Chapters 10, 11, 12 Questions

Question 1

Which of the following is true of the nation’s early newspapers?

a. They were committed to objective news reporting.
b. They were independent of the new political parties.
c. They were too expensive for the average citizen and they contained a lot of propaganda.
d. They were read by mass audiences.
e. None of these answers is correct.

Answer 1

C. They were too expensive for the average citizen and they contained a lot of propaganda.

Question 2

________ enhanced public support for a war in Cuba against Spain in 1898.

a. William Randolph Hearst
b. William McKinley
c. Theodore Roosevelt
d. Adolph Ochs
e. Franklin D. Roosevelt

Answer 2

A. William Randolph Hearst

Question 3

Yellow journalism was replaced by

a. sensationalism.
b. orange journalism.
c. biased reporting.
d. objective journalism.
e. None of these answers is correct

Answer 3

D. Objective journalism

Question 4

________ was the chief advocate of objective journalism.

a. William Randolph Hearst
b. Walter Cronkite
c. Frederic Remington
d. Theodore Roosevelt
e. Adolph Ochs

Answer 4

E. Adolph Ochs

Question 5

The Communications Act

a. deregulated radio broadcasting.
b. regulated television broadcasting.
c. provided subsidies for the development of television broadcasting.
d. brought an end to yellow journalism.
e. created the Federal Communications Commission.

Answer 5

E. Created the Federal Communications Commission

Question 6

________ is responsible for the regulation of broadcasting.
a. Congress
b. The Securities and Exchange Commission
c. The Federal Communications Commission
d. The Department of Justice
e. The U.S. Attorney General
C

Answer 6

C. The Federal Communications Commission

Question 7

What is the “equal time” provision of the Communications Act?

a. It is a law that requires broadcasters to afford all political candidates the same opportunity to advertise at the same cost.
b. It is a law that requires presidential candidates to debate on television.
c. It is a law that requires broadcasters to afford all candidates the same opportunity to advertise at the same cost and requires presidential candidates to debate on television.
d. It is a law that requires that all presidential candidates get free air time before the election.
e. It is a decency standard created by the Supreme Court in 1938.

Answer 7

A. It is a law that requires broadcasters to afford all political candidates the same opportunity to advertise at the same cost.

Question 8

During the era of objective journalism,

a. newspapers were prohibited by law from editorializing.
b. broadcasters were prohibited by law from editorializing.
c. there were no official laws prohibiting editorializing in any media form.
d. both newspapers and broadcasters were prohibited from editorializing.
e. editorial bias was common in official news reporting.

Answer 8

B. Broadcasters were prohibited by law from editorializing.

Question 9

Until the 1980s, broadcasters were bound by the ________, which required their news programming to treat fairly all sides of the debate on controversial issues.

a. Equal Time Doctrine
b. Fairness Doctrine
c. Clear and Present Danger Doctrine
d. Watchdog Doctrine
e. Common-Carrier Doctrine

Answer 9

B. Fairness Doctrine

Question 10

The media’s ability to influence what is on people’s minds is referred to as

a. agenda setting.
b. the Fairness Doctrine.
c. yellow journalism.
d. objective journalism.
e. issue targeting.

Answer 10

A. Agenda setting

Question 11

More than 95 percent of the nation’s daily newspapers are serviced by

a. the New York Times.
b. Reuters.
c. CNN.
d. the Associated Press.
e. Fox News.

Answer 11

D. The Associated Press

Question 12

The combined audience of the ABC, CBS, and NBC evening newscasts is now ________ that of the early 1980s.

a. one-fourth
b. three-fourths
c. one-tenth
d. one-third
e. half

Answer 12

E. Half

Question 13

Which of the following news media sources studiously avoids partisanship as part of its business model?

a. MSNBC
b. CNN
c. the Associated Press
d. NPR
e. the Huffington Post

Answer 13

C. The Associated Press

Question 14

Which of the following is true of the findings of political scientist Martin Wattenberg about the differences in news consumption and news awareness between older and younger adults?

a. The greater knowledge of current events possessed by young adults in the 1980s can be attributed to better education.
b. The rise of Internet news readership has contributed to a dramatic closing of the information gap.
c. Until the early 1970s, young adults were more knowledgeable about current events and leaders than senior citizens.
d. The information gap between younger and older adults was never greater than during the 1970s.
e. There was wide variation in news viewing habits by age in the 1950s.

