's opinion into alignment with those of the candidate

The clause in the United States Constitution that states that federal law will prevail in the event of a conflict between federal and state law is known as the

(B) supremacy clause

Which of the following stages comes first in the policy-making process?

(A) Agenda setting

Which of the following situations best illustrates the meaning of divided government in the United States political system?

(D) The majority of senators and the majority of representatives are from one part, but the president is from another.

All of the following are traditional political values held by most Americans EXCEPT

(D) equality of outcome

Congress adopted the War Powers Resolution to

(E) limit the presidents authority to commit troops overseas

Which of the following types of committee deals with broad areas of public policy and can be found in both houses of Congress?

(D) standing

Which of the following explains why any attempt to reduce Social Security benefits is difficult?

(D) There are many voters who support Social Security.

Which of the following describes the president's Cabinet?

(B) Its members have varying levels of influence on presidential decisions.

The development and persistence of the two-party system in the Untied States is best account for by

(D) single-member legislative districts

The concept of realignment refers to changes in

(B) the social bases of the parties'voting support

Much of the steady increase in federal government expenditures since 1960 has been caused by

(A) increases in entitlement programs

Establishing the boundaries of United States congressional districts to give one party an advantage over another party is referred to as

(D) gerrymandering

Congress is most likely to exert oversight of the executive bureaucracy in which of the following ways?

(D) Controlling an executive agency annual budget

Which of the following statements about voting behavior in national elections is most accurate?

(E) Senior citizens are more likely to vote than are college students

Which of the following best explains why the winner of a presidential election usually claims to have a mandate from voters?

(B) The allocation of electoral votes in the winner-take-all system exaggerates the margin of victory

Typically, presidential candidates implement their campaign strategies by

(B) focusing on larger, competitive states, because they might tip the balance of the electoral college

The supremacy clause in the Constitution states that

(A) federal law takes precedence over state law when the laws conflict

A policy that sets emissions standards for automobiles is an example of

(A) regulatory policy

The idea that judges ought to freely strike down laws that are inconsistent with their understanding on the Constitution is known as

(C) judicial activism

Of the following, the most significant difference between the Constitution of 1787 and the Articles of Confederation was the Constitution

(E) provided for a strong national government with many powers, while the Articles created a weak central government with few independent powers

The term "bicameralism" refers to the

(A) establishment of two legislative chambers that have different structures and rules

Children are most likely to adopt the part of identification

(A) of their parents

The medial's effect on public opinion can best be described as

(C) influencing which issues the public sees as important

When people vote for some candidates from one party and other candidates from another party, it is called

(D) ticket splitting

The doctrine of state decisis is significant for which of the following reasons?

(B) It is the principle that affirms that courts are bound by prior decisions.

The expansion of the executive branch since 1939 has affected the separation of powers by

(A) increasing presidential control over the legislative process

The most significant trend in federal-state relations during the 1980s was

(E) shifting the responsibilities and cost for many programs to state governments

Congress has the constitutional power to control the judicial branch by

(A) determining the size of the Supreme Court

Which of the following is most important for getting an accurate measure of public opinion in a survey?

(B) Selecting a random sample

Which of the following clauses in the Constitution justifies the "implied powers doctrine"?

(A) The necessary and proper clause

Interest groups use political action committees (PACs) to

(C) raise and spend money on election campaigns

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service will spend money appropriated by Congress to maintain wildlife refuges. This action is an example of

(C) bureaucratic implementation of law

The framers of the Constitution designed which of the following to be LEAST responsive to public opinion?

(B) the courts

Which of the following identifies the formal procedure for ending a filibuster?

(D) Cloture

Which of the following best accounts for the lack of success generally encountered by minor political parties in electing members to the House or Senate?

(B) General elections in the United States are based on the winner-take-all principle.

Interest groups are protected under the Constitution by the

(B) First Amendment

The Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution, the Equal Rights Amendment, and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 were all directed toward the goal of

(D) equality for women

In Congress wanted to effect a change in the Social Security payroll tax, to what congressional committee would the task initially be assigned?

(C) House Ways and Means Committee

Which of the following statements is supported by the information in the table?

(D) Partisanship was a good predictor of the way a person voted.

Which of the following concepts refers to the beliefs about government and politics that people in the United States hold most deeply?

