C963 questions/answers

What describes the minimal effects theory developed during the 1930s?

News shared by friends is filtered through their perspective and has a minimal effect on voters.

Which situation is an example of the government exercising prior restraint?

Forcing a newspaper to remove the names of covert agents in a story about the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) before it is printed

Which form of influence can the media use to cause active political debate on an issue?

Agenda setting

Which statement is true about the general political beliefs of major American demographic groups?

Men tend to be more politically conservative than women.

Which political belief is associated with modern conservatism?

The government should do little to intervene in the national economy

Which role do schools generally play in the political socialization of young people?

They provide information on U.S. history and civics.

What describes the civil liberties derived from the Bill of Rights?

They are things the government is not allowed to do.

What is the difference between civil liberties and civil rights?

Civil liberties are protections from the government, while civil rights are protections by the government.

In which types of cases would the Supreme Court use the rational basis test?

Cases involving discrimination that do not involve protected classes

What did segregated educational institutions violate according to the Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka?

What did segregated educational institutions violate according to the Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka?

Which criminal justice issue is addressed by the courts under the Eighth Amendment?

Conditions related to capital punishment (the death penalty)

Which Supreme Court case set the precedent that poor defendants must be provided legal counsel in felony cases?

Gideon v. Wainwright

Which constitutional amendment protects people from illegal searches and seizures of property?

Fourth Amendment

In which case did the Supreme Court rule that evidence obtained without a warrant and that does not fall under any exclusionary rule is inadmissible in court?

Mapp v. Ohio

What was the Supreme Court’s rationale for ruling a Pennsylvania program that helped fund the salaries of parochial school teachers unconstitutional in Lemon v. Kurtzman?

It violated the establishment clause because it would have created excessive government entanglement with religion.

Which question is not part of the Miller standard for obscenity that was developed by the Supreme Court in Miller v. California?

Does the work depict male or female nudity?

What is not a requirement of the Supreme Court's Lemon test for deciding whether a law or other government action that might promote a particular religious practice should be allowed to stand?

The action or law must not affect a large number of people.

In which case did the Supreme Court rule that Congress could regulate firearms that are not regularly used by the military because of an interpretation of the Second Amendment clause regarding a "well-regulated militia"?

United States v. Miller

What describes the Supreme Court's ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges?

It recognized that same-sex couples had the same protected civil liberty to marry nationwide as do heterosexual couples and that states had to recognize other states' validly issued marriage licenses.

Which of the following Supreme Court cases held that married couples have the right to use birth control?

Griswold v. Connecticut

This case involved a challenge by the white nationalist Ku Klux Klan (KKK) organization to a state law that prohibited speech advocating various illegal activities.

Brandenburg v. Ohio

This case involved a corporation that challenged a section of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) that required that all employment-based group healthcare plans provide coverage for certain types of contraceptives. The Supreme Court decision declared that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA) permits certain kinds of for-profit corporations to deny coverage for contraception in their health plans when that coverage violates a religious belief

What is the name of this case?

Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.

The Fifth Amendment guarantees a right against self-incrimination (the right "to remain silent")."No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."

This Supreme Court case ruled that a State had an obligation to ensure criminal suspects were informed of their constitutional right to not self-incriminate under the 5th Amendment and the right to a defense attorney under the 6th Amendment b

Miranda v. Arizona

The Fourteenth Amendment guarantees 'equal protection of the laws for all citizens. "Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

This Supreme Court case challenged the "separate but equal" doctrine of racial segregation that had been established precedent since the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson court case.

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

This case involved a nonprofit corporation charged by the federal government with violation of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA). These being for the production of a propaganda movie about a presidential candidate as a violation of campaign finance regulations due to direct corporate funding of the product.

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission

This case centered on the question of whether campaign finance laws that limited individual campaign contributions, total campaign spending, and candidate use of their own money in their campaign were a violation of the 1st amendment freedom of speech.

What is the name of this case?

Buckley v. Valeo

correct

What is an advantage incumbents have when competing for votes against political opponents?

They have greater name recognition among voters

Which factor contributes to low political participation of young Americans in local elections?

Many young Americans attend a college that is not in the district where they are registered.

correct

Which scenario describes a person making a decision based on prospective voting?

An individual examines a candidate's voting record to predict how the candidate might respond to a future crisis.

What are lobbyists attempting to influence when they submit amicus briefs?

Supreme Court decisions

correct

Which type of interest group would lobby for increased accountability of congressional members?

A public interest group

What describes the difference between a political action committee (PAC) and a Super PAC?

A PAC can give money directly to a candidate but a Super PAC cannot.

correct

Which policy would be most likely to be supported by a public interest group?

