question

The belief that you can influence how your government acts is called

answer

political efficacy

question

What is the principle difference between an autocracy and an oligarchy?

answer

the number of people in charge

question

Which of the following is not an example of a totalitarian regime?

answer

the United Kingdom

question

Direct democracy is best defined as

answer

a system that allows citizens to vote directly for laws and policies

question

A representative democracy is a system of government that

answer

gives citizens a regular opportunity to elect top government officials

question

Which of the following is an instrument of direct democracy?

answer

initiatives

question

At the time of the Founding, approximately ___ percent of non-Native American inhabitants of the thirteen states were of European ancestry.

answer

80

question

Throughout American history, the concept of liberty has been linked to

answer

the idea of limited government

question

According to the text, what were the essential documents of the American Founding?

answer

the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution

question

The Bill of Rights was designed to protect

answer

liberty

question

In American political culture, economic freedom means

answer

laissez-faire capitalism

question

The right of each citizen to vote is an example of

answer

political equality

question

The Constitution's Preamble, beginning with the words "We the People," is an illustration of what principle?

answer

popular sovereignty

question

The belief that political authority should rest with the people themselves is called

answer

popular sovereignty

question

Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education reveal two very different visions of what political value?

answer

equality

question

T/F: Over the past several decades, the public's belief that the government is responsive to the people has declined.

answer

True

question

T/F: Recent polls reveal that more than three-fourths of Americans know the name of the current speaker of the House.

answer

False

question

T/F: The most important thin for a citizen to possess is political knowledge.

answer

True

question

T/F: Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union are both examples of autocracies.

answer

True

question

T/F: When a single ruler controls all government power, it is called an oligarchy.

answer

False

question

T/F: Constitutional democracies were often found throughout ancient Greece.

answer

False

question

T/F: Parliaments began in Europe as institutions for aristocrats.

answer

True

question

T/F: The proletariat was the key social force leading to limited government during the eighteenth century.

answer

False

question

T/F: The referendum is a form of direct democracy.

answer

True

question

T/F: Because of the United States' diversity of races, ethnicities, and religions, Americans do not share a common political culture.

answer

False

question

T/F: The principle of "one person, one vote" summarizes the idea of liberty.

answer

False

question

T/F: The United States has never accepted the principle of popular sovereignty.

answer

False

question

T/F: Many of the most critical dilemmas of American politics involve conflicts over the way commonly held values are put into practice.

answer

True

question

T/F: Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board Education are both Supreme Court cases dealing with the meaning of equality.

answer

True

question

T/F: Property restrictions on the right to vote were eliminated in 1920.

answer

False

question

According to the text, which sector of society did not have interests that were important to colonial politics?

answer

slaves

question

Colonial protesters of the Stamp Act and the Sugar Act rallied around what famous political slogan?

answer

"No taxation without representation"

question

Who defended the British soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre?

answer

John Adams

question

Who orchestrated the Boston Tea Party?

answer

Samuel Adams

question

Under the Articles of Confederation, it was left to the ___to execute the laws passed by Congress.

answer

states

question

According to the text, the writing of the Constitution demonstrates the

answer

marriage of interests and principles

question

The Three-Fifths Compromise

answer

determined that three out of every five slaves would be counted for purpose of representation and taxation

question

The ability of the president to veto a bill passed by Congress is a good example of what principle of limited government?

answer

checks and balances

question

The three branches of government created by the Constitution are

answer

executive, legislative, and judicial

question

Which of the following was a way the framers tried to make the Senate a check against excessive democracy?

answer

The Senate has staggered terms of office

question

What is the term length of a federal judge?

answer

barring impeachment, life

question

Procedures outlining how to amend the Constitution are found in Article

answer

V

question

The supremacy clause

answer

announces that the Constitution and all laws made under it are superior to any state laws

question

Whose "political gospel" inspired the framers to adopt the concept of the separation of powers?

answer

Montesquieu

question

Brutus and Federal Farmer are two pseudonyms used by the

answer

Antifederalists

question

The Boston Tea Party started as a reaction to the British imposing an embargo of tea and coffee trade on the colonies

answer

False

question

The Declaration of Independence was the United States' first governing constitution

answer

False

question

The Articles of Confederation created a weak central government and a loose alliance of nearly independent states

answer

True

question

The Virginia Plan would have created a federal legislature where representation was based solely on the population of each state

answer

True

question

The Great Compromise resulted in a bicameral legislature

answer

True

question

The Three-Fifths Compromise stated that no more than three out of every five states could be slave states.

