question

Alexander Hamilton argued that the chief executive office should possess

answer

energy

question

What was the primary goal of the Constitution's framers?

answer

to create an effective government

question

Under the Articles of Confederation, the relationship between the states and the federal government can be best compared to

answer

the United Nations' relationship with member states.

question

The Constitution is a very difficult document to change by amendment.

answer

True

question

A conference held to analyze perceived flaws in the Articles of Confederation was called the

answer

Annapolis Convention.

question

James Madison believed that in the Constitutional Convention the greatest conflict of interests was between

answer

northern states and southern states.

question

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

answer

True

question

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

answer

marriage of interests and principles.

question

What was the most common form of taxation during the colonial era?

answer

taxes on commercial products and activities

question

During the Philadelphia Convention, the New Jersey Plan was supported by

answer

the less populous states

question

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

answer

two years

question

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

answer

confederacy

question

Which was the only state not to send delegates to the Constitutional Convention?

answer

Rhode Island

question

The supremacy clause

answer

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

question

The powers of Congress under the Constitution are __________ those of Congress under the Articles of Confederation

answer

greater than

question

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

answer

"No taxation without representation."

question

Whose "political gospel" inspired the framers to adopt the concept of the separation of phttp://quizlet.com/create_set/owers?

answer

Montesquieu

question

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

answer

the French and Indian Wars

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

answer

True

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

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

answer

False

question

Which constitutional amendment has been used to restrict the scope of authority by the federal government over the states?

answer

Tenth

question

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

answer

True

question

The privileges and immunities clause of Article IV is also referred to as the

answer

comity clause.

question

During most of the nineteenth century, Congress used its powers to __________ commerce.

answer

regulate

question

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

answer

the power to regulate commercial activity

question

__________ describes the strategy of delegating a policy program to a lower level of government.

answer

Devolution

question

Why was Massachusetts's decision to recognize gay and lesbian marriages such a controversial issue of federalism?

answer

The Constitution requires all states to honor and recognize the official acts of other states.

question

What was the overall importance of the Supreme Court case McCulloch v. Maryland?

answer

The Court interpreted the delegated powers of Congress broadly, creating the potential for increased national powers

question

During the era of dual federalism, what was the primary goal of the federal government's domestic policies?

answer

to assist the development of commercial activity within and between the states

question

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 has increased the level of federal involvement in public education

answer

True

question

The source of an implied power under the Constitution is the _________ clause.

answer

necessary and proper

question

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

answer

False

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

Federal officials seeking to give state governments more authority are most likely to support

answer

block grants.

question

What is the main purpose behind the privileges and immunities clause of Article IV?

answer

It prevents a state from discriminating against nonresidents.

question

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

answer

a concurrent power.

question

Why were local governments important during the early years of the Republic?

answer

State administration was often weak.

question

How has the structure of federalism made way for the longevity of the U.S. government?

answer

It has allowed states to develop in numerous and different ways. It has allowed for many divisive policy decisions to be made by states, rather than the national government. It has kept the national government small and aloof throughout most of America's history.

question

Which of the following forms of speech are given the highest level of protection by the Supreme Court?

answer

political sedition

question

Which provision of the Bill of Rights has not been nationalized?

answer

All civil liberties have been nationalized

question

Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) and Roe v. Wade (1973) have been extremely important in the development of

answer

a constitutional right to privacy.

question

Which of the following is the best description of the Supreme Court's first ruling on the issue of the nationalization of the Bill of Rights in 1833?

answer

The Bill of Rights limits the national government but not state governments.

question

The Bill of Rights

answer

is the first ten amendments to the Constitution.

question

Which of the following would not be an example of speech plus?

answer

assassinating a political leader

question

The famous Miranda rule was recently overturned by the Supreme Court.

answer

False

question

The takings clause states that the government may not take private property

answer

without just compensation.

question

The Bill of Rights was written because

answer

the Antifederalists demanded it as the price of ratification of the Constitution.

question

The controversy over suspicionless drug tests at school and in the workplace pits the government's war on drugs against the right

answer

to privacy from unwarranted searches.

question

A woman's constitutional right to an abortion was established in

answer

Roe v. Wade (1973).

question

The procedural restraints found in the Bill of Rights

answer

define how the government is supposed to act.

