Midterm Exam

A  pray

B  be bused

C  desegregate

D  take standardized tests

A  creates a clear and present danger

B  qualifies as hate speech

C  is a prior restraint

D  is critical of the government

A  symbolic speech

B  the Roth test

C  prior restraint

D  probable cause

A  right to privacy

B  right to marry

C  right to travel

D  right to vote

A  unreasonable search and seizure

B  trials without a jury

C  self-incrimination

D  double jeopardy

A  Eighth

B  Tenth

C  Third

D  Fifteenth

A  asserting innocence

B  benefiting financially from that crime

C  seeking the assistance of an attorney

D  being tried again for the same crime

A  commerce

B  family

C  sexual freedom

D  privacy

A  displays of religious symbols on government buildings

B  displays of religious symbols during holidays

C  teaching of evolution in school

D  recitation of prayer and Bible passages in school

A  any additional constraints

B  an inconvenient truth

C  a prior restraint

D  an undue burden

A  a jury trial

B  speak to an attorney

C  quick and speedy trial

D  a phone call

A  Lemon

B  Orange

C  Prior Restraint

D  Free Exercise

A  that is illegal

B  that is critical of the government

C  before the fact

D  after the fact

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

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

C  The state could ban it.

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

A  property loss

B  witnesses

C  a written record

D  actual malice

A  eminent domain

B  free exercise

C  establishment

D  incorporation

A  the right to parole

B  assistance of counsel

C  a written indictment

D  reasonable bail

A  libel; slander

B  libel; defamation

C  slander; defamation

D  slander; libel

A  Roe v. Wade

B  Lawrence v. Texas

C  US v. Morrison

D  New York Times v. Sullivan

A  It increases the gross domestic product.

B  It increases citizens’ access to government.

C  It lowers overall tax rates.

D  It lowers voter turnout.

A  the state governments can nullify laws passed by Congress

B  states can figure out which policies work best for them

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

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

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

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

C  A constitutional arrangement concentrating power in a central government.

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

A  pineapple-upside-down-cake

B  layer-cake

C  marble-cake

D  cupcake

A  programmatic requests

B  categorical grants

C  block grants

D  business grants

A  operate prisons

B  create courts

C  establish schools

D  coin money

A  equal protection

B  due process

C  supremacy

D  full faith and credit

A  combined

B  progressive

C  dual

D  cooperative

A  cooperative federalism

B  dual federalism

C  progressive federalism

D  new federalism

A  confederation

B  oligarchy

C  direct democracy

D  conglomeration

A  limiting the national government

B  challenging the power of the states

C  centralizing power in the federal government

D  regulating interstate commerce

A  Sixth

B  Eleventh

C  Third

D  Twelfth

A  devolution

B  evolution

C  redevelopment

D  excavation

A  equal protection

B  commerce

C  due process

D  full faith and credit

A  Eighth

B  Fourteenth

C  Eleventh

D  Tenth

A  Declaration

B  Federalism

C  Independence

D  Confederation

A  Affirmative action discriminates on the basis of race.

B  Unaddressed past discrimination causes perpetual inequality.

C  Diversity helps Americans better understand each other.

D  Discrimination is a natural part of the human experience.

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

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

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

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

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

A  It has eliminated gender discrimination in the military.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

D  considering race as a factor in university admissions decisions

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

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

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 are subject to an intermediate standard whereby they are presumed to be permissible

A  Asian Americans

B  gays and lesbians

C  American Indians

D  disabled Americans

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

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

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

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

D  It was legally permissible.

