American Government – Flashcards with Answers
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In a republic, who is in charge?
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The People
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Early America did not live up to the ideal expressed in the first three words of the Constitution "We the People". Which of the following groups were actually included in government?
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White men who owned property.
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When was the right to vote given to everyone at the age of eighteen?
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1971
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What does the theory of pluralism mean?
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Pluralism suggests that people can influence government through the many interest groups that spring up to champion everything from fighting for energy independence to banning abortions.
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Why did Patrick Henry, when he heard about the new Constitution, in 1787, make the famous statement "I smell a rat"?
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He believed that the new federal government would be too strong.
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Alexis de Tocqueville, a French visitor to America in 1831-1832, noticed particular ways of thinking in Americans that he called "____," or patterns of social interactions that naturally flowed from Americans in their interchange and mutual problem solving, that formed the foundation of a robust democracy.
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habits of the heart
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The Declaration Independence explained the role of government-securing for each individual's three rights. Which of the following is one of those rights?
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Life
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The notion that democratic representatives should be guided by their sense of "the general good" regardless of the preferences of the district they represent is known as
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Trustee representation
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According to Professor Franklin the problems facing the European Union today are similar to the problems faced by the United States
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Under the Articles of Confederation
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The Constitution of the United States is
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An evolving social contract between all citizens of the United States.
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The nation with the oldest constitution still in use in
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The United States
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The Establishment Clause
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forbids the establishment of an official state religion in the United States.
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According to Madison in Federalists # 10 ____ means that citizens participate directly in making government decisions.
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Democracy
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According to Madison in Federalists # 10___ means that citizens participate indirectly in making government decisions by electing representatives.
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Republican government
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Supreme Court justices are selected by the president (and approved by the Senate) for
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None of the above (eight two four)
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Social democracies are based on ____, the idea that people have a tight bond and are responsible for one another
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Solidarity
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What is the concept of individualism?
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The idea that individuals, not the society or the community or the government, are responsible for their own well-being.
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Individualism points toward limited government, faith in economic markets, and a strong emphasis on
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negative liberty
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Due to continued requirements for the colonists to the house, or "quarter", British soldiers at colonists' expense, they wrote into the Bill of Rights
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the Third Ammendment
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All of the following are problems that propelled the framers towards the Constitutional Convention of 1787 EXCEPT
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Slavery
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In one prominent cross-national study, what percentage of people in the United States agreed with the statement "It is the responsibility of the government to take care of very poor people who cannot take care of themselves?
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23 percent
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When the Constitution was ratified, slavery existed
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In all States
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When the Constitution was ratified, women could vote
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In some states, like New Jersey, if they owned property
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The complex interplay between state, local, and national governments stretches all the way back to the debates between
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Federalists and Anti-Federalists
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Which form of government favors a central government exercising all or most political authority?
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Unitary
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Which level(s) of government is/are responsible for regulating business
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Federal and state
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In 1776, for the time in wold history, the American colonists made the claim that government
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derives its power from the consent of the governed.
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Americans typically have more trust in which level of government?
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Local
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"Laboratories of federalism/democracy" relates to which advantage of federalism?
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Providing sources of innovation
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The government response to Hurricane Katrina exemplifies which disadvantage of federalism?
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Coordination
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Which of the following describes competition between states and localities, where providing better social services for poor people will drive out businesses and attract poor people?
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Race to the bottom
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Which of the following is NOT a national government responsibility outlined in the Constitution?
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Funding Education
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The Tenth Amendment is most likely favored by
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State government advocates
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___ are the limits of government so that people can freely exercise their rights
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Civil liberties
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According to Professor Franklin, in politics rules can be fair but they can't be ___
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Neutral
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According to Professor Franklin in the United States what establishes the fairness rule is
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both adherence to the democratic process and to the Bill of Rights.
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The right to privacy
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Is a constitutional penumbra
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Civil Rights are the freedom
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To
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Civil Liberties are freedom
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from
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At its most basic level "politics is who gets what according....."
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To the rules of the game.
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Americans remain among the globe's ___ participatory-minded people: we volunteer for public service projects at an unusually _____ rate
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most....high
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Americans score___ on other indices of national participation. Compared to other advanced democracies, the United States voting rate ranks near the ___ of the pack.
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poorly....bottom
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Public involvement tends to promote which of the following benefits?
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All of the answers are correct
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After Martin Luther King was arrested for "agitation", he wrote ____ to defend his acts of civil disobedience, an especially inspiring example of political voice.
