Intro to Government

\________ is the ability of persons, groups, or institutions to influence political developments.

Power

A government's authority

is evidenced when government officials use their right to exercise power

Those formally trained to study government and politics are known as

Political Scientists

The process by which a society settles its conflicts and allocates the resulting benefits and costs is called

Politics

All of the following are subfields of political science EXCEPT

comparative politics
sociology (This one is correct)
international relations
political theory
political economy

The careful gathering and sifting of information in the process of forming a knowledgeable view about political issues is

politics
majoritarianism
sovereignty
public policies
political thinking (This one is correct)

Which of the following are considered actors within the American political systems

voters
candidates
lobbyists
journalists

The struggle for power is the definition for

Politcs

Political science is

Descriptive and analytic

In a constitutional system,

there are lawful restrictions on a government's power.

Becoming an informed and engaged citizen in American politics requires

critical thinking skills.
an understanding of the theory and practice of political institutions.
knowing how and why government functions the way it does.
realizing that politics affects everything around you.

The Greek words demos and kratis together mean

The people rule

The United States has certain rules in place to keep politics within peaceful bounds. These rules include all of the following EXCEPT

autocracy. (This one is correct)
democracy.
constitutionalism.
free markets.
None of these answers is correct.

At its core, political science is a study of

Power

Limiting government power to protect citizens' liberties is accomplished with a political system built on

constitutionalism

\______________________ is the tendency of people to interpret information in ways that reinforce what they already believe.

Critical thinking
Political culture
Party polarization
Confirmation bias (Correct)
None of these answers is correct.

What is a major limit on majoritarianism suggested by the authors?

The public as a whole takes an interest in only a few of the hundreds of policy decisions that U.S. officials make each year.

Which of the following is not a core value of American political culture?

collectivism

What is the major barrier to political thinking?

unwillingness of citizens to make the effort

Which of the following is an accurate description of the prevalence of college education in the United States?

Among adults twenty-five years of age and older, roughly one in three is a college graduate.

Research suggests which of the following is primarily to blame for the increase in faulty perceptions of news items among the public?

changes in the forms of communication

In which of the following policy areas does the U.S. spend more than European nations?

Military

Pluralism contends that, on most issues,

it is the preference of the special interest that largely determines what government does.

What is the name for a type of government that "openly represses its political opponents, mostly through intimidation and prohibitions on free expression, but sometimes by brutalizing or imprisoning opposition leaders?"

Authoritarian

Europeans have a greater acceptance than Americans of

tax and social policies that redistribute wealth.

In an oligarchy,

control rests with a small group, such as military officers or a few wealthy families.

Which of the following has democracy come to mean in practice?

majority rule through the free and open election of representatives

As described in this course, "political thinking"

involves the careful gathering and sifting of information in the process of forming a knowledgeable view about a political issue.

Roughly two-thirds of all lobbyists in the nation's capital represent

activist organizations.
labor unions.
business firms. (Correct)
foreign-based political action groups.
nonprofit organizations.

In which of the following ways is the U.S. free-market system distinct from the European economies?

the extent to which private transactions determine the allocation of economic costs and benefits

In his criticism of the Constitution, the economist Charles Beard argued that

the Constitution's elaborate systems of power and representation were designed to protect the interests of the rich

The principle of checks and balances is based on the notion that

power must be used to offset power.

To the framers, the great danger of democratic government was the risk of

tyranny of the majority.

Progressive reforms included

All these answers are correct.

primary elections.
direct election of U.S. senators.
the initiative and referendum.
recall elections

The framers' most significant modification of the traditional doctrine of the separation powers was to

ensure that the powers of the separate branches overlap, so that each could better act as a check on the others.

The U.S. Constitution was ratified by

state conventions.

Shays's Rebellion

convinced many political leaders that the national government was too weak.

The idea that government should be restricted in its lawful uses of power and hence in its ability to deprive people of their liberty is expressed by the term

limited government

The Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution

by the framers during the Philadelphia convention.
in stages, from 1789 to 1798.
in response to the freeing of the slaves during the Civil War.
in response to the ideals of Jacksonian democracy.
None of these answers is correct. (This one is correct)
It was actually 1791, after ratification process was complete.

The Federalist Papers were written by

Madison, Hamilton, and Jay.

Through the grants of power in the Constitution, the framers sought to

both define the powers of the national government and limit them.

The words of the Declaration of Independence reflected

Locke's philosophy of inalienable rights.

The writers of the Constitution justified different methods of selection and varying terms of office for the president, Senate, and House as a means of

protection against rapid control by an impassioned majority.

The origin of the concept of separation of powers is most associated with

Montesquieu

The writers of the Constitution used the term \________ to describe a form of government that consists of carefully designed institutions that are responsive to the majority but not captive to it.

Republic

A public policy program on which national, state, and local policymakers collaborate is an example of

cooperative federalism.

Sovereignty refers to

supreme and final governing authority.

Which of the following is NOT an enumerated power?

public education

Devolution is

the passing of authority from the national government to the state and local levels.

The Tenth Amendment addressed the concerns of Anti-Federalists about

the powers of state governments.

Which of the following is most closely related to the concept of implied powers?

necessary and proper clause

The writers of the Constitution established a federal system of government in part because

the states already existed as established entities and had to be preserved.

Dual federalism held that

a precise separation of national and state authority was both possible and desirable.