question

Roe v. Wade prohibits states from making abortions illegal based on the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

answer

False

question

The Bill of Rights was ratified by the states in

answer

1791

question

The Supreme Court has ruled that the Second Amendment protects private militias.

answer

False

question

The right to legal counsel in a criminal proceeding is guaranteed by the

answer

Sixth Amendment.

question

Why is Palko v. Connecticut an important case?

answer

The Supreme Court explained the process for determining which parts of the Bill of Rights would protect individuals against states, as well as the national government.

question

Which of the following rights has never been incorporated into the Fourteenth Amendment?

answer

right to bear arms

question

What were the Alien and Sedition Acts?

answer

laws passed in the 1790s that made it a crime to say or publish anything that would defame the government of the United States

question

The Supreme Court formally articulated the right to privacy in a case involving

answer

access to birth control.

question

The issue of representation, which threatened to wreck the entire Constitutional Convention, was resolved by the Great Compromise, also called the

answer

Connecticut Compromise.

question

Why is Palko v. Connecticut an important case?

answer

The Supreme Court explained the process for determining which parts of the Bill of Rights would protect individuals against states, as well as the national government.

question

What was the primary goal of the Constitution's framers?

answer

to create an effective government

question

What was the most common form of taxation during the colonial era?

answer

taxes on commercial products and activities

question

What were the Alien and Sedition Acts?

answer

laws passed in the 1790s that made it a crime to say or publish anything that would defame the government of the United States

question

"One person, one vote" reflects the principle of:

answer

political equality.

question

On the subject of representation, Antifederalists wanted

answer

representative bodies that resembled those represented to the highest degree possible.

question

The Tenth Amendment of the United States Constitution addresses

answer

reserved powers.

question

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

answer

marriage of interests and principles.

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

In American political culture, economic freedom means:

answer

laissez-faire capitalism.

question

The first modern free speech cases arose during World War I.

answer

False

question

During most of the nineteenth century, Congress used its powers to __________ commerce.

answer

facilitate

question

If a state grants a city the ability to govern its own local affairs, this delegation of power is known as

answer

home rule.

question

It is unconstitutional to burn the American flag.

answer

False

question

The right of each citizen to vote is an example of:

answer

political equality.

question

What was the main reason that Alexander Hamilton did not want a bill of rights?

answer

He believed it was unnecessary for a government that possessed only specifically delegated powers.

question

The requirement that persons under arrest be informed of their right to remain silent is known as the __________ rule.

answer

Miranda

question

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

answer

True

question

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

answer

federalism

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

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

answer

Harold Lasswell

question

Which nation does not have a strong federal system?

answer

France

question

Which statement best describes the Supreme Court's trend in interpreting federalism since the mid-1990s?

answer

The Court has limited the power of the national government over the state governments.

question

Which Supreme Court case has not limited federal power?

answer

Gibbons v. Ogden

question

The powers of Congress under the Constitution are __________ those of Congress under the Articles of Confederation.

answer

greater than

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 Antifederalists wanted a stronger central government than that proposed in the Constitution.

answer

False

question

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

answer

True

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 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

How was power in Congress divided under the Articles of Confederation?

answer

Each state had an equal vote.

question

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

answer

popular sovereignty

question

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

answer

"No taxation without representation."

question

The framers of the Constitution attempted to create a government that could do all of the following except

answer

lead to the eventual inclusion of nonwhites in political life.

question

The procedural restraints found in the Bill of Rights

answer

define how the government is supposed to act.

question

According to the textbook, which of the following is not one of the core American political values?

answer

Socialism

question

In criminal cases, the burden of proof lies with the

answer

government prosecutor.

question

Under the Articles of Confederation, the relationship between the states and the federal government can be best compared to

answer

the United Nations' relationship with member states.

question

Political rights are a protection against:

answer

the tyranny of the majority.

question

Which level of government is not mentioned at all in the Constitution?

answer

city government

question

Voting is the building block of American citizenship.

answer

True

question

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

answer

False

question

Using block grants to return power to states was part of the Nixon and Reagan administrations'

answer

New Federalism

question

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

answer

True

question

The essential dilemma of a limited government raised by the ratification debates is that

answer

a government too weak to do harm also cannot do good.

