AP Government and Politics Chapter 5 Multiple Choice

The Framers saw no need for a bill of rights because

a. in their view, civil liberties were a matter for the states, not for the federal government.

b. they were convinced that in a democratic republic, public opinion was a sufficient protection.

c. no one bothered to even bring up the topic at the Convention.

d. they assumed that the federal government could not do things that it was not explicitly authorized to do.

e. their chief concern was protecting public order, not guaranteeing rights.

d. they assumed that the federal government could not do things that it was not explicitly authorized to do.

The authors suggest that the Founding Fathers would have probably never imagined that the Bill of Rights would

a. affect what the federal government does.

b. affect what state governments do.

c. become so popular with the states.

d. be ratified with so little debate.

e. be amended in any way

b. affect what state governments do.

The leading entrepreneur of the Red scare around the time of World War I was

a. Joseph McCarthy.

b. A. Mitchell Palmer.

c. Kate Richards O'Hare.

d. Theodore Roosevelt.

e. Woodrow Wilson.

b. A. Mitchell Palmer.

Which of the following statements is incorrect?

a. The Bill of Rights was added many years after the Constitution was signed.

b. The liberties enumerated in the Bill of Rights applied only to the federal government.

c. Initially, the Supreme Court refused to apply the first ten amendments to the states.

d. The first amendments that were applied to the states appeared after the Civil War.

e. None of the above.

e. None of the above.

Which amendment prohibited the deprivation of life, liberty and property without "due process of law?"

a. Tenth.

b. Thirteenth.

c. Fourteenth.

d. Fifteenth.

e. Twenty-sixth.

c. Fourteenth.

In the first case where the Supreme Court began applying certain rights to state governments, the decision involved

a. freedom of speech.

b. the taking of private property.

c. free exercise of religion.

d. the establishment of religion.

e. voting rights.

b. the taking of private property.

In applying (or incorporating) specific rights to the states, the Court has considered whether such rights are

a. integral.

b. extremely vital.

c. secular.

d. majoritarian.

e. fundamental.

e. fundamental.

Which of the following sections of the Bill of Rights has been applied in its entirety to the states?

a. First Amendment.

b. Second Amendment.

c. Third Amendment.

d. Fifth Amendment.

e. Seventh Amendment.

a. First Amendment.

Blackstone argued that the press should be free

a. from any restrictions whatsoever.

b. only when it published the truth.

c. from censorship prior to publication.

d. from seditious libel restrictions alone.

e. from libel laws regarding government officers.

c. from censorship prior to publication.

The debate between the Federalists and the Jeffersonians over the Sedition Act was largely a debate over

a. the fundamentals of individual liberty.

b. the role of the press in a democratic republic.

c. states' rights.

d. the interpretation of elastic clauses in the Constitution.

e. the role of government in the economy

c. states' rights.

The Jeffersonian Republicans believed that the press

a. should be free from governmental controls.

b. should be free from governmental controls except when the nation is at war.

c. should be punished by the federal government for slander and defamation.

d. could be punished by federal courts but only when malice was shown.

e. could be punished by the states for slander and defamation.

e. could be punished by the states for slander and defamation.

In 1919, the Supreme Court upheld the conviction of Charles T. Schenck, who mailed circulars urging men to resist the draft, on the basis of the _________ test.

a. bad tendency

b. clear and probable danger

c. clear and present danger

d. articulable suspicion

e. probable cause

c. clear and present danger

The effect of the "clear and present danger" rule seems to have been to

a. clarify the law but not keep anyone from prison.

b. greatly clarify and expand the scope of free expression.

c. increase convictions for sedition and incitement in the states.

d. make guarantees of freedom of expression as binding on state as on federal officials.

e. bring the process of incorporation to its logical conclusion.

a. clarify the law but not keep anyone from prison.

The First Amendment was not made applicable to the states via the Fourteenth Amendment until the

a. 1920s.

b. 1930s.

c. 1940s.

d. 1950s.

e. 1970s

a. 1920s

The Supreme Court's rulings regarding communists who advocated the overthrow of the government were eventually effected by

a. presidential rebukes and legislative resolutions.

b. diminished popular concern about communism.

c. condemnation from the American Bar Association.

d. change in the Court's membership.

e. B and D.

e. B and D.