(E) Political culture

The practice in Congress whereby Representative A promises to vote for Representative B's legislation , provided that Representative B will support Representative A's legislation, is refereed to as

(C) logrolling

A write of habeas corpus refers to

(A) a person's right to know the reasons for hos or her imprisonment

Which of the following is true of voter turnout in the United States?

(E) The voter-participation rate is one of the lowest of any industrialized nation.

Which of the following amendments to the Constitution most likely provides the basis for a driver to challenge the constitutionality of police use sobriety checkpoints in enforcing drunk driving laws?

(B) The Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure

Which of the following is the main reason interest groups are often successful in getting legislation passed to benefit their members?

(D) A narrow constituency derives the benefits from such legislation but the cost are spread broadly across the population.

The Connecticut (Great) Compromise drafted at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 is significant for which of the following reasons?

(D) It proposed a Senate with equal representation for each state and a House of Representatives with membership established according to the population of each state.

The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (McCain-Feingold) was designed to curtail which of the following?

(B) soft money

The Americans with Disabilities Act was widely unpopular with governors and mayors because it

(E) required that states and cities pay for federally mandated construction and remodeling

If legislation passes in both the House of Representatives and the Senate but each version is slightly different, the conflicting bills are sent to

(E) a conference committee for review and compromise

The United States Constitution says that Congress has the power to coin money. This is an example of

(A) an enumerated power

The primary purpose of the North American Free Trade Agreement is to

(D) reduce trade barriers between the United States, Mexico, and Canada

Constitutional checks and balances, especially applied to the president, are designed to

(B) minimize the threat of tyranny from any branch of government

Civil rights activists, such as those who campaign for gay and lesbian equal rights and those who advocate for racial equality in the 1950s and 1960s, often find the most effective way to secure those rights is

(C) through litigation in the courts to gain legal protections against discrimination

Which of the following is an example of presidential use of informal powers?

(C) President Bill Clinton advocating for public policy reform on his Health Security Express bus

Which of the following is NOT a trait of a liberal democracy?

(D) achieving the income equality

Which of the following groups would be most likely to support a constitutional amendment banning all abortions?

(A) Conservatives

Which of the following is true of the relationship between Congress and executive agencies?

(C) Because the agencies have bureaucratic expertise, Congress delegates "rule-making authority" to them

Which of the following is the primary reason for the tensions that exist between the legislative and execute branches of the federal government?

(C) The branches have different constituencies with different interest.

Policy that describes the impact of the federal budget (including taxes, speeding, and borrowing) on the economy is referred to as which of the following?

(C) Fiscal policy

If a college's admission policy to reserve twenty seats in its incoming class for applicants belonging to racial minority groups is challenged in the courts, a judge is likely to

(B) strike down the policy because serving seats amounts to a quota system

When party members meet to nominate a candidate for office they participate in which of the following?

(B) Caucus

Which of the following is an example of the constitutional design of checks and balances?

(C) The Senate rejects a president's nomination for secretary of state.

A difference between the House of Representatives and the Senate is that in the House

(A) legislative activity on the floor is more constrained by rules

To which of level of government did the Bill of Rights originally apply?

(B) Federal government only

According to the chart below, which of the following is a true statement?

(C) When a president uses a regular veto, Congress rarely overrides it.

Which of the following cases was the first to incorporate freedom of speech to the states?

(D) Gitlow v New York

All of the following are features on the Madisonian Modal EXCEPT

(E) Direct election of the president

When a justice agrees with the US Supreme Court's decision, but disagrees with its reasoning he.she may write

(B) concurrent opinion

Which of the following groups most likely votes for the Democratic Party?

(C) immigrant citizens and union members

Which of the following best explains why some states support "frontloading"?

(A) States that hold the first primaries and caucus benefit from media coverage and more candidate appearances.

In Regents of the University of California v Bakke (1978), the US Supreme Court ruled that

(C) set-aside quotas based on race


violate the equal protection clause

Which of the following best describes the purpose of the Freedom of Information Act?

(A) to provide public access to policy decision making that does threaten national security

Which of the following best reflects how linkage institutions may influence the policy agenda?


