Quiz Questions Flashcards
An agreement at the Constitutional Convention stipulated that slaves would be counted as _____ for purposes of determining population for representation in the House of Representatives
3/5 a person
Who was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence?
Thomas Jefferson
Which states plan called for a constitution that had a one house legislature with equal representation of all states?
New Jersey
Which of the following was true about the Articles of Confederation?
I. One vote for each state regardless of size
II. Unanimous vote was necessary to change Articles
III. Each state retained its independence and sovereignty
I, II, III
The first official meeting of the colonies and the first step towards a unified nation was
The Stamp Act Congress
A form of newspaper publishing during the early Twentieth century concerned with reforming government and business conduct is called
muckraking
Television was introduced into most homes in the
1950s
Among the publishers who promoted yellow journalism was
William Randolph Hearst.
A form of journalism popular in the late nineteenth century that featured pictures, comics, color, and sensationalized, oversimplified news coverage was called
yellow journalism
Local television stations that carry the programming of a national network are called
affiliates
Think tanks influence
party positions
Every four years the parties nominate a presidential candidate through a
convention
Party discipline is enforced through
stripping seniority rights
The key national party official is the
chairperson of the national committee
Jimmy McMillon ran for Governor of New York and Mayor of New York City from which 3rd party?
The rent is too damn high party
An officially recognized, federally mandated fundraising committee for an interest group is called a(n)
political action committee
The goal of campaign finance laws is to
limit influence over public officials
The Supreme Court ruled that there could be no limits placed on candidates’ expenditures of their own funds, since such spending is considered free speech in
Buckley vs. Valeo
One of the dangers of the nomination campaign is
candidates can become too extreme
Any two-house legislature is also referred to as
bicameral
The structure of the legislative branch of government is described by _______ of the Constitution
Article I
The Senate has the sole power to
Advise & consent on major presidential appointments
The House of Representatives has the sole power to
initiate revenue bills
State legislatures lost their control over the selection of senators through the ______ Amendment in 1913, which provides for the direct election of senators.
17th
Committees are controlled by the
majority party
The only officer of the House of Representatives specifically mentioned in the Constitution is the
Speaker of the House
The congressional leaders who do vote counts and line up members on partisan issues are called
Whips
Committees to which proposed bills are referred are called ______ committees.
standing
A committee that is established on a temporary basis is called a(n)______ committee
select
The most powerful first lady in history was
Edith Wilson
In 1947, the ________ was established to advise the president on military affairs and foreign policy.
National Security Council
The Cabinet system was established by
Tradition
The general trend, in the 20th century, has been toward a more powerful president. This is due to
series of crisis beginning with the Great Depression
Membership of the Cabinet is determined by the
President
White House staff employees
derive their power from personal relationships with the president and have no legal authority
Recent presidents prefer avoiding press conferences in favor of speaking directly to the people because
Congress follows the will of the people
The president’s responsibilities in the budget process stem from
FDR’s response to the Great Depression
The key to amassing greater power and authority for a president lies in
the ability to persuade
The first president to claim a leadership role for the executive branch in law-making was
Franklin D. Roosevelt
The Civil Service Reform Act of 1883 was designed to reduce patronage and was also known as the
Pendelton Act
The ratification of the ________ Amendment in 1913 gave Congress the authority to implement a federal income tax, and thus allowed government to grow even more
16th
In 1789, the bureaucracy consisted of?
three departments: State, War, and Treasury
The nature of the federal bureaucracy was permanently changed by
The Civil War
The firing of public office-holders of a defeated political party, and their replacement with loyalists of the victorious political party, is called the
spoil system
The Environmental Protection Agency is a(n)
independent executive agency.
An example of a government corporation would be
the Tennessee Valley Authority
Nearly 1/3rd of all federal employees work for the
Postal Service
The process by which the Supreme Court has chosen to apply the specific guarantees in the Bill of Rights to the states is called
selective incorporation.
In Schenck v. U.S. (1919), the Supreme Court ruled that Congress could ban certain types of speech in times of war if they constituted a
clear and present danger to society.
In 1969, the Supreme Court fashioned a new test for deciding what types of speech could be regulated by the government. The new test made it more difficult to limit speech due to the requirement of imminent harm. The new test was called
direct incitement.
The Supreme Court has defined obscenity
differently over time.
In ________, the Supreme Court found that segregation of rail transportation was constitutional because separate but equal accommodations did not violate the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Plessy v Ferguson
In 1857, the US Supreme Court ruled that slaves were
Not US citizens
The passage of the Constitutional amendment that has generated more litigation than any other is
the 14th Amendment
The Anti-Slavery Society refused to
accept women’s demands for equality
Women were finally given the right to vote with the ________ Amendment
19th
