American government exam 3

The “one person, one vote” ruling in Reynolds’s v. Sims mandated that__

All legislative districts contain roughly equal numbers of people

The “one person, one vote” ruling in Reynolds v. Sims (1964) mandated that:

State legislative districts must be roughly equal in population.

Primary goals of bureaucratic reform since the Progressive Movement

Increasing efficiency, reducing corruption, and implementing merit-based hiring.

U.S. state with the largest number of electoral votes (54)

California

According to political science models, the primary goal driving the behavior of members of Congress is:

Re-election

The historical outcome of the disputed presidential election of 1876

The Compromise of 1877, which resulted in the removal of federal troops from the South and the end of Reconstruction.

The Weberian model of bureaucracy

The view articulated by Max Weber that public agencies are rational, hierarchical organizations in which decisions are based on logical reasoning and standardized rules.

Early advocate who first championed the formal separation of politics from public administration in the U.S.

Woodrow Wilson

Type of committee convened to reconcile differences between House and Senate versions of the same bill

Conference committee

Bureaucracy

A large, complex administrative organization composed of appointed, non-elected officials.

Official who presides over an impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate when the president is on trial

The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court

Article of the U.S. Constitution that outlines the executive branch, public administration, and the Cabinet

Article II

The primary constitutional function of the Electoral College

To formally elect the President and the Vice President of the United States.

Official constitutionally authorized to break a tie vote in the U.S. Senate

The Vice President (serving as President of the Senate)

Senate procedure used to delay or block legislation through extended debate or speaking

Filibuster

Colloquial term for an official, government-funded fact-finding trip taken by members of Congress

Junket

Institution of the U.S. federal government constitutionally responsible for passing federal budgets

Congress

The most powerful committee in the House of Representatives regarding scheduling and setting the legislative agenda

The Rules Committee

True or False: Administrative reforms in government agencies have frequently been guided by management practices from the private sector.

True

Corrupt hiring practice that Progressive Era civil service reforms were specifically designed to dismantle

The spoils system (political patronage)

Major governmental entities overseen by presidential Cabinet secretaries

Executive departments

Laws requiring government meetings, hearings, and records to be open to the public

Sunshine laws

Progressive Era personnel policy introduced to curb the influence of corrupt party machines in government hiring

The merit system (civil service reform)

Federal statutes (1939 and 1940) restricting federal civil service employees from engaging in active partisan political campaigns

The Hatch Acts

True or False: Administrative reform historically includes creating stricter rules and hierarchical accountability to deter corruption.

True

The fundamental purpose of modern civil service systems

To recruit and evaluate personnel based on objective merit and qualifications rather than political favoritism.

Regulatory capture

The condition where an industry targeted for regulation gains dominant influence over the regulatory agency meant to oversee it.

Patronage (spoils system)

The practice of awarding public employment, contracts, and political favors to loyal party workers and campaign contributors.

Is the president's annual State of the Union address explicitly mandated by Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution?

Yes (it requires the president to provide information on the State of the Union from time to time).

True or False: Unlike the British monarch, the Speaker of the House serves as the official head of state in the U.S.

False (The President of the United States serves as both head of state and head of government).

Branch of the federal government constitutionally empowered to declare war

Congress (the legislative branch)

Advice and consent

The constitutional authority of the U.S. Senate to approve or reject treaties and major presidential appointments.

True or False: A candidate can win the presidency through the Electoral College without winning a plurality of the national popular vote.

True

Constituent

An individual citizen or voter who resides in the geographic area represented by an elected official.

Specific funding provisions directed toward local district pet projects that bypass standard agency review

Earmarks (pork barrel spending)

Congressional oversight

The process by which legislative committees monitor and investigate executive agencies to ensure laws are enforced as intended.

The structural bodies where the majority of detailed work, debate, and markups in Congress occur

Committees

Informal presidential power often cited by scholars as the chief executive's most influential tool

The power to persuade and shape public opinion

Core constitutional powers granted directly to the president in Article II

Acting as Commander-in-Chief, vetoing legislation, negotiating treaties, and appointing federal judges and department heads.

True or False: The President of the United States fulfills the dual roles of both head of state and head of the government.

True

Primary issue that voters weigh most heavily in presidential campaigns according to Steven Rosenstone's forecasting model

The state of the economy

The constitutional body that officially casts the votes to elect the U.S. President

The Electoral College

At which point in the legislative process can a bill be blocked or killed in Congress?

At any stage of the process

Gerrymandering

The redrawing of legislative district boundaries to give an unfair electoral advantage to a specific political party or incumbent.

The Pendleton Act of 1883

Legislation that created the Civil Service Commission and established merit-based testing for federal employment, ending the spoils system.

True or False: Vice presidential running mates are chosen strictly for geographic balance rather than policy or governing strengths.

False (They are frequently selected to shore up perceived policy, defense, or governing weaknesses of the presidential nominee).

Three primary institutional functions of the U.S. Congress

Lawmaking, representing constituents, and conducting oversight.

Division of impeachment powers between the two chambers of Congress

The House of Representatives holds the power to impeach (indict), while the Senate holds the power to try and convict.

