Representative democracy is defined as:
A) a form of government in which the people choose their leaders through free elections in which candidates and political parties compete for popular support and in which elected officials are held accountable for their conduct.
B) a form of government, originally found in Greece, in which the people directly pass laws and make other key decisions.
C) the rule of a one person who pursues the common interest of the community.
D) the rule of religious leaders who seek to do God's will for the political community.
James Madison argued that representative democracy is superior to direct democracy.
James Madison argued that representative democracy is superior to direct democracy because:
A) Representative refine and enlarge public opinion.
B) Representative vote exactly how the majority of their constituents want them to vote.
C) The increased population means more interests and parties, so majority factions have a more difficult time forming.
D) The people represent themselves.
Popular sovereignty is a key requirement for a democracy.
Democracy involves the means by which people govern themselves, not the ends or results of that government.
According to the Declaration of Independence, governments are instituted among men to:
A) provide for the poor and needy.
B) pursue the common good
C) secure inalienable rights, including life, liberty, and the guarantee of happiness.
D) secure inalienable rights, including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
E) protect the people's property and provide for the common defense.
The Declaration of Independence lists the American colonists' grievances against:
A) British Parliament
B) Royal governors
C) King George
D) Continental Congress
Federalist Papers #15, #21, and #22 attempt to convince colonists of:
A) The excellence of the proposed U.S. Constitution
B) The justness of the revolutionary war
C) The deficiency of the Articles of Confederation
D) The deficiency of the state constitutions
E) The need for the separation of powers.
Which regime has a few rulers who seek their own self interest?
A)Polity
B) Democracy
C)Aristocracy
D) Oligarchy
E)Tyranny
One of the deficiencies of the Articles of Confederation was:
A) Too strong of a central government
B) An excessively powerful president
C) Lack of a strong national government
D) It was too hard for territories to become states
The Declaration of Independence asserted independence for the colonies on the basis that:
A) Monarchy is contrary to the natural rights of mankind.
B) Aristocracy subverts the natural equality of mankind.
C) King George is a tyrant and is trampling the natural rights he is supposed to protect.
D) The colonists don't want to pay taxes for foreign wars across the empire.
According to John Locke and the Declaration of Independence, governments are instituted among men to:
A) protect natural rights
B) ensure happiness
C) pursue the common good
D) Make the people more virtuous
Thomas Paine wrote which influential pamphlet?
A) Declaration of the Rights of Mankind
B) Sense and Sensibility
C) Common Sense
D) The Federalist Papers
E) The Cato Letters
In his influential pamphlet, Thomas Paine argues that:
A) The 13 colonies can exist as 13 independent states.
B) All monarchies are contrary to the natural rights of mankind
C) Divine right monarchy is biblical and just
D) The state of nature, which devolves into a state of war, necessities that creation of government for the protection of property and liberty.
The Articles of Confederation had:
A) A strong executive
B) A bicameral legislature
C) A unicameral legislature that had limited powers
D) An independent judiciary
With the exception of New York (and Massachusetts to a lesser extent), the state constitutions created:
A) Strong executives
B) Weak legislatures
C) Weak executives
D) State sponsored religions
Shay's Rebellion was:
A) A rebellion of farmers in Rhode Island as a result of rising inflation and depreciation of paper money.
B) A rebellion of merchants in Rhode Island in response to unfair "forcing laws" from the state legislature.
C) A religious rebellion that showed the danger of state religions.
D) A rebellion of farmers in Massachusetts that demonstrated the relative weakness of both the governor and national government in responding to crisis.
Which three men were most important to the actual drafting of the U.S. Constitution?
A) Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington
B) George Washington, John Adams, and James Madison
C) James Madison, James Wilson, and Gouverneur Morris
D) James Madison, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton
What did the delegates hope to achieve by removing all limits on presidential reelection?
A) The prospect of reelection would give the president an incentive to do a good job.
B) George Washington would remain president for the remainder of his life.
C) The executive branch would become more powerful than the legislative branch.
D) The legislature would be encouraged to assume a dominant role in government.