Answer 14

C. Until the 1970’s, young adults were more knowledgeable about current events and leaders than senior citizens.

Question 15

Rupert Murdoch launched which news organization in 1996?

a. MSNBC
b. CNBC
c. PBS
d. NBC
e. FOX News

Answer 15

E. FOX News

Question 16

Of the following nations, journalists in ________ are more likely to believe in partisan neutrality.

a. Germany
b. Italy
c. Great Britain
d. the United States
e. Sweden

Answer 16

D. The United States

Question 17

During the 2004 presidential election, it was revealed that documents presented by CBS news anchor Dan Rather as evidence that George W. Bush had shirked his national guard duties were forgeries. This represented

a. the media performing its common-carrier role.
b. the conservative bias of a major news network.
c. the origin of a major news story through radio.
d. the continued viability of the major news networks.
e. the origin of a major news story on the Internet.

Answer 17

E. The origin of a major news story on the internet.

Question 18

The press was acting in its ________ role when the New York Times published the so-called “Pentagon Papers.”

a. signaler
b. common-carrier
c. watchdog
d. public representative
e. negative

Answer 18

C. Watchdog

Question 19

As political scientist Markus Prior shows in Post-Broadcast Democracy, today’s media system contributes to

a. a reduction in the information gap.
b. partisan polarization.
c. an increase in political understanding by younger citizens.
d. an increased ability for government officials to control public interception of their message.
e. All these answers are correct

Answer 19

B. Partisan polarization

Question 20

Which role of the press provides leaders a channel through which to communicate with the public?

a. common-carrier
b. public-representative
c. watchdog
d. signaling
e. gatekeeper

Answer 20

A. Common-carrier

Question 21

Over the course of American history, newspapers have become increasingly more partisan in their political coverage.

Answer 21

False

Question 22

The New York Times embraced objective journalism in the late 1800s.

Answer 22

True

Question 23

Both newspaper publishers and broadcasters have been equally subjected to regulation by the federal government to assign service areas for coverage.

Answer 23

False

Question 24

The term “agenda setter” is used to describe the news media’s ability to influence what is on people’s minds.

Answer 24

True

Question 25

In general, journalists talk mainly about policy problems and issues, while politicians focus on the “game” of politics.

Answer 25

False

Question 26

The American media often offer the American people widely different versions of the news.

Answer 26

False

Question 27

The U.S. media are poorly equipped to play a signaling role.

Answer 27

False

Question 28

Newer media rely on partisanship to build their audience to a greater degree than do traditional media

Answer 28

True

Question 29

Objective journalism is based on reporting “facts” rather than relating the opinions of the writer.

Answer 29

True

Question 30

The media differ from interest groups and political parties in that the media are more inclined to promote and defend particular specific interests.

Answer 30

False

Question 31

Which of the following is true about Congress?

a. In the nineteenth century, service in Congress was not a career for most of its members.
b. Most members of Congress today are professional politicians.
c. The vast majority of all incumbents get routinely reelected.
d. All of these are true: In the nineteenth century, service in Congress was not a career for most of its members; most members today are professional politicians; and the vast majority of all incumbents get routinely reelected.
e. None of these answers is correct.

Answer 31

D. All of these are true: IN the nineteenth century, service in Congress was not a career for most of its members; most members today are professional politicians; and the vast majority of all incumbents get routinely reelected.

Question 32

Congressional incumbents have a roughly ________ percent probability of winning reelection.

a. 33
b. 50
c. 66
d. 80
e. 90

Answer 32

E. 90

Question 33

The Senate majority whip

a. is tasked with coordinating between officials of the political party in power and its members in the Senate.
b. is primarily responsible for aiding incumbent reelection efforts.
c. acts as the House majority leader in the case of the absence of that member.
d. controls the seniority system and chairmanship appointments.
e. sees to it that members know when important votes are scheduled.

Answer 33

E. Sees to it that members know when important votes are scheduled.

Question 34

Members of Congress earn approximately what salary per year?

a. $150,000
b. $170,000
c. $200,000
d. $400,000
e. $250,000

Answer 34

B. $170,000

Question 35

Under the U.S. Constitution, to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives a person must be ________ years of age, and ________ years of age to serve in the U.S. Senate.

a. 25; 25
b. 25; 30
c. 30; 30
d. 35; 40
e. 40; 50

Answer 35

B. 25; 30

Question 36

Which of the following is true of Congress today?

a. About a third of the members of Congress are lawyers.
b. Women make up about 15 percent of Congress.
c. Members of Congress are overwhelmingly white and male.
d. Professionals (such as business executives, educators, or lawyers) make up roughly 90 percent of Congress.
e. All these answers are correct.

