Midterm Exam

A  pray

B  take standardized tests

C  desegregate

D  be bused

A  creates a clear and present danger

B  is a prior restraint

C  qualifies as hate speech

D  is critical of the government

A  symbolic speech

B  probable cause

C  prior restraint

D  the Roth test

A  right to travel

B  right to privacy

C  right to marry

D  right to vote

A  self-incrimination

B  unreasonable search and seizure

C  trials without a jury

D  double jeopardy

A  Tenth

B  Eighth

C  Third

D  Fifteenth

A  seeking the assistance of an attorney

B  benefiting financially from that crime

C  being tried again for the same crime

D  asserting innocence

A  family

B  sexual freedom

C  commerce

D  privacy

A  displays of religious symbols on government buildings

B  displays of religious symbols during holidays

C  recitation of prayer and Bible passages in school

D  teaching of evolution in school

A  an undue burden

B  an inconvenient truth

C  a prior restraint

D  any additional constraints

A  speak to an attorney

B  a phone call

C  a jury trial

D  quick and speedy trial

A  Prior Restraint

B  Free Exercise

C  Orange

D  Lemon

A  before the fact

B  that is critical of the government

C  after the fact

D  that is illegal

A  The state could regulate it if the mother’s life were in danger.

B  The state could do very little to limit a woman’s right to an abortion.

C  The state could ban it.

D  The state could ban the abortion unless the mother’s life was in danger.

A  property loss

B  actual malice

C  witnesses

D  a written record

A  incorporation

B  free exercise

C  eminent domain

D  establishment

A  assistance of counsel

B  a written indictment

C  the right to parole

D  reasonable bail

A  libel; slander

B  libel; defamation

C  slander; defamation

D  slander; libel

A  US v. Morrison

B  Roe v. Wade

C  Lawrence v. Texas

D  New York Times v. Sullivan

A  It increases the gross domestic product.

B  It increases citizens’ access to government.

C  It lowers overall tax rates.

D  It lowers voter turnout.

A  the state governments can nullify laws passed by Congress

B  states can figure out which policies work best for them

C  the quality of policies can vary from state to state.

D  citizens can choose to live in those areas that have the policies they prefer

A  A loose association of states constitutionally created by a strong central government.

B  A loose association of states with mutually recognized compacts but no central government.

C  A constitutional arrangement by which two or more levels of government share formal authority over the same area and people.

D  A constitutional arrangement concentrating power in a central government.

A  pineapple-upside-down-cake

B  layer-cake

C  marble-cake

D  cupcake

A  categorical grants

B  block grants

C  business grants

D  programmatic requests

A  operate prisons

B  establish schools

C  coin money

D  create courts

A  due process

B  equal protection

C  supremacy

D  full faith and credit

A  dual

B  combined

C  progressive

D  cooperative

A  progressive federalism

B  dual federalism

C  new federalism

D  cooperative federalism

A  conglomeration

B  confederation

C  oligarchy

D  direct democracy

A  regulating interstate commerce

B  limiting the national government

C  centralizing power in the federal government

D  challenging the power of the states

A  Twelfth

B  Sixth

C  Eleventh

D  Third

A  evolution

B  excavation

C  redevelopment

D  devolution

A  due process

B  commerce

C  full faith and credit

D  equal protection

A  Eleventh

B  Tenth

C  Fourteenth

D  Eighth

A  Federalism

B  Declaration

C  Independence

D  Confederation

A  Discrimination is a natural part of the human experience.

B  Unaddressed past discrimination causes perpetual inequality.

C  Affirmative action discriminates on the basis of race.

D  Diversity helps Americans better understand each other.

A  The Supreme Court did not have all of the facts when it adopted the separate-but-equal doctrine.

B  The quality of life for African Americans in the South had deteriorated considerably since the adoption of the separate-but-equal doctrine.

C  The separate-but-equal doctrine was never intended to apply to people.

D  School segregation violated the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection.

A  because Congress was afraid the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. would lead a boycott of white businesses if the legislation was not passed

B  to prevent the race riots from spreading from African American neighborhoods into traditionally white neighborhoods

C  the Supreme Court had determined that only the national government could regulate elections

D  because it was clear that many areas in the South had no intention of living up to the spirit of the Fifteenth Amendment

A  All forms of affirmative action are unconstitutional because they unfairly favor some people over others based on the color of their skin.

B  Affirmative action policies are assumed to be unconstitutional unless the university can demonstrate the need to promote racial tolerance.

C  Affirmative action policies are generally permissible, but they cannot involve race-based quotas or numerical point systems.

D  Affirmative action policies must ensure that all racial and ethnic groups are represented in accordance with the population of the nation as a whole.