Under the original Constitution, members of the Senate were:
A) appointed by the president
B) chosen by the state legislatures
C) elected directly by the people
D) selected by special committees within each state
Checks and balances refers to:
A) the division of the legislative, executive, and judicial powers of government into three distinct institutions.
B) the partial overlap of institutional powers which pushes each branch to resist encroachments on its own powers by another branch.
C) the financial system created by Alexander Hamilton
D) the division of legislative and executive powers.
The Federalists:
A) supported the proposed U.S. Constitution
B) supported state supremacy over the national government
B) supported a confederation instead of a federation of states
D) did not support the proposed U.S. Constitution
The Anti-Federalists:
B) were concerned that the judicial branch would be too powerful and that standing armies would threaten the rights of the people
C) were members of one of the first political parties after ratification of the U.S. Constitution
D) Did not support the inclusion of a Bill of Rights into the Constitution.
The Bill of Rights was:
A) introduced and ratified after the initial ratification of the Constitution
B) was ratified at the same time as the Constitution
C) necessary, according to James Madison, for the protection of basic rights against government intrusion.
D) a list of structural changes to the U.S. Constitution
James Madison argued that the Bill of Rights was:
A) necessary for the protection of the people's natural rights
B) necessary to improve the structure of the Constitution
C) a mere parchment barrier against the threat of majority tyranny
D) unnecessary because the people already know their rights and will never trample them
Madison proposed a Bill of Rights to:
A) protect the people's natural rights against encroachments by the government
B) fulfill the federalists' promise during the ratification debate and avoid a second constitutional convention
C) alter the structural conditions of the Constitution that gave the national government too much power
D) create an unsurpassable barrier for factions seeking to promote interests contrary to the public good.
A system in which the national government dominates certain policy areas while regional government dominate others is called a:
A) divided government
B) federal government
C) liberal government
E) unitary government
Who anonymously authored a resolution for Kentucky which declared that states had the right to declare federal acts unconstitutional and therefore void?
A) Alexander Hamilton
B) James Madison
C) Thomas Jefferson
D) Benjamin Franklin
Implied powers are:
A) powers of the national government that the Constitution does not directly mention but that one may reasonably infer from the enumerated powers.
B) powers not delegates to the United States by the Constitution, or prohibited by it to the states, that are reserved to the states or to the people.
C) powers expressly delegated to the national government.
Nullification refers to:
A) the idea that a state may NOT refuse to acknowledge or enforce federal laws within its boundaries.
B) the idea that a state may refuse to acknowledge or enforce federal laws within its boundaries.
C) an argument made by northern states to support the continuation of slavery
D) an argument made by Alexander Hamilton to undermine the Alien and Sedition Acts.
What was the major complaint of those who opposed the ratification of the Constitution?
A) the failure to address slavery
B) the large bicameral legislature
C) the president's authority as commander and chief
D) the absence of a bill of rights and express protection for state powers
In the debate over ratification, the name given to those who urged adoption of the Constitution was:
A) Federalists
B) Anti-Federalists
C) Constitutionalists
D) Jeffersonians
James Madison believed that (blank) were "the most common and durable sources of factions."
A) property disputes
B) industry interests
C) agricultural needs
d) taxes
An act of the legislature convicting someone of a crime and imposing a punishment without a trial is called a(n):
A) bill of attainder
B) ex post facto law
C) initiative
D) writ of habeas corpus
When Alexander Hamilton spoke for the first time at the Constitutional Convention, what was his assessment of the Virginia and New Jersey plans?
A) he preferred to keep the Articles of Confederation
B) he believed neither plan was sufficient to correct the problems of the Articles of Confederation
C) He preferred the Virginia Plan
D) he preferred the New Jersey Plan.
Small states, such as New Jersey, disliked the Virginia Plan because it:
A) Kept the one state - one vote system of the Articles of Confederation
B) Weakened the national government
C) Based representation in the bicameral legislature on population
D) gave states a veto power over national laws
The Virginia Plan:
A) Rejected the Articles of Confederation and proposed creating an entirely new Constitution
B) Gave states equal voting power in the bicameral legislature
C) Modified the Articles of Confederation by adding a national executive
D) Included a unicameral legislature and an independent judiciary.
