Midterm Exam

A  desegregate

B  be bused

C  pray

D  take standardized tests

A  is critical of the government

B  creates a clear and present danger

C  is a prior restraint

D  qualifies as hate speech

A  symbolic speech

B  probable cause

C  the Roth test

D  prior restraint

A  right to vote

B  right to travel

C  right to marry

D  right to privacy

A  unreasonable search and seizure

B  double jeopardy

C  trials without a jury

D  self-incrimination

A  Fifteenth

B  Eighth

C  Tenth

D  Third

A  being tried again for the same crime

B  asserting innocence

C  benefiting financially from that crime

D  seeking the assistance of an attorney

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  an inconvenient truth

B  an undue burden

C  any additional constraints

D  a prior restraint

A  a jury trial

B  quick and speedy trial

C  a phone call

D  speak to an attorney

A  Free Exercise

B  Orange

C  Prior Restraint

D  Lemon

A  before the fact

B  that is critical of the government

C  after the fact

D  that is illegal

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  witnesses

B  actual malice

C  property loss

D  a written record

A  establishment

B  free exercise

C  incorporation

D  eminent domain

A  the right to parole

B  a written indictment

C  assistance of counsel

D  reasonable bail

A  slander; defamation

B  libel; slander

C  libel; defamation

D  slander; libel

A  Lawrence v. Texas

B  US v. Morrison

C  New York Times v. Sullivan

D  Roe v. Wade

A  It lowers overall tax rates.

B  It increases the gross domestic product.

C  It increases citizens’ access to government.

D  It lowers voter turnout.

A  states can figure out which policies work best for them

B  the state governments can nullify laws passed by Congress

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 constitutionally created by a strong 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 constitutional arrangement concentrating power in a central government.

A  layer-cake

B  pineapple-upside-down-cake

C  marble-cake

D  cupcake

A  block grants

B  business grants

C  categorical grants

D  programmatic requests

A  establish schools

B  operate prisons

C  coin money

D  create courts

A  due process

B  equal protection

C  supremacy

D  full faith and credit

A  progressive

B  combined

C  cooperative

D  dual

A  new federalism

B  cooperative federalism

C  dual federalism

D  progressive federalism

A  direct democracy

B  conglomeration

C  oligarchy

D  confederation

A  limiting the national government

B  centralizing power in the federal government

C  challenging the power of the states

D  regulating interstate commerce

A  Eleventh

B  Third

C  Sixth

D  Twelfth

A  devolution

B  excavation

C  redevelopment

D  evolution

A  due process

B  equal protection

C  full faith and credit

D  commerce

A  Fourteenth

B  Eleventh

C  Tenth

D  Eighth

A  Independence

B  Confederation

C  Federalism

D  Declaration

A  Diversity helps Americans better understand each other.

B  Discrimination is a natural part of the human experience.

C  Unaddressed past discrimination causes perpetual inequality.

D  Affirmative action discriminates on the basis of race.

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

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

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

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

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

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 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 eliminated gender discrimination in the military.

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

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

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

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

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

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

B  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.

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

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

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

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  Asian Americans

B  American Indians

C  disabled Americans

D  gays and lesbians

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

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

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

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

B  It was legally permissible.

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

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

A  lynchings by the Ku Klux Klan

B  racial segregation

C  racial quotas

D  voter discrimination

A  citizens

B  separate but equal

C  eligible to vote

D  property or chattel

A  Jim Crow laws

B  racial quotas in university admissions

C  grandfather clauses

D  all forms of affirmative action

A  winning candidates

B  losing candidates

C  nonvoters

D  voters

A  Reed v. Reed

B  Korematsu v. United States

C  the 1965 Voting Rights Act

D  the Nineteenth Amendment

A  economic status

B  property ownership

C  involvement in insurrection

D  race

A  jurisdiction

B  privileges and immunities

C  due process

D  equal protection

A  national referendum

B  natural law

C  congressional inaction

D  judicial interpretation

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

B  by a majority of state governors

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

D  by a majority of voting-age citizens

A  stronger protections of individual liberties

B  stronger state governments

C  a stronger national government

D  shorter terms of office

A  the divine right of kings

B  government itself

C  the consent of the governed

D  the right to revolt

A  The Federalists

B  Whigs

C  The Anti-Federalists

D  Anti-Masons

A  Democratic Plan

B  Republican Plan

C  New Jersey Plan

D  Virginia Plan

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

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

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

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

A  weights and measures

B  oversight and influence

C  privileges and immunities

D  checks and balances

A  People’s Plebiscite

B  electoral college

C  direct popular election

D  King Caucus

A  a single chamber whose members were appointed by the president

B  two chambers

C  a single chamber with each state receiving equal power

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

A  free speech infringement

B  unlawful detention

C  taxation of private property

D  infringement of religious freedom

A  John Boehner

B  Gramm Rudman

C  Daniel Shays

D  John Locke

A  a form of due process

B  free speech

C  a private action

D  a commercial act

A  judicial

B  executive

C  bureaucratic

D  legislative

A  36

B  27

C  15

D  10

A  the Common Sense Committee

B  the Committees of Correspondence

C  the Continental Congress

D  the Constitutional Convention

A  Magna Carta

B  the Articles of Confederation

C  Declaration of the Rights of Man

D  the Declaration of Independence

A  intrinsic laws

B  positive rights

C  Constitutional law

D  natural rights

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

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

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

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

A  Civil disobedience is involuntary; a protest is voluntary.

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

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

D  Civil disobedience involves violence; a protest is peaceful.

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

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

C  government-run services would likely be privatized

D  government workers would likely unionize

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  gathering signatures for a proposed ballot measure

D  staging a sit-in

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

B  Prayer belongs in school.

C  Government should regulate the economy in the public interest.

D  Taxes and spending should be kept low.

A  political participation and suspicion of out-groups

B  political participation and strength of party attachment

C  candidate loyalty and authoritarianism

D  liberalism and political tolerance

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

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

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

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

A  Most new immigrants were from northwestern Europe.

B  The flow of immigrant families with children decreased.

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

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

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

C  a measure of the minimum requirements needed to vote

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

A  Conservatives are overrepresented at the polls.

B  Liberals are overrepresented at the polls.

C  Democrats are overrepresented at the polls.

D  Young citizens 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  information from the census determines tax rates

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  writing letters to the editor

B  contacting government officials

C  volunteering with a campaign

D  protesting

A  the absence of pluralist thinking in the United States

B  the predominance of conservatives in the United States

C  the absence of moderates in the United States

D  the predominance of liberals in the United States

A  Congress

B  ordinary citizens

C  big business

D  political parties

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

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

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 regulation

B  a presidential action

C  a congressional statute

D  a budgetary choice

A  populist

B  laissez-faire

C  egalitarian

D  pluralist

A  political culture

B  public policy

C  government

D  politics

A  federalism

B  majority rule

C  hyperpluralism

D  pluralism

A  balance of power

B  elitism

C  policy gridlock

D  pluralism

A  representation

B  pluralism

C  majority rule

D  enlightened rule

A  one person, one vote

B  freedom of speech and of the press

C  universal citizenship

D  inclusion

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

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

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

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

C  the issues that are asked about on public opinion polls

D  the issues that concern single-issue interest groups

A  Congress

B  government

C  the courts

D  political culture