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Introduction to American Politics > Quiz Questions (1-7) > Flashcards

Quiz Questions (1-7) Flashcards

1
Q

Most Americans enjoy/don’t enjoy talking about politics

A

Most Americans avoid talking about politics in order to maintain social harmony

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2
Q

The division of power between the national government and the state/local governments

A

Federalism

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3
Q

Free Rider Problem

A

Not Everyone works towards a common ooal

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4
Q

Which one of the following is true about identity politcs in the United States

A

Asian Americans tend to support the Democratic Party

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5
Q

True or False: To the framers of the Constitution, equality was the central principle of the new government

A

False, the central purpose of the new government was liberty: they believed that people must have the freedom to express their political views, with the understanding that conflict may arise.

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6
Q

It may be easy for two neighbors to agree to drain a meadow, which they possess in common, to grow crops. However, when the meadoew is much larger and reaches thousands of people, the situation is more difficult because

A

The people involved would suffer from the free rider problem

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7
Q

True or False: Politics is the same thing as government

A

False, Politics is the process that determines what government does and government is the system for implementing decisions made through the political process

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8
Q

Which is accurate about democracy in America today, in terms of commitment and participation?

A

Americans are committed to democracy, but vote at low levels nonetheless

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9
Q

True or False: Fundamental differences on public policy will continue

A

True

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10
Q

What are the three key components of politics?

A

politics is conflictual, political processes matter, and politics is everywhere

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11
Q

What did James Madison say is “worse than disease”?

A

Suppressing conflict by limiting freedom

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12
Q

Does the the ability to determine the rules generally determine the outcome?

A

Yes, especially with regard to tax policy

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13
Q

Which key par of the government was formed under the Articles of Confederation?

A

A weak national government (there was no president, only Congress in order to prevent a monarchy)

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14
Q

The writings of ___ argued for the “consent of the governed” (the idea that government gains its legitimacy through regular elections in which people participate to elect leaders)

A

John Locke, the opposite of Thomas Hobbes who believed that government prevented people from living in an anarchic “state of nature” and supported a monarchy

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15
Q

True or False: Under the Constitution, the president is in charge of regulating the domestic economy

A

False

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16
Q

What occurred after the Revolutionary War?

A

Shays Rebellion, in which 1500 armed men protested the tax on war debts

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17
Q

True or False: potential delegates to the Philadelphia Convention who opposed a stronger national government chose not to attend

A

True

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18
Q

Common Sense (1776) was a pamphlet that expressed support for..

A

republicanism (the belief that a form of government in which the interests of the people are represented through elected leaders = optimal government)

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19
Q

The war powers held by the president and Congress are an example of

A

Shared powers

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20
Q

What are exclusive powers?

A

Powers that only the Congress has, such as the enumerated power to raise revenue for the federal government through taxes and borrowing, regulating interstate and foreign commerce, coin money, establish post offices and roads, grant patents, declare war, make rules for the military, and create and maintain a navy.

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21
Q

What is the power of the purse?

A

The constitutional power of Congress to raise and spend moeny. Congress can freeze or cut the funding of other branches.

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22
Q

Was the principle of equality given much attention in the Constitution?

A

No

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23
Q

How is the Constitution a living document?

A

There are a variety of viewpoints on how to interpret it

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24
Q

What is the national supremacy clause?

A

Part of Article VI, states national laws precede state laws if he two conflict

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25
Q

What was the Antifederalists’ main concern?

A

The lack of protections for civil liberties in the new political system. Gerry and Mason proposed a Bill of Rights

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26
Q

What are negative or checking powers?

A

Impeachment of officers of the US (Congress on Executive), Presidential veto (Executive on Legislative), Judicial Review (Supreme Court on Legislative/Executive)

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27
Q

What is judicial review?

A

The Supreme Court’s power to strike down a law or executive branch action that it finds unconstitutional

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28
Q

What is the executive powers clause?

A

The executive power shall be vested in the President–used to justify many assertions of presidential power

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29
Q

What are implied powers?

A

Powers supported by the Constitution that are not expressly stated in it

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30
Q

How were members of Congress selected under the Articles of Confederation?