In the finished version of the Constitution, the House of Representatives:
A) Is elected according to the population of each state (1 representative for every 30,000 people)
B) Is elected by the state legislature
C) Includes two representatives from each state
E) Has the sole power to write appropriation bills
The Great Compromise:
A) found a middle ground between nationalists and anti-nationalists
B) created a House of Representatives based on the one state-one vote principle and a Senate based on the population principle.
C) found a middle ground between small state interests and large state interests by allowing for the one state-one vote principle in the Senate.
D) was proposed by James Madison
According to Publius' famous definition in Federalist 10, a faction is a:
A) " a political party that denies a minority of their natural rights"
B) "a number of citizens... who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest, adverse to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community"
C) "any majority that tramples the rights of any minority."
D) "an unavoidable consequence of democracy."
Our two senators from California are:
A) Kamala Harris and Dianne Feinstein
B) Kamala Harris and Barbara Boxer
C) Maxine Waters and Dianne Feinstein
D) Nancy Pelosi and Kamala Harris
The current Speaker of the House is:
A) Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
B) Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
C) Paul Ryan (R-WI)
D) John Boehner (R-OH)
The current President Pro Tempore of the Senate is:
A) Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
B) Orrin Hatch (R-UT)
C) John McCain (R-AZ)
D) Marco Rubio (R-FL)
Which body confirms judicial and cabinet nominations?
A) The senate by 2/3rds vote
B) The senate by majority vote
C) The House of Representatives by 2/3rds vote
D) The House of Representatives by majority vote
Who draws the lines for districts in House of Representative elections? In other words, who has the opportunity to gerrymander?
A) the state legislature
B) the House of Representatives
C) the Supreme Court
D) The president
One of the powers of Congress is impeachment. Which chamber convicts (and thereby removes from office) a president?
A) House of Representatives
B) Both chambers charge and convict
C) Senate
How long is a senator's term and why is this length significant?
A) 2 years so that the senator will be more attuned to short term shifts in public opinion
B) 6 years so that the senator will be more attuned to short term shifts in public opinion
C) 2 years so that the senator is insulated from rapid shifts in public opinion
D) 6 years so that the senator is insulated from rapid shifts in public opinion
Subcommittees go through bills line by line and propose amendments in:
A) agenda meetings
B) cloture sessions
C) legislative hearings
D) markup sessions
Legislative measures that lawmakers add to popular bills because they might not pass on their own are called:
A) earmarks
B) filibusters
C) riders
D) companion bills
A pocket veto differs from a regular veto because it:
A) is not subject to override by Congress
B) is subject to judicial review
C) is not binding
D) requires only a simple majority to override it
Lawmakers who closely follow the majority opinion in their electorate are sometimes called:
A) constituents
B) delegates
C) senators
D) trustees
Under the original Constitution,senators were elected by:
A) state legislatures
C) the president
D) the voters
The establishment of a national bank is an example of Congress':
A) constitutional duties
B) enumerated powers
C) implied powers
D) supremacy act
A filibuster is:
A) a bill that contradicts a preexisting law
B) a bill that mandates certain actions by states
C) a procedure to speed up the legislative process
D) an attempt to block or delay senate action on a bill or other matter
The majority leader is:
A) the highest ranking member of the majority party in the House of Representatives
B) the highest ranking member of the majority party in the Senate
C) the officer who presides over the Senate when the Vice President is not in attendance
D) a staff expert on the rules of the House and Senate
Divided government is when:
A) the Supreme Court and the presidency are controlled by different parties
B) the presidency and at least one chamber of Congress are controlled by different parties
C) a separation of powers between the legislature and executive
D) the presidency and both chambers of Congress are controlled by the same party.
The current majority and minority leaders in the Senate are:
A) Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
B) Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
C) Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
D) Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
The whip is:
A) a staff expert on the rules of the House and Senate
B) the officer who presides over the Senate in the absence of the Vice President
C) the chief officer of the House of Representatives
D) a party leader whose job is to count votes and gather support from party lawmakers.