question

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

answer

implied powers.

question

A woman's constitutional right to an abortion was established in

answer

Roe v. Wade (1973).

question

Over the course of American history, the federal government has grown __________ compared to the states.

answer

stronger

question

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

answer

False

question

In dealing with the issue of gays in the military, President Bill Clinton established a

answer

"don't ask, don't tell" policy.

question

Which of the following people is most associated with the abolitionist movement?

answer

William Lloyd Garrison

question

At what level of scrutiny do courts review cases involving gender discrimination?

answer

intermediate scrutiny

question

The constitutional authority of Congress to forbid discrimination in employment is based on the

answer

power of Congress to regulate interstate commerce.

question

The Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution guarantees

answer

the right to vote for African American men.

question

Ten years after Brown v. Board of Education, __________ percent of black children in the Deep South attended school with white children.

answer

1

question

Which of the following practices was explicitly protected by the "separate but equal" principle?

answer

segregated schools

question

The attempt to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment was an important political struggle for

answer

women.

question

Desegregating schools in the northern states proved to be very difficult because

answer

segregation in the North was generally de facto, the product of both segregated housing and acts of private discrimination that were hard to prove.

question

Which of the following best summarizes the Supreme Court's ruling in Brown v. Board of Education?

answer

Racially segregated schools can never be equal.

question

What does the term Jim Crow refer to?

answer

the system of racial segregation in the South after Reconstruction

question

Which city was the setting for a major racial confrontation concerning school busing?

answer

Boston

question

In Lawrence v. Texas, the Supreme Court

answer

struck down a state law criminalizing homosexual conduct.

question

The Supreme Court case Franklin v. Gwinnett County Public Schools (1992) is important because it

answer

asserted that monetary damages could not be awarded for acts of gender discrimination in education.

question

What best explains the increased attention the federal government paid to the problem of racial discrimination during the 1940s?

answer

Northern migration of African Americans increased their voting strength.

question

In 2007, the federal government passed major new immigration legislation.

answer

False

question

What was the Supreme Court's response to the Civil Rights Act of 1875?

answer

It declared the act unconstitutional because it protected against acts of private discrimination, not state discrimination.

question

What did the Thirteenth Amendment accomplish?

answer

It abolished slavery.

question

What did the Supreme Court rule in Bowers v. Hardwick?

answer

There was no constitutional right to privacy for consensual homosexual activity.

question

Which of the following is not the name of a Latino civil rights organization?

answer

NOW

question

In a 2007 poll, what percentage of Americans believed that gays should have equal rights in terms of job opportunities?

answer

89 percent

question

While an individual's underlying beliefs help shape his opinions on particular issues, two other important factors are

answer

one's knowledge of political issues and the outside influences affecting that person's views.

question

Which of the following best characterizes the relationship between the Clinton White House and public opinion polls?

answer

Clinton relied heavily on public opinion polling to determine which positions to adopt.

question

Why are groups and associations so critical to the formation of political opinions?

answer

Individuals often consciously or unconsciously adopt the views of groups they identify with.

question

Which of the following is not an organization committed to developing and marketing conservative ideas and policies?

answer

Common Cause

question

Question formats can cause errors in polling that affect the polls'

answer

validity.

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

Conservatives are more likely than liberals to support

answer

the status quo, the traditional family, and the military

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

Political ideologies can be best understood as

answer

open and fluid sets of general characteristics.

question

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

answer

False

question

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

answer

True

question

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

answer

True

question

Less than 50 percent of Americans support free speech

answer

False

question

What did James Madison identify as the greatest source of political conflict for the United States?

answer

differences between the rich and the poor

question

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

answer

the bandwagon effect.

question

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

answer

True

question

The failure of major pollsters to predict Jesse Ventura's 1998 victory in Minnesota's gubernatorial election demonstrates that

answer

researchers polled only people who had voted before, ignoring potential new voters.

question

The United States is a nation without political ideologies.

answer

False

question

Each of the following is a liberal organization except

answer

the Chamber of Commerce.