I. Voters electing public officials in general elections


II. The media exposing misuse of funds by a federal agency


III. The president nominating a conservative to the US Supreme Court


IV. A Political Action Committee criticizing a candidate in a commercial

(C) I, II, IV only

(Planned Parenthood v Casey)


Which of the following principals is emphasized in this statement?

(D) common law precedent

(Planned Parenthood v Casey)


The decision of the Supreme Court held that



(E) states may place restrictions on abortion if it does not create a sustainable obstacle to seeking an abortion

Which of the following policies are criticized by state governments for requiring states to enforce federal policies without federal money?

(E) unfunded mandates

Which of the following best exemplifies class-elitism in American politics?

(D) major business hire former congressmen and congressional spouses as lobbyist to influence

The filibuster in most likely used by

(E) senators to prevent passage of policy supported by the Senate majority

Which of the following best describes the significance of the House Committee of the Whole?

(E) it provides most full House debates on bills due to its reduced quorum requirement

All of the following exemplify the influence of minor parties in American politics EXCEPT

(C) provides supremacy to state policies when they conflict with national policies

In comparison to a unitary government, the American federal system

(D) provides states control over most social, moral and family policies

Which of the following best explains the causes of party dealignment?

(A) Party loyalty among the electorate has declined encourages split ticket voting

All of the following are example of how interest groups attempt to influence the US Supreme Court EXCEPT

(B) lobbying the clerks of the Court

Public Opinion polls have shown that the level of political knowledge of the average American is

(B) relatively low as reflected in political apathy

All of the following are criticism of new media coverage of federal elections EXCEPT

(A) the news media contributes to the electorate's apathy due to its mundane converge of political issue

The influence of Lockean philosophy of the framers of the US Constitution is best evidence by the framer's emphasis on

(B) increasing the economic powers of the national government to promote economic stability

The ability of the president to influence public opinion through speeches and public appearances best exemplifies the president's

(E) informal powers

Which of the following exemplifies how regulatory agencies are protected from presidential influences?

(A) regulatory agency commissioners are difficult to remove, with the ability to serve longer than the president

A major weakness of the US Court is

(C) it relies on the other branches of government for judicial implementation

Which of the following best explains how the passage of the USA Patriot Act exemplifies congressional deference tot eh president during a national crisis?

(B) it was quickly enacted expanding the surveillance powers of the executive branch

In comparison to a strict constructionist, a judicial activist believes that judges should

(A) use judicial review to overturn policies passed by legislatures that are offensive and outdated

Which of the following best describes how interest groups attempt to form iron triangles?

(D) They contribute money to an incumbent's campaign and hire a lobbyist to keep in contact with official in federal agencies

Which of the following powers can the Rules Committee in the House of Representatives use to influence the final version of a bill?


I. Establish a closed rule on debate


II. Ignore a discharge petition


III. Refuse to take the bill for debate


IV. Refuse to send members to a conference committee

(B) I and III only

A divided government occurs when

(E) the president's party does not control a majority of seats in either chamber of Commerce

The Constitution as ratified in 1788 most clearly reflects the framer's commitment to

(B) the principle of limited government

Which of the following most accurately describes the Federalist Papers?

(C) a collection of essays arguing the merits of the Constitution

A Supreme Court that demonstrates a willingness to change public and alter judicial precedent is said to be engaging in

(A) judicial activism

A writ of certiorari from the Supreme Court indicates that the Court

(A) will review a lower court decision

American foreign policy is directed primarily by the

(C) President

The Supreme Court is issued this opinion in its ruling on which of the following cases?

(E) Brown v Board of Education of Topeka

Under which of the following circumstances is Congress LEAST likely to pass a bill the president has threatened to veto?

(A) The president's public approval rating is extremely high.

Which of the following best describes the practice of "ticket splitting"?

(B) a voter chooses the presidential nominee of one major party, but chooses Congressional nominees of the other major party

The Rules Committee is considered among the most powerful in the House of Reprsentatives beacuse it has great power over the

(D) scheduling of votes and the conditions under which bills are debated and amenedn

Compared with political parties in countries such as England and Israel, both of which have multi-party systems, American political parties are

(B) less clearly identified with consistent political ideologies

Which of the following people would most likely be accused of influence peddling?