A

Elected by State legislators rather than directly by the people

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31
Q

What did James Madison say could prevent factions?

A

Pluralism: the ideas that having a variety of parties and interests (and checks and balances) will strengthen a government

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32
Q

The Great Compromise provided solutions to which issue?

A

Balancing majority rule with minority rights

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33
Q

What are the Federalist Papers?

A

A series of arguments originally published. in New York papers that supported the Constitution

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34
Q

True or False: The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 gave the states more control over public education

A

False, the act gave the federal government heightened control over public education by attaching conditions. to federal grant money

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35
Q

The commerce clause

A

requires Congress to regulate the. domestic economy

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36
Q

Dual Federalism

A

layer cake federalism

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37
Q

The Supreme Court upheld the ACA’s individual mandate because of

A

Congress’s power to tax

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38
Q

Federalism is about

A

intergovernmental relations

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39
Q

What shifted political power towards DC in the twentieth century

A

major crises, such as the Great Depression and WW2

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40
Q

Who espoused the doctrine of state’s rights in the early years?

A

Thomas Jefferson

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41
Q

What would fall under coercive federalism?

A

Members of Congress create mandates without giving state leaders the money to execute and enforce the mandates in question

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42
Q

Is there a clear winner in federalism?

A

No, federalism tries to balance national and state power

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43
Q

What can be explained by the tenth amendment?

A

State and local contorl over education, as education is not explicitly given to the federal government

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44
Q

When did the federal government begin cooperating with the states on policy goals?

A

1930s

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45
Q

A state would challenge the constitutionality of a federal law under which of the following amendments?

A

Tenth

46
Q

The Eleventh Amendment’s protections of state sovereign immunity guarantee that

A

residents of one state can’t sue another state

47
Q

In Bowers v Hardwick (1986), the SCOTUS

A

determined that. there was no privacy protection or fundamental right for consenting adults to engage in homosexual activity

48
Q

True or False: The due process clause of the 14th amendment is an important extension of civil liberties because it guarantees provisions of the Bill of Rights at the state level

A

True

49
Q

Where do government officials have increased access to individual’s library, banking and medical records

A

USA Patriot Act

50
Q

Regard to money in federal campaigns

A

The SCOTUS have attempted to balance first amendment rights of candidates and their supporters with the public interest in honest and ethical elections

51
Q

True or False: prior restraint has been clearly defined by SCOTUS

A

False

52
Q

What forbids states from denying “life, liberty, or property?”

A

The due process clause

53
Q

Basic freedoms in the US

A

Must be balanced against competing interests in the US, such as national security

54
Q

Civil liberties are granted

A

by the Bill of Rights

55
Q

Which one of the statements accurately describes the death penalty

A

There has been a clear trend among the states away from the use. of the death penalty

56
Q

Selective incorporation was created by

A

Supreme Court justices

57
Q

The Inclusion of the Bill of Rights proved that the ___ thought the federal government was too weak

A

Antifederalists

58
Q

The Bill of Rights originally protected individuals from which level of government?

A

Federal government

59
Q

The establishment clause is invokes under which of the circumstances?

A

prohibiting prayer in public schools (congress can’t endorse a religion)

60
Q

Which test does the Supreme Court use to establish whetherr there has been “excessive government entanglement with religion”?

A

Lemon Test

61
Q

Which test does the Court use to determine if speech is considered dangerous and should not be protected?

A

direct incitement test

62
Q

Flag burning is an example of ___ that is ___ under the First amendment

A

Symbolic speech; protected

63
Q

Protections from unreasonable searches are granted by which Amendment?

A

the Fourth Amendment

64
Q

The Miranda rights are protections that primarily fall under which amendment?

A

the Fifth Amendment

65
Q

In 1972, SCOTUS banned the death penalty because

A

It was cruel and unusual

66
Q

Which of the following freedoms guaranteed in the Bill of Rights is thought to imply a right to privacy

A

right to refuse to quarter soldiers

67
Q

In what case did the Supreme Court first establish the right to privacy?

A

Griswold v Connecticut (1965), in which a Connecticut Planned Parenthood director was arrested for selling birth control

68
Q

True or False: Most members of Congress, as of 2018, have a better track record of protecting gay rights than protecting rights for women and the disabled?