question

Which statement is correct? (about the media)

answer

More local news reporters than national reporters are inclined to give politicians positive coverage

question

The question of which party was to blame for the shutdown of governmental services in 1995-96 reveals the important media power of

answer

framing

question

In 2003, Arnold Schwarzenegger announced his candidacy for Governor of California

answer

on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

question

All of the following are reasons why newspaper reportage is critical except that

answer

newspapers are the cheapest source of news.

question

The Supreme Court case Red Lion Broadcasting Company v. FCC upheld

answer

the right of rebuttal

question

Which of the following statements about adversarial journalism is false?

answer

It became an established practice during World War II.

question

Reporters have the ability to significantly influence news stories since they

answer

have been trained to think critically and write well.

question

The Pentagon Papers were released as a result of

answer

a leak by a minor Defense Department staffer.

question

Which of the following statements is not an argument regularly made in favor of limiting the market power of major media corporations?

answer

Regulating the media market creates more job opportunities in the field of journalism.

question

The media can set the political agenda in the United States by

answer

identifying an issue as a problem that must be solved.

question

The power of the media to draw public attention to particular issues and problems is called

answer

agenda setting.

question

During the nineteenth century, newspapers were controlled by

answer

political parties.

question

Which of the following news sources reaches most Americans?

answer

television

question

What trend has helped hasten the homogenization of national news in the past decade?

answer

the corporate consolidation of news media into a small number of conglomerates

question

What is the main benefit of news coverage on the Internet?

answer

It combines the depth of newspapers with the timeliness of television and radio

question

The United States has approximately __________ television stations and __________ daily newspapers.

answer

1,900; 1,400

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 news in the United States has had an important political consequence due to

answer

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

question

Approximately __________ percent of news coverage in American newspapers is devoted to international events.

answer

20

question

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 did all of the following except

answer

allow broadcasters, telephone companies, and cable companies to compete with one another. loosen federal restrictions of media ownership. make it illegal to make indecent sexual material accessible to minors on the Internet.

question

Who inaugurated government affirmative action programs?

answer

Lyndon Johnson

question

What trend has helped hasten the homogenization of national news in the past decade?

answer

the corporate consolidation of news media into a small number of conglomerates

question

Which of the following is most free of government regulation?

answer

newspapers

question

The United States is a nation without political ideologies.

answer

False

question

The news source that eighteen- to twenty-nine-year-olds most commonly turn to is

answer

broadcast television.

question

__________ was one of the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

answer

W. E. B. Du Bois

question

Which of the following statements concerning Internet news is correct?

answer

The Internet has failed to expand its number of news sources since it relies heavily on electronic versions of printed media.

question

Which of the following is not an organization committed to developing and marketing conservative ideas and policies?

answer

Common Cause

question

What was the purpose of California's Proposition 187?

answer

It barred unauthorized immigrants from receiving most public services.

question

In the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Congress vastly expanded the role of the executive branch and the credibility of court orders by

answer

requiring that federal grants-in-aid to state and local governments for education be withheld from any school system practicing racial segregation.

question

Plessy v. Ferguson upheld the authority of states to require segregation.

answer

True

question

People's underlying beliefs and ideologies

answer

color their perceptions, often causing them to make automatic judgments on particular issues.

question

Which of the following terms describe America's fundamental political values?

answer

liberty, equality, and democracy

question

Approximately __________ percent of news coverage in American newspapers is devoted to international events

answer

20

question

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was

answer

the fourth civil rights bill passed by Congress since Brown v. Board of Education.

question

Which of the following news sources typically provides the least depth while covering topics?

answer

the Internet

question

Public opinion

answer

measures the virtues of political figures, sets the standard by which governmental conduct is measured, and judges the value of public policies

question

What percentage of daily newspapers are owned by large media conglomerates?

answer

75 percent

question

Which of the following, concerning the marketplace of ideas, is true?

answer

Very few ideas emerge in the marketplace spontaneously.

question

Why did President Dwight Eisenhower deploy federal troops to Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957?

answer

The governor of Arkansas requested that the state's National Guard help resist desegregation.

question

Which of the following best characterizes the relationship between the Clinton White House and public opinion polls?

answer

Clinton relied heavily on public opinion polling to determine which positions to adopt.

question

A 1948 report on the problem of racial discrimination, To Secure These Rights, was issued by

answer

the White House.

question

When pollsters are given a list of people to be surveyed, this list is called the

answer

sampling frame.