Increased spending on infrastructure projects.

correct

What is a common relationship involving interest groups, congressional committees, or federal agencies?

Interest groups provide campaign funds for committee members.

What is generally true of primary voters?

They tend to be on more extreme ends of the political spectrum.

What is an effect of gerrymandering districts?

Safe seats are created due to unnatural boundaries.

What established the requirement that candidates disclose the source of campaign contributions?

Federal Election Campaign Act

Which election cycle event do delegates assemble at to select a presidential candidate?

A nominating convention

correct

Which election-cycle event allows registered party members to participate in the selection of a congressional nominee?

The closed primary

Why is voter turnout in caucuses generally lower than voter turnout in primaries according to opponents of caucuses?

Caucuses take more time for the voter than primaries.

What is a primary effect of the census on the functioning of Congress?

It is used to determine the number of House representatives for each state.

Which describes the purpose of Congressional appropriations committees?

They recommend how specific funds are allocated

correct

Which power is assigned to the House under the Constitution?

Originating congressional spending bills

How does apportionment influence the makeup of Congress?

It determines the allocation of seats in the House of Representatives based on the equal proportions method.

What is an example of checks and balances between the executive and legislative branches of government?

The Senate must confirm the president's Supreme Court nominees.

Which presidential power can be directly restricted by Congress?

Appointing cabinet members

Which president was impeached by the House of Representatives?

Andrew Johnson for firing his secretary of war

What is the general purpose of the president making recess appointments?

To fill cabinet vacancies while bypassing Senate approval

What is true about the U.S. court system?

It is a dual system with a federal court system and courts in each state.

What describes the Supreme Court's use of the judicial principle of stare decisis?

The Supreme Court's precedents are treated as established law.

correct

What was the significance of the Supreme Court's ruling in McCulloch v. Maryland?

It established a loose constructionist view of the necessary and proper clause.

Which type of power is a state's power to tax?

A concurrent power

What is an example of a state exercising its reserve power?

Establishing laws to regulate businesses in the state

What is an example of a state exercising a concurrent power?

Issuing bonds to fund an infrastructure project

correct

The Constitution establishes the Judicial Branch and specifically the authority of the U.S. Supreme Court in Article 3.

This case involved the Judiciary Act of 1789. The Supreme Court declared that the law conflicted with the U.S. Constitution, and the case established the principle of judicial review wherein the Supreme Court has the power to declare laws passed by Congress and signed by the president to be unconstitutional.

What is the name of the case?

Marbury v. Madison

The Constitution establishes the enumerated powers given to the Legislative Branch in Article 1, Section 8, including the necessary and proper clause:

"To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof."

This case centered on Congress and the creation of the 2nd Bank of the United States. The Supreme Court confirmed that Congress had the authority to establish the Bank with a broad interpretation of Congressional power implied in the 'necessary and proper clause' as part of its enumerated power to tax and raise money (Constitution, Art.1, Sec. 8). In addition, the Court case reaffirmed the supremacy clause (Constitution, Art. 4) that places federal over state power and the idea that states cannot tax the federal government.

What is the na

McCulloch v. Maryland

The Constitution establishes the enumerated powers given to the Legislative Branch in Article 1, Section 8, including the commerce clause: "To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;"

This case involved the commerce clause in the U.S. Constitution, Art. I, Sec. 8. The Supreme reinforced that the Federal Government had exclusive power over interstate commerce. The Court said that any conflicting state government laws or actions on interstate commercial activities were void. This court case increased the power of the Federal Government when using the commerce clause.

What is the name of the case?

Gibbons v. Ogden

Which concept is an Enlightenment idea that influenced the leaders of the American Revolution?

Social contract

How does the Bill of Rights reflect the influence of Enlightenment ideas on the Constitution?

The Bill of Rights explicitly listed individual freedoms.

What describes the general structure of the U.S. government under the Articles of Confederation?

It was an alliance of independent states under a limited central government.

What was a major problem with the Articles of Confederation?

The national government did not have the power to impose taxes.

What describes Article IV, Section 2, Clause 3 in the Constitution, otherwise known as the Fugitive Slave Clause?

Slave owners could reclaim their slaves in states where they had fled.

Which major compromise regarding apportionment was made at the Constitutional Convention?

The proportional representation of enslaved persons

What describes the opposing views in the debates between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists?

Federalists favored a strong central government while the Anti-Federalist favored strong state governments.

What is an argument outlined in Federalist, no. 10?

The diverse interests of the people would prevent the development of powerful interests.

How do the branches of government operate under the concept of checks and balances?

The branches of government must cooperate to function, and each branch can restrict the others branches' powers.