Midterm Exam

A  take standardized tests

B  desegregate

C  be bused

D  pray

A  is critical of the government

B  qualifies as hate speech

C  creates a clear and present danger

D  is a prior restraint

A  prior restraint

B  probable cause

C  the Roth test

D  symbolic speech

A  right to travel

B  right to vote

C  right to marry

D  right to privacy

A  self-incrimination

B  unreasonable search and seizure

C  double jeopardy

D  trials without a jury

A  Eighth

B  Tenth

C  Third

D  Fifteenth

A  asserting innocence

B  being tried again for the same crime

C  benefiting financially from that crime

D  seeking the assistance of an attorney

A  commerce

B  sexual freedom

C  privacy

D  family

A  displays of religious symbols on government buildings

B  displays of religious symbols during holidays

C  recitation of prayer and Bible passages in school

D  teaching of evolution in school

A  a prior restraint

B  any additional constraints

C  an undue burden

D  an inconvenient truth

A  speak to an attorney

B  quick and speedy trial

C  a jury trial

D  a phone call

A  Prior Restraint

B  Free Exercise

C  Lemon

D  Orange

A  before the fact

B  that is illegal

C  after the fact

D  that is critical of the government

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

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

C  The state could ban it.

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

A  a written record

B  witnesses

C  actual malice

D  property loss

A  free exercise

B  incorporation

C  establishment

D  eminent domain

A  the right to parole

B  reasonable bail

C  a written indictment

D  assistance of counsel

A  libel; defamation

B  libel; slander

C  slander; libel

D  slander; defamation

A  Lawrence v. Texas

B  US v. Morrison

C  Roe v. Wade

D  New York Times v. Sullivan

A  It increases citizens’ access to government.

B  It lowers voter turnout.

C  It lowers overall tax rates.

D  It increases the gross domestic product.

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

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

C  the state governments can nullify laws passed by Congress

D  states can figure out which policies work best for them

A  A constitutional arrangement concentrating power in a 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 loose association of states with mutually recognized compacts but no central government.

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

A  layer-cake

B  cupcake

C  pineapple-upside-down-cake

D  marble-cake

A  block grants

B  business grants

C  programmatic requests

D  categorical grants

A  operate prisons

B  create courts

C  establish schools

D  coin money

A  supremacy

B  equal protection

C  full faith and credit

D  due process

A  combined

B  dual

C  progressive

D  cooperative

A  cooperative federalism

B  progressive federalism

C  new federalism

D  dual federalism

A  oligarchy

B  conglomeration

C  confederation

D  direct democracy

A  regulating interstate commerce

B  centralizing power in the federal government

C  limiting the national government

D  challenging the power of the states

A  Third

B  Twelfth

C  Eleventh

D  Sixth

A  evolution

B  devolution

C  redevelopment

D  excavation

A  commerce

B  equal protection

C  due process

D  full faith and credit

A  Fourteenth

B  Eleventh

C  Eighth

D  Tenth

A  Federalism

B  Confederation

C  Declaration

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

C  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.

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

A  considering race as a factor in university admissions decisions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A  disabled Americans

B  American Indians

C  gays and lesbians

D  Asian Americans

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

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

C  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?

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

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

B  It was legally permissible.

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

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

A  voter discrimination

B  racial segregation

C  lynchings by the Ku Klux Klan

D  racial quotas

A  property or chattel

B  eligible to vote

C  citizens

D  separate but equal

A  racial quotas in university admissions

B  grandfather clauses

C  all forms of affirmative action

D  Jim Crow laws

A  nonvoters

B  voters

C  winning candidates

D  losing candidates

A  the Nineteenth Amendment

B  Korematsu v. United States

C  Reed v. Reed

D  the 1965 Voting Rights Act

A  economic status

B  race

C  involvement in insurrection

D  property ownership

A  jurisdiction

B  privileges and immunities

C  equal protection

D  due process

A  judicial interpretation

B  natural law

C  congressional inaction

D  national referendum

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  shorter terms of office

B  a stronger national government

C  stronger protections of individual liberties

D  stronger state governments

A  government itself

B  the right to revolt

C  the divine right of kings

D  the consent of the governed

A  Anti-Masons

B  Whigs

C  The Federalists

D  The Anti-Federalists

A  Virginia Plan

B  Republican Plan

C  Democratic Plan

D  New Jersey Plan

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

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

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

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

A  checks and balances

B  privileges and immunities

C  oversight and influence

D  weights and measures

A  People’s Plebiscite

B  direct popular election

C  electoral college

D  King Caucus

A  a single chamber whose members were appointed by the president

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

C  two chambers

D  a single chamber with each state receiving equal power

A  free speech infringement

B  unlawful detention

C  taxation of private property

D  infringement of religious freedom

A  Daniel Shays

B  Gramm Rudman

C  John Locke

D  John Boehner

A  a form of due process

B  a commercial act

C  a private action

D  free speech

A  executive

B  judicial

C  bureaucratic

D  legislative

A  10

B  36

C  15

D  27

A  the Common Sense Committee

B  the Continental Congress

C  the Committees of Correspondence

D  the Constitutional Convention

A  the Articles of Confederation

B  Magna Carta

C  the Declaration of Independence

D  Declaration of the Rights of Man

A  intrinsic laws

B  Constitutional law

C  natural rights

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 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 help individuals invest their Social Security income would likely be higher on the political agenda

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

C  government workers would likely unionize

D  government-run services would likely be privatized

A  parents

B  citizens in the school district

C  women with children

D  parents of children under age 18

A  running for public office as a third party candidate

B  gathering signatures for a proposed ballot measure

C  staging a sit-in

D  signing a petition in a school parking lot

A  Government should regulate the economy in the public interest.

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

C  Prayer belongs in school.

D  Taxes and spending should be kept low.

A  liberalism and political tolerance

B  political participation and strength of party attachment

C  political participation and suspicion of out-groups

D  candidate loyalty and authoritarianism

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

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

C  The Constitution requires that each state’s taxes be proportional to the size of its 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 from northwestern Europe.

B  The flow of immigrant families with children decreased.

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

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

A  overthrowing the government

B  influencing voting behavior

C  informing the public about the candidates

D  affecting public policy change

A  a measure of the minimum requirements needed to vote

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

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

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

A  Young citizens are overrepresented at the polls.

B  Conservatives are overrepresented at the polls.

C  Democrats are overrepresented at the polls.

D  Liberals 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  participation indicates the legitimacy of government and of laws passed by Congress

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

D  information from the census determines tax rates

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

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

C  Men consume considerably more political news than do women.

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

A  contacting government officials

B  protesting

C  volunteering with a campaign

D  writing letters to the editor

A  the absence of pluralist thinking in the United States

B  the predominance of conservatives in the United States

C  the predominance of liberals in the United States

D  the absence of moderates in the United States

A  ordinary citizens

B  Congress

C  big business

D  political parties

A  Congress is stronger and more influential than the presidency.

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

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

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

A  a congressional statute

B  a presidential action

C  a regulation

D  a budgetary choice

A  populist

B  pluralist

C  laissez-faire

D  egalitarian

A  politics

B  political culture

C  government

D  public policy

A  federalism

B  hyperpluralism

C  majority rule

D  pluralism

A  pluralism

B  elitism

C  policy gridlock

D  balance of power

A  pluralism

B  representation

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 perpetuates the status quo and upholds the values of the party in power

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

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

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  political culture

B  the courts

C  government

D  Congress