question

Conservatives are more likely than liberals to support

answer

the military, the status quo and the traditional family

question

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 led to an immediate increase in the number of African Americans registered to vote in the South.

answer

True

question

Which of the following is not the name of a Latino civil rights organization?

answer

NOW

question

The question of which party was to blame for the shutdown of governmental services in 1995-96 reveals the important media power of

answer

framing

question

Which of the following people is most associated with the abolitionist movement?

answer

William Lloyd Garrison

question

The process by which underlying political values are formed is known as

answer

political socialization.

question

What best explains the increased attention the federal government paid to the problem of racial discrimination during the 1940s?

answer

Northern migration of African Americans increased their voting strength.

question

What is the key difference between those who have gone to college and those who have not?

answer

There is a higher level of political participation among those with a college education

question

When state legislatures draw electoral district boundaries in ways that favor themselves, it is called redlining.

answer

False

question

What is the key question behind civil rights protection?

answer

What is the proper meaning of equality?

question

Nationalization of the news began

answer

in the first decades of the twentieth century with the development of news corporations and radios.

question

Which statement about public opinion polls is not true?

answer

Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas were the first politicians to use public opinion polls.

question

Reporters have the ability to significantly influence news stories since they

answer

have been trained to think critically and write well.

question

Affirmative action programs were first established in the 1960s.

answer

True

question

A liberal would most likely support

answer

an expansion in government social services.

question

Most newspapers get their national news from

answer

government reports, press briefings, and announcements.

question

All of the following are reasons why newspaper reportage is critical except that

answer

newspapers are the cheapest source of news

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

What does the term redlining refer to?

answer

the practice of banks refusing to make loans to people living in certain neighborhoods

question

What did the Thirteenth Amendment accomplish?

answer

It abolished slavery.

question

Which president skillfully used broadcast media in order to build a personal connection with the american people?

answer

Franklin Roosevelt

question

Affirmative action in the United States involves

answer

compensatory action to overcome the consequences of past discrimination.

question

The first federal civil rights law passed by Congress since 1875 came in what year?

answer

1957

question

What goal did members of the abolitionist movement pursue?

answer

the end of slavery

question

Why do radio stations repeat the news so often throughout the day?

answer

The audience is constantly changing since most people listen to the radio in their cars.

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

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

answer

true

question

Which of the following have political parties been doing less of in recent years?

answer

mobilizing voters

question

The rioting incident during the 1999 WTO meeting in Seattle is a reminder of how

answer

politically motivated riots have been common in the United States throughout its history.

question

What is the main difference between voting and lobbying?

answer

Unlike voting, lobbying involves an attempt to directly influence a government official.

question

Many states used to have property requirements for those wanting to vote.

answer

true

question

Approximately __________ of eligible voters turn out for midterm congressional elections.

answer

one-third

question

Which of the following is true about political participation?

answer

African Americans and Latinos are less likely to participate in politics than whites.

question

Which of the following has not been presented as a reason the decline in voting might not be bad for America?

answer

Those who do not vote have a higher tendency to formulate extreme political opinions that distort the political process.

question

Political __________ is the process in which large numbers of people are organized for political action.

answer

mobilization

question

According to the text, the central challenge for establishing a democracy in Iraq has been

answer

securing Sunni participation in politics

question

What is the most reasonable explanation for why about 70 percent of the Latino population in the United States voted for Democrats during the 2006 congressional elections?

answer

They disagreed with Republican immigration policies.

question

The proportion of young people voting has __________ since 1971.

answer

decreased

question

What is a poll tax?

answer

a tax imposed by state governments for those registering to vote

question

The level of organizational membership in the United States has __________ over the past several decades.

answer

decreased

question

Participation in politics depends on

answer

resources, civic engagement, and recruitment.

question

What bloc of voters has recently been called the "sleeping giant"?

answer

latinos

question

The term turnout describes the number of people who

answer

actually vote.

question

The American political community is defined as

answer

those who are eligible to vote and participate in American political life.

question

Studies show that people are more likely to participate in politics when

answer

someone asks them to get involved.

question

Which of the following is true about political participation?

answer

Young people are far less likely to participate in politics than older people.

