Uark PLSC 2003 Final - Online class

Which of the following best describes a liberal democracy?

Liberal democratic governments protect basic civil liberties.

Politics can be defined as

Activities involved in the running of a government or state

The idea that individual preferences should be given equal weight describes

Economic Equality

______ analysis seeks to prescribe how things should be valued, what should be, and what is good or just, better or worse.

Normative

An election in which a state legislature refers a proposed law to the voters for their approval is defined as

Referendum

The idea that people believe their views are normal and common sense and therefore shared by most people is known as

False Consensus

The process of deciding who gets what or what values we live by is

The principal under which government follows the course of action preferred by most people is known as

majority rule

Conflict and debate over policy ideas and philosophies

?

The idea that people should be free from discrimination and class or social barriers is called

Social Equality

Empirical analysis asks which of the following question(s)?

Empirical analysis is an evidence-based approach to the study and interpretation of information. The empirical approach relies on real-world data, metrics and results rather than theories and concepts. Empiricism is the idea that knowledge is primarily received through experience and attained through the five senses.

What are the core principles of democracy?

- Consent of the Governed - Representative Government - Rule of Law - Individual Rights - Checks and Balances

A study which argues that democracy is a good idea is considered to be

?

The idea that people believe their views are normal and common sense and therefore shared by most people is known as

False Concensus

A positive relationship occurs when

an increase in one variable leads to an increase in another. This reflects a direct connection between the two variables, indicating they move in the same direction.

Evolutionary and Biological Models

The model of politics that asserts that human behavior is at least partially shaped by genetic predispositions inherited from previous generations is

Empirical

The idea that every individual has the right to develop to the fullest extent of his or her abilities is called

Which of the following is not a goal of scientific research?

The election of Donald Trump, in which he won the Electoral College vote, yet lost the popular vote by nearly three million votes, is an excellent example of

Bullshit

The most common way of proposing amendments to the U.S. Constitution is

amendment is proposed by 2/3 of both houses of congress, this amendment must be ratified by 3/4 of state legislatures

What are the freedoms and protections against arbitrary governmental actions given to the people in a democratic society called?

civil liberties

The idea that each branch of government should be responsible for a separate part of the political process is known as

separation of powers

The constitutional framework for the structure of Congress was the

Bicameral Legislation

In Federalist Number 51, James Madison argued that the new constitution should be ratified because

It would put a system of checks and balances in the government in order to control the abuses of governement

Amendments to the United States Constitution can be initiated by

The House

Governmental powers listed in the Constitution are called

Delegated, Enumerated, or Expressed Powers

Which of the following is (are) empirically true?

Something that is true based observation or experiment

Powers that are not listed or implied by the Constitution but that rather have been claimed as essential to the national government are known as

Inherent powers (prerogative powers)

The power to review decisions of the lower courts and to determine the constitutionality of laws and actions of public officials is known as

judicial review

Among the advantages of federalism listed in your text is

subnational governments can serve as the laboratories of democracy by trying out new policies on a small scale before they are implemented

Which of the following does not directly influence the power state governors have?

Texas Constitution

The authority of states to pass laws safeguarding health, safety, and morals of citizens is called

police power

The form of city government that makes use of educated experts -- often possessing Masters of Public Administration (MPA) degrees -- to run a city like a CEO runs a business is referred to as the

Council - Manager Plan

The provision in the Constitution that requires states to honor the civil obligations generated by other states is known as

full faith and credit

The division of power between the national government and state and local governments is known as

federalism

_________ is/are a type of federal grant that provides money for a specific policy activity and details how the programs are to be carried out.

Categorical Grants

"Home rule" refers to

Ability to run state governments with out the interference of the federal government

The notion that the distinction between state and national responsibilities is unclear and that the different levels of government share responsibilities in many areas is known as

cooperative federalism

The disadvantages of federalism include

- Allows states to block certain plans - Results in unequal opportunity - Creates powerful local interests

Which of the following statements about state judicial branches is not true?

?

State legislators have long been respected public officials; however, revelations of bribery and corruption diminished this respect historically. Which of the following led to their regaining respect?

?

_________ is/are a type of federal grant that provides funds for a general policy area but offers state and local governments discretion in designing the specific programs.

Block Grants

The process of adding a new state to the Union

Step 1

State petitions Congress for admission

Step 2

Congress agrees to framing of proposed Constitution

Step 3

Convention prepares Constitution; popular statewide vote

Step 4

Voters approve; Constitution submitted to Congress

Step 5

Congress agrees to statehood and Constitution; passes act of admission

Step 6

President signs act, new state enters the Union

A resolution passed by Congress authorizing residents of a territory to draft a state constitution as part of the process of adding new states to the Union is called

enabling act

______ is a political system in which regional governments share power with a central or national government, but each level of government has legal powers that are independent of the other.

confederation

The ability of the states to use their police power to pass laws concerning health, safety and the morals of their citizens were given through this

State Police Powers

It could be suggested that the exclusion of evidence acquired illegally may be justified because

Inevitable Discovery

The basic defense in a libel suit is

Truth?

The Supreme Court has stated the Constitution has "penumbras" which create a right to privacy. What does this mean?

A group of rights derived, by implication, from other rights explicitly protected in the Bill of Rights

Which of the following is included in the First Amendment?