True or False: Reforms such as voter registration, secret ballots, and split-ticket voting were introduced to curb ballot fraud by political party machines.

True

Significance of the Supreme Court ruling in Baker v. Carr (1962)

Established that legislative redistricting and reapportionment disputes present justiciable questions subject to federal court jurisdiction.

The prior executive office held by four of the last seven U.S. presidents before entering the White House

State Governor

The “one person, one vote” ruling in Reynolds v. Sims (1964) mandated that:

State legislative districts must be roughly equal in population.

Primary goals of bureaucratic reform since the Progressive Movement

Increasing efficiency, reducing corruption, and implementing merit-based hiring.

U.S. state with the largest number of electoral votes (54)

California

According to political science models, the primary goal driving the behavior of members of Congress is:

Re-election

The historical outcome of the disputed presidential election of 1876

The Compromise of 1877, which resulted in the removal of federal troops from the South and the end of Reconstruction.

The Weberian model of bureaucracy

The view articulated by Max Weber that public agencies are rational, hierarchical organizations in which decisions are based on logical reasoning and standardized rules.

Early advocate who first championed the formal separation of politics from public administration in the U.S.

Woodrow Wilson

Type of committee convened to reconcile differences between House and Senate versions of the same bill

Conference committee

Bureaucracy

A large, complex administrative organization composed of appointed, non-elected officials.

Official who presides over an impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate when the president is on trial

The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court

Article of the U.S. Constitution that outlines the executive branch, public administration, and the Cabinet

Article II

The primary constitutional function of the Electoral College

To formally elect the President and the Vice President of the United States.

Official constitutionally authorized to break a tie vote in the U.S. Senate

The Vice President (serving as President of the Senate)

Senate procedure used to delay or block legislation through extended debate or speaking

Filibuster

Colloquial term for an official, government-funded fact-finding trip taken by members of Congress

Junket

Institution of the U.S. federal government constitutionally responsible for passing federal budgets

Congress

The most powerful committee in the House of Representatives regarding scheduling and setting the legislative agenda

The Rules Committee

True or False: Administrative reforms in government agencies have frequently been guided by management practices from the private sector.

True

Corrupt hiring practice that Progressive Era civil service reforms were specifically designed to dismantle

The spoils system (political patronage)

Major governmental entities overseen by presidential Cabinet secretaries

Executive departments

Laws requiring government meetings, hearings, and records to be open to the public

Sunshine laws

Progressive Era personnel policy introduced to curb the influence of corrupt party machines in government hiring

The merit system (civil service reform)

Federal statutes (1939 and 1940) restricting federal civil service employees from engaging in active partisan political campaigns

The Hatch Acts

True or False: Administrative reform historically includes creating stricter rules and hierarchical accountability to deter corruption.

True

The fundamental purpose of modern civil service systems

To recruit and evaluate personnel based on objective merit and qualifications rather than political favoritism.

Regulatory capture

The condition where an industry targeted for regulation gains dominant influence over the regulatory agency meant to oversee it.

Patronage (spoils system)

The practice of awarding public employment, contracts, and political favors to loyal party workers and campaign contributors.

Is the president's annual State of the Union address explicitly mandated by Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution?

Yes (it requires the president to provide information on the State of the Union from time to time).

True or False: Unlike the British monarch, the Speaker of the House serves as the official head of state in the U.S.

False (The President of the United States serves as both head of state and head of government).

Branch of the federal government constitutionally empowered to declare war

Congress (the legislative branch)

Advice and consent

The constitutional authority of the U.S. Senate to approve or reject treaties and major presidential appointments.

True or False: A candidate can win the presidency through the Electoral College without winning a plurality of the national popular vote.

True

Constituent

An individual citizen or voter who resides in the geographic area represented by an elected official.

Specific funding provisions directed toward local district pet projects that bypass standard agency review

Earmarks (pork barrel spending)

Congressional oversight

The process by which legislative committees monitor and investigate executive agencies to ensure laws are enforced as intended.

The structural bodies where the majority of detailed work, debate, and markups in Congress occur

Committees

Informal presidential power often cited by scholars as the chief executive's most influential tool

The power to persuade and shape public opinion

Core constitutional powers granted directly to the president in Article II

Acting as Commander-in-Chief, vetoing legislation, negotiating treaties, and appointing federal judges and department heads.

True or False: The President of the United States fulfills the dual roles of both head of state and head of the government.

True

Primary issue that voters weigh most heavily in presidential campaigns according to Steven Rosenstone's forecasting model

The state of the economy

The constitutional body that officially casts the votes to elect the U.S. President

The Electoral College

At which point in the legislative process can a bill be blocked or killed in Congress?

At any stage of the process

Gerrymandering

The redrawing of legislative district boundaries to give an unfair electoral advantage to a specific political party or incumbent.

The Pendleton Act of 1883

Legislation that created the Civil Service Commission and established merit-based testing for federal employment, ending the spoils system.

True or False: Vice presidential running mates are chosen strictly for geographic balance rather than policy or governing strengths.

False (They are frequently selected to shore up perceived policy, defense, or governing weaknesses of the presidential nominee).

Three primary institutional functions of the U.S. Congress

Lawmaking, representing constituents, and conducting oversight.