Midterm Exam

A  be bused

B  pray

C  take standardized tests

D  desegregate

A  creates a clear and present danger

B  is critical of the government

C  qualifies as hate speech

D  is a prior restraint

A  symbolic speech

B  the Roth test

C  prior restraint

D  probable cause

A  right to privacy

B  right to travel

C  right to marry

D  right to vote

A  unreasonable search and seizure

B  double jeopardy

C  trials without a jury

D  self-incrimination

A  Eighth

B  Third

C  Fifteenth

D  Tenth

A  being tried again for the same crime

B  asserting innocence

C  benefiting financially from that crime

D  seeking the assistance of an attorney

A  family

B  sexual freedom

C  privacy

D  commerce

A  displays of religious symbols on government buildings

B  teaching of evolution in school

C  displays of religious symbols during holidays

D  recitation of prayer and Bible passages in school

A  any additional constraints

B  an undue burden

C  an inconvenient truth

D  a prior restraint

A  quick and speedy trial

B  speak to an attorney

C  a phone call

D  a jury trial

A  Orange

B  Free Exercise

C  Lemon

D  Prior Restraint

A  before the fact

B  that is critical of the government

C  after the fact

D  that is illegal

A  The state could ban the abortion unless the mother’s life was in danger.

B  The state could ban it.

C  The state could do very little to limit a woman’s right to an abortion.

D  The state could regulate it if the mother’s life were in danger.

A  property loss

B  actual malice

C  a written record

D  witnesses

A  incorporation

B  eminent domain

C  establishment

D  free exercise

A  reasonable bail

B  the right to parole

C  assistance of counsel

D  a written indictment

A  slander; libel

B  libel; defamation

C  libel; slander

D  slander; defamation

A  US v. Morrison

B  New York Times v. Sullivan

C  Roe v. Wade

D  Lawrence v. Texas

A  It lowers voter turnout.

B  It lowers overall tax rates.

C  It increases citizens’ access to government.

D  It increases the gross domestic product.

A  the state governments can nullify laws passed by Congress

B  states can figure out which policies work best for them

C  the quality of policies can vary from state to state.

D  citizens can choose to live in those areas that have the policies they prefer

A  A constitutional arrangement concentrating power in a central government.

B  A loose association of states with mutually recognized compacts but no central government.

C  A loose association of states constitutionally created by a strong central government.

D  A constitutional arrangement by which two or more levels of government share formal authority over the same area and people.

A  layer-cake

B  pineapple-upside-down-cake

C  marble-cake

D  cupcake

A  business grants

B  block grants

C  programmatic requests

D  categorical grants

A  coin money

B  create courts

C  establish schools

D  operate prisons

A  equal protection

B  due process

C  supremacy

D  full faith and credit

A  progressive

B  combined

C  dual

D  cooperative

A  new federalism

B  cooperative federalism

C  dual federalism

D  progressive federalism

A  direct democracy

B  oligarchy

C  conglomeration

D  confederation

A  limiting the national government

B  challenging the power of the states

C  regulating interstate commerce

D  centralizing power in the federal government

A  Third

B  Twelfth

C  Eleventh

D  Sixth

A  devolution

B  evolution

C  redevelopment

D  excavation

A  equal protection

B  due process

C  commerce

D  full faith and credit

A  Fourteenth

B  Eighth

C  Eleventh

D  Tenth

A  Independence

B  Federalism

C  Declaration

D  Confederation

A  Discrimination is a natural part of the human experience.

B  Unaddressed past discrimination causes perpetual inequality.

C  Diversity helps Americans better understand each other.

D  Affirmative action discriminates on the basis of race.

A  The quality of life for African Americans in the South had deteriorated considerably since the adoption of the separate-but-equal doctrine.

B  School segregation violated the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection.

C  The separate-but-equal doctrine was never intended to apply to people.

D  The Supreme Court did not have all of the facts when it adopted the separate-but-equal doctrine.

A  because it was clear that many areas in the South had no intention of living up to the spirit of the Fifteenth Amendment

B  to prevent the race riots from spreading from African American neighborhoods into traditionally white neighborhoods

C  the Supreme Court had determined that only the national government could regulate elections

D  because Congress was afraid the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. would lead a boycott of white businesses if the legislation was not passed

A  Affirmative action policies must ensure that all racial and ethnic groups are represented in accordance with the population of the nation as a whole.

B  Affirmative action policies are assumed to be unconstitutional unless the university can demonstrate the need to promote racial tolerance.

C  All forms of affirmative action are unconstitutional because they unfairly favor some people over others based on the color of their skin.

D  Affirmative action policies are generally permissible, but they cannot involve race-based quotas or numerical point systems.