(E) an official who leaves the State Department in order to work as a paid consultant to foreign governments

The primary function of political action committees (PACs) is to

(A) contribute money to candidates for election

Voters who rely exclusively on television network news coverage of national elections are most likely to be aware of

(B) the relative strength of each candidate's support, as indicated by public opinion polls

Which of the following describe limitations that may constitutionally be placed on freedom of speech and freedom of the press?


I. Under no circumstances may the government limit speech or censor the press


II. The government may censor the press in the interest of national and military security


III. The government may outlaw obsecene publications


IV. The government may prevent individuals from engaging in "offensive" speech

(C) II and III only

Federal district courts do not try military cases, claims brought against the US government, or tax disputes between citizens and the government because

(D) Congress has created special legislative courts to deal special with such cases

Of the following, American federalism is most greatly influences by the

(D) Tenth Amendment to the Constitution

All of the following are specifically mentioned in the Constitution EXCEPT

(A) judicial review

Which of the following correctly states the relationship between the federal and state judiciaries?

(C) The two are generally autonomous, although federal courts may rule on constitutionality of state court decisions.

The line-item veto was found unconstitutional because:

(C) it gave non-delegated power to the chief executive

Among the executive branch's checks on the legislative branch is the president's power to

(A) call special sessions of Congress

The amount of access cabinet secretaries have to the president is most likely to be controlled by the

(B) president;s chief of staff

Unlike a treaty, an executive agreement

(C) does not require the Senate's approval

Successful candidates for the Republican presidential nomination ten to be more conservative than rank-and-file Republicans because

(D) party activists, whose political participation is disproportionate to their numbers, then to be very conservative

Those who argue that the House of Representatives is the government institution most responsive to the will of the public are most likely to cite as evidence the fact that

(E) representative must run for reelection every two years

Which of the following accounts for the fact that the power and prestige of the presidency have grown since 1932?


I. American's increased prominence in international affairs


II. continually improved public confidence in the federal government


III. the New Deal and other programs that have expanded federal responsibility


IV. the president's increased visibility, due to the development of mass media

(C) I, III, and IV only

Which of the following generally results when the Senate and House of Representatives pass different versions of the same bill?

(E) the two legislative bodies form a conference committee

Which of the following is the most accurate statement about the voting behavior of Americans over the age of sixty-five?

(B) They are as, or more, likely to vote than are members of other age groups, because they believe that they have a personal stake in government policy

A member of which of the following demographic groups is most likely to support a Republican presidential candidate?

(A) white male

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed in order to reinforce the

(D) Fourteenth Amendment

Which of the following best illustrates a use of the elastic clause?

(C) Congress passes legislation establishing a national speed limit

According to The Federalist Papers, Republican federalism has which of the following effects on political factions?

(B) It limits the dangers of factionalism by diluting political power

The Constitution, as originally ratified, addressed all of the following weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation EXCEPT the

(E) omission of a universal suffrage clause

Congress' power to determine national policy

(A) usually increases as a president's popularity decreases, and vice versa

In recent years, presidents have come to rely most heavily on the advice of

(D) the White House staff

Which of the following statements about the electoral college is correct?

(D) The results of electoral college voting tend to distort the winner's margin of victory, when compared to the popular vote for president

Which if the following statements is true of Congressional incumbents who run for reelection?

(C) Incumbents have a great advantage over challenges because they are better known and can rise campaign funds more easily

Before serving in the House of Representatives or Senate, the greatest number of federal legislators

(E) earn law degrees

A member of the House of Representatives wishing to influence tax policy would most likely wish to serve on which of the following committees?

(B) Ways and Means

The spoils system of awarding civil service jobs was replaced by the merit system as a result of the

(E) Pendleton Act of 1883

The boundary lines of Congressional districts must be redraws every ten years in order to

(A) reflect population shifts indicated by the national census

The chart above best supports which of the following conclusions?

(D) voter turnout for midterm Congressional elections is consistently lower than it is for presidential elections

Interest groups representing businesspersons and investors are often among the most successful lobbying groups in Washington, D.C. for all of the following reasons EXCEPT:

(C) In many districts, these groups' constituents make up the majority of voters.

Of the following groups that have traditionally supported the Democratic party, which would LEAST likely be cited by someone arguing that Democrats represented only liberal constituents?