The enumerated powers in Article I of the Constitution were intended to

establish a government strong enough to forge a union that was secure in its defense and stable in its economy.

McCulloch v. Maryland

affirmed that national law is supreme to conflicting state law.

Fiscal federalism refers to

the expenditure of federal funds on programs run in part through state and local governments.

National authority has greatly expanded in the twentieth century in large part because

local, state, and federal governments have become increasingly interdependent.

According to the Anti-Federalists, too strong of a national government meant

eventual encroachment upon the sovereignty of the states.

Which of the following were arguments in favor of federalism at the time of the writing of the U.S. Constitution?

Federalism will protect liberty.
Federalism will force officials to be more responsive to the people.
Federalism will provide for a stronger national government than existed under the Articles of Confederation.
Federalism will be less likely to produce an all-dominant faction..

Viewed in historical terms, federalism has been a

contentious and dynamic system that has adapted to the needs of the time.

A standing committee in the House or Senate

is a permanent committee.
has jurisdiction over a particular policy area.
has authority to draft, amend, and recommend legislation.
is usually organized according to the seniority principle.

In the nation's first century,

service in Congress was not seen as a lifetime career for most of its members.

If the Rules Committee applies the "closed rule" to a bill,

no amendments will be permitted.

One must be \________ years of age to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives, and \________ years of age to serve in the U.S. Senate.

25; 30

Legislation whose tangible benefits are targeted solely at a particular legislator's constituency is

pork-barrel legislation.

News media coverage of Congress and the president is

heavily tilted toward presidential coverage.

The second most powerful federal official (after the president) is often said to be

the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Compared to House incumbents, Senate incumbents in an election are more likely to face the problem of

a strong challenger.

A pocket veto differs from a regular presidential veto in that the pocket veto

can take effect only when the Congress is not in session.

Most members of Congress are

concerned with national issues, but even more concerned with local ones.

Congress's inability to consistently provide leadership on broad national issues is due to

the fragmented nature of Congress.

Nearly \________ percent of all PAC contributions go to the incumbents.

90

Which of the following statements is true?

Political parties are unimportant in the organization of the U.S. Congress.
Party-line voting rarely occurs in Congress.
Party-line voting has increased in recent years. (CORRECT)
Partisanship makes virtually no difference in the votes cast in Congress.
None of these answers is correct.

Approximately \______ percent of U.S. House incumbents are reelected.

90

"Mark up" of a bill means that

a president has crossed out sections of the bill that he or she finds personally objectionable.
a bill has been approved after floor debate has finished.
witnesses at committee hearings suggest modifications of the bill.
the House Speaker and Senate majority leader have written a bill in a way that they favor.
None of these answers is correct. (CORRECT)

The presidential advisory unit that, as a whole, has declined significantly as an advisory resource for the president in the twentieth century is the

the Cabinet (as a whole).

A president's accomplishments have largely depended on

whether circumstances favor strong presidential leadership.

\________ ended the practice of party caucuses in Congress and in state legislatures nominating presidential candidates.

Andrew Jackson

Which two institutional features of the U.S. presidency have allowed the office to become more powerful over time?

national election and singular authority

According to the U.S. Constitution, if no one candidate receives a majority vote of the Electoral College, who chooses the president?

the U.S. House of Representatives

The presidency is

an office in which power is conditional, depending on whether the political support that gives force to presidential leadership exists or can be developed.

What aspect of presidential election did Andrew Jackson try but fail to achieve?

elimination of the Electoral College

Congress has formally declared war \________ times in U.S. history.

5

The selection of the vice presidential nominee at the national convention is based on

the presidential nominee's choice of a running mate.

In the modern era, the equivalent practice of using the presidency as a bully pulpit (Theodore Roosevelt) could best be summed up in the phrase, " \________."

going public

What did the Supreme Court rule about executive agreements in 1937?

They are legally binding in the same way that treaties are.

Candidate strategy in the early presidential nominating contests (such as New Hampshire's primary) is designed chiefly to gain

momentum

Whereas today candidates rely on the media, previously they based their campaigns on

the party organizations

The only two states that are exceptions to the unit rule are

Maine and Nebraska.

Which of the following is a reason that the nation did not routinely need a strong president during most of the nineteenth century?

all of these factors: the small policymaking role of the federal government; the sectional nature of the nation's major issues; and the U.S. government's small role in world affairs

Compared to the president and Congress, the bureaucracy

has a more direct impact on the daily lives of Americans.

Bureaucrats tend to follow

their own agency's point of view.

Bureaucrats are \________ and elected officials are \_______.

specialists; generalists

What were the "reinventing teams"?

teams that were formed under the National Performance Review to analyze and make recommendations about bureaucratic effectiveness

The administrative concept of neutral competence holds that the bureaucracy should

be staffed by people chosen on the basis of ability and do its work fairly on behalf of all citizens.

Whenever Congress has a perceived need for ongoing control of an economic activity, it has tended to create a

regulatory agency.

In the late 1800s, rapid economic growth placed new demands on the federal government and led it to

create new federal departments built around economic interests.

The Senior Executive Service (SES)

is composed of civil employees that can be assigned by the president to any position within the bureaucracy.

The federal bureaucracy today is

a mix of the patronage and merit systems.

What happens to the president's budget if it is approved by a vote of the House and Senate?

It is sent to the president to sign or veto.