Political Science

Chapter One

1. African Americans were not able to vote in any numbers until the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965.

2. The landmark civil rights bill that allowed widespread African-American political participation in the South was Voting Rights Act of 1965.

3. What is the central idea of a democracy? Ordinary people want to rule themselves and are capable of doing so.

4. Which of the following statements is TRUE? Democracy in Ancient Greece was more a set of utopian ideas than a description of real societies.

5. The struggle for democracy in the United States is unfinished and ongoing.

6. What is the major difference between a direct democracy and a representative democracy? In a direct democracy, citizens themselves make decisions, whereas in a representative democracy, citizens choose intermediaries who make decisions for them.

7. What mechanism forces leaders to be responsive to the peoples' wishes and to be responsible to them for their actions? the contested election

8. The principle that states that each person carries equal weight in the conduct of the public business is known as political equality.

9. What prevents majority tyranny over a minority in most policy decisions in a democracy? The composition of the majority and minority is always shifting, depending on the issue.

10. ________was (were) an example of majority tyranny that occurred in the United States. Jim Crow laws

11. The framework advanced by the authors to aid our understanding of American politics suggests that every political actor, institution, and process can be located in one of four categories. Which of the following is NOT one of those sectors? System

12. The growth of African Americans' voting power in states outside of the South and their influence on the Voting Rights Act of 1965 would represent which part of the framework for understanding American politics? The political linkage level

13. Which of these is NOT part of the structural level of analytical framework for politics? the bureaucracy

14. Which of the following is an example of a governmental actor or factor? the Supreme Court

15. The term "political linkage" refers to the people and groups to government officials.

16. Why did the Cold War play an important role in the struggle for civil rights? Many American felt it was wrong to ask people of color to fight against the Soviet Union when they were being treated as second-class citizens.

17. The number of people living in democratic societies has increased over the years. True

18. Most Western philosophers and rulers before the eighteenth century were friendly to the idea of a government in which the many can, and should, rule themselves. False

19. Direct democracy is best for large countries like the United States. False
20. An indirect democracy is a form of government in which the people choose representatives who determine what the government does. True

21. The most obvious sign of popular sovereignty is the existence of a close correspondence between what government does and what the people want it to do. True

22. A representative democracy always includes free elections. True

23. A cartogram is a map that visually presents information organized in a geographical fashion. True

24. Violations of freedom come only from majority tyranny. False

25. Women gained the right to vote along with African Americans in 1870. False

26. The major actors and influences that comprise the structural factors in the analytical framework of American politics are political elites, such as the president, Congress, and the courts. False

Chapter 2

1. Which group of men was chosen by the Continental Congress to draft a Declaration of Independence? Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin

2. Which of these is NOT one of the rights outlined in the Declaration of Independence? Public policies are not made by the people, but by the people's elected representatives acting in their stead.

3. Which of these events occurred first? The battles of Lexington and Concord

4. Under the Articles of Confederation, the Continental Congress had little to do and had virtually no power.

5. One of the central worries that the founders addressed during the Constitutional Convention was an excess of democracy in the states.

6. After the Revolutionary War, some states passed "stay" acts. What did "stay" acts do? They helped poor farmers by postponing tax and mortgage payments.

7. By far, the most intense debate at the Constitutional Convention involved the issue of slavery and resulted in the Great Compromise. False

8. Which of the following is an important attribute of eighteenth-century republicanism? Well-educated, elected representatives were to exercise independent judgment.

9. On which of the following general points did most of the delegates at the Constitutional Convention agree? The need for a substantially strengthened national government to protect American interests around the world.

10. The proposal during the Constitutional Convention that created a House proportionate to population along with a Senate in which all states were represented equally was called the Connecticut Compromise.

11. Under the New Jersey Plan, each of the states would remain sovereign as in the Articles of Confederation.

12. Which of the following features best illustrates the concept of mixed or balanced government? Separation of powers

13. Which of these is NOT a creation of the framers that diluted the power of the majority in the national government? The United States Supreme Court is given the power of judicial review.

14. How does federalism fragment government power? By dividing government powers between a national government and the states.

15. Which of these is an example of the powers granted to the states by the Constitution? The right to determine qualifications for voting within their borders

16. Which of the following provisions of the Constitution aids in the protection of property rights? The provision that forbids states from impairing the obligation of contracts

17. Which state would have assuredly voted against any ratification to the Articles of Confederation, thus making any hope for unanimous approval impossible? Rhode Island

18. Which of these groups of men wrote The Federalist Papers? James Madison, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton

19. How did the Federalists address the fears of an all-powerful, centralized government to sway opinion towards ratifying the Constitution? They promised to create a bill of rights.

20. Presidents who are elected in countries with parliamentary systems are generally elected to a ceremonial position without much independent power.

21. In the 1803 case of Marbury v. Madison, the Supreme Court claimed the right to declare the actions of other branches of government null and void if they contradict the Constitution; a power also known as judicial review

22. How do constitutional changes occur? Formal amendment, judicial interpretation, and political practices

23. Which is NOT one of the ways that the American system created by the Constitution of 1787 is different from that of all other rich democracies in existence? The creation of the position of president is unique to the United States.