answer

False

question

The doctrine of expressed powers means that Congress does not have any powers not listed in the Constitution

answer

True

question

The office of the president was designed by the framers to be capable of overcoming the inevitable stalemate of the bicameral legislature

answer

True

question

The Constitution gives Congress the power to recognize other nations, and to accept ambassadors from foreign countries

answer

False

question

The Constitution expressly gave the Supreme Court the power of judicial review over Congress and the President

answer

False

question

The framers' theory of separation of powers was influenced by Montesquieu's The Spirit of Laws

answer

True

question

The Federalist Papers argue against the ratification of the Constitution and defined strong state governments

answer

False

question

The Antifederalists wanted a strong central government that the proposed in the Constitution

answer

False

question

The Federalists believed that the threat of tyranny was most likely to be found in the popular majorities rather than in a handful of aristocratic persons

answer

True

question

The Constitution is very difficult to change by amendment

answer

True

question

The United States, Canada, and Switzerland can all be described as ___systems of government while France can be described as a ___system of government

answer

federal;unitary

question

The federal system can be best defined as

answer

a system of government in which power is divided between a national government and lower levels of government

question

The specific powers granted to the national government in Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution are called the

answer

expressed powers

question

What is the purpose of the Tenth Amendment?

answer

to limit the powers of the central government by establishing reserved powers for states and individuals

question

When both state and national governments possess a certain level of authority, it is called

answer

a concurrent power

question

Which is the best example of a concurrent power under the federal constitution?

answer

the power to regulate commercial activity

question

The ___clause of the Constitution requires that states should normally recognize the laws, acts, and judicial decisions of other states

answer

full faith and credit

question

Which clauses of the Constitution involve the relationships among various states?

answer

the full faith and credit clause and the privileges and immunities clause

question

When Alaska passed a law in the 1970s that gave state residents preference over nonresidents in obtaining work on oil pipelines, this law violated the

answer

privileges and immunities clause

question

How did the traditional system of dual federalism establish a "commercial republic"?

answer

the function of the federal government was to promote and assist commerce

question

Which of the following statements about the structure of American federalism is true?

answer

it has contributed to the longevity of the U.S. government by allowing many divisive policy decisions throughout American history to be made by states

question

What was one effect of dual federalism during the early Republic?

answer

the national government was spared the task of making difficult policy decisions, such as the regulation of slavery, because the states did it themselves

question

____describes the strategy of delegating a policy program to a lower level of government

answer

devolution

question

Federal systems are most commonly found in countries that have a highly homogeneous population

answer

False

question

The Tenth Amendment gives the national government expressed powers over state governments

answer

False

question

The Antifederalists feared an overly strong central government under the new Constitution

answer

True

question

The full faith and credit clause demands that the U.S. government run a balanced budget

answer

False

question

The Constitution guarantees that a state cannot discriminate against someone from another state

answer

True

question

Local governments are not mentioned anywhere in the U.S. Constitution

answer

True

question

Dual federalism describes the relationship between the national government and the states throughout the nineteenth century

answer

True

question

McCulloch v. Maryland gave Congress potentially expansive powers for regulating commercial activity

answer

True

question

Since the New Deal, the Supreme Court has never restricted Congress's power under the commerce clause

answer

False

question

The Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Lopez expanded the power of Congress outlined in the commerce clause

answer

False

question

The New Deal led to the weakening of the national government's powers

answer

False

question

Cooperative federalism ended the Civil War

answer

False

question

Unfunded mandate refers to the national government imposing regulatory costs on the states without reimbursement.

answer

True

question

A federal block grant gives states no discretion on how to spend the money

answer

False

question

In the 1990s, welfare policy was centralized by the national government

answer

False

question

The various attitudes that citizens possess toward political issues, events, and people are called

answer

public opinions

question

A political ideology is best defined as

answer

a cohesive set of beliefs that form a general philosophy about the government

question

Liberalism and conservatism are good examples of

answer

political ideologies

question

The term public opinion is used to describe

answer

people's beliefs and attitudes toward different issues

question

The complex set of beliefs and values that, as a whole, form a general philosophy about the government is called

answer

political ideology

question

The difference between a political value and a political attitude is that

answer

values are basic principles while attitudes are specific preferences

question

Fundamental political values

answer

unify Americans around a common set of goals for the government

question

Based on recent polling data, what percentage of Americans believed that gays should have equal employment rights?

answer

89 percent

question

Based on recent polling data, what percentage of Americans disagreed with the statement "Any group should be allowed to hold a rally for a cause"?

answer

31 percent

question

Based on recent polling data, what percentage of Americans is worried about government monitoring of personal information?

answer

56 percent

question

During presidential elections, there is often a post-convention__in the popularity of a presidential candidate resulting from increased media attention

answer

bounce

question

If I decide to support a candidate because I see that he or she is the front-runner in a poll, I become an example of

answer

the bandwagon effect

question

Which of the following statements best summarizes the findings of studies on the relationship between public opinion and public policy in the United States?