(A) white Southerners

The greatest number of American voters identify themselves as

(E) moderate

People who join a political party other than the one to which their parents belong most often do so because of

(B) economic issues

Which of the following best describes the fate of most popular third-party movements?

(E) They disintegrate when one of both of the major parties adopt the third party's goals

A constitutional amendment would required to ban flag burning because that activity is currently protected by the right to

(E) free speech

The Supreme Court's decision in Miranda v Arizona was based mainly on the

(B) due process clause of the Fifth Amendment

The Supreme Court has used the practice of selective incorporation to

(C) apply most Bill of Rights protection to state law

The largest portion of the federal budget covers the costs of

(D) entitlement programs

Which of the following accurately describes Congressional committees ?


I. The committee chairpersons always belong to the majority party.


II. Seats on each committee are divided between the two major parties in exact proportion to the parties' representation in Congress.


III. They recommended whether Congress should pass various pieces of legislation, and those recommendations are always approved by the full Congressional body.


IV. When a committee vote results in in a tie, the vice-resident casts the tie-breaking vote.

(A) I only

The primary goal of the Gramm-Rudman Acts of 1985 and 1987 was to

(C) reduce the federal deficit

The term "iron triangle" refers to the interrelationship of the

(E) federal bureaucracy, Congressional committees, and lobbyist

Media coverage of an issue is most likely to change public opinion when

(B) coverage is extensive and is either overwhelmingly positive or overwhelmingly negative

Which of the following most accurately describes the right of American citizens to privacy?

(C) The Supreme Court has ruled that the right to privacy is implied in the Bill of Rights.

The graph above supports which of the following conclusions about presidential election?

(C) the gender gap was more prominent in the 1980s and 1990s than it was in the 1970s

Which of the following factors would most likely explain why voter registration records underestimate the number of independent voters in the United States

(D) Because independents in many states are not allowed to participate in primary election, many independent register as either Republicans or Democrats

Which of the following directly affects the political socialization of the fewest Americans?

(D) news magazines

The government promotes preferential treatment for members of groups that have historically suffered from discrimination by means of

(B) affirmative action programs

The exclusionary rule was established to

(C) limit the government's ability to use illegally obtained evidence

Which of the following is used to effect the release of person from improper imprisonment?

(B) a writ of habeas corpus

When a member of the House or Representatives helps a citizen from his or her district receive some federal aid to which that citizen is entitled, the Representative's action is referred to as

(A) casework

One advantage incumbent members of Congress have over challengers in election campaigns is the use of

(C) the franking privilege

Major difference between procedures in the House of Representatives and the Senate would include:


I. In the House, time for debate is limited, while in the Senate it is usually unlimited


II. In the House the rules committee is very powerful, while in the senate it is relatively weak


III. In the House, debate must be germane, while in the Senate it need not be.

(E) I, II, and III

In the case McCulloch v Maryland (1819), the Supreme Court

(D) gave a broad interpretation to the "necessary and proper clause."

Which of the following statements about the cabinet is FALSE?

(B) it includes members of the House of Representatives

A major repsonsility of the Federal Reseve Board is to

(A) implement monetary policy

Which of the following statements most accurately compares political parties sin the United States with those in other Western democracies

(C) There are usually more political parties in other Western Democracies

Which of the following is among the differences between a parliamentary and presidential system?


I. In a parliamentary system, there is little or no separation of powers as in presidential system


II. In a parliamentary system, the chief of executive officer is not chosen by a nationwide vote as in a presidential system


III. In a presidential system, the chief executive officer may call elections for all members of the legislature at any time, unlike in a parliamentary system

(D) I and II only

The statement "American has a pluralist political system" means

(C) many interest groups compete in the political area to influences public policy

Which of the following best describes the relationship between educational background and participation in politics?

(A) the more schooling one has, the more likely one is to vote

According to the information in the tables on the next page, which of the following statements is true?

(A) a black female in a service occupation is more likely to cote Democrat than a while male skilled worker

Which of the following were LEAST likely to have voted for Franklin Roosevelt in 1940

(B) White northern business leaders

The federal constitution guarantees which of the following rights to persons arrest and charged with a serious crime?