Answer 36

E. All of these answers are correct.

Question 37

Which of the following is true of 2009 Democratic efforts to pass comprehensive health care reform legislation?

a. The House and Senate both passed an identical bill that came out of conference committee.
b. The Senate and House were unable to pass even their own individual versions of the bill.
c. The Senate passed the House version of the bill because the conference committee could not reconcile the two versions.
d. Senate Democrats could not garner the three-fifths majority necessary to hold a vote on a compromise version of the legislation.
e. Senate Democrats were able to pass the reconciled version of the bill but the president handed down a veto.

Answer 37

D. Senate Democrats could not garner the three-fifths majority necessary to hold a vote on a compromise version of the legislation.

Question 38

After the president, ________ is widely considered the second most powerful federal official in Washington, D.C.

a. the vice president
b. the U.S. Senate majority leader
c. the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives
d. the chief justice of the Supreme Court
e. the U.S. Senate president pro tempore

Answer 38

C. The Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives

Question 39

There are currently ________ voting members in the U.S. House of Representatives, and ________ voting members in the U.S. Senate.

a. 300; 50
b. 400; 80
c. 435; 100
d. 500; 150
e. 600; 200

Answer 39

C435; 100

Question 40

Most of the work that is done in Congress today

a. is done through standing committees.
b. is done in conjunction with the president.
c. is done on the floor of each chamber.
d. occurs in private meetings with lobbyists.
e. None of these answers is correct.

Answer 40

A. Is done through standing committees.

Question 41

________ requires that each bill introduced in Congress be referred to the proper committee.

a. The U.S. Constitution
b. The Legislative Act of 1789
c. Public opinion
d. The Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946
e. None of these answers is correct.

Answer 41

D. The Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946

Question 42

How is extended debate in the U.S. Senate terminated?

a. by a majority vote
b. by cloture
c. by the Senate Rules Committee
d. by the Senate majority leader
e. by the president of the Senate

Answer 42

B. By cloture

Question 43

Reconciliation of different House and Senate bills into a single identical bill is achieved by

a. standing committee chairs.
b. the leaders in both chambers.
c. conference committees.
d. both standing committee chairs and the leaders in both chambers.
e. None of these answers is correct.

Answer 43

C. Conference committees

Question 44

Which of the following is true of congressional oversight?

a. Oversight is not pursued vigorously by Congress because of the magnitude of the task.
b. Congress spends more time on lawmaking functions than on oversight.
c. Congress spends more time on oversight when they are annoyed by or have discovered abuse by an agency.
d. All of these are true: Oversight is not pursued vigorously by Congress because of the magnitude of the task; Congress spends more time on lawmaking functions than on oversight; and Congress spends more time on oversight when they are annoyed by or have discovered abuse by an agency.
e. None of these answers is correct.

Answer 44

D. All of these are true: Oversight is nor pursued vigorously by Congress because of the magnitude of the task; Congress spends more time on lawmaking functions than on oversight; and Congress spends more time on oversight when they are annoyed by or have discovered abuse by an agency.

Question 45

Nearly 90 percent of contributions by political action committees go to

a. liberals.
b. conservatives.
c. incumbents.
d. challengers.
e. third party candidates.

Answer 45

C. Incumbents

Question 46

What is the term for redrawing congressional districts to favor one political party?

a. reapportionment
b. malapportionment
c. redistricting
d. gerrymandering
e. redlining

Answer 46

D. Gerrymandering

Question 47

The ________ controls the scheduling of bills for debate in the U.S. House of Representatives.

a. House majority leader
b. House majority whip
c. House clerk
d. chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee
e. House Rules Committee

Answer 47

E. House Rules Committee

Question 48

Which of the following is true of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate?

a. The House and Senate are separate but unequal chambers; the Senate has considerably more authority than the House.
b. Very few democracies have a one-house dominant form of legislature.
c. The House and Senate are separate and co-equal chambers, and many democracies have a one-house dominant form of legislature.
d. Both chambers are much weaker than the House of Lords in Great Britain.
e. None of these answers is correct.

Answer 48

C. The House and Senate are separate and co-equal chambers, and many democracies have a one-house dominant form of legislature.

Question 49

Which of the following statements is true about Congress?

a. The House and Senate employ a system of seniority for committee leadership positions.
b. The Senate, but not the House, employs a system of seniority for committee leadership positions.
c. A junior House member can rise to prominence more quickly than a junior Senate member.
d. The House, but not the Senate, employs a system of seniority for committee leadership positions.
e. All these answers are correct.

