question

In order to be a good citizen, it is most critical to possess

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knowledge

question

Of the nearly two hundred governments in the world, what is the estimate of the number of actual constitutional democracies?

answer

20

question

Government can be best defined as

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the institutions and procedures by which a territory and its people are ruled

question

Before the eighteenth century

answer

governments rarely sought the support of their people

question

the willingness to be restrained by the power of social institutions, but not political or legal institutions, is a hallmark of a ______ regime.

answer

authoritarian

question

According to the text, what is the main benefit of a constitutional government?

answer

The government is limited by the rule of law

question

A government that is formally limited by laws and rules is called

answer

constitutional

question

a government that accepts no legal limits on its power but may accept the restraint of other social institutions, such as churches is known as

answer

authoritarian

question

What major changes in Western government led to the establishment of constitutional government?

answer

legal limits on government and the right of more people to vote

question

The demand that there be no taxation without representation is a good example of what political reform of the eighteenth century?

answer

more popular influence on government

question

The key group in Europe that pushed for limited government was

answer

the bourgeoisie

question

Historically, what were the most effective intermediaries for i increasing political participation?

answer

parliaments

question

Which of the following is an instrument of direct democracy?

answer

initiatives

question

Who described politics as "who gets what, when, and how"?

answer

Harold Lasswell

question

According to the text, what is the goal of politics?

answer

to have a say in a government's leadership, organization, and policies

question

Direct democracy is best defined as

answer

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

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Having some share or say in the composition of a government's leadership, how it is organized, or what it's policies are going to be is called

answer

power

question

Politics can be defined as

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conflicts over the character, membership, and policies of any organization to which people belong

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A representative democracy is a system of government that

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gives citizens a regular opportunity to elect top government officials

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The National Origins Quota System

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allowed a large quota of new immigrants from northern European countries but only a small quota of new immigrants from eastern and southern European countries.

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The Bill of Rights was designed to protect

answer

liberty

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What are the three core values in American politics?

answer

liberty, equality, and democracy

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The Bill of Rights is

answer

the first ten amendments to the constitution

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

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the idea of limited government

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The right of each citizen to vote is an example of

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political equality

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The term laissez-faire means

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leave alone

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In American political culture, economic freedom means

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laissez faire capitalism

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"One person, one vote" reflects the principle of

answer

political equality

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What is the most important check on majority rule in the United States?

answer

minority rights

question

which of the following statements concerning political values in the united states is true?

answer

American values often conflict with each other in practice

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political rights are a protection against

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the tyranny of the majority

question

What led the British to raise taxes on the American colonists during the 1760s?

answer

the french and indian wars

question

The first written constitution for the united states was called

answer

the articles of confederation

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under the united states first constitution

answer

there was no executive branch

question

as a constitution, the articles of confederation were concerned primarily with

answer

limiting the powers of the central government

question

Under the articles of confederation, it was left to the _____ to execute the laws passed by Congress

answer

states

question

Which statement about government under the Articles of Confederation is false?

answer

Members of congress had significant independence from their states

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A ______ is a system of government in which states retain sovereign authority except for powers expressly delegated to a national government

answer

confederacy

question

Shays's rebellion was significant because it

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convinced many observers that the government of the confederation had become dangerously inefficient and indecisive

question

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

answer

marriage of interests and principles

question

The great compromise led to the

answer

creation of the bicameral congress

question

the three-fifths compromise

answer

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

question

the system of shared powers, divided between a central government and the states, is called

answer

federalism

question

Which of the following was designed by the framers to be an office directly elected by the people?

answer

member of the house of representatives

question

Bicarmeralism is a constitutional principle that means the

answer

division of congress into two chambers

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the electoral college is

answer

designed to select the president

question

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

answer

senators are the only officials immune from impeachment

question

What is the term length of a member of the House of Representatives?

answer

two years

question

The three branches of government created by the constitution are

answer

executive, legislative, judicial

question

Which of the following possesses the sole power to create revenue bills?

answer

the house of representatives

question

Only one-third of the senate is up for re-election during any single election year because the framers believed that

answer

this was the only way to protect the senate against radical changes

question

the framers of the constitution intended to create a presidency capable of

answer

withstanding excessive popular pressure by making it subject to indirect election through the electoral college

question

Judicial review is the power of

answer

the courts to decide on the constitutionality of actions taken by the other branches of government

question

What is the term length of a federal judge?

answer

ten years

question

The supremacy clause

answer

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

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

In the national debate over ratification of the new Constitution, the Federalists

answer

supported the constitution and preferred a strong national government

question

During the ratification debates, who were the Antifederalists?

answer

those who opposed the new constitution because they wanted a weaker central government

question

The Federalists believed that the most apparent source of tyranny was

answer

the popular majority

question

The Antifederalists argued that the powers of government should be limited by

answer

both confining the powers of the federal government to certain narrowly defined areas and adding a bill of rights to the constitution

question

The federalists believed that the powers of government could be limited by

answer

creating an internal system of checks and controls within government

question

The most common method of passing an amendment to the constitution is

answer

passage in both houses of congress by a two-thirds vote, followed by a majority vote in thee-fourths of the state legislature

question

Which event led directly to the constitutional convention by providing evidence that the government created under the articles of confederation was unable to act decisively in times of national crisis?

answer

Shay's rebellion

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