The 1969 conviction of KKK leader Clarence Brandenburg was overturned by the Court because the "danger" or "illegal action" that he called for was not

a. imminent.

b. properly regulated.

c. without merit.

d. patently offensive by contemporary community standards.

e. B and D.

a. imminent.

The display of an odious symbol, such as a swastika or a burning cross, has been deemed by the Supreme Court to be

a. punishable as a hate crime.

b. punishable as incitement.

c. an unconstitutional act.

d. protected by the Constitution.

e. not a case for Supreme Court review.

d. protected by the Constitution.

Libel is defined as

a. stating something untrue about another person.

b. writing something false about someone without their knowledge.

c. an oral statement defaming another person.

d. a written statement defaming another person.

e. maliciously intending to defame a public official.

d. a written statement defaming another person.

A successful libel suit is more likely to be filed by

a. an elected official.

b. an army general.

c. a school teacher.

d. a well-known celebrity.

e. a famous artist or literary figure.

c. a school teacher.

Justice Hugo Black and a few others took the position that obscenity is

a. protected by the First Amendment.

b. easy to define, but difficult to punish.

c. difficult to define, but easy to punish.

d. subject to federal but not state prosecution.

e. subject to state but not federal prosecution.

a. protected by the First Amendment.

The definition of what is obscene and therefore not a form of protected speech

a. is left almost entirely up to localities.

b. can be decided by localities but only within narrow limits.

c. is finely detailed in the Court's decision in the Roth case.

d. has to be decided by the Supreme Court on pretty much a case-by-case basis.

e. has to be decided by the Supreme Court on the basis of reasonably clear guidelines.

a. is left almost entirely up to localities.

Under the current law, the Supreme Court would allow a city to

a. institute a complete ban on nudity in films and books.

b. regulate nudity as pornography.

c. adopt a zoning ordinance restricting where "adult" movie theaters can be located.

d. define pornography in terms of material that degrades women.

e. ban the use of the Internet.

c. adopt a zoning ordinance restricting where "adult" movie theaters can be located.

One controversial rule of the Court is that free expression is not absolute, but occupies a higher position than many other constitutional rights. This is known as the "_________ position" approach to speech.

a. incorporated

b. neutrality

c. least-restrictive means

d. relaxed

e. preferred

e. preferred

The Supreme Court struck down a 1996 law that addressed the issue of child pornography because it attempted to ban images that were

a. graphic.

b. violent.

c. psychologically harmful.

d. in the public domain.

e. computer simulated.

e. computer simulated.

The Supreme Court has ruled that one of the following sorts of symbolic speech is protected by the Constitution. Which one?

a. Burning draft cards.

b. Burning the flag.

c. Making obscene gestures toward a police officer.

d. Sleeping in a public park to draw attention to the plight of the homeless.

e. Protesting loudly directly outside a court building.

b. Burning the flag.

Which of the following statements regarding government limitations on commercial and noncommercial speech is correct?

a. Commercial speech cannot be limited as much.

b. Commercial speech can be limited more.

c. Noncommercial speech can be limited more.

d. Neither can be limited more than the other.

e. Commercial speech can only be limited in matters regarding public health.

b. Commercial speech can be limited more.

Under the McCain -Feingold campaign finance reform law, organizations cannot pay for radio or television spots that refer to candidates for federal office

a. within sixty days before the election.

b. more than sixty days before the election.

c. without consent from the Federal Election Commission.

d. without a waiver from a court.

e. in a negative manner.

a. within sixty days before the election.

In general, high school students have the same rights as adults. An exception is when

a. their actions are specifically prohibited by the Constitution.

b. their actions offend other students.

c. they exercise these rights as individuals rather than as part of a school-sponsored activity.

d. some form of symbolic speech is involved.

e. their exercise of these rights impedes the educational process.

e. their exercise of these rights impedes the educational process.

The First Amendment states that Congress may not make any law prohibiting the free exercise of religion. It also specifically states that

a. church and state must be clearly separate.

b. there will be no official church in the United States.

c. citizens are exempt from laws binding other citizens when the law goes against their religious beliefs.

d. Congress may not make any law respecting an establishment of religion.

e. nonsectarian, voluntary, or limited prayer is permissible in public schools.

d. Congress may not make any law respecting an establishment of religion.

