Midterm Exam

A  all regulated newspapers establish a section of the editorial page for letters from readers.

B  all broadcasters provide candidates for the same political office with equal opportunities to communicate their messages to the public.

C  broadcasters who aired controversial issues provide time for opposing viewpoints.

D  all network news reports be balanced and fair-minded or they would be labeled editorials.

A  25

B  55

C  40

D  75

A  process of preparing the public to bring specific criteria to mind when evaluating a politician or issue.

B  bias that news organizations show toward covering dramatic and entertaining stories.

C  fact that many important news stories go uncovered by the mainstream media.

D  tendency that people have to seek out news sources that confirm their prior beliefs about politics.

A  charitable donations.

B  subscriptions.

C  advertising.

D  government grants.

A  yellow journalism.

B  adversarial journalism.

C  fake news.

D  nonprofit journalism.

A  make their content available to the public at no cost.

B  receive funding from the public through license fees, subsidies, or tax dollars.

C  sell subscriptions to members of the public.

D  report extensively on government officials and political issues.

A  the National Broadcasting Network (NBC)

B  the American Broadcasting Company (ABC)

C  the New York Times

D  National Public Radio (NPR)

A  a leak by a minor Defense Department staffer.

B  investigations led by Washington Post reporters in 1972.

C  a Freedom of Information Act request by the American Civil Liberties Union.

D  President Nixon’s repudiation of the Johnson administration’s strategy in Vietnam.

A  newspapers

B  the internet

C  television

D  radio

A  speech plus

B  strict scrutiny

C  Lemon

D  clear and present danger

A  struck down Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act as unconstitutional.

B  ruled that state-sponsored schools must be open to both men and women.

C  led Congress to pass a new law giving workers expanded rights to sue in cases where they learn of discriminatory treatment well after it has started.

D  overturned significant portions of the Violence Against Women Act.

A  Nineteen; 31

B  Thirty-one; 19

C  Zero; 50

D  Twenty-five; 25

A  distributing leaflets while chanting slogans at a protest demonstration

B  writing a letter to the editor of a newspaper

C  posting a comment to a social media website

D  reading a poem out loud in the middle of a public park

A  Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union

B  United States v. Williams

C  Miller v. California

D  District of Columbia v. Heller

A  prior restraint is permitted in cases that involve national security.

B  journalists are held to a higher standard of libel than ordinary citizens.

C  journalists can be punished for reporting inaccurate information on political stories.

D  the press has no constitutional right to withhold information in court.

A  de facto.

B  organic.

C  de jure.

D  libertarian.

A  indexing.

B  means testing.

C  general revenue sharing.

D  preemption.

A  federalism

B  vesting

C  comity

D  dual sovereignty

A  to keep the states from going to war with each other

B  to promote competition between the states

C  to protect citizens from the abuses of state governments

D  to promote the development of commercial activity between and among the states

A  1915

B  1937

C  1973

D  1865

A  preemption

B  grant-in-aid

C  home rule

D  cooperative federalism

A  The Court allowed Congress to use the necessary and proper clause to broadly interpret its delegated powers.

B  The Court announced that dual federalism did not conform to the framers’ design.

C  The Court declared that a national bank was unconstitutional.

D  The Court gave a very restricted definition of Congress’s delegated and implied powers.

A  Supreme Court’s decision in Loving v. Virginia.

B  full faith and credit clause of the Constitution.

C  supremacy clause of the Constitution.

D  Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act.

A  nationalizing the nation’s oil reserves

B  preventing the production of impure goods

C  regulating the health and safety of the workplace

D  chartering a national bank

A  commerce clause

B  due process clause

C  Tenth Amendment

D  necessary and proper clause

A  Preamble

B  First Amendment

C  Article I

D  Tenth Amendment

A  could be amended with a simple majority vote of the Congress.

B  could not be amended.

C  could be amended only through a national constitutional convention in which three-fourths of state governor’s approved of all changes.

D  could be amended only with a unanimous vote of the Congress.

A  It asserted that slavery was a “morally unjust” institution that should be outlawed.

B  It asserted that laissez-faire capitalism would be the “supreme law of the land” in America.

C  It asserted that there were “unalienable rights” that could not be abridged by governments.

D  It asserted that America was “first and foremost, a Christian nation.”

A  a mixed regime

B  tyranny

C  a republic

D  democracy

A  the extensive roads and canals built by the British in North America

B  the cost of war against Napoleon in Europe

C  the expenses incurred in colonizing South Africa

D  a deficit that was incurred as a result of the French and Indian War

A  James Madison, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson

B  John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson

C  Charles Beard, Daniel Shays, and Paul Revere

D  James Madison, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton

A  as few representatives as possible.

B  representatives who were significantly more educated and wealthier than the majority of the public.

C  representative bodies that resembled those represented to the highest degree.

D  representatives who would reflect commercial interests.

A  an equal number of senators but linking representation in the House of Representatives to population.

B  an equal number of votes in the Electoral College.

C  the opportunity to elect its own governors.

D  a veto over constitutional amendments.

A  explicitly stated in Article II of the Constitution.

B  explicitly stated in Article I of the Constitution.

C  explicitly mentioned in the First Amendment.

D  not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution.

A  the addition of the Bill of Rights to the Constitution.

B  a carefully worded resolution calling on the Congress to send commissioners to Philadelphia at a later time to improve and reform the Articles of Confederation.

C  the adoption of the Star Spangled Banner as the country’s national anthem.

D  the Declaration of Independence.

A  the national government into two branches.

B  the legislature into two chambers.

C  the federal court system into two levels: the Supreme Court and the appellate courts.

D  the powers of the executive branch between two individuals: the president and the vice president.

A  increased; remained relatively constant

B  remained relatively constant; decreased

C  increased; decreased

D  decreased; increased

A  shifted as a result of people leaving urban areas and moving to rural areas.

B  shifted as a result of people leaving the South and Southwest and moving to the Northeast and Midwest.

C  shifted as a result of people leaving the Northeast and Midwest and moving to the South and Southwest.

D  not experienced any regional shifts.

A  less than a majority of citizens vote in every election.

B  citizens are informed.

C  all candidates for office are highly educated.

D  all candidates for office are wealthy.

A  4; 327

B  15; 150

C  4; 150

D  15; 323

A  decreased between 1960 and 1975 but increased between 1975 and 2015.

B  decreased dramatically between 1960 and 2015.

C  increased dramatically between 1960 and 2015.

D  remained relatively constant between 1960 and 2015.

A  knowledge of the American political system.

B  a lot of corporate connections.

C  significant resources, such as money.

D  strongly held convictions.

A  employs a very small number of Americans.

B  is the nation’s largest employer.

C  is not allowed to directly employ any Americans.

D  is the nation’s fifth-largest employer.

A  a citizen calling her representative to complain about potholes on local roads

B  citizens in a state approving the use of medical marijuana through a popular referendum

C  a group of citizens coming together to debate the pros and cons of higher taxes

D  a citizen deciding to contribute money to his preferred presidential candidate

A  52

B  32

C  72

D  12

A  constitutional.

B  democratic.

C  oligarchic.

D  totalitarian.