AP government fall semester final

A political science professor is researching the effects that the Fifteenth and Twenty-Sixth Amendments have had on the American political system. Which of the following is the most likely reason the professor is researching these amendments?

A political science professor is researching the effects that the Fifteenth and Twenty-Sixth Amendments have had on the American political system. Which of the following is the most likely reason the professor is researching these amendments?

To study the expansion of voting rights

Which of the following describes the Twenty-Fourth Amendment?

It eliminated poll taxes.

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

It banned soft money donations to national parties.

Which of the following represents a consequence of candidate-centered electoral campaigns?

A decrease in the role of political parties in campaign management

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

independent campaign expenditures by corporations and unions are protected by the First Amendment

Which of the following explains how The Federalist 10 relates to the decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010) ?

In both, a limited approach to government regulation was argued for.

An advertisement airs on television attacking a candidate running for office. The advertisement was produced and distributed by a group that was not affiliated with nor funded by any political campaign. Which of the following statements explains why this expenditure is not prohibited by the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 ?

Political spending by groups not directly affiliated with a campaign is a form of protected speech.

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

a closed primary

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

closed

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

By prohibitions on negative advertising

A corporate lobbyist would be LEAST likely to have an informal discussion about a pending policy matter with which of the following?
Responses

A federal judge in whose court a case important to the corporation is being heard

Which of the following form an "iron triangle"?

Executive department, Congressional committee, interest group

Which of the following is a correct statement about political action committees (PAC's)?*This item is subject to changes in the campaign finance laws
Responses

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

Which of the following best describes the difference between an open and closed primary?

Only voters who register as members of a political party may vote in that party's closed primary, while independents and others may be eligible to vote in open primaries.

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

Political parties represent broad arrays of issues, whereas interest groups are more likely to focus on narrow sets of issues.

A major difference between political parties and interest groups is that

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

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

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

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

Their educational level

The media's effect on public opinion can best be described as
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influencing which issues the public sees as important

The use of direct primaries instead of the convention system in selecting presidential candidates results in which of the following?
A weakening of party control over nominations
A reduction in the costs of election campaigns
An increase in the number of people involved in the choice of candidates
An increase in voter turnout in midterm elections

i and iii only

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

the president delivering the State of the Union speech

Which of the following exemplifies the free-rider problem for interest groups?

A teacher who does not join the local teachers union but receives a salary negotiated by the union

Which of the following is LEAST characteristic of the history of political parties in the United States during the twentieth century?

The splitting of the two major parties into a multiparty system

Which of the following factors contributes most to the data in the line graph?

ncumbents have an advantage over challengers because of name recognition.

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?

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

Which of the following criticisms of political campaigns is the author of the political cartoon most likely to agree with?

Candidates rely too heavily on professional consultants.

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

Incumbent senators are less likely to be reelected than are incumbent members of the House of Representatives.

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

Results from public opinion polls that indicate which candidates are most likely to win

A person votes for Democratic candidates based on the belief that the policies of the Democratic Party will be personally beneficial. This type of voting matches which of the following voting behavior models?

Prospective voting

The graph reflects changes in party identification over time. These changes have had substantial effects on electoral processes.

(a) Identify the dominant trend in the graph for independents.
(b) Explain two reasons why political parties have declined in importance.
(c) Explain two reasons why political parties are still an important part of the electoral process.

Develop an argument that explains which of the three models of representative democracy—participatory, pluralist, or elite—best achieves the founders' intent for American democracy in terms of ensuring a stable government run by the people.

Use at least one piece of evidence from one of the following foundational documents:
Brutus 1
Federalist 10
The United States Constitution
In your response, you should do the following:
Responds to the prompt with a defensible claim or thesis that establishes a line of reasoning.
Support your claim with at least TWO pieces of specific and relevant evidence. One piece of evidence must come from one of the foundational documents listed above. A second piece of evidence can come from any other foundational document not used as your first piece of evidence or it may be from your knowledge of course concepts.
Use reasoning to explain why your evidence supports your claim or thesis.
Respond to an opposing or alternate perspective using rebuttal or refutation.

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

a federal mandate

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 exercised more power than Congress.
III. Congress was a unicameral body.
IV. States were represented in Congress proportionally according to population.

I and III

Which of the following is commonly identified as a failure of the Articles of Confederation?

The national government lacked an effective power to raise revenue.