Which is NOT an effect that the Civil War had on federalism in the United States?
A) Victory ended serious discussion about secession and nullification for a century
B) The war strengthened the national government
C) The Civil War amendments limited state power and laid the foundation for the growth of federal power
D) The Union's victory bolstered the strength of states vis a vis the national government
Which of the following amendments did NOT strengthen the national government vis a vis the states?
A) 16th amendment (direct income tax)
B) 17th amendment (direct election of Senators)
C) 10th amendment (reserved powers)
D) 18th amendment (prohibition)
Which of the following is NOT a purpose of hearings in committees or subcommittees?
A) draw public attention to an issue
B) make a particular senator or representative look good to his/her constituents
C) to seek input from executive agencies and experts
D) to vote on the bill in question
How does the senate overcome a filibuster?
A) cloture
B) by placing a hold on a bill
C) instituting open rule
D) instituting closed rule
How many votes are needed to close debate and thereby end a filibuster in the Senate?
A) 3/5ths of the full Senate, or 66 votes
B) 2/3rds of the full Senate, or 66 votes
C) 3/5ths of the full Senate, or 60 votes
D) 2/3rds of the full Senate, or 60 votes
Other than legislating, what do senators/representatives NOT do?
A) Ask people for money for their reelection campaign
B) oversee the administration and operation of government
C) take the lead on foreign policy (meeting foreign dignitaries, conducting negotiations)
D) serve constituents (casework)
E) educate the public
An example of an earmark is:
A) a senator from Idaho placing a provision in a spending bill that sends $200 million to his district to subsidize potato farmers
B) a senator from Idaho voting for a coal miner's protection bill in exchange for a senator from West Virginia voting for a potato farmer's protection bill
C) a senator from Idaho adding a measure to a gun control bill that requires all citizens - male and female - to register for the draft
D) a senator from Idaho speaking on the floor of the Senate for 24 hours and 8 minutes to prevent the passage of a bill that would ban potato farming in America.
An example of logrolling is:
The framers helped secure the president's independence from Congress by prohibiting Congress from:
A) altering the president's salary during any one term
B) confirming Supreme Court appointees
C) removing a president from office
D) overriding a presidential veto
The only constitutional duty of the Vice President is:
A) advising the president on matters of foreign policy
B) casting a tie-breaking voting in the House of Representatives
C) presiding over the Senate and casting tie-breaking votes
D) selecting presidential electors
Theodore Roosevelt changed the traditional understanding of the presidency when he:
A) depended upon his rapport with lawmakers to get his policies through Congress
B) issued several hundred executive orders as a way of bypassing Congress
C) took more liberties with his position as commander and chief than his predecessors had done
D) took pains to cultivate public opinion and drum up public support for his policies
Which of the following is NOT an aspect of the theory of the modern presidency espoused by Woodrow Wilson?
A) the president is a better representative of national opinion than Congress
B) the president should NOT call on the people to pressure Congress to pass his policies
C) through his oratory, the president should educate the citizenry and shape national sentiment
D) the president should be the center of national policymaking
One key characteristic of the executive is:
A) deliberation
B) justice
C) energy
D) moderation
Which of the following was NOT an example of Jefferson exercising executive prerogative?
A) Issuing the Neutrality Proclamation, which declared the United States neutral in European conflicts
B) Purchasing the Louisiana Territory from Napoleon
C) Sent the military after the Barbary Pirates prior to congressional approval
D) Building gunboats without congressional appropriations to prepare for war with the British.
What is executive prerogative?