A

False

69
Q

What is de facto segregation

A

“by fact”, discrimination based in actual conditions experienced by people, such as housing redlining

70
Q

What is de jure segregation?

A

“by law”, legal discrimination based in law or policy, such as Jim Crow

71
Q

The Supreme Court justices determined that slaves were property and therefore had no legal rights in

A

Dred Scott v Sandford

72
Q

What were the Jim Crow laws?

A

Rules that required racial segregation

73
Q

Which president initiated the policy of affirmative action?

A

Lyndon B Johnson

74
Q

What is accurate about voting restrictions today?

A

State officials across the country have, overall, increased restrictions on voting

75
Q

Could women vote in the 19th century?

A

Women could vote in some state elections, but not federal elections

76
Q

What is true about immigration policy in recent decades?

A

It’s controversial

77
Q

What is protectionism?

A

The rationale justifying policies that prevented women from holding political office because they were too weak

78
Q

What is the distinction between civil rights and civil liberties?

A

Civil rights protect against discrimination while civil liberties are granted in the Bill of Rights

79
Q

The Missouri Compromise ruled that

A

limited the expansion of slavery (north of 36 30 line) while maintaining the balance of slave states

80
Q

Plessy v. Ferguson established

A

the seperate but equal doctrine

81
Q

Most of the differences in voter turnout among whites relative to racial minorities can be accounted for by .

A

education and income

82
Q

The gaps between whites and blacks on health measures are

A

large, and in many case increasing

83
Q

Economically, the average latino family is

A

worse off than a white family

84
Q

The VRA

A

eliminated Jim Crow voting laws

85
Q

True or False: people with strong opinions frequently change their minds on political issues

A

False

86
Q

When policy mood leans in a liberal direction, how does government tend to respond?

A

by expanding the federal goverrnment’s role in different programs

87
Q

When is a president likely to have a higher approval rating?

A

When economic growth is high

88
Q

Americans’ collective demands for government action on domestic policies are measured by

A

policy mood, the public’s demand for new policies

89
Q

True or False: Ideology and party ID are largely consistent over time

A

True

90
Q

What is political socialization?

A

The process by which an individual’s political opinions are shaped by others

91
Q

What is true about sampling error?

A

Sampling error generally decreases as the sample size increases

92
Q

Social desirability bias

A

When people give poll answers that they think the interviewer wants to hear

93
Q

What was the policy mood in the late 1970s and early 1980s

A

Conservative

94
Q

True or False: Members of Congress are currently responding to public opinion with regard to gun control

A

False

95
Q

The idea that individuals will rely on others who “look like” them for opinions relates to

A

Group identity

96
Q

In the 1970s and 2000s, a majority of Americans identify as

A

Moderate

97
Q

Americans have a high/low interest in politics?

A

Low

98
Q

Is leaking illegal or legal?

A

Legal in most circumstances

99
Q

Americans view of media

A

Since the founding of the republic, politicians have understood that Amerricans learn about politics mostly from the media

100
Q

Americans view of media

A

Since the founding of the republic, politicians have understood that Americans learn about politics mostly from the media

101
Q

The trend toward single-company ownership of several kinds of media is called

A

cross-ownership

102
Q

The news media in America

A

are mostly for-profit businesses

103
Q

The major nationwide talk radio shows generally offer

A

A politically conservative point of view

104
Q

What did James Madison and Alexander Hamilton and John Jay attempt to do in 1787-1788

A

shape public opinion by publishing the Federalist papers

105
Q

What is the most significant reason why most people do not know much about politics

A

people aren’t interested

106
Q

The Center for Responsive Politics and Pollster.com are examples of websites that

A

collect links to political information

107
Q

The deregulation of the media has resulted in

A

increasing frequency of cross-ownership

108
Q

Why hasn’t the Internet increased citizens’ political knowledge?

A

Most people fail to systematically search for information about politics

109
Q

What is the by-product theory of political information?

A

Most Americans learn about politics accidentally

110
Q

Shield laws

A

Laws that protect journalists

Introduction to American Politics (3 decks)

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