A  voter discrimination

B  lynchings by the Ku Klux Klan

C  racial segregation

D  racial quotas

A  citizens

B  eligible to vote

C  property or chattel

D  separate but equal

A  Jim Crow laws

B  racial quotas in university admissions

C  grandfather clauses

D  all forms of affirmative action

A  losing candidates

B  winning candidates

C  nonvoters

D  voters

A  Reed v. Reed

B  Korematsu v. United States

C  the Nineteenth Amendment

D  the 1965 Voting Rights Act

A  economic status

B  property ownership

C  involvement in insurrection

D  race

A  due process

B  jurisdiction

C  equal protection

D  privileges and immunities

A  congressional inaction

B  natural law

C  national referendum

D  judicial interpretation

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

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

C  by a majority of voting-age citizens

D  by a majority of state governors

A  stronger protections of individual liberties

B  shorter terms of office

C  a stronger national government

D  stronger state governments

A  the right to revolt

B  the consent of the governed

C  the divine right of kings

D  government itself

A  The Federalists

B  The Anti-Federalists

C  Anti-Masons

D  Whigs

A  Virginia Plan

B  New Jersey Plan

C  Republican Plan

D  Democratic 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  weights and measures

B  checks and balances

C  oversight and influence

D  privileges and immunities

A  electoral college

B  People’s Plebiscite

C  direct popular election

D  King Caucus

A  a single chamber whose members were appointed by the president

B  a single chamber with each state receiving equal power

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

D  two chambers

A  taxation of private property

B  infringement of religious freedom

C  free speech infringement

D  unlawful detention

A  John Locke

B  Gramm Rudman

C  John Boehner

D  Daniel Shays

A  free speech

B  a private action

C  a commercial act

D  a form of due process

A  bureaucratic

B  judicial

C  executive

D  legislative

A  10

B  15

C  27

D  36

A  the Committees of Correspondence

B  the Constitutional Convention

C  the Common Sense Committee

D  the Continental Congress

A  the Declaration of Independence

B  Magna Carta

C  the Articles of Confederation

D  Declaration of the Rights of Man

A  intrinsic laws

B  positive rights

C  Constitutional law

D  natural rights

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

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

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

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

A  Civil disobedience involves violence; a protest is peaceful.

B  Civil disobedience is involuntary; a protest is voluntary.

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

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

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  parents

C  women with children

D  citizens in the school district

A  gathering signatures for a proposed ballot measure

B  staging a sit-in

C  signing a petition in a school parking lot

D  running for public office as a third party candidate

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

B  Government should regulate the economy in the public interest.

C  Prayer belongs in school.

D  Taxes and spending should be kept low.

A  political participation and suspicion of out-groups

B  candidate loyalty and authoritarianism

C  political participation and strength of party attachment

D  liberalism and political tolerance

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

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

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

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

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

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

C  Most new immigrants were from northwestern Europe.

D  The flow of immigrant families with children decreased.

A  overthrowing the government

B  informing the public about the candidates

C  influencing voting behavior

D  affecting public policy change

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

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

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

D  a measure of the minimum requirements needed to vote

A  Conservatives are overrepresented at the polls.

B  Liberals are overrepresented at the polls.

C  Young citizens are overrepresented at the polls.

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

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 predominance of liberals in the United States

B  the predominance of conservatives in the United States

C  the absence of pluralist thinking in the United States

D  the absence of moderates in the United States

A  big business

B  political parties

C  ordinary citizens

D  Congress

A  Congress is stronger and more influential than the presidency.

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

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

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

A  a congressional statute

B  a budgetary choice

C  a presidential action

D  a regulation

A  laissez-faire

B  populist

C  pluralist

D  egalitarian

A  political culture

B  government

C  politics

D  public policy

A  pluralism

B  hyperpluralism

C  federalism

D  majority rule

A  policy gridlock

B  elitism

C  pluralism

D  balance of power

A  pluralism

B  majority rule

C  representation

D  enlightened rule

A  universal citizenship

B  one person, one vote

C  inclusion

D  freedom of speech and of the press

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

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

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

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

A  the issues that are asked about on public opinion polls

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

C  the issues that concern single-issue interest groups

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

A  government

B  the courts

C  Congress

D  political culture