Midterm Exam

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

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

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

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

A  75

B  25

C  55

D  40

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

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

A  government grants.

B  subscriptions.

C  advertising.

D  charitable donations.

A  fake news.

B  yellow journalism.

C  nonprofit journalism.

D  adversarial journalism.

A  report extensively on government officials and political issues.

B  sell subscriptions to members of the public.

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

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

A  the New York Times

B  National Public Radio (NPR)

C  the National Broadcasting Network (NBC)

D  the American Broadcasting Company (ABC)

A  investigations led by Washington Post reporters in 1972.

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

C  a leak by a minor Defense Department staffer.

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

A  radio

B  newspapers

C  the internet

D  television

A  strict scrutiny

B  clear and present danger

C  Lemon

D  speech plus

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

B  overturned significant portions of the Violence Against Women Act.

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

A  Twenty-five; 25

B  Zero; 50

C  Nineteen; 31

D  Thirty-one; 19

A  writing a letter to the editor of a newspaper

B  posting a comment to a social media website

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

D  distributing leaflets while chanting slogans at a protest demonstration

A  Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union

B  District of Columbia v. Heller

C  Miller v. California

D  United States v. Williams

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

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

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

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

A  de jure.

B  libertarian.

C  de facto.

D  organic.

A  preemption.

B  indexing.

C  general revenue sharing.

D  means testing.

A  federalism

B  vesting

C  comity

D  dual sovereignty

A  to protect citizens from the abuses of state governments

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

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

D  to promote competition between the states

A  1973

B  1915

C  1865

D  1937

A  home rule

B  preemption

C  cooperative federalism

D  grant-in-aid

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

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

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

D  The Court declared that a national bank was unconstitutional.

A  Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act.

B  full faith and credit clause of the Constitution.

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

D  supremacy clause of the Constitution.

A  regulating the health and safety of the workplace

B  chartering a national bank

C  nationalizing the nation’s oil reserves

D  preventing the production of impure goods

A  commerce clause

B  due process clause

C  Tenth Amendment

D  necessary and proper clause

A  Article I

B  Preamble

C  First Amendment

D  Tenth Amendment

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

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

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

D  could not be amended.

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

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

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

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

A  a mixed regime

B  a republic

C  democracy

D  tyranny

A  the expenses incurred in colonizing South Africa

B  the cost of war against Napoleon in Europe

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

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

A  John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson

B  James Madison, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton

C  James Madison, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson

D  Charles Beard, Daniel Shays, and Paul Revere

A  representatives who would reflect commercial interests.

B  as few representatives as possible.

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

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

A  the opportunity to elect its own governors.

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

C  a veto over constitutional amendments.

D  an equal number of votes in the Electoral College.

A  explicitly stated in Article I of the Constitution.

B  not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution.

C  explicitly stated in Article II of the Constitution.

D  explicitly mentioned in the First Amendment.

A  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.

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

C  the Declaration of Independence.

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

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

B  the legislature into two chambers.

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

D  the national government into two branches.

A  increased; decreased

B  decreased; increased

C  remained relatively constant; decreased

D  increased; remained relatively constant

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

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

C  not experienced any regional shifts.

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

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  15; 323

B  4; 150

C  15; 150

D  4; 327

A  remained relatively constant between 1960 and 2015.

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

C  decreased dramatically between 1960 and 2015.

D  increased dramatically between 1960 and 2015.

A  a lot of corporate connections.

B  strongly held convictions.

C  knowledge of the American political system.

D  significant resources, such as money.

A  is the nation’s largest employer.

B  employs a very small number of Americans.

C  is not allowed to directly employ any Americans.

D  is the nation’s fifth-largest employer.

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

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

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

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

A  52

B  32

C  72

D  12

A  democratic.

B  constitutional.

C  oligarchic.

D  totalitarian.