Freedom of Speech, Petition, Religion, Assembly

One of the most significant cases regarding the separation of church and state was Engel v. Vitale (1962), which

Court ruled that it is unconstitutional for state officials to compose an official school prayer and encourage its recitation in public schools.

Civil liberties are

The state of being subject only to laws established for the good of the community

The constitutional right to privacy is based on

The 4th Amendment

Which of the following is the biggest obstacle to tighter regulations of special interest groups?

First amendment

Which Supreme Court case extended the exclusionary rule to state trials?

Mapp v. Ohio

This most recent legal decision rule concerning freedom of speech allows for speech supporting the breaking of the law in the abstract (e.g. "All good Americans must resist paying taxes!")

?

Which Supreme Court case was the first to use the phrase "separation of church and state" when interpreting the meaning of the First Amendment?

Everson V. Board of Education (1947)

When Jehovah's Witnesses refuse to salute the flag, they cannot be legally affected by government intervention due to this freedom

?

Since 1969, the dominant view of seditious speech has been that it is

Protected by the First Amendment so long as it does not incite illegal actions

The Bill of Rights protects individual liberties by

Preventing federal infringement of individual liberties, specially stated within the Bill of Rights

Which 1919 Supreme Court case articulated the "clear and present danger" test?

Schenck v. United States

This case found that obscenity, which are those forms of speech without redeeming value, is not protected speech according to the Constitution

Miller V. California (1973)

One of the most significant cases regarding the separation of church and state was Engel v. Vitale (1962), which

The Court ruled that it is unconstitutional for state officials to compose an official school prayer and encourage its recitation in public schools

This case about a married couple arrested for buying contraceptives, established the "penumbra" under which the right to privacy was interpreted as being in the U.S. Constitution

Griswold V. Connecticut (1965)

The controversy over school prayer is related to the Supreme Court's interpretation of

The First Amendment

The _______ states that evidence obtained from an illegal search may be used in court if the evidence eventually would have been discovered through legal means.

Inevitable Discovery

The Supreme Court formally exercises it discretionary power to hear a case by

Writ of Certiorari

Which of the following federal courts can hear appeals made from the state supreme courts?

?

Who sets the jurisdictional boundaries of the federal courts?

Congress

Public law involves which of the following

disputes between private individuals or groups and their government

Federal judges

?

An opinion written by a Supreme Court justice who is in the minority that presents the logic and thinking of the justices who opposed the majority opinion is a

Dissenting Opinion

Courts of appellate jurisdiction

No cases can originate in their court. They can only hear appeals from lower federal courts.

____ has the power to establish lower courts, determine what cases courts can hear, and regulates which matters decided in lower courts the Supreme Court can review.

Congress

A Supreme Court justice who believes that the Court has a responsibility to use its rulings to articulate new policy when other branches fail to do so is practicing

Judicial Activism

The number of Supreme Court justices is

9

All of the following are potential constraints on judicial power EXCEPT

Re-election concerns

The idea that Supreme Court justices should interpret the Constitution in terms of the original intentions of the framers is

Originalism

How many Supreme Court justices have been impeached and removed from office?

14

According to Wilson and Daly's research concerning violence by and often against young males Ages 15-30), the causes are

?

According to evidence presented in the text, the average length of time it takes for the Senate to consider the presidential nominations to federal appellate courts

Roughly a year

A decision of the Supreme Court in which five or more justices agree on which party to the dispute should win the case and agree on the reason that party should win is a

Majority Opinion

The power of judicial review

?

A court order requiring a public official to perform an official duty over which he or she has no discretion is a

Writ of Mandamus

The qualifications set by the Constitution to serve as a Supreme Court justice include

There are no qualifications

The argument that the oath of office requires a president to preserve the Constitution, even if it means taking unconstitutional actions to do so, is

The prerogative view of presidential power

The Commander in Chief role the President of the United States (POTUS) plays involves

mobilizing the armed forces, when and were they shall be sent, and is the highest ranking official within the armed forces

The period in which presidents enjoy their highest approval ratings is

The first-year honeymoon period

The 1973 law that attempted to limit the power of the executive to send troops into combat without congressional approval is the

War Powers Act

What perspective on presidential power did Lincoln articulate to justify taking actions that were otherwise unconstitutional, but that he believed were necessary to preserve the Constitution?

Prerogative View

Presidents who make direct appeals to the public in order to put pressure on Congress to support presidential initiatives are engaging in which of the following strategies?

Going Public

The unilateral power the President (POTUS) uses under Article 2 of the U.S. Constitution that is a legally binding order concerning how federal agencies and officials implement Congressional laws and policies are known as

?

How does party control of Congress affect presidential success?

It gives the president a substantial amount of success

Presidential scholar George Edwards found that president's speeches ______ moved public opinion.

Seldom

The president has more autonomy in the exercise of the power as ______ than the exercise of other executive powers.

Commander in Chief

At the Constitutional Convention, supporters of the strong-executive model were helped by?

Strong governors in New York and Massachusetts

Which of the following presidential responsibilities does NOT have an explicit foundation in the Constitution?

Party Leader

Pronouncements of how the president intends to interpret and apply a law when he signs a bill are called

Signing Statements

The Chief Diplomat role the President of the United States (POTUS) plays involves

Telling ambassadors and diplomats what to say to foreign governments

The only formal duties this office has is to preside over the Senate and vote in case of a tie, as well as help decide whether the president is disabled

The house of Representatives (each state, representative, has one vote to cast)