question

The Supreme Court

answer

has ruled that campaign contributions are a form of free speech.

question

The Federalist Party disappeared forever as a result of

answer

the War of 1812.

question

Which of the following parties did not originate through internal mobilization?

answer

the Republican Party

question

Which of the following is the best description of a political party?

answer

an organization that tries to influence the government by getting its members elected to office

question

The third-party candidate who won the most electoral college votes in American history was

answer

George Wallace.

question

A party's __________ contains its philosophy, principles, and policy positions.

answer

platform

question

A party's platform is best understood as

answer

a negotiated agreement between the party's various factions.

question

During the mid- to late nineteenth century, the Democratic party was divided by

answer

slavery and the Civil War.

question

How many party systems has the United States had since 1789?

answer

six

question

In contemporary American politics, solid support for the Republican Party comes from the

answer

South and Mountain West

question

Throughout its history, American politics has been dominated by

answer

two major political parties

question

The Populist Party appeals to each of the following groups, except

answer

Eastern bankers.

question

Which of the following statements concerning third parties is false?

answer

The earliest third parties in the United States arose as a result of the Great Depression.

question

Which of the following best explains where the standard organizational structure of a political party originated?

answer

the structure of the American electoral system

question

Which group is most likely to support the Republican Party?

answer

the wealthy

question

The power of __________ demonstrates how political party bosses can confer governmental favors on loyal party members.

answer

patronage

question

Who was the founder of the Democratic Party?

answer

Andrew Jackson

question

Within the government itself, parties are

answer

stable coalitions of individuals who possess shared or overlapping interests.

question

Which statement is correct? (about political parties)

answer

European democracies tend to have stronger parties than those of the United States

question

Which of the following was not the date of an electoral realignment?

answer

1994

question

When a ruling political party is supplanted by a new dominant political force, it is called a(n)

answer

electoral realignment.

question

A __________ is a media format where candidates meet with ordinary citizens, without the input of journalists or commentators.

answer

town meeting

question

Private groups that raise and distribute funds for election campaigns are called

answer

political action committees.

question

"King Caucus" refers to

answer

the use of each party's congressional caucus to nominate presidential candidates during the early nineteenth century.

question

Plurality and majority systems tend to

answer

decrease the number of political parties.

question

When legislatures draw district lines made up largely of underrepresented minority groups, the practice is called

answer

benign gerrymandering.

question

When are national elections held in the United States?

answer

the first Tuesday of November every four years

question

The boundaries of legislative districts in the United States are to be redrawn every __________ years.

answer

ten

question

What is the function of an election in a democracy?

answer

1. It serves to legitimize the government. 2. It helps to politically protect different groups in society. 3. It promotes accountability among the leaders.

question

Recall elections are an electoral device first used by the

answer

Populists.

question

What unusual act did the Texas legislature perform in 2002?

answer

It redistricted without waiting for a new census.

question

In order for a political party to select a candidate to run in the general election, it holds a

answer

primary election.

question

The practice of __________ means that district boundaries have been purposefully drawn to unfairly advantage one group or party

answer

gerrymandering

question

What is a referendum?

answer

It is the practice of voting directly for proposed laws.

question

During midterm elections, voters are electing

answer

members of Congress.

question

The term soft money refers to

answer

money donated to a party to sponsor party building and voter registration.

question

Who is the major audience for contemporary national conventions?

answer

the mass media

question

When candidates for office sponsor hearings, undertake inspection tours of disaster areas, or meet with foreign dignitaries, the form of publicity they receive is called

answer

free media.

question

When a voter must be registered with a party prior to voting in that party's election, it is called

answer

a closed primary.

question

Which of the following statements is true?

answer

Voting equipment varies from county to county throughout the United States.

question

If a citizen votes for a candidate because he or she approves of the candidate's past record, it is called

answer

retrospective voting.

question

The Constitution was amended in __________ to give eighteen-year-olds the right to vote.

answer

1971

question

The civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s used all of the following methods of participation except

answer

the power bloc of southern African American voters.

question

Approximately how much money does it take for a candidate to have a reasonable chance of winning a seat in the House of Representatives?

answer

$500,000

question

Which event helped lead to a change in the way that the electoral college chose the president and vice president?