I. to have an attorney appointed for them is they cannot afford to hire one


II. to remain silent


III. to compel witness in their favor to appear to testify if the case goes to court

(E) I, II, and III

The purpose of grandfather clauses and literacy test, used in the southern states in the late 1800s and early 1900s, was to

(D) prevent black from voting

the decision of the Supreme Court upheld the principle that

(A) a law contrary to the Constitution cannot be enforced by the courts

"Mark-up sessions," where revisions and addition are made to proposed legislation in Congress, usually occur in which setting?

(E) in committees or subcommittees

Which of the following has chief responsibility for assembling and analyzing the figures in the presidential budget submitting to Congress each year?

(D) Office of Management Budget

The term "executive privilege" refers to

(B) the limited right of the president to withhold certain information from Congress and the public

Senator Pettifogger gets an item inserted into the federal budget which allocate $6,000,000 for building a ski at a resort in his home state. This is known as

(B) pork barrel legislation

Which of the following statments reflect an elitis view of American poltics?

(A) American politcs are dominated by the miltaryt-industical complex

All of the following are formal or informal souces of presidential power EXCEPT

(A) the ability to introduce legislation in either house of Congress

Civil servants in the federal bureaucracy may sometimes successfully resist presidential initiatives because

(D) they may not be removed from office for political reasons

In 1985 Grammm-Rudman Act

(B) established a mechanism for balancing the federal budget

In a singe-member district, plurality cote system,

the candidate with the most votes represent the district

The top official in the Department of Justice is the

(D) attorney General

Which of the following is a FALSE statement about the Democratic Party's national convention?

(A) it selects the state party chairmen

All of the following statements represent positions the Supreme Court has taken on the First Amendment right to freedom of religion EXCEPT that

(A) public school officials may write a nondenominational prayer for school children to recite at the beginning of each school day

the Constitution , as ratified in 1788, provided for popular vote for

(E) none of the above

The Great Compromise of 1787

(D) provided for equal representation of states in the Senate and representation based on population in the House

Which of the following best defines the term "judicial restraint"?

(D) The tendency of judges to interpret the Constitution in light of the original intent of its framers

A bill introduced in the House or Senate will most likely

(E) be referred to the appropriate committee, but never reach the floor of the house

Which of the following is true of the president's veto powers?


I. A president may veto certain items in a bill but approve the rest.


II. A president may pocket-veto a bill refusing to sign it for 10 days while Congress is in session


III. A presidential veto may be overridden by a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress

(C) III only

Which of the following is true of independent regulator commissions?

(A) They exercise quasi-legislative, quasi-judicial, and execute functions

The subject of the cartoon above is most likely

(B) a gerrymandered Congressional district

The War Powers Resolution of 1973 may be involved by Congress to accomplish which of the following?

(D) Limit the period for which the president may deploy troops abroad in hostile situations



Changes in the House of Representatives since the early 1970s have resulted in all of the following EXCEPT

(A) strengthening of the seniority system for determining committee chairmanships

The decision quoted, which upheld the doctrine of "separate but equal", was from the case

(C) Plessy v Ferguson, 1896

The case that overturned the aforementioned decision was

(A) Brown v Board of Education, 1954

The concept of "dual federalism" is best characterized by which of the following statements?

(D) The state and federal governments are each sovereign and independent within their respective spheres of influence

Which of the following issues was left by the Constitutional Convention for the states to decide?

(B) Qualification of the electorate for voting in federal elections

Given the current method of electing the president, which of the following is NOT possible?

(E) A presidential candidate with a majority of the electoral vote fails to be elected president

A discharge petition is used in the House of Representatives to

(D) force a bill out of a committee which has held it for 30 days without reporting it out

Which of the following Supreme Court decisions involved the Fourth Amendment prohibition against unlawful search and seizure?

(C) Mapp v Ohio

The Thirteenth Amendment, Fourteenth Amendment, and Fifteenth Amendment to the constitution were intended primarily to

(A) protect the rights of blacks against infringement by Southern state governments

Federal courts responded to disputes between the president and Congress by

(C) terming the disputes "political questions" and generally refusing to hear or decide them

When the House rules committee issues a closed rule

(B) a particular bill may not be amended during floor debate

One of the major problems with national government under the Articles of Confederation was that





(B) the government had no power to levy direct taxes

Which of the following statements about the national media is/are TRUE?