A) a president carrying out his constitutional duties on a day to day basis
B) a president's right to issue pardons
C) acting in the absence of the law, or contrary to the law, to preserve the nation or secure the common good
D) the violation of constitutional law with congressional approval
Theodore Roosevelt's 'Stewardship Theory' of the presidency states that:
A) the constitutional presidency is inherently strong vis a vis Congress
B) the constitutional presidency is inherently weak vis a vis Congress
C) the president should use rhetoric to educate the citizenry about the public interest
D) the president can do anything not strictly prohibited by law
According to Woodrow Wilson's progressive theory of the modern presidency, the president is:
A) a representative of the people equal to Congress
B) the best representative of national opinion
C) not the center of policymaking
D) an aristocratic office removed from public opinion and pressure
The combination of which two events led to the War Powers Resolution and a swing of power back to Congress in the 1970s:
A) Vietnam War and Iranian Hostage Crisis
B) Vietnam War and Watergate
C) Watergate and Iran-Contra Scandal
D) Iran-Contra Scandal and Iranian Hostage Crisis
The theory of the Imperial Presidency holds that:
A) the presidency is ineffective and lacking in constitutional powers
B) contemporary presidents exercise congressional war powers and subvert the legal process
C) contemporary presidents are too subservient to the administrative state
D) the modern presidency is overly rhetorical and ineffective in policymaking
President Obama's recess appointments in January of 2012 were controversial because:
A) he made so many at one time
B) the individuals had already been voted down by the Senate
C) recess appointments are not mentioned in the Constitution
D) the Senate was technically not in recess but holding regular brief, pro-forma sessions
Which of the following is NOT a provision of the War Powers Resolution of 1973:
A) Congress must approve the introduction of military forces into hostilities in advance
B) the president must consult with Congress whenever possible before sending troops into combat
C) the president must report significant troop movements to Congress within 48 hours
D) the president must withdraw forces within 60-90 days unless Congress authorizes further combat
E) By a concurrent resolution, Congress may order the withdrawal of troops from combat at any time.
Which of the following statements best describes President Obama's military actions with respect to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan?
A) He significantly increased the number of troops in both countries before beginning a drawdown
B) He replaced ground actions in Afghanistan with unmanned drone attacks
C) He withdrew American forces from Iraq, but increased the number of troops in Afghanistan before beginning a drawdown
D) He withdrew all American forces from Iraq, while reducing forces in Afghanistan from the 100,000 that President Bush had sent there
An organization with division of labor, hierarchy of authority, formal rules, and impersonal relationships is called:
A) a bureaucracy
B) Congress
C) the government corporation
D) the iron triangle
Government employees who have the physical task of carrying out public policy are called:
A) administrators
B) federal policy experts
C) frontline workers
D) policy managers
How does the Federal Register attempt to contribute to deliberation?
A) citizens can read it to follow what the bureaucracy is doing and help officials reason about public policy.
B) lawmakers can read it for summaries of bills and potential issues that may arise fro legislation
C) it provides voters with information regarding the propositions on the ballot in elections.
D) It serves as the focus of deliberation in the House and Senate.
The government tried to improve openness and deliberation by:
A) assigning a press liaison to each department and agency
B) broadcasting departmental meetings on CSPAN
C) issuing press releases that include select data
D) putting proposed rules on the internet
Members of independent regulatory commissions are NOT subject to presidential dismissal because they:
A) are better able to deliberate in the public interest when they are not governed by political pressures
B) are chosen by Congress
C) are elected officials and can only be removed from their positions by a recall election
D) are not government entities, but private enterprises.
An example of a government sponsored enterprise is the :
A) Environmental Protection Agency
B) Federal communications commission
C) Federal National Mortgage Association
D) Securities and Exchange Commission
E) United States Postal Service
Under the spoils system, the government posts went to:
A) men who had completed higher education
B) military personnel
C) the administration's political supporters
D) the family members of congressmen
What is the iron triangle?
A) the political alliance of executive branch agencies, congressional committees, and interest groups
B) the political alliance of the president, Congress, and the Supreme Court
C) the political alliance of local, state, and national agencies
D) the political alliance of national security agencies
The independent, nonpartisan agency that works for Congress and investigates how the federal government spends taxpayer dollars is called the:
A) Congressional Oversight Office
B) Department of Management and Budget
C) Government Accountability Office
D) Government Budget Office
How can a large administrative state have a negative impact on citizenship?
A) a large administrative state requires less of the political branches and allows individuals to make fewer individual choices
B) citizens are more likely to make choices based on their own personal interest rather than the national interest because they feel less connected to the government
C) citizens begin to disconnect from politics because they resent the imposition of so many rules
D) all of the above
How many justices must grant cert for a case to be brought before the Supreme Court?