Conscientious objectors may be excused from participation in war even if they do not believe in a Supreme Being so long as there is evidence that

a. they are guided by a deeply held moral or ethical code.

b. they have never been arrested in an anti-war protest.

c. their parents also objected to war.

d. ten elected officials support their exclusion from the draft.

e. they strongly object to particular wars, not all wars in general

a. they are guided by a deeply held moral or ethical code.

A state cannot require you to send your children to public schools beyond the ____ grade.

a. fifth

b. sixth

c. seventh

d. eighth

e. tenth

d. eighth

The phrase "wall of separation" between church and state comes from

a. the pen of Thomas Jefferson.

b. the Bill of Rights.

c. the debates in the First Congress that drafted the Bill of Rights.

d. the Fourteenth Amendment.

e. George Washington's farewell address

a. the pen of Thomas Jefferson.

Interestingly, the wording of the Establishment clause that was originally debated by Congress was __________ than what finally emerged.

a. more abstract

b. longer and even more confusing

c. more brief

d. quite different and much plainer

e. more partial to the federal government

d. quite different and much plainer

The Court has applied the "wall of separation" metaphor to strike down

a. nonsectarian prayers in public schools.

b. voluntary prayers in public schools.

c. invocations given by rabbis or ministers at public school graduation ceremonies.

d. students, elected by other students, to lead voluntary prayer at public school graduation ceremonies.

e. all of the above.

e. all of the above.

The Supreme Court's controversial three-part "test" for Establishment clause cases focuses specifically on

a. whether there is a secular purpose for an action.

b. the effect of an act advances or inhibits religion.

c. whether an action fosters excessive governmental entanglement with religion.

d. all of the above.

e. none of the above.

d. all of the above.

Instead of using the exclusionary rule, our courts might do as European courts do and

a. refuse to include illegally obtained evidence at a trial.

b. ignore the legality or illegality of the method used to obtain the evidence.

c. levy civil or criminal penalties against law enforcement officers who obtain evidence illegally.

d. refuse to hear cases tainted with official illegality.

e. use the rule only when cases do not involve murder.

c. levy civil or criminal penalties against law enforcement officers who obtain evidence illegally.

The exclusionary rule was not officially applied to the states until the

a. 1940s.

b. 1950s.

c. 1960s.

d. 1980s.

e. 1990s.

c. 1960s.

Some police departments have tried to get around the need for Miranda warnings by training their officer to

a. read the warnings quickly and refuse to answer subsequent questions.

b. only use the warnings when there is a threat to the safety of the public.

c. limit the use of warnings to newly hired officers.

d. question suspects, obtain confessions, read the warnings, then repeat the same questions.

e. read the warnings and question suspects regardless of their expressed desire not to talk.

d. question suspects, obtain confessions, read the warnings, then repeat the same questions.

All of the following are true of the USA Patriot Act (passed in the aftermath of the attack of 9/11) except

a. the penalties for terrorist crimes were increased.

b. the government can seize voice mail without a court order.

c. information in secret grand jury hearings can be shared by officials.

d. non-citizens who pose a national security risk can be detained for up to seven days.

e. the government can tap Internet communications with a court order.

b. the government can seize voice mail without a court order.

Which statement accurately describes the legal status of complaints concerning the detainment of "unlawful combatants" in Guantanamo Bay?

a. American courts cannot consider legal challenges regarding the detentions.

b. American courts can consider legal challenges regarding the detentions.

c. The Supreme Court has provided lower courts with specific guidelines for petitions.

d. It is clear that the Supreme Court will rule against the government in these cases.

e. It is clear that the Supreme Court will rule in favor of the government in these cases

b. American courts can consider legal challenges regarding the detentions.

One potentially controversial aspect of a 2005 law regarding Homeland Security might be something like

a. a national ID card.

b. optical scanning in airports.

c. permanent fingerprint files in state drivers' license offices.

d. armed guards in all public buildings.

e. loyalty oaths for political office.

a. a national ID card.