answer

the duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr in 1803

question

Throughout its history, American politics has been dominated by

answer

two major political parties.

question

The __________ is the last example of indirect voting in national elections.

answer

electoral college

question

According to the text, the central challenge for establishing a democracy in Iraq has been

answer

securing Sunni participation in politics.

question

Each major party's national committee is responsible for nominating its party's candidates for all federal offices.

answer

False

question

How are election days in the United States different from those in Europe?

answer

European elections are usually held on Sundays instead of working days.

question

Before the 1890s, who was responsible for printing election ballots?

answer

political parties

question

Men in the United States are __________ the __________ Party.

answer

somewhat more likely to support; Republican

question

State and local party organizations do all of the following except

answer

litigate against unfavorable policies

question

The proportion of young people voting has __________ since 1971.

answer

decreased

question

A voter's partisan loyalty is at its highest in presidential races.

answer

False

question

What tendency of Americans did the nineteenth-century writer Alexis de Tocqueville identify as distinctive of our democratic culture?

answer

the tendency to form associations

question

Most European nations employ what system of elections?

answer

proportional representation

question

Which of the following was not the date of an electoral realignment?

answer

1994

question

Which of the following is not an important principle of a responsible party government?

answer

Parties should allow candidates to run their own campaigns.

question

Which of the following congressional procedures is dependent on partisanship?

answer

committee assignments and the election of speaker of the house

question

A party's __________ contains its philosophy, principles, and policy positions.

answer

platform

question

How many party systems has the United States had since 1789?

answer

six

question

Evangelical Protestants are more likely to be associated with

answer

the Republican Party.

question

The effort by political candidates and their staff to win backing and support by voters in the quest for political office is known as a(n)

answer

campaign

question

Karl Rove was the __________ for George W. Bush.

answer

chief political strategist

question

Which of the following best indicated the downfall of the New Deal Coalition?

answer

Richard Nixon's election in 1968

question

Studies have discovered __________ to be the key element of successful mobilization efforts.

answer

personal contact

question

The rioting incident during the 1999 WTO meeting in Seattle is a reminder of how

answer

politically motivated riots have been common in the United States throughout its history.

question

When a congressional election is held that does not coincide with a presidential election, it is called a

answer

midterm election.

question

Which statement is correct? (about political parties)

answer

European democracies tend to have stronger parties than those of the United States.

question

The electoral college cannot elect any candidate who has not also won the popular vote.

answer

False

question

Studies show that people are more likely to participate in politics when

answer

someone asks them to get involved.

question

The program of Reconstruction after the Civil War was led by the __________ Party.

answer

Republican

question

The primary responsibility for conducting public elections rests with

answer

state and local governments.

question

A political institution can best be defined as

answer

any organization that connects people to politics.

question

Historically, political parties have been most useful for __________ to achieve political power.

answer

the poor and working class

question

Women are more likely to vote for the Democratic Party than men are.

answer

True

question

Which of the following groups have had the highest levels of political participation?

answer

senior citizens

question

Recall elections are an electoral device first used by the

answer

Populists.

question

Approximately what percentage of senators and representatives in Congress are women?

answer

15 percent

question

What issue led to the demise of the Whig Party?

answer

slavery

question

What is the main difference between elections in a democracy and elections under an authoritarian regime?

answer

Democratic regimes allow for viable opposition, while the leaders do not permit themselves to lose under an authoritarian government.

question

Which event occurred in 1994?

answer

the Republican Party won control of both houses of Congress for the first time since the 1950s

question

The term soft money refers to

answer

money donated to a party to sponsor party building and voter registration.

question

Which party has reserved slots at the national convention for elected superdelegates?

answer

the Democrats

question

As a third-party candidate, Ross Perot captured approximately __________ percent of the popular vote in the 1992 presidential election.

answer

20

question

What were the most common favors political bosses distributed to loyal party members during the era of political machines?

answer

jobs

question

The founder of the Democratic Party was John Quincy Adams.

answer

False

question

Which of the following is not a key factor in indicating one's level of participation?

answer

geographic region

question

When legislatures draw district lines made up largely of underrepresented minority groups, the practice is called

answer

benign gerrymandering.

question

__________ is the most common electoral system used in general elections in the United States.

answer

The plurality system

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