A  It has eliminated gender discrimination in the military.

B  It has ensured that men and women are treated equally in the workplace.

C  It has ensured that the courts evaluate gender discrimination using the inherently suspect test.

D  It has had little effect because it was not formally adopted.

A  an election jurisdiction that does not provide bilingual ballots when there is a large bilingual community

B  a legal prohibition on hiring women for positions that are known to be hazardous to women’s reproductive health

C  a college that spends significantly more on sports programs for men than for women

D  an employer who systematically pays women less than men for doing comparable work

A  Government contracts must be awarded to a contractor who is a racial minority whenever at least 10 percent of the bidders are minority-owned businesses.

B  Businesses cannot discriminate against gays and lesbians in hiring and promotion decisions.

C  Male and female student athletes cannot compete on the same basketball team at the university level.

D  Those without a college degree are not eligible for upper-level civil service jobs.

A  considering how an applicant would contribute to the diversity of the university

B  admitting some minority applicants with lower academic achievement than some rejected white applicants

C  considering race as a factor in university admissions decisions

D  setting aside a certain percentage of admissions slots for African American students

A  affirmative action policies must be scrutinized using the same suspect standard that is used for other policies classifying people by race

B  affirmative action policies are subject to an intermediate standard whereby they are presumed to be permissible

C  affirmative action policies maybe broadly tailored to accomplish a compelling government interest

D  affirmative action policies must be designed to address past discrimination without taking into account race, ethnicity, religion, or creed

A  American Indians

B  gays and lesbians

C  disabled Americans

D  Asian Americans

A  What was the basis for the Supreme Court’s decision in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) that upheld the constitutionality of a state law requiring segregated railroad facilities?

B  Former slaves are not entitled to full citizenship rights because they did not immigrate to the United States willingly.

C  The Constitution does not prohibit segregation; it only mandates equal protection under the law.

D  Railroad transportation involves interstate commerce, which is regulated by Congress; there is no provision in federal law that prohibits segregation.

A  It was unconstitutional, but it was too late to do anything about it.

B  It was legally permissible.

C  It was unconstitutional, and Japanese Americans must be duly compensated.

D  It did not pass the strict scrutiny test, and the internment was promptly terminated.

A  racial segregation

B  racial quotas

C  voter discrimination

D  lynchings by the Ku Klux Klan

A  separate but equal

B  citizens

C  eligible to vote

D  property or chattel

A  racial quotas in university admissions

B  grandfather clauses

C  Jim Crow laws

D  all forms of affirmative action

A  nonvoters

B  losing candidates

C  voters

D  winning candidates

A  the 1965 Voting Rights Act

B  Korematsu v. United States

C  the Nineteenth Amendment

D  Reed v. Reed

A  economic status

B  property ownership

C  race

D  involvement in insurrection

A  due process

B  jurisdiction

C  equal protection

D  privileges and immunities

A  congressional inaction

B  national referendum

C  natural law

D  judicial interpretation

A  by a majority of state governors

B  by a two-thirds vote in each house of Congress

C  by a two-thirds vote in a special election called for the purpose of voting on the amendment

D  by a majority of voting-age citizens

A  a stronger national government

B  stronger state governments

C  shorter terms of office

D  stronger protections of individual liberties

A  the consent of the governed

B  the right to revolt

C  the divine right of kings

D  government itself

A  The Anti-Federalists

B  Anti-Masons

C  Whigs

D  The Federalists

A  New Jersey Plan

B  Democratic Plan

C  Republican Plan

D  Virginia Plan

A  The Constitution contained stronger safeguards for states’ rights than did the Articles of Confederation.

B  The Constitution contained strong protections for individual rights; the Articles of Confederation contained strong protections for collective rights.

C  The Constitution was based on democratic principles; the Articles of Confederation was based on tyrannical principles.

D  The Constitution created a stronger national government than did the Articles of Confederation.

A  oversight and influence

B  weights and measures

C  checks and balances

D  privileges and immunities

A  King Caucus

B  direct popular election

C  electoral college

D  People’s Plebiscite

A  a single chamber with each state receiving equal power

B  a single chamber whose members were appointed by the president

C  a single chamber with membership based on a state’s population

D  two chambers

A  taxation of private property

B  free speech infringement

C  infringement of religious freedom

D  unlawful detention

A  John Locke

B  Gramm Rudman

C  Daniel Shays

D  John Boehner

A  a form of due process

B  a commercial act

C  a private action

D  free speech

A  bureaucratic

B  judicial

C  legislative

D  executive

A  10

B  15

C  27

D  36

A  the Committees of Correspondence

B  the Continental Congress

C  the Constitutional Convention

D  the Common Sense Committee

A  the Articles of Confederation

B  Declaration of the Rights of Man

C  Magna Carta

D  the Declaration of Independence

A  natural rights

B  Constitutional law

C  intrinsic laws

D  positive rights

A  Today’s generation of young adults is significantly more likely to read newspapers than their elders.

