The belief that you can influence how your government acts is called
political efficacy
What is the principle difference between an autocracy and an oligarchy?
the number of people in charge
Which of the following is not an example of a totalitarian regime?
the United Kingdom
Direct democracy is best defined as
a system that allows citizens to vote directly for laws and policies
A representative democracy is a system of government that
gives citizens a regular opportunity to elect top government officials
Which of the following is an instrument of direct democracy?
initiatives
At the time of the Founding, approximately ___ percent of non-Native American inhabitants of the thirteen states were of European ancestry.
80
Throughout American history, the concept of liberty has been linked to
the idea of limited government
According to the text, what were the essential documents of the American Founding?
the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution
The Bill of Rights was designed to protect
liberty
In American political culture, economic freedom means
laissez-faire capitalism
The right of each citizen to vote is an example of
political equality
The Constitution's Preamble, beginning with the words "We the People," is an illustration of what principle?
popular sovereignty
The belief that political authority should rest with the people themselves is called
popular sovereignty
Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education reveal two very different visions of what political value?
equality
T/F: Over the past several decades, the public's belief that the government is responsive to the people has declined.
True
T/F: Recent polls reveal that more than three-fourths of Americans know the name of the current speaker of the House.
False
T/F: The most important thin for a citizen to possess is political knowledge.
True
T/F: Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union are both examples of autocracies.
True
T/F: When a single ruler controls all government power, it is called an oligarchy.
False
T/F: Constitutional democracies were often found throughout ancient Greece.
False
T/F: Parliaments began in Europe as institutions for aristocrats.
True
T/F: The proletariat was the key social force leading to limited government during the eighteenth century.
False
T/F: The referendum is a form of direct democracy.
True
T/F: Because of the United States' diversity of races, ethnicities, and religions, Americans do not share a common political culture.
False
T/F: The principle of "one person, one vote" summarizes the idea of liberty.
False
T/F: The United States has never accepted the principle of popular sovereignty.
False
T/F: Many of the most critical dilemmas of American politics involve conflicts over the way commonly held values are put into practice.
True
T/F: Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board Education are both Supreme Court cases dealing with the meaning of equality.
True
T/F: Property restrictions on the right to vote were eliminated in 1920.
False
According to the text, which sector of society did not have interests that were important to colonial politics?
slaves
Colonial protesters of the Stamp Act and the Sugar Act rallied around what famous political slogan?
"No taxation without representation"
Who defended the British soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre?
John Adams
Who orchestrated the Boston Tea Party?
Samuel Adams
Under the Articles of Confederation, it was left to the ___to execute the laws passed by Congress.
states
According to the text, the writing of the Constitution demonstrates the
marriage of interests and principles
The Three-Fifths Compromise
determined that three out of every five slaves would be counted for purpose of representation and taxation
The ability of the president to veto a bill passed by Congress is a good example of what principle of limited government?
checks and balances
The three branches of government created by the Constitution are
executive, legislative, and judicial
Which of the following was a way the framers tried to make the Senate a check against excessive democracy?
The Senate has staggered terms of office
What is the term length of a federal judge?
barring impeachment, life
Procedures outlining how to amend the Constitution are found in Article
V
The supremacy clause
announces that the Constitution and all laws made under it are superior to any state laws
Whose "political gospel" inspired the framers to adopt the concept of the separation of powers?
Montesquieu
Brutus and Federal Farmer are two pseudonyms used by the
Antifederalists
The Boston Tea Party started as a reaction to the British imposing an embargo of tea and coffee trade on the colonies
False
The Declaration of Independence was the United States' first governing constitution
False
The Articles of Confederation created a weak central government and a loose alliance of nearly independent states
True
The Virginia Plan would have created a federal legislature where representation was based solely on the population of each state
True
The Great Compromise resulted in a bicameral legislature
True
The Three-Fifths Compromise stated that no more than three out of every five states could be slave states.
False
The doctrine of expressed powers means that Congress does not have any powers not listed in the Constitution
True
The office of the president was designed by the framers to be capable of overcoming the inevitable stalemate of the bicameral legislature
True
The Constitution gives Congress the power to recognize other nations, and to accept ambassadors from foreign countries
False
The Constitution expressly gave the Supreme Court the power of judicial review over Congress and the President
False
The framers' theory of separation of powers was influenced by Montesquieu's The Spirit of Laws
True
The Federalist Papers argue against the ratification of the Constitution and defined strong state governments
False
The Antifederalists wanted a strong central government that the proposed in the Constitution
False
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
True
The Constitution is very difficult to change by amendment
True
The United States, Canada, and Switzerland can all be described as ___systems of government while France can be described as a ___system of government
federal;unitary
The federal system can be best defined as
a system of government in which power is divided between a national government and lower levels of government
The specific powers granted to the national government in Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution are called the
expressed powers
What is the purpose of the Tenth Amendment?
to limit the powers of the central government by establishing reserved powers for states and individuals
When both state and national governments possess a certain level of authority, it is called
a concurrent power
Which is the best example of a concurrent power under the federal constitution?
the power to regulate commercial activity
The ___clause of the Constitution requires that states should normally recognize the laws, acts, and judicial decisions of other states
full faith and credit
Which clauses of the Constitution involve the relationships among various states?
the full faith and credit clause and the privileges and immunities clause
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
privileges and immunities clause
How did the traditional system of dual federalism establish a "commercial republic"?
the function of the federal government was to promote and assist commerce
Which of the following statements about the structure of American federalism is true?