Answer 49

A. The House and Senate employ a system of seniority for committee leadership positions.

Question 50

Which agency has primary responsibility for overseeing executive agencies’ spending of money that has been appropriated by Congress?

a. General Accounting Office
b. Government Accountability Office
c. Congressional Budget Office
d. Office of Congressional Management and Budget
e. Congressional Accounting Office

Answer 50

B. Government Accountability Office

Question 51

Safe incumbency, in which candidates of one party are virtually assured of elections, is more prevalent in the Senate than in the House.

Answer 51

False

Question 52

Most of the legislative decisions in Congress are made, in effect, by committees and subcommittees rather than by the entire House and Senate.

Answer 52

True

Question 53

Party unity in Congress has decreased over the last half-century.

Answer 53

False

Question 54

The president of the Senate is also the vice president of the U.S.

Answer 54

True

Question 55

Committee chairs are selected by seniority regardless of their political party identification.

Answer 55

False

Question 56

The political party with the majority of seats in Congress also holds the majority of seats on each committee and subcommittee.

Answer 56

True

Question 57

Although Congress looks to the president for policy leadership on national issues, it does not quickly accept most legislative proposals developed in the White House.

Answer 57

True

Question 58

Partisan identifications are no longer a significant predictor of how members of Congress will vote.

Answer 58

False

Question 59

Congressional oversight is the process by which the full House or Senate keeps track of the work of its committees.

Answer 59

False

Question 60

When faced with a strong conflict between what is best for the nation and what is best for their local constituency, most members of Congress would likely respond to local needs.

Answer 60

True

Question 61

In Federalist No.76, Alexander Hamilton declared that the president’s real authority as chief executive is

a. the power to appoint.
b. the power to declare war.
c. the power to receive ambassadors.
d. the power to make treaties.
e. both the power to declare war and the power to make treaties.

Answer 61

A. The power to appoint

Question 62

Theodore Roosevelt was a proponent of

a. Whig theory.
b. stewardship theory.
c. executive theory.
d. modern theory.
e. elastic theory.

Answer 62

B. Stewardship theory

Question 63

Signing statements

a. are written statements by the president to indicate that an executive order is to be carried out even if it conflicts with existing legislation.
b. are attached by the president to proposed legislation to indicate that the president will veto the legislation should it pass Congress.
c. are attached to legislation proposed indirectly by the president to indicate that said legislation would not earn a veto if passed in its current form.
d. are appended to a bill when the president signs it and are meant to indicate that the president does not necessarily intend to abide by particular provisions of a law.
e. are statements of objection that a lawmaker may attach to a bill even though that bill has passed the lawmaker’s branch of Congress.

Answer 63

D. Are appended to a bill when the president signs it and are meant to indicate that the president does not necessarily intend to abide by particular provisions of a law.

Question 64

Since Andrew Jackson’s time, ________ have won the presidency after having lost the popular vote.

a. Samuel Tilden (1876), Grover Cleveland (1888), and Harry Truman (1948)
b. Rutherford B. Hayes (1876), Benjamin Harrison (1888), and George W. Bush (2000)
c. Ulysses S. Grant (1868), Benjamin Harrison (1888), and George W. Bush (2000)
d. James Garfield (1880), Woodrow Wilson (1912), and Richard Nixon (1968)
e. James Buchanan (1856), Woodrow Wilson (1912), and George W. Bush (2000)

Answer 64

B. Rutherford B. Hays (1876), Benjamin Harrison (1888), and George W. Bush (2000)

Question 65

________ was the last major-party candidate to win his party’s nomination without entering any primaries.

a. Richard Nixon (1968)
b. Barry Goldwater (1964)
c. Hubert Humphrey (1968)
d. George McGovern (1972)
e. Jimmy Carter (1976)

Answer 65

C. Hubert Humphrey (1968)

Question 66

Less than ________ percent of Americans say that they would not vote for a female president.

a. 50
b. 40
c. 30
d. 20
e. 5

Answer 66

E. 5%

Question 67

The three states with the highest number of votes in the Electoral College are

a. New York, Florida, and Pennsylvania.
b. Texas, Illinois, and Ohio.
c. California, Texas, and New York.
d. Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Michigan.
e. Georgia, North Carolina, and Texas.

Answer 67

C. California, Texas, and New York

Question 68

________ are the two states that do not use the unit rule in the Electoral College.

a. California and New Jersey
b. Florida and Georgia
c. Nevada and Utah
d. Maine and Nebraska
e. New Hampshire and Vermont

Answer 68

D. Maine and Nebraska

Question 69

Which of the following is NOT a formal requirement for becoming president?

a. The individual must be 35 years old.
b. The individual must be a natural-born citizen.
c. The individual must be a resident in the United States for at least 14 years.
d. The individual must be resident of the same state for at least five years.
e. None of these answers is correct, as all are formal requirements for becoming president.