B  The age of the demographic that consumes television news is much higher on average than those that consume alternative sources of news.

C  Children who develop positive feelings toward political authorities grow into adults who are not easily disenchanted with politics.

D  Political socialization is more important to governments than to individuals.

A  Civil disobedience involves intentionally breaking a law; a protest involves getting attention from the media.

B  Civil disobedience is involuntary; a protest is voluntary.

C  Civil disobedience involves unintentionally breaking a law; a protest involves intentionally breaking a law.

D  Civil disobedience involves violence; a protest is peaceful.

A  government-run services would likely be privatized

B  government workers would likely unionize

C  government programs to alleviate economic inequality would likely be higher on the political agenda

D  government programs to help individuals invest their Social Security income would likely be higher on the political agenda

A  parents of children under age 18

B  women with children

C  citizens in the school district

D  parents

A  running for public office as a third party candidate

B  gathering signatures for a proposed ballot measure

C  signing a petition in a school parking lot

D  staging a sit-in

A  Taxes and spending should be kept low.

B  The United States should stop letting criminals hide behind the law.

C  Prayer belongs in school.

D  Government should regulate the economy in the public interest.

A  candidate loyalty and authoritarianism

B  political participation and strength of party attachment

C  political participation and suspicion of out-groups

D  liberalism and political tolerance

A  The Constitution requires that each state’s taxes be proportional to the size of its population.

B  The majority party in the House of Representatives is determined by each state’s proportion of party-affiliated voters.

C  The number of seats each state has in the House is based on a state’s population, which changes over time.

D  Each congressional district must be redrawn to reflect changes in the state’s population.

A  The flow of low-income immigrant families from Mexico increased.

B  Most new immigrants were from northwestern Europe.

C  The flow of immigrant families with children decreased.

D  Most new immigrants were being reunited with family in the United States.

A  influencing voting behavior

B  informing the public about the candidates

C  overthrowing the government

D  affecting public policy change

A  all the activities used by citizens to socialize their children to the political process

B  a measure of the minimum requirements needed to vote

C  all the activities used by citizens to influence the selection of political leaders or the policies they pursue

D  the capacity of individuals (or groups) to exert their own political will

A  Democrats are overrepresented at the polls.

B  Young citizens are overrepresented at the polls.

C  Conservatives are overrepresented at the polls.

D  Liberals are overrepresented at the polls.

A  participation indicates the legitimacy of government and of laws passed by Congress

B  changes in the U.S. population affect membership in political parties

C  information from the census determines tax rates

D  information the census collects helps to determine how more than $400 billion in federal funding is spent each year

A  West Coast residents consume more political news than do East Coast residents.

B  Men consume considerably more political news than do women.

C  Older people consume more political news than do younger people.

D  Working-class people consume more political news than do wealthier people.

A  volunteering with a campaign

B  writing letters to the editor

C  contacting government officials

D  protesting

A  the absence of pluralist thinking in the United States

B  the predominance of conservatives in the United States

C  the absence of moderates in the United States

D  the predominance of liberals in the United States

A  political parties

B  Congress

C  big business

D  ordinary citizens

A  Congress is stronger and more influential than the presidency.

B  Many groups vie for power with no one group dominating politics.

C  Because most citizens fail to pay attention to serious issues, government has become an elite institution.

D  Too many influential groups cripple government’s ability to govern.

A  a regulation

B  a congressional statute

C  a presidential action

D  a budgetary choice

A  laissez-faire

B  egalitarian

C  populist

D  pluralist

A  politics

B  political culture

C  public policy

D  government

A  federalism

B  hyperpluralism

C  majority rule

D  pluralism

A  policy gridlock

B  pluralism

C  elitism

D  balance of power

A  representation

B  pluralism

C  majority rule

D  enlightened rule

A  universal citizenship

B  inclusion

C  freedom of speech and of the press

D  one person, one vote

A  a system that selects policymakers and organizes government so that policy represents and responds to the public’s preferences

B  a system that ensures freedom, justice, and peace to all citizens

C  a system that perpetuates the status quo and upholds the values of the party in power

D  a system that grants a status of privilege to the most active and informed voters

A  the issues that concern single-issue interest groups

B  the issues that are asked about on public opinion polls

C  the issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and other political actors

D  all of the issues that candidates talk about on the campaign trail

A  government

B  political culture

C  Congress

D  the courts