answer

the government's actions are usually in line with the public's preferences but some areas of disagreement always arise

question

What is an initiative?

answer

a procedure that allows for laws to be placed on a ballot and voted on by the electorate

question

An important reason for why public policy and public opinion may not coincide in the United States is that

answer

the American system of government includes arrangements, such as an appointed judiciary, which may produce policy decisions that run contrary to prevailing popular sentiment

question

The United States is a nation without political ideologies

answer

False

question

Most Americans are unified in their belief in the principles of liberty, equality, and democracy

answer

True

question

Less than 50 percent of Americans believe that gays should have equal employment rights

answer

False

question

Families, social groups, and schools are important institutions where people are politically socialized

answer

True

question

During the formation of an individual's initial political orientation, the influence of family counts for very little

answer

False

question

Differences in opinion can be influenced by one's gender

answer

True

question

Level's of education have not been shown to affect one's political opinions

answer

False

question

Liberal and conservative ideologies are clear and well-defined doctrines of thought

answer

False

question

Political ideologies do not always provide us with a clear opinion on particular policies

answer

True

question

Think tanks are not usually important actors in developing and spreading political ideas

answer

False

question

Interest groups often spend time and money trying to shape public opinion

answer

True

question

Calling randomly selected phone numbers is a good way for pollsters to reduce sampling errors

answer

True

question

Push polling is a trend that has been decreasing over the years

answer

False

question

The illusion of saliency can give politicians the mistaken impression that certain opinions are very important to people

answer

True

question

Under the United States' political system, public policy will always coincide with the state of public opinion

answer

False

question

A short, attention-grabbing phrase that summarizes a position is called a

answer

sound bite

question

Which group has had great popularity on radio talk shows?

answer

conservatives

question

Whose presidential campaign was the first to rely heavily on the impact of Internet bloggers?

answer

Howard Dean

question

In 1985, the federal government stopped enforcing the ___, arguing that it was no longer necessary due to the increasing number of television and radio stations

answer

fairness doctrine

question

The nationalization of the news in the United States has had important political consequences due to

answer

Americans tending to view the world with a similar approach since they are exposed to same concerns and perspectives

question

Which of the following statements is false?

answer

government censorship plays an important role in determining the particular interpretation of a news story

question

The most important selection bias in news is

answer

the audience appeal of a story

question

Reporters have the ability to significantly influence news stories since they

answer

generally demonstrate a great deal of discretion while interpreting the news, giving themselves the opportunity to interject personal views and ideals into their stories

question

The news media are most responsive to what segment of the population?

answer

the affluent

question

American print and broadcast media tend to be more responsive to the ___segments of the audience

answer

upscale

question

Which of the following statements best describes the media's role in the Watergate affair?

answer

the media's relentless investigations revealed various abuses of power by President Nixon and led to his resignation

question

When media coverage affects the way the public evaluates a political leader in future actions, this effect is called

answer

priming

question

Which of the following is an important reason why politicians frequently choose to do interviews on talk shows or entertainment programs such as the Oprah Winfrey show?

answer

these shows allow politicians to craft their own images without interference or questions from journalists

question

During the nineteenth century, newspapers were controlled by

answer

political parties

question

Which of the following is not a reason why a free media is necessary to democratic government?

answer

a free media is needed to ensure economic equality

question

Television reaches more Americans than any other single source of news

answer

True

question

The most important sources for setting a news agenda are newspapers

answer

True

question

Newspapers are among the most heavily regulated media in the United States

answer

False

question

Federal rules grant individuals an opportunity to respond to personal attacks made on television or the radio

answer

True

question

The Federal Communications Commission no longer requires broadcasters who air controversial issues to provide time for opposing views

answer

True

question

Since the 1980s, the ownership of news media has expanded and fallen into many different hands

answer

False

question

The Internet has vastly expanded the number of sources of news

answer

True

question

The national news media tend to cover the same events and emphasize the same issues and problems

answer

True

question

The United States went to war with Spain in 1898 largely due to the reporting of newspapers owned by William Randolph Hearst

answer

True

question

Most journalists describe themselves as conservative or moderate-to-conservative

answer

False

question

Broadcast and print media tend to orient their reporting to issues of interest to the lower middle class

answer

False

question

Political protests are often the only way some groups can attract media attention to their issues and causes

answer

True

question

Because of their dependence on government sources, the news media are unable to set the agenda of debate

answer

False

question

Media prophecies on a candidate's momentum in an election often become self-fulfilling

answer

True

question

Throughout the nineteenth century, political parties controlled and subsidized newspapers

answer

True

Flashcards on Federal Government: Chapters 1-3,6-7

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