Federal Government Review

Question 1

Individual political rights are a protection against

Answer 1

the tyranny of the majority.

Question 2

The Articles of Confederation were ratified by all of the states in

Answer 2

1781

Question 3

In Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court

Answer 3

prohibited states from making abortion a criminal act at any point in a woman’s pregnancy.

Question 4

Generally speaking, in order to be a good citizen in the United States, it is most critical to have

Answer 4

knowledge of the American political system.

Question 5

Direct election of senators was instituted with the

Answer 5

ratification of the Constitution.

Question 6

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

Answer 6

limited government.

Question 7

Which president introduced and presided over the New Deal?

Answer 7

Franklin Roosevelt

Question 8

Which of the following Supreme Court cases limited federal power?

Answer 8

United States v. Lopez and Printz v. United States

Question 9

The incomes of middle class Americans have

Answer 9

political efficacy.

Question 10

Advocates of limiting the powers of the national government justify their position by pointing to the ________ of the U.S. Constitution.

Answer 10

10th amendment

Question 11

In a 2012 case about an Arizona law, the Supreme Court ruled that

Answer 11

states are not allowed to pass any law or policy related to immigration.

Question 12

Which of the following civil liberties is included in Article III of the Constitution?

Answer 12

guarantee of trial by jury in state where crime was committed

Question 13

One initial problem with policing workplace discrimination through the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was that

Answer 13

There were no federal government agencies or departments authorized to investigate complaints or enforce the law.

Question 14

A ________ is a system of government in which member states retain almost all of their sovereign authority and delegate limited powers to a weak central body.

Answer 14

• confederation

Question 15

Bicameralism is a constitutional principle that represents the division of

Answer 15

the legislature into two chambers.

Question 16

Which of the following is an accurate statement about the consequences of declining trust in government?

Answer 16

-Distrust makes it difficult for government to attract talented and effective workers to public service.

Question 17

Which of the following executive orders on immigration led to a deadlocked decision in the Supreme Court and was never implemented?

Answer 17

Deferred Action for Parents of Americans

Question 18

How does the U.S. Constitution create a system that underrepresents urban areas?

Answer 18

-It provides representation based on population in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Question 19

The “comity” provision of Article IV of the Constitution was designed to promote national unity by

Answer 19

prohibiting state governments from discriminating against citizens of other states in favor of their own citizens.

Question 20

Which of the following statements about the relationship between state and local governments is NOT accurate?

Answer 20

Local governments can legally dissolve the government of the state they reside in if every local government votes to do so.

Question 21

Which political philosopher wrote that life in a government-less state of nature would be “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short”?

Answer 21

Hobbes

Question 22

Unfunded mandates are unpopular among people who want to

Answer 22

-give states and localities the ability to set their own priorities.

Question 23

The willingness to be restrained by the power of social institutions, but not political or legal institutions, is a hallmark of a(n) ________ regime

Answer 23

-authoritarian

Question 24

The Three-Fifths Compromise

Answer 24

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

Question 25

The Declaration of Independence defined which three inalienable rights?

Answer 25

“Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”

Question 26

The form of federal assistance called ________ provides money to state governments with no strings attached.

Answer 26

general revenue sharing

Question 27

What was Justice Potter Stewart talking about when he declared, “I know it when I see it”?

Answer 27

-pornography

Question 28

The political significance of the Great Compromise and the Three-Fifths Compromise was to

Answer 28

-exacerbate tensions between the New England merchants and the southern planters.

Question 29

Which of the following statements best summarizes President Herbert Hoover’s views on federal action during the Great Depression

Answer 29

-The federal government could do little to alleviate the misery caused by the depression, and state and local governments should be responsible for responding to the crisis

Question 30

Which of the following economic policies did the national government implement during the nineteenth century?

Answer 30

chartering a national bank

Question 31

Which of the following statements best describes naturalization laws in the United States prior to 1870?

Answer 31

Only free whites could become naturalized citizens

Question 32

A federal grant to states specifically to assist in the building of new public schools is an example of a ________ grant.

Answer 32

-categorical

Question 33

Which clauses of the U.S. Constitution involve the relationships between and among the various states?

Answer 33

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

Question 34

The Articles of Confederation were concerned primarily with

Answer 34

limiting the powers of the central government.

Question 35

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

Answer 35

more popular influence on government

Question 36

There are ________ amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

Answer 36

27

Question 37

On the subject of representation, Antifederalists wanted

Answer 37

representative bodies that resembled those represented to the highest degree.

Question 38

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

Answer 38

comity

Question 39

The principle of ________ gives the federal government the power to override any state or local law in one particular area of policy.

Answer 39

-preemption

Question 40

Prior to the eighteenth century,

Answer 40

governments rarely sought the support of their people.

Question 41

During the ratification debates, who were the Federalists?

Answer 41

those who supported the Constitution because it contained a strong national government

Question 42

The Federalist Papers were

Answer 42

a series of 85 essays written between the fall of 1787 and the spring of 1788 that argued for the ratification of the Constitution.

Question 43

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

Answer 43

to keep the states from going to war with each other

Question 44

How did the framers attempt to reassure citizens that their views would be represented in the new government created by the Constitution?

Answer 44

by defining the new government’s most important powers, such as collecting taxes, borrowing money, and regulating commerce, as belonging to Congress

Question 45

Which statement best describes the Supreme Court’s decisions about federalism during the 1990s?