I. Magazines and newspapers need no license to public in the United States


II. It is more difficult for a public figure of official to win a libel suit against the media in the United States than in any other country


III. The US Government can exercise restraint over the media to prevent the publication of sensitive government information

(D) I and II only

Which of the following statements is true about political action committees (PACs)?

(C) The number of PACs has grown dramatically between 1973 and the present

Which of the following statments about the Equal Rights Amendments is false?

(D) The amendment was intended to restore certain rights to blacks and Hispanics that had been restricted by a series of Suprme Court decisiosns T

The Federalist Papers


I. were written by Washington, Madison, and Adams


II/.provided a theoretical justification for the Revolutionary Way


III. are considered an authoritative commentary of the US Constitution

(C) III only

Which of the following statements about interest groups are accurate?

I. Interest group activities, to influence public policy-making the national level, are aimed almost entirely at Congress


II. The influence of labor unions on public policy-making has declined since 1945


III. Business organizations are the most numerous and powerful interest groups in American


(E) II and III only

During the past three decades, all of the following changes have occurred in political behavior and public opinion in the United States EXCEPT

(A) the declining importance of political ideology as a factor influencing presidential nominations to the Supreme Court

The first party competition for public offices in the United States occurred between which parties?

(C) Federalist and Jeffersonian Republicans

The term "gender gap" refers to

(B) difference in political opinion between men and women

Of the following issues, which would be LEAST likely to be in the Republican national platforms of 1988 and 1922?

(C) Support for a women's right to choice on abortion

Most vice presidential candidates are selected


I. by the party's nominee for president


II. to balance the ticket


III. based on their qualification to succeed to the presidency in case of the death of the president

(D) I and II only

All of the following are tenets of Keynesian economics EXCEPT

(B) in order to stimulate production, government should cut tax rates to give producers incentive to produce

Which of the followings statements about public opinion polling is TRUE?

(D) Overly technical questions may cause sampling error

Candidates for political office use public opinion polls for all of the following purposes EXCEPT to

(C) bring the opposition's opinion into alignment with those of the candidate

The debates between the Federalist and the Anit-Federalist were primary about which of the following issues?

(C) The scope of power of the central government

Which of the following statements about gerrymandering is true?

(C) it can be used by political party to draw boundary lines to control as many districts as possible

Which of the following constitutional principles most directly addresses the relationship between the national and state governments

(E) Federalism

The term "pork barrel" refers to legislation specifically designed to

(D) provide funding for local projects that are intended to benefit constituents

Which of the following is a members of the White House Staff?

(B) The national security advisory

In the 1987 the cooperation among the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the National Organization for Women (NOW) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to defeat Robert Bork's nomination for the United States Supreme Court was an example of

(C) coalition building

The Supreme Courts power of judicial review permits the Courts to overrule all of the following EXCEPT

(D) the Bill of Rights

Which of the following statements about political parties and The United States Constitution is true?

(E) The issues of political parties is not addressed in the COnstitution

The free-excersice clause protects

(C) voluntary prayer by student groups before school

Which of the following United States Supreme Court cases established the principle of judicial review?

(E) Marbury v Madison

Which of the following is the most likely consequence of divide government?

(C) delays in confirmation of federal court nominees

In Plessy v Ferguson, The United States Supreme Court ruled that state-imposed racial segregation is constitutional based on the

(B) "separate but equal" doctrine

Which of the following is a fundamental element of the United States Constitution?

(E) Division of government authority across political institutions

Which of the following best explains the principle of stare-decisis?

(C) it encourages judges to follow precedent when deciding cases.

Which of the following is NOT a way in which the federal government regulates campaigns?

(B) By prohibitions on negative advertising

Which of the following statements about the Senate is true?

(C) Individual senators can exercise substantial influence over the legislative process

The framers of the United States Constitution left decision on voting eligibility to the

(B) individual states

In the process and structure of public policy making, "iron triangles" refer to the

(D) networks of congressional committees bureaucratic agencies and interest groups

One reason for the persistence of two-party system in the United States is

(C) the single-member distinct electoral system

Both Gitlow v New York and New York Times v Sullivan are United States Supreme Court cases that dealt with which of the following amendments to the United States Constitution?

(A) First Amendment

Which of the following is true about political action committees (PACs)?