A) 5
B) a majority
C) 4
D) 3
The written statement delivering and explaining the Supreme Court's decision on a case is called the:
A) majority opinion
B) concurrent opinion
C) binding opinion
D) dissenting opinion
Which president did NOT challenge the Supreme Court's interpretation of the Constitution as a result of a certain ruling in a case?
A) Andrew Jackson and McCulloch v. Maryland
B) Abraham Lincoln and Dred Scott v. Sanford
C) Thomas Jefferson and Marbury v. Madison
D) James Buchanan and Dred Scott v. Sanford
The period from 1905 to 1937 when the Supreme Court overturned many state and federal laws for interfering with the free-market economy is called:
A) Lochner era
B) Reconstruction era
C) Progressive era
D) Warren era
The principle that calls for judges to look to past precedents as a guide whenever possible is called:
A) judicial self-restraint
B) equity principle
C) stare decisis
D) originalism
Which amendment was NOT added to overturn a Supreme Court decision?
A) Eleventh, prohibiting a citizen of a foreign country from suing a state
B) Fourteenth, declaring that blacks could be citizens
C) Sixteenth, granting Congress the power to levy an income tax
D) Nineteenth, giving women the right to vote
Which of the following is NOT a way that the legislative and executive branches can check the power of the courts?
A) revise the laws
B) amend the Constitution
C) vote out a justice
D) limit the jurisdiction of the Courts
E) impeach a justice
F) refuse to enforce judicial decisions
What was the consistent theme of major Supreme Court decisions in the decades following the Civil War?
A) State governments can do little to use political power to disadvantage black persons
B) The Constitution requires a broad interpretation of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments
C) The federal government can do little to affect race relations in the states
D) the federal government is the only authority on the implementation of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments.
What was significant about Robert Bork's nomination to the Supreme Court?
A) It represented one of the least divisive confirmation hearings in the Senate's history
B) It was the only debate to lead to a unanimous confirmation of a Supreme Court nominee.
C) This was the first time since 1950 that a nominee refused to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
D) This was the first time a nomination debate focused on the nominee's view on legal issues, rather than solely on his competency, integrity, and judicial temperament.
Abraham Lincoln refused to enforce Chief Justice Roger B. Taney's orders in the Court's decision in:
A) Worcester v. Georgia
B) Ex Parte Merryman
C) McCulloch v. Maryland
D) Ex Parte Milligan
The case for an independent judiciary was largely made in The Spirit of the Laws by:
A) Montesquieu
B) Benjamin Franklin
C) John Locke
D) Thomas Hobbes
The number of judges on the Supreme Court is determined by:
A) Congress
B) the Constitution
C) the electorate
D) the president
The current number of Supreme Court justices is:
A) 6
B) 7
C) 9
D) 10
The current Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is:
A) Elena Kagan
B) Ruth Bader Ginsburg
C) Sonia Sotomayor
D) John Roberts
The Supreme Court first exercised judicial review in which landmark case?
A) Brown v. Board of Education
B) Marbury v. Madison
C) Plessy v. Ferguson
D) Lochner v. New York
The chief federal prosecutor in charge of each judicial district is called a(n):
A) associate justice
B) chief justice
C) solicitor general
D) United States attorney
Citizens who are not actual parties to a case are able to influence the Court's deliberations through:
A) advisory opinions
B) amicus curiae briefs
C) writs of certiorari
D) writs of mandamus
Which of the following is NOT one of the four key characteristics justices use to determine whether a genuine case or controversy exists?
A) equity
B) mootness
C) ripeness
D) political question
Which of the following is not a power that the president has vis a vis Congress?
A) recess appointments
B) executive orders
C) line item veto
D) veto
If the President and the Vice President were incapacitated or died, who would become our next president?
A) President Pro Temper of the Senate Orrin Hatch
B) Speaker of the House Paul Ryan
C) Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (if approved by Senate)
D) Secretary of Defense Mattis