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
What was one effect of dual federalism during the early Republic?
the national government was spared the task of making difficult policy decisions, such as the regulation of slavery, because the states did it themselves
____describes the strategy of delegating a policy program to a lower level of government
devolution
Federal systems are most commonly found in countries that have a highly homogeneous population
False
The Tenth Amendment gives the national government expressed powers over state governments
False
The Antifederalists feared an overly strong central government under the new Constitution
True
The full faith and credit clause demands that the U.S. government run a balanced budget
False
The Constitution guarantees that a state cannot discriminate against someone from another state
True
Local governments are not mentioned anywhere in the U.S. Constitution
True
Dual federalism describes the relationship between the national government and the states throughout the nineteenth century
True
McCulloch v. Maryland gave Congress potentially expansive powers for regulating commercial activity
True
Since the New Deal, the Supreme Court has never restricted Congress's power under the commerce clause
False
The Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Lopez expanded the power of Congress outlined in the commerce clause
False
The New Deal led to the weakening of the national government's powers
False
Cooperative federalism ended the Civil War
False
Unfunded mandate refers to the national government imposing regulatory costs on the states without reimbursement.
True
A federal block grant gives states no discretion on how to spend the money
False
In the 1990s, welfare policy was centralized by the national government
False
The various attitudes that citizens possess toward political issues, events, and people are called
public opinions
A political ideology is best defined as
a cohesive set of beliefs that form a general philosophy about the government
Liberalism and conservatism are good examples of
political ideologies
The term public opinion is used to describe
people's beliefs and attitudes toward different issues
The complex set of beliefs and values that, as a whole, form a general philosophy about the government is called
political ideology
The difference between a political value and a political attitude is that
values are basic principles while attitudes are specific preferences
Fundamental political values
unify Americans around a common set of goals for the government
Based on recent polling data, what percentage of Americans believed that gays should have equal employment rights?
89 percent
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"?
31 percent
Based on recent polling data, what percentage of Americans is worried about government monitoring of personal information?
56 percent
During presidential elections, there is often a post-convention__in the popularity of a presidential candidate resulting from increased media attention
bounce
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
the bandwagon effect
Which of the following statements best summarizes the findings of studies on the relationship between public opinion and public policy in the United States?
the government's actions are usually in line with the public's preferences but some areas of disagreement always arise
What is an initiative?
a procedure that allows for laws to be placed on a ballot and voted on by the electorate
An important reason for why public policy and public opinion may not coincide in the United States is that
the American system of government includes arrangements, such as an appointed judiciary, which may produce policy decisions that run contrary to prevailing popular sentiment
The United States is a nation without political ideologies
False
Most Americans are unified in their belief in the principles of liberty, equality, and democracy
True
Less than 50 percent of Americans believe that gays should have equal employment rights
False
Families, social groups, and schools are important institutions where people are politically socialized
True
During the formation of an individual's initial political orientation, the influence of family counts for very little
False
Differences in opinion can be influenced by one's gender
True
Level's of education have not been shown to affect one's political opinions
False
Liberal and conservative ideologies are clear and well-defined doctrines of thought
False
Political ideologies do not always provide us with a clear opinion on particular policies
True
Think tanks are not usually important actors in developing and spreading political ideas
False
Interest groups often spend time and money trying to shape public opinion
True
Calling randomly selected phone numbers is a good way for pollsters to reduce sampling errors
True
Push polling is a trend that has been decreasing over the years
False
The illusion of saliency can give politicians the mistaken impression that certain opinions are very important to people
True
Under the United States' political system, public policy will always coincide with the state of public opinion
False
A short, attention-grabbing phrase that summarizes a position is called a
sound bite
Which group has had great popularity on radio talk shows?
conservatives
Whose presidential campaign was the first to rely heavily on the impact of Internet bloggers?
Howard Dean
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
fairness doctrine
The nationalization of the news in the United States has had important political consequences due to
Americans tending to view the world with a similar approach since they are exposed to same concerns and perspectives
Which of the following statements is false?
government censorship plays an important role in determining the particular interpretation of a news story
The most important selection bias in news is
the audience appeal of a story
Reporters have the ability to significantly influence news stories since they
generally demonstrate a great deal of discretion while interpreting the news, giving themselves the opportunity to interject personal views and ideals into their stories
The news media are most responsive to what segment of the population?
the affluent
American print and broadcast media tend to be more responsive to the ___segments of the audience
upscale
Which of the following statements best describes the media's role in the Watergate affair?
the media's relentless investigations revealed various abuses of power by President Nixon and led to his resignation
When media coverage affects the way the public evaluates a political leader in future actions, this effect is called
priming
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?
these shows allow politicians to craft their own images without interference or questions from journalists
During the nineteenth century, newspapers were controlled by
political parties
Which of the following is not a reason why a free media is necessary to democratic government?
a free media is needed to ensure economic equality
Television reaches more Americans than any other single source of news
True
The most important sources for setting a news agenda are newspapers
True
Newspapers are among the most heavily regulated media in the United States
False
Federal rules grant individuals an opportunity to respond to personal attacks made on television or the radio
True
The Federal Communications Commission no longer requires broadcasters who air controversial issues to provide time for opposing views
True
Since the 1980s, the ownership of news media has expanded and fallen into many different hands
False
The Internet has vastly expanded the number of sources of news
True
The national news media tend to cover the same events and emphasize the same issues and problems
True
The United States went to war with Spain in 1898 largely due to the reporting of newspapers owned by William Randolph Hearst
True
Most journalists describe themselves as conservative or moderate-to-conservative
False
Broadcast and print media tend to orient their reporting to issues of interest to the lower middle class
False
Political protests are often the only way some groups can attract media attention to their issues and causes
True
Because of their dependence on government sources, the news media are unable to set the agenda of debate
False
Media prophecies on a candidate's momentum in an election often become self-fulfilling
True
Throughout the nineteenth century, political parties controlled and subsidized newspapers
True