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

dissatisfaction over safeguards of individual rights and liberties

Brutus was an example of an Anti-Federalist because he

believed a centralized government posed a major threat to individual rights

The House of Representatives impeaches the president. Which of the following scenarios represents how bicameralism is used as a check on the vote to impeach?

The Senate deliberates the case and votes to determine the president's guilt or innocence.

The term "bicameralism" refers to the

establishment of two legislative chambers that have different structures and rules

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

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

Which of the following is a consequence of having concurrent powers within a federal system of government?

Citizens and interest groups seeking policy change can choose from multiple access points.

Which of the following is an accurate description of the decision in McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) ?

The federal government had the authority to establish a national bank, and Maryland's tax was unconstitutional.

Which of the following features of the United States Constitution would most concern the author of Brutus 1?
Responses

The supremacy clause, which gives the federal government supremacy over states

Which of the following is an accurate description of the decision in United States v. Lopez (1995) ?

The Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 was struck down as unconstitutional because it exceeded the commerce clause.

Which of the following is the best example of a constitutional concept that supports the vision of the United States as a union of states, rather than a union of individual citizens?

The electoral college

Throughout most of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, most African Americans were prevented from voting in many Southern states despite the Fifteenth Amendment, which extended the right to vote to African American males. Southern states were able to take this action because

the framers allowed the individual states to create voting processes and voter qualifications

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

Money given to states for special education programs

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

The president vetoes a bill passed by Congress.

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

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

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

the division of powers between the levels of government

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

federalism

The case United States v. Lopez (1995) struck down the Gun-Free School Zones Act because
Responses

Congress exceeded its authority in the use of the commerce clause

Which of the following was a direct outcome of the Three-Fifths Compromise?

A formula for calculating a state's enslaved population for the purposes of representation was enacted.

In 2005, the Utah legislature passed a law that allowed school districts to ignore parts of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), a law passed by Congress in 2001 that supported standards-based education reform. Utah did this despite the fact that it endangered losing $76 million in federal aid to Utah public schools. Which of the following statements best explains why Utah took this action?

Educational policy is not mentioned in the Constitution, which has created debate about the proper role for the national government in educational policy.

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

The Senate must ratify treaties negotiated by the President before they become law.

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

The necessary and proper clause

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

minimize the threat of tyranny from any one branch of government

The importance of Shays' Rebellion to the development of the United States Constitution was that it
Responses

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

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

minimize the threat of tyranny from any one branch of government

Which of the following is an accurate comparison of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate?
Responses

House of Representatives:
The Constitution's framers intended it to reflect the will of the people.
Senate:
The Constitution's framers designed it to represent the interests of the states.

Which of the following statements accurately summarizes the reasoning for the decision in Baker v. Carr (1962) ?

Because rural districts had fewer people, representation was unevenly distributed; thus, Baker was denied equal protection under the law.

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

President may veto part of a bill.

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

The preferences of the majority of their constituents

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

individual entitlements

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

presidential authority to raise revenue

Following the 1990 census Texas gained seats in the United States House of Representatives The redistricting plan included three new districts two of which had a majority of Latino voters and another that had a majority of African American voters In addition they reconfigured a fourth district to make it predominantly African American The Texas plan was approved by the Department of Justice under the requirements of the Voting Rights Act However the plan was challenged in the federal courts as racial gerrymandering In Bush v Vera the Supreme Court concluded that the state had violated the United States Constitution in the drawing of the districts

Respond to all parts of the question. In your response, use substantive examples where appropriate.
Identify a constitutional clause that is common to both Bush v. Vera (1996) and Shaw v. Reno (1993)
Explain how the facts in both cases led to similar holdings.
Explain how the decision in Bush v. Vera could affect the process of redistricting for congressional representation in other states.

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

Agenda setting

The congressional system of standing committees is significant because it

fosters the development of expertise by members

To get an important bill passed in the House, a provision is added that allocates $500 million to study the impact of global climate change on manatees in Florida. This is an example of

pork barrel legislation

The voting patterns of members of Congress correlate most strongly with

their political party affiliation

Nominations to the Supreme Court must be approved by a

simple majority vote in the Senate only

According to the United States Constitution, all revenue bills must

originate in the House of Representatives

The House Appropriations Committee disagrees with a proposal in the president's annual budget request to increase the number of people eligible for food stamps, consequently leading to the House of Representatives passing a budget that does not increase funding for the program. This ability to check presidential actions is best described as

the power of the purse

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

declaring war

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

forming new cabinet-level departments

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

It is rarely overridden by Congress.