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Letter from Birmingham Jail
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____ suggests that voting is an essentially irrational act, working against most people's self-interests
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The paradox of voting
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____ are movements for political reform that are sparked at the local level, "from the ground up"
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Grassroots movements
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Shortcuts are cues about candidates and policies drawn from everyday life, party preferences, and significant figures like friends/family and trusted leaders.
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Information
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Public views are concrete enough to offer a guide for policy makers
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Rarely
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Generally, the closer to Election Day the poll about electoral behaviors is taken, the ______ accurate it is
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More
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For validity and reliability purposes, which of the following is likely the least preferred method of conducting a poll?
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An internet website
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What is the main demographic for talk radio in Atlanta
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Commuters from the suburbs
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What remains the top source of news for most Americans?
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Television
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The corporate setting helps blur the line between news, politics, and entertainment, a phenomenon now described as
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Infotainment
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Which statement is true as it relates to the role of movies in politics?
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Movies often generate support for emerging ideas.
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Traditional newspapers and networks
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Still aim for objective reporting
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According to Professor Franklin what is the best way to interpret the role of movie viewing in forming public opinion.
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Movies reflect the opinions of their viewes.
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One of the reasons the Internet may hamper quality democracy is that it
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Incubates lies, malice, and falsehoods.
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Which type of media bias is most obvious to academics?
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Commercial
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One of the ways the internet particularly social media could enhance democracy is by
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Making everyone a potential news reporter.
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Americans vote more often and for more officers ___ than the people of any other nation.
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On every level of government.
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What was the year when women in all states could vote?
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1920
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What was the percentage of voting-age population who turned out in the 2010 congressional election?
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37
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In a 2012 poll cited in the textbook, more people identified themselves as _____ than as Democrats or Republicans.
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Independents
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Who or what determines ballot access in American elections?
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State laws
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The vast majority of the world's democracies are governed by which type of party system?
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A multiparty system
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Madison refers to interest groups in the Federalists no. 10 as
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Factions
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An interest group is defined as
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an organization whose goal is to influence government
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A ______ is an individual who contacts government officials on behalf of a particular cause or issue.
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Lobbyist
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What are the two types of interest groups referred to in the text
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Citizen groups and private interests
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The conference committee is critical because
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It allows the House and Senate to work out a compromise on a particular piece of legislation
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Mark Twain's comment that "every senator is a little king" suggests
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Senators possess a remarkable degree of autonomy in comparison to House members.
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The only person who can break a tie in the Senate is the
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Minority Leader
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The idea of diverse representation is important because
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All of the options are correect
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The Idea that spending for a government project goes to particular districts is often known as Capitol Hill as
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Porkbarrel legislation
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A central function of the Speaker of the House is to
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lead the majority party
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Committees are central to Congress because
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They allow congressional members to specialize on a particular issue.
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Presidents are extremely vulnerable in relation to
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Domestic Issues
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Women were first able to vote for the president in
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1920
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Presidential power is vaguely defined in
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Article 2 of the Consitution
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In the Electoral College, each state's number of votes is ____ its congressional delegation.
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Equal to
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How many chief executives were called for in the Articles of Confederation?
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Zero
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In order tow in the presidency, one must win
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The Electoral College
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Executive expressed powers include all of the following except
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Power to declare war
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Treaty ratification can only occur with
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Senate aprooval
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The practice by which political winners reward their supporters with government jobs and contracts is known as
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the spoils system
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The Act of Congress requiring the federal government to hire well-qualified public servants in 1833 was
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The Pendleton Act
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The ultimate purpose of creating a professional merit-based civil service system is
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Neutral competence
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The bureaucracy, compared to Congress
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is much more diverse
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The Federal Reserve was created
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to stabilize banking
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In many policy areas, multiple agencies have overlapping responsibilities, leading to
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turf wars
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Laws written by Congress are typically ____ and, thus require bureaucracies to engage in a lot of ___
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Vague, interpretation
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There are two steps to the bureaucratic process of putting a law into practice
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Rulemaking and implementation
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The cabinet department with the most employees is
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Department of Defense
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The bureaucracy is discussed in which article of the Constitution?
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The bureaucracy is not mentioned in the Constitution.
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Appellate courts hear cases from the
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lower courts
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The concept of judicial federalism means
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That there is both a federal and a state court system in the United States
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The ultimate arbiter of all cases is the
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US Supreme Court
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Most state judges
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are elected by the public
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The role of the circuit is to
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review the trial record of cases decided in district court.