Answer 45

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

Question 46

In Maryland v. King (2012), the Supreme Court

Answer 46

upheld a policy of DNA testing of arrestees without providing evidence of individualized suspicion.

Question 47

James Madison believed that the greatest conflict of interests in the Philadelphia Convention was between ________ and ________.

Answer 47

northern states; southern states

Question 48

Antifederalists were sharply critical of the structure of the Senate, the executive, and the federal judiciary under the Constitution because they

Answer 48

-worried these undemocratic institutions would lead those in power tyrannize the public.

Question 49

Which constitutional provision was MOST important in determining the Supreme Court’s ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)?

Answer 49

-14th amendment

Question 50

How many states sent delegates to the Annapolis Convention in 1786?

Answer 50

-Less than half of the states sent delegates

Question 51

In order for the Constitution to be formally adopted, ________ of the ________ states in the Union had to agree to its terms.

Answer 51

9,13

Question 52

Which of the following statements concerning political values in the United States is MOST accurate?

Answer 52

American values often conflict with each other in practice.

Question 53

The Supreme Court case of Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. (2007) was significant because it

Answer 53

overturned significant portions of the Violence Against Women Act.

Question 54

In the University of Michigan affirmative action cases, the Supreme Court

Answer 54

rejected all affirmative action (mechanical points) policies in university admissions. But upheld highly indvidualized affirmative action policies that was designed to promote diversity.

Question 55

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program

Answer 55

provided temporary legal status and work permits to undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children.

Question 56

Which of the following was a ramification of the Three-Fifths Compromise?

Answer 56

-It allowed for a political agreement between the North and the South.

Question 57

The American population has grown from approximately ________ million people in 1790 to approximately ________ million people in 2018.

Answer 57

3.9 mil to 330 mil

Question 58

which of the following statements about the House of Representatives and the Senate is true?

Answer 58

The House has the power to originate revenue bills but the Senate does not.

Question 59

Although the United States is a(n) ________ at the federal level, there are provisions for ________ democracy at the state and local levels.

Answer 59

representative democracy; direct

Question 60

At the Philadelphia Constitutional Convention, the proposed plan to create a congress where representation was distributed according to population was called the ________ Plan.

Answer 60

virginia plan

Question 61

Which of the following was NOT one of the reprisals enacted by the British in response to the Boston Tea Party?

Answer 61

restricting movement of the colonists to the West

Question 62

________ states have enacted legislation requiring voters to show positive identification at the polls.

Answer 62

34

Question 63

the goal of the Unfunded Mandate Reform Act was to

Answer 63

limit the costs associated with unfunded mandates by ensuring that Congress knows how much it is expecting of state and local governments and the private sector.

Question 64

The National Origins Quota System

Answer 64

allowed the same quota of new immigrants from every country around the world.

Question 65

Which state did NOT send delegates to the convention in Philadelphia?

Answer 65

Rhode island

Question 66

Which of the following statements best summarizes the Federalists’ view on representation?

Answer 66

-Representatives need not be a “true picture of the people,” and the best system of representation allows citizens to elect individuals possessing ability, experience, and talent superior to their own.

Question 67

Direct democracy is best defined as

Answer 67

-a system that allows citizens to elect representatives who play a significant role in governmental decision making. a system that allows citizens to vote directly for laws and policies.

Question 68

Which of the following is NOT a tool that Congress can use to influence the federal judiciary?

Answer 68

choosing which cases will be heard before the Supreme Court

Question 69

The specific powers granted to Congress in Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution are called the ________ powers.

Answer 69

Implied

Question 70

What is the purpose of the Tenth Amendment?

Answer 70

to limit the powers of the federal government by reserving certain powers to the states and to the people

Question 71

The Virginia Plan was proposed on May 29, 1787, by

Answer 71

Edmund Randolph.

Question 72

The Federalists believed that the most apparent source of tyranny was

Answer 72

pop maj

Question 73

The most common method of passing an amendment to the Constitution is passage

Answer 73

in both houses of Congress by a two-thirds vote, followed by a majority vote in three-fourths of the state legislature.

Question 74

The framers designed the Senate to be a check against excessive democracy by doing which of the following?

Answer 74

Senators were originally appointed by state legislatures.

Question 75

________ defended the British soldiers who were involved in the Boston Massacre.

Answer 75

John Adams

Question 76

Since the 1950s, the Supreme Court has been inconsistent in its rulings

Answer 76

on “fighting words” cases and chosen to overturn convictions only when they involve “hate speech.”

Question 77

Judicial review is the power of

Answer 77

the states to review the constitutionality of federal actions and laws.

Question 78

The United States, Canada, and Switzerland are all ________ systems of government, while France is a ________ system of government.

Answer 78

-federal; unitary

Question 79

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

Answer 79

this was a way to make the Senate resistant to popular pressure.

Question 80

The Boston Massacre occurred when

Answer 80

five colonists were killed by British soldiers outside the seat of the colonial government in Boston.

Question 81

Which of the following statements about private property is MOST accurate?

Answer 81

State governments define private property by enacting laws that define who is and is not entitled to use a piece of property.

Question 82

An example of ________ federalism is federal officials establishing environmental standards that every state must follow.

Answer 82

cooperative

Question 83

The ________ was the key group in Europe that pushed for limited government.

Answer 83

Socialist Party

Question 84

The 1996 Defense of Marriage Act was MOST closely related to which of the following constitutional clauses?

Answer 84

full faith and credit clause

Question 85

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

Answer 85

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