Midterm Exam

A  be bused

B  pray

C  desegregate

D  take standardized tests

A  creates a clear and present danger

B  is a prior restraint

C  qualifies as hate speech

D  is critical of the government

A  symbolic speech

B  the Roth test

C  prior restraint

D  probable cause

A  right to marry

B  right to travel

C  right to privacy

D  right to vote

A  double jeopardy

B  trials without a jury

C  unreasonable search and seizure

D  self-incrimination

A  Eighth

B  Third

C  Tenth

D  Fifteenth

A  being tried again for the same crime

B  seeking the assistance of an attorney

C  benefiting financially from that crime

D  asserting innocence

A  commerce

B  privacy

C  sexual freedom

D  family

A  displays of religious symbols during holidays

B  recitation of prayer and Bible passages in school

C  displays of religious symbols on government buildings

D  teaching of evolution in school

A  an undue burden

B  a prior restraint

C  any additional constraints

D  an inconvenient truth

A  speak to an attorney

B  quick and speedy trial

C  a jury trial

D  a phone call

A  Lemon

B  Prior Restraint

C  Orange

D  Free Exercise

A  that is illegal

B  before the fact

C  after the fact

D  that is critical of the government

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

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 do very little to limit a woman’s right to an abortion.

A  witnesses

B  property loss

C  a written record

D  actual malice

A  free exercise

B  eminent domain

C  establishment

D  incorporation

A  reasonable bail

B  a written indictment

C  the right to parole

D  assistance of counsel

A  slander; libel

B  libel; defamation

C  libel; slander

D  slander; defamation

A  US v. Morrison

B  Roe v. Wade

C  Lawrence v. Texas

D  New York Times v. Sullivan

A  It increases the gross domestic product.

B  It lowers overall tax rates.

C  It increases citizens’ access to government.

D  It lowers voter turnout.

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

B  states can figure out which policies work best for them

C  the state governments can nullify laws passed by Congress

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 constitutional arrangement concentrating power in a central government.

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

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

A  pineapple-upside-down-cake

B  cupcake

C  layer-cake

D  marble-cake

A  programmatic requests

B  categorical grants

C  business grants

D  block grants

A  create courts

B  coin money

C  establish schools

D  operate prisons

A  due process

B  full faith and credit

C  supremacy

D  equal protection

A  progressive

B  dual

C  combined

D  cooperative

A  dual federalism

B  cooperative federalism

C  new federalism

D  progressive federalism

A  oligarchy

B  confederation

C  direct democracy

D  conglomeration

A  limiting the national government

B  regulating interstate commerce

C  challenging the power of the states

D  centralizing power in the federal government

A  Twelfth

B  Sixth

C  Third

D  Eleventh

A  devolution

B  excavation

C  evolution

D  redevelopment

A  full faith and credit

B  commerce

C  equal protection

D  due process

A  Eleventh

B  Fourteenth

C  Tenth

D  Eighth

A  Independence

B  Declaration

C  Confederation

D  Federalism

A  Diversity helps Americans better understand each other.

B  Discrimination is a natural part of the human experience.

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

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

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

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

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

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 had little effect because it was not formally adopted.

B  It has eliminated gender discrimination in the military.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 race as a factor in university admissions decisions

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

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

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

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 maybe broadly tailored to accomplish a compelling government interest

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  Asian Americans

C  gays and lesbians

D  American Indians

A  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?

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

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

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

A  It was legally permissible.

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

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  lynchings by the Ku Klux Klan

C  racial segregation

D  racial quotas

A  property or chattel

B  separate but equal

C  citizens

D  eligible to vote

A  grandfather clauses

B  Jim Crow laws

C  all forms of affirmative action

D  racial quotas in university admissions

A  losing candidates

B  voters

C  nonvoters

D  winning candidates

A  Reed v. Reed

B  the Nineteenth Amendment

C  Korematsu v. United States

D  the 1965 Voting Rights Act

A  involvement in insurrection

B  property ownership

C  race

D  economic status

A  jurisdiction

B  due process

C  equal protection

D  privileges and immunities

A  congressional inaction

B  national referendum

C  natural law

D  judicial interpretation

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

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

C  by a majority of voting-age citizens

D  by a majority of state governors

A  shorter terms of office

B  stronger protections of individual liberties

C  a stronger national government

D  stronger state governments

A  government itself

B  the divine right of kings

C  the right to revolt

D  the consent of the governed

A  Whigs

B  The Federalists

C  Anti-Masons

D  The Anti-Federalists

A  Democratic Plan

B  Virginia Plan

C  New Jersey Plan

D  Republican Plan

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

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

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

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  King Caucus

C  electoral college

D  direct popular election

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

B  a single chamber whose members were appointed by the president

C  two chambers

D  a single chamber with each state receiving equal power

A  taxation of private property

B  infringement of religious freedom

C  unlawful detention

D  free speech infringement

A  Daniel Shays

B  John Locke

C  John Boehner

D  Gramm Rudman

A  free speech

B  a private action

C  a commercial act

D  a form of due process

A  judicial

B  executive

C  legislative

D  bureaucratic

A  15

B  27

C  10

D  36

A  the Committees of Correspondence

B  the Constitutional Convention

C  the Common Sense Committee

D  the Continental Congress

A  Magna Carta

B  Declaration of the Rights of Man

C  the Articles of Confederation

D  the Declaration of Independence

A  positive rights

B  intrinsic laws

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

B  Civil disobedience is involuntary; a protest is voluntary.

C  Civil disobedience involves violence; a protest is peaceful.

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

A  government workers would likely unionize

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

A  parents

B  women with children

C  citizens in the school district

D  parents of children under age 18

A  staging a sit-in

B  running for public office as a third party candidate

C  signing a petition in a school parking lot

D  gathering signatures for a proposed ballot measure

A  Taxes and spending should be kept low.

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

C  Prayer belongs in school.

D  Government should regulate the economy in the public interest.

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

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

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

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

A  The flow of immigrant families with children decreased.

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

C  Most new immigrants were from northwestern Europe.

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

A  informing the public about the candidates

B  influencing voting behavior

C  affecting public policy change

D  overthrowing the government

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  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 from the census determines tax rates

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

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

B  Men consume considerably more political news than do women.

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

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

A  volunteering with a campaign

B  protesting

C  writing letters to the editor

D  contacting government officials

A  the absence of pluralist thinking in the United States

B  the absence of moderates in the United States

C  the predominance of liberals in the United States

D  the predominance of conservatives in the United States

A  ordinary citizens

B  big business

C  Congress

D  political parties

A  Congress is stronger and more influential than the presidency.

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

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

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 budgetary choice

D  a congressional statute

A  pluralist

B  laissez-faire

C  populist

D  egalitarian

A  public policy

B  political culture

C  government

D  politics

A  pluralism

B  federalism

C  hyperpluralism

D  majority rule

A  elitism

B  pluralism

C  policy gridlock

D  balance of power

A  pluralism

B  majority rule

C  enlightened rule

D  representation

A  inclusion

B  one person, one vote

C  universal citizenship

D  freedom of speech and of the press

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

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

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 concern single-issue interest groups

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 attract the serious attention of public officials and other political actors

A  political culture

B  Congress

C  the courts

D  government