Midterm Exam

A  desegregate

B  be bused

C  take standardized tests

D  pray

A  is a prior restraint

B  qualifies as hate speech

C  is critical of the government

D  creates a clear and present danger

A  the Roth test

B  symbolic speech

C  probable cause

D  prior restraint

A  right to marry

B  right to travel

C  right to vote

D  right to privacy

A  trials without a jury

B  double jeopardy

C  unreasonable search and seizure

D  self-incrimination

A  Eighth

B  Tenth

C  Fifteenth

D  Third

A  being tried again for the same crime

B  benefiting financially from that crime

C  seeking the assistance of an attorney

D  asserting innocence

A  privacy

B  commerce

C  sexual freedom

D  family

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  an undue burden

B  a prior restraint

C  any additional constraints

D  an inconvenient truth

A  speak to an attorney

B  a phone call

C  a jury trial

D  quick and speedy trial

A  Orange

B  Lemon

C  Free Exercise

D  Prior Restraint

A  that is illegal

B  after the fact

C  that is critical of the government

D  before the fact

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

B  The state could ban it.

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

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  free exercise

B  establishment

C  eminent domain

D  incorporation

A  reasonable bail

B  a written indictment

C  assistance of counsel

D  the right to parole

A  slander; libel

B  libel; defamation

C  libel; slander

D  slander; defamation

A  US v. Morrison

B  Roe v. Wade

C  New York Times v. Sullivan

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  states can figure out which policies work best for them

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

C  the state governments can nullify laws passed by Congress

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

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

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

C  A constitutional arrangement concentrating power in a central government.

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

A  pineapple-upside-down-cake

B  cupcake

C  marble-cake

D  layer-cake

A  business grants

B  programmatic requests

C  categorical grants

D  block grants

A  create courts

B  coin money

C  operate prisons

D  establish schools

A  full faith and credit

B  due process

C  supremacy

D  equal protection

A  dual

B  progressive

C  combined

D  cooperative

A  new federalism

B  progressive federalism

C  dual federalism

D  cooperative federalism

A  conglomeration

B  direct democracy

C  oligarchy

D  confederation

A  challenging the power of the states

B  limiting the national government

C  centralizing power in the federal government

D  regulating interstate commerce

A  Eleventh

B  Third

C  Sixth

D  Twelfth

A  evolution

B  excavation

C  devolution

D  redevelopment

A  commerce

B  equal protection

C  due process

D  full faith and credit

A  Eleventh

B  Eighth

C  Tenth

D  Fourteenth

A  Confederation

B  Declaration

C  Federalism

D  Independence

A  Discrimination is a natural part of the human experience.

B  Diversity helps Americans better understand each other.

C  Affirmative action discriminates on the basis of race.

D  Unaddressed past discrimination causes perpetual inequality.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

D  It has eliminated gender discrimination in the military.

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

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

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

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

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

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  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.

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

B  considering race as a factor in university admissions decisions

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

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

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

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

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

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

A  American Indians

B  Asian Americans

C  gays and lesbians

D  disabled Americans

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

B  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?

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

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

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

B  It was legally permissible.

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

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

A  lynchings by the Ku Klux Klan

B  racial quotas

C  racial segregation

D  voter discrimination

A  separate but equal

B  eligible to vote

C  citizens

D  property or chattel

A  grandfather clauses

B  racial quotas in university admissions

C  Jim Crow laws

D  all forms of affirmative action

A  losing candidates

B  voters

C  nonvoters

D  winning candidates

A  the 1965 Voting Rights Act

B  the Nineteenth Amendment

C  Korematsu v. United States

D  Reed v. Reed

A  economic status

B  property ownership

C  race

D  involvement in insurrection

A  equal protection

B  privileges and immunities

C  jurisdiction

D  due process

A  natural law

B  judicial interpretation

C  national referendum

D  congressional inaction

A  by a majority of voting-age citizens

B  by a majority of state governors

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

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

A  stronger protections of individual liberties

B  a stronger national government

C  stronger state governments

D  shorter terms of office

A  the divine right of kings

B  the consent of the governed

C  the right to revolt

D  government itself

A  The Anti-Federalists

B  The Federalists

C  Whigs

D  Anti-Masons

A  Virginia Plan

B  Democratic Plan

C  New Jersey Plan

D  Republican Plan

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

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

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

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

A  checks and balances

B  weights and measures

C  oversight and influence

D  privileges and immunities

A  electoral college

B  King Caucus

C  direct popular election

D  People’s Plebiscite

A  a single chamber with each state receiving equal power

B  two chambers

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

D  a single chamber whose members were appointed by the president

A  infringement of religious freedom

B  taxation of private property

C  unlawful detention

D  free speech infringement

A  John Boehner

B  Daniel Shays

C  John Locke

D  Gramm Rudman

A  a commercial act

B  a private action

C  free speech

D  a form of due process

A  legislative

B  judicial

C  executive

D  bureaucratic

A  27

B  15

C  10

D  36

A  the Continental Congress

B  the Committees of Correspondence

C  the Constitutional Convention

D  the Common Sense Committee

A  the Articles of Confederation

B  Declaration of the Rights of Man

C  the Declaration of Independence

D  Magna Carta

A  Constitutional law

B  positive rights

C  natural rights

D  intrinsic laws

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

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

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

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

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

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

C  Civil disobedience involves violence; a protest is peaceful.

D  Civil disobedience is involuntary; a protest is voluntary.

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

B  government workers would likely unionize

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

D  government-run services would likely be privatized

A  citizens in the school district

B  parents of children under age 18

C  parents

D  women with children

A  running for public office as a third party candidate

B  signing a petition in a school parking lot

C  staging a sit-in

D  gathering signatures for a proposed ballot measure

A  Prayer belongs in school.

B  Government should regulate the economy in the public interest.

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

D  Taxes and spending should be kept low.

A  liberalism and political tolerance

B  political participation and suspicion of out-groups

C  political participation and strength of party attachment

D  candidate loyalty and authoritarianism

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

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

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

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

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

B  Most new immigrants were from northwestern Europe.

C  The flow of immigrant families with children decreased.

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

A  overthrowing the government

B  affecting public policy change

C  informing the public about the candidates

D  influencing voting behavior

A  a measure of the minimum requirements needed to vote

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

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

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

A  Liberals are overrepresented at the polls.

B  Young citizens are overrepresented at the polls.

C  Democrats are overrepresented at the polls.

D  Conservatives are overrepresented at the polls.

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

B  information from the census determines tax rates

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

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

A  Men consume considerably more political news than do women.

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

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

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

A  contacting government officials

B  volunteering with a campaign

C  protesting

D  writing letters to the editor

A  the absence of moderates in the United States

B  the predominance of liberals in the United States

C  the absence of pluralist thinking in the United States

D  the predominance of conservatives in the United States

A  big business

B  political parties

C  Congress

D  ordinary citizens

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

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

C  Congress is stronger and more influential than the presidency.

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

A  a presidential action

B  a regulation

C  a budgetary choice

D  a congressional statute

A  pluralist

B  populist

C  laissez-faire

D  egalitarian

A  public policy

B  politics

C  government

D  political culture

A  hyperpluralism

B  majority rule

C  pluralism

D  federalism

A  policy gridlock

B  balance of power

C  pluralism

D  elitism

A  pluralism

B  representation

C  majority rule

D  enlightened rule

A  inclusion

B  freedom of speech and of the press

C  universal citizenship

D  one person, one vote

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

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

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

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

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

B  the issues that are asked about on public opinion polls

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

D  the issues that concern single-issue interest groups

A  the courts

B  Congress

C  political culture

D  government