Answer 69

D. The individual must be a resident of the same state for at least five years

Question 70

Which of the following is true of the president and foreign policy?

a. Presidential executive agreements with other countries are not legally binding in the way formal treaties are.
b. The framers anticipated that Congress would implement the president’s foreign policy agenda.
c. The framers anticipated that the president would define the nation’s foreign policy objectives.
d. Ambassador appointments made by the president are subject to approval by a two-thirds vote of the House of Representatives.
e. Treaties made by the president are subject to approval by a two-thirds vote of the Senate.

Answer 70

E. Treaties made by the president are subject to approval by a two-thirds vote.

Question 71

Which of the following was an action of Theodore Roosevelt that implemented his theory of presidential stewardship?

a. forcing Congress to meet in unscheduled open sessions
b. removing unfriendly Supreme Court justices from office
c. rejecting the Senate’s power to approve treaties
d. challenging the power of business monopolies
e. taking the country into World War I

Answer 71

D. Challenging the power of business monopolies.

Question 72

Which organization was created in 1939 to provide the president with staff necessary to coordinate the activities of the executive branch?

a. Legislative Liaison Staff
b. National Security Council
c. State Department
d. Department of Defense
e. Executive Office of the President

Answer 72

E. Executive Office of the President

Question 73

________ were impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives.

a. Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton
b. Bill Clinton and James Polk
c. Richard Nixon and Andrew Johnson
d. James Polk and Andrew Johnson
e. Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson

Answer 73

E. Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson

Question 74

Which of the following is true of President George W. Bush’s relationship with Congress?

a. He cast only two vetoes in his first five years of his presidency.
b. He got almost nothing he asked for from Congress in the early years of his presidency.
c. In the early years of his presidency, he got most of what he asked for from Congress.
d. His relationship with Congress became less contentious during the later years of his presidency.
e. He exercised more vetoes in the early years of his presidency than any other twentieth-century president.

Answer 74

C. In the early years of his presidency, he got most of what he asked from Congress

Question 75

________ used the presidency as a “bully pulpit.”

a. Theodore Roosevelt
b. Calvin Coolidge
c. Warren Harding
d. William Howard Taft
e. Herbert Hoover

Answer 75

A. Theodore Roosevelt

Question 76

The EOP body that advises the president on economic issues is the

a. Federal Reserve.
b. Presidential Economic Council.
c. Executive Financial Planning Office.
d. National Economic Council.
e. Treasury Office.

Answer 76

D. National Economic Council

Question 77

________ was the president to champion the national convention as a means of nominating the presidential candidates of political parties.

a. George Washington
b. Thomas Jefferson
c. Andrew Jackson
d. James Madison
e. James Monroe

Answer 77

C. Andrew Jackson

Question 78

Which of the following presidents did NOT serve as vice president?

a. Lyndon Johnson
b. Richard Nixon
c. Gerald Ford
d. George H. W. Bush
e. George W. Bush

Answer 78

E. George W. Bush

Question 79

How many total votes are there in the Electoral College system?

a. 435
b. 538
c. 535
d. 600
e. 750

Answer 79

B. 538

Question 80

The ________ is in the Executive Office of the President.

a. National Security Council
b. White House Office
c. Office of Management and Budget
d. National Economic Council
e. All these answers are correct.

Answer 80

E. All these answers are correct: National Security Council, White House Office, Office of Management and Budget, and the National Economic Council

Question 81

In practice, the presidency is a more powerful office than the framers envisioned it would be under the Constitution.

Answer 81

True

Question 82

The Whig theory of the presidency calls for limited use of powers based on expressly-granted constitutional authority.

Answer 82

True

Question 83

A key to success in presidential nomination campaigns is “momentum.”

Answer 83

True

Question 84

The electoral vote for president has always been tied to the popular vote.

Answer 84

False

Question 85

The Constitution very clearly gives the vice president responsibility over some areas of executive authority.

Answer 85

False

Question 86

Historically, presidents have put forth most of their program initiatives early in their administrations.

Answer 86

True

Question 87

Significant presidential action can often succeed without the approval of Congress or the cooperation of the bureaucracy, and sometimes even without the acceptance of the judiciary.

Answer 87

False

Question 88

The War Powers Act was passed to curb presidential authority.

Answer 88

True

Question 89

The presidency is unique among American elected officials because presidents can claim to represent the whole nation.

Answer 89

True

Question 90

Presidential success is related to party support in Congress.

Answer 90

True