A  It has had little effect because it was not formally adopted.

B  It has eliminated gender discrimination in the military.

C  It has ensured that men and women are treated equally in the workplace.

D  It has ensured that the courts evaluate gender discrimination using the inherently suspect test.

A  a college that spends significantly more on sports programs for men than for women

B  an election jurisdiction that does not provide bilingual ballots when there is a large bilingual community

C  a legal prohibition on hiring women for positions that are known to be hazardous to women’s reproductive health

D  an employer who systematically pays women less than men for doing comparable work

A  Those without a college degree are not eligible for upper-level civil service jobs.

B  Businesses cannot discriminate against gays and lesbians in hiring and promotion decisions.

C  Male and female student athletes cannot compete on the same basketball team at the university level.

D  Government contracts must be awarded to a contractor who is a racial minority whenever at least 10 percent of the bidders are minority-owned businesses.

A  considering how an applicant would contribute to the diversity of the university

B  considering race as a factor in university admissions decisions

C  setting aside a certain percentage of admissions slots for African American students

D  admitting some minority applicants with lower academic achievement than some rejected white applicants

A  affirmative action policies must be designed to address past discrimination without taking into account race, ethnicity, religion, or creed

B  affirmative action policies are subject to an intermediate standard whereby they are presumed to be permissible

C  affirmative action policies must be scrutinized using the same suspect standard that is used for other policies classifying people by race

D  affirmative action policies maybe broadly tailored to accomplish a compelling government interest

A  American Indians

B  disabled Americans

C  gays and lesbians

D  Asian Americans

A  The Constitution does not prohibit segregation; it only mandates equal protection under the law.

B  Railroad transportation involves interstate commerce, which is regulated by Congress; there is no provision in federal law that prohibits segregation.

C  Former slaves are not entitled to full citizenship rights because they did not immigrate to the United States willingly.

D  What was the basis for the Supreme Court’s decision in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) that upheld the constitutionality of a state law requiring segregated railroad facilities?

A  It was unconstitutional, but it was too late to do anything about it.

B  It did not pass the strict scrutiny test, and the internment was promptly terminated.

C  It was unconstitutional, and Japanese Americans must be duly compensated.

D  It was legally permissible.

A  voter discrimination

B  lynchings by the Ku Klux Klan

C  racial segregation

D  racial quotas

A  citizens

B  eligible to vote

C  property or chattel

D  separate but equal

A  Jim Crow laws

B  grandfather clauses

C  all forms of affirmative action

D  racial quotas in university admissions

A  winning candidates

B  nonvoters

C  losing candidates

D  voters

A  Korematsu v. United States

B  the Nineteenth Amendment

C  the 1965 Voting Rights Act

D  Reed v. Reed

A  involvement in insurrection

B  economic status

C  property ownership

D  race

A  equal protection

B  due process

C  privileges and immunities

D  jurisdiction

A  congressional inaction

B  natural law

C  judicial interpretation

D  national referendum

A  by a two-thirds vote in each house of Congress

B  by a two-thirds vote in a special election called for the purpose of voting on the amendment

C  by a majority of voting-age citizens

D  by a majority of state governors

A  shorter terms of office

B  stronger protections of individual liberties

C  stronger state governments

D  a stronger national government

A  the consent of the governed

B  the right to revolt

C  government itself

D  the divine right of kings

A  The Federalists

B  Whigs

C  The Anti-Federalists

D  Anti-Masons

A  Virginia Plan

B  Democratic Plan

C  Republican Plan

D  New Jersey Plan

A  The Constitution was based on democratic principles; the Articles of Confederation was based on tyrannical principles.

B  The Constitution contained strong protections for individual rights; the Articles of Confederation contained strong protections for collective rights.

C  The Constitution contained stronger safeguards for states’ rights than did the Articles of Confederation.

D  The Constitution created a stronger national government than did the Articles of Confederation.

A  weights and measures

B  checks and balances

C  oversight and influence

D  privileges and immunities

A  King Caucus

B  People’s Plebiscite

C  direct popular election

D  electoral college

A  two chambers

B  a single chamber whose members were appointed by the president

C  a single chamber with membership based on a state’s population

D  a single chamber with each state receiving equal power

A  unlawful detention

B  taxation of private property

C  free speech infringement

D  infringement of religious freedom

A  Gramm Rudman

B  John Boehner

C  John Locke

D  Daniel Shays

A  a commercial act

B  a form of due process

C  a private action

D  free speech

A  bureaucratic

B  executive

C  judicial

D  legislative

A  15

B  36

C  27

D  10

A  the Constitutional Convention

B  the Common Sense Committee

C  the Continental Congress

D  the Committees of Correspondence

A  Declaration of the Rights of Man

B  the Declaration of Independence

C  the Articles of Confederation

D  Magna Carta

A  Constitutional law

B  positive rights

C  intrinsic laws

D  natural rights

A  Political socialization is more important to governments than to individuals.