(B) They make campaign contributions to gain access to legislators

All of the following are ways that the legislative branch can check the powers of the executive branch EXCEPT:

(C) Congress may pass a law declaring a presidential action unconstitutional

Which of the following best describes the primary role of the attorney general?

(C) Serving as the chief executive officer of the Department of Justice

Which of the following is an example of congressional oversight?

(A) Holding hearings for review of an executive agency's activities

How is a president chosen when none of the candidates receives a majority of the electoral college vote?

(E) The House chooses a new president by a majority vote of its state delegations



The Americans with Disabilities Act, which provides protection for the disabled, is an example of

(E) a federal mandate

Which of the following best describes the different between an open and close primary?

(C) only voters who register as members of a political party may vote in that party's close primary, while independents and others may be eligible to vote in open primaries

Which of the following best describes the concept of political efficacy?

(D) it is the belief that one can make a difference in politics by expressing an opinion and acting politically

Which of the following is an example of presidential use of inherent powers?

(C) Thomas Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase

Which of the following statements about writs of certiorari is accurate?

(B) The Supreme Court grants certiorari for less than 5% of the cases appealed to it

Cooperative federalism can best be described by which of the following statements?

(A) Different levels of government are involved in common policy areas

When independent regulatory agencies make rules, enforce those rules, and adjudicate disputes arising under those rules, they risk violating the constitutional concept of

(D) separation of powers

Explanations for low voter turnout include all of the following EXCEPT

(C) laws protecting voting rights for minorities

Which of the following statements about motions for cloture is true?

(D) They are used by senators to end a filibuster and bring a bill to vote

Since 1972, voters in presidential elections have

(A) become more focused on individual candidates

The process of extending the protections of the Bill of Rights by means of the Fourteenth Amendment to apply to the actions of state governments is known as

(B) incorporation

The main intent of "motor voter" laws is to

(A) increase voter registration

Which of the following describes a consequences of the growing concentration of ownership of the news media

(E) There is increased similarity of network news coverage

The difference between an appellate court and a district court is that an appellate court

(C) reviews previous court decisions

The differences shown in the table demonstrate which of the following?

(E) gender gap

The Supreme Court has ruled which of the following concerning the death penalty?

(D) the death penalty is not necessarily cruel and unusual punishment

Given state governments greater discretion in deciding how to achieve the specific goals of welfare reform is an example of

(D) devolution

Which of the following is the best example of a categorical grant?

(A) Money given to states for special education programs

Which of the following is true of the Voting Rights Act of 1965

(C) It has been a major instrument for increasing the number of African American and other minority voters

Since the early 1980s, the Republican Party platform has been increasingly influences by

(B) evangelical Christians

The role Congress plays in ensuring that executive branch agencies are carrying out their legislated responsibilities is known as

(B) legislative oversight

The table above supports which of the following statements about partisanship and the 1984 presidential election?

(D) Partisanship was a good predictor of they way a person voted

The Constitution states all revenue bills must originate in

(D) the United States House of Representatives



Nominations to the Supreme Court must be approved by the

(A) simple majority vote in the Senate only

Which of the following is true of most federal judges appointed by the president?

(D) they serve for life on food behavior unless impeached and convicted by Congress

Which of the following describes a fundamental difference between political parties and interest groups?

(B) political parties represent broad arrays of issues, whereas interest groups are most likely to focus on narrow sets of issues

Compared to the general population, delegates to residential nomination conventions are

(E) more ideological

Unlike the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution does which of the following?

(E) emphasizes both national sovereignty and federalism

Federal budget entitlements refers to spending

(A) to provide individual benefits established by legislation B

Brown v Board of Education of Topeka (1954) was significant because it

(E) held the "separate but equal" concept to be a violation of the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment

Which of the following is the leading predictor of how an individual will vote in a congressional election

(C) partisanship

Which of the following statements is best supported by the data in the table above?

Latinos of Cuban decent are most supportive of Republican Party than are Latinos of Mexican or Puerto Rican decent

Which of the following is true about the pocket veto?

(C) it occurs when the President takes no action on a bill for ten days during which COngress in adjourned

Of the following, which is the most powerful figure in Congress?

(B) The Speaker of the House



Interest groups engage in all of the following activities EXCEPT

(E)using the franking privilege