24. Which of these is NOT an argument for the United States having become more of a democracy than the framers envisioned? The selection of the president by the electoral system

25. Which of these would NOT lead you to agree with the argument that the Constitution created a limited democracy? The Supreme Court's extension of protections to racial and ethnic minorities

Chapter 3

1. Federalism, as it exists today, is largely an American invention. True

2. The two fundamental units of federalism in the United States are State and federal governments.

3. In a confederation, the states hold the dominant power position.

4. What is the first historical instance of federalism? The Union of Utrecht in the Netherlands in 1579

5. How is the Constitution amended? When conventions or the legislatures of three-quarters of the states ratify the amendment

6. All of these are ways in which federalism is embodied in the United States Constitution EXCEPT for the national government having an important role in choosing officials for local and civic offices.

7. In what text did the framers argue that the United States' size and diversity made federalism especially appropriate for the new government? The Federalist Papers

8. Why is the reservation clause unique to the United States? No other country gives unassigned powers to the states as opposed to the federal government.

9. When out-of-state residents have equal access to state courts or to the protection of the police in another state, this is an expression of the ______ clause. "Privileges and immunities"
10.
When states create congressionally approved agreements to cooperate in terms of, for example, pollution control, crime prevention, and disaster planning, it's known as an interstate compact.

11. The elastic clause is what worries many opponents of same-sex marriage about Massachusetts's legislation of the practice in 2004. False

12. In response to the Great Depression, the New Deal created many new national regulatory agencies to supervise various aspects of business. True

13. States' rights supporters believe that the framers meant for the states to be ________ the national government. Coequal with

14. The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions were a reaction against which of the following? The Alien and Sedition Acts

15. What was the significance of Fletcher v. Peck? It established the power of judicial review over the states.

16. What is the section of the Fourteenth Amendment that guarantees against arbitrary or unfair government action called? The due process clause

17. All of these were created as regulatory agencies granting the national government extensive new powers during the Great Depression EXCEPT for the Sherman Antitrust Act.

18. In the late nineteenth century, the national government was increasingly active in all of these areas EXCEPT for creating the National Labor Board.

19. What was one of the major arguments in favor of devolution? A substantial majority of Americans believed that state governments were more effective and trustworthy than the national government.

20. Between the 1950s and 1970s, federal grants-in-aid increased dramatically in dollar amounts.

21. An important reason that federal grants to the states increased over time was that the federal government increasingly chose to deal with nationwide problems by setting policy at the national level but having state officials carry out the policy.

22. ________ give state governments money for general purposes and have fewer rules associated with them. Block grants

23. Which type of grant-in-aid is given without any conditions as to how the money is spent? General revenue sharing

24. What are “imputing?” estimates of the characteristics of people that the census was unable to count based on the characteristics of their neighbors

25. A(n) ________ is a demand by the national government that the states carry out a certain policy even when little or no government aid is offered. Mandate

Chapter 4

1. The distribution of poverty is random. False

2. At the time of the first census in 1790, most Americans worked in agriculture. True

3. These are all conditions that are required to produce popular sovereignty, political equality, and liberty EXCEPT a culture that values and protects liberty, conditions of nondiscrimination against racial and ethic minorities, a sizable middle class with access to resources, a well-educated population

4. Which group was NOT part of the bulk of the United States' population when the first census was taken in 1790? Catholic immigrants

5. What is the natural outcome of the United States' history of immigration? Substantial racial and ethnic diversity in the American population

6. What is one of the major political ramifications of the shift in the location of the American population? It has meant that the power of the rural voice in state and national politics has been significantly diminished.

7. What was the result that both data sources (the Gini coefficient and the P90/P10 ratios) arrived at regarding the inequalities of today's American economy? The United States ranks high on measures of economic inequality and has been growing more unequal.

8. Which of these is a reason that poverty in the United States continues to concern many Americans? The poverty rate in the United States remains substantially higher than in other rich democracies.

9. Which was NOT one of the reasons that industrial enterprises grew to unprecedented size in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries? The rise of labor unions created a workforce that could accommodate the demands of industry.

10. As the last superpower in a military sense, the United States has had its way on all-important matters with both its allies and its enemies. False

11. Which of these types of employees accounts for the greater percentage of today's American workers? White-collar and service employees

12. Which is one of the areas of industrialization that the United States has let other countries take over from them? Steel

13. Which of these was part of the United States' exercise of leadership on the world level after World War II? All of the above are correct.

14. What event caused the United States to emerge as a world superpower? World War II

15. Which of these was NOT an occurrence in the 1990s that served to heighten the United States' power in the world? Latin American countries switched to democracies.

16. Which of these is NOT a reason why the United States became a superpower after World War II? The Soviet Union was crippled by the war.

17. The belief that a person's fate can be closely attributed to his or her own efforts is known as individualism

18. What is the process called by which individuals come to have certain core beliefs and political attitudes? Political socialization

19. Which of these programs is NOT favored by many Americans due to its attempt to equalize income rather than equalizing opportunity? Welfare

20. What is the basic market theory worked out by Adam Smith in The Wealth of Nations? Because the market is efficient and effective if left alone, government should not interfere with its operations.

21. According to your text, one of the things that has always struck foreign observers of America is the broad consensus surrounding American's core beliefs.

22. In spite of George H. W. Bush's private school education, his expressions of a fondness for pork rinds and country and western music during his presidential campaign were attempts to show his ________ roots. Populist

23. Which of these is NOT one of the four structural factors that are shaping today's political system in the United States? Changes in presidential powers

24. Which of these is a problem for American democracy as the growth of economic inequality increases? All of the above are correct.

25. Public opinion's opposition to big federal government programs to redistribute income falls under which level of the analytic framework when discussing the persistence of poverty? The political linkage level