B  Today’s generation of young adults is significantly more likely to read newspapers than their elders.

C  The age of the demographic that consumes television news is much higher on average than those that consume alternative sources of news.

D  Children who develop positive feelings toward political authorities grow into adults who are not easily disenchanted with politics.

A  Civil disobedience involves violence; a protest is peaceful.

B  Civil disobedience is involuntary; a protest is voluntary.

C  Civil disobedience involves intentionally breaking a law; a protest involves getting attention from the media.

D  Civil disobedience involves unintentionally breaking a law; a protest involves intentionally breaking a law.

A  government programs to help individuals invest their Social Security income would likely be higher on the political agenda

B  government-run services would likely be privatized

C  government programs to alleviate economic inequality would likely be higher on the political agenda

D  government workers would likely unionize

A  citizens in the school district

B  parents

C  women with children

D  parents of children under age 18

A  signing a petition in a school parking lot

B  staging a sit-in

C  gathering signatures for a proposed ballot measure

D  running for public office as a third party candidate

A  The United States should stop letting criminals hide behind the law.

B  Prayer belongs in school.

C  Taxes and spending should be kept low.

D  Government should regulate the economy in the public interest.

A  political participation and suspicion of out-groups

B  political participation and strength of party attachment

C  liberalism and political tolerance

D  candidate loyalty and authoritarianism

A  The number of seats each state has in the House is based on a state’s population, which changes over time.

B  The majority party in the House of Representatives is determined by each state’s proportion of party-affiliated voters.

C  Each congressional district must be redrawn to reflect changes in the state’s population.

D  The Constitution requires that each state’s taxes be proportional to the size of its population.

A  The flow of low-income immigrant families from Mexico increased.

B  The flow of immigrant families with children decreased.

C  Most new immigrants were from northwestern Europe.

D  Most new immigrants were being reunited with family in the United States.

A  affecting public policy change

B  overthrowing the government

C  influencing voting behavior

D  informing the public about the candidates

A  the capacity of individuals (or groups) to exert their own political will

B  all the activities used by citizens to socialize their children to the political process

C  a measure of the minimum requirements needed to vote

D  all the activities used by citizens to influence the selection of political leaders or the policies they pursue

A  Democrats are overrepresented at the polls.

B  Conservatives are overrepresented at the polls.

C  Liberals are overrepresented at the polls.

D  Young citizens are overrepresented at the polls.

A  participation indicates the legitimacy of government and of laws passed by Congress

B  information the census collects helps to determine how more than $400 billion in federal funding is spent each year

C  information from the census determines tax rates

D  changes in the U.S. population affect membership in political parties

A  Working-class people consume more political news than do wealthier people.

B  Older people consume more political news than do younger people.

C  Men consume considerably more political news than do women.

D  West Coast residents consume more political news than do East Coast residents.

A  volunteering with a campaign

B  protesting

C  writing letters to the editor

D  contacting government officials

A  the absence of moderates in the United States

B  the predominance of liberals in the United States

C  the absence of pluralist thinking in the United States

D  the predominance of conservatives in the United States

A  big business

B  ordinary citizens

C  political parties

D  Congress

A  Because most citizens fail to pay attention to serious issues, government has become an elite institution.

B  Congress is stronger and more influential than the presidency.

C  Many groups vie for power with no one group dominating politics.

D  Too many influential groups cripple government’s ability to govern.

A  a regulation

B  a congressional statute

C  a presidential action

D  a budgetary choice

A  pluralist

B  populist

C  laissez-faire

D  egalitarian

A  politics

B  government

C  public policy

D  political culture

A  pluralism

B  federalism

C  hyperpluralism

D  majority rule

A  policy gridlock

B  balance of power

C  pluralism

D  elitism

A  majority rule

B  pluralism

C  representation

D  enlightened rule

A  universal citizenship

B  inclusion

C  freedom of speech and of the press

D  one person, one vote

A  a system that grants a status of privilege to the most active and informed voters

B  a system that ensures freedom, justice, and peace to all citizens

C  a system that selects policymakers and organizes government so that policy represents and responds to the public’s preferences

D  a system that perpetuates the status quo and upholds the values of the party in power

A  the issues that are asked about on public opinion polls

B  the issues that concern single-issue interest groups

C  all of the issues that candidates talk about on the campaign trail

D  the issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and other political actors

A  the courts

B  Congress

C  political culture

D  government