Purdue SS236 2020 April All Units Quizzes Latest

SS236 People, Power, and Politics - An Introduction to American Government

Unit 1 Quiz   

Question 1          The Preamble to the Constitution begins

"We the People . . ."

"Four score and seven years ago . . ."

"When in the course of human events . . ."

"In order to form a more perfect Union . . .”

"These are the times that try men's souls . . .”

Question 2          Which of the following did NOT lead to American settlement in the seventeenth century?

Questioning the divine right of kings

The split from the Church of England

Belief in self-government

Belief in intelligent design

Hobbes and Locke’s social contract theories

Question 3          A social contract theory of government was proposed by

Plato and Aristotle.

Aquinas and Luther.

Newton and the separatists.

Locke and Hobbes.

Plato and Luther.

Question 4          Locke's Second Treatise on Civil Government sets out a theory of

the divine rights of kings.

aristocracy.

democracy.

republicanism.

natural rights.

Question 5          Indirect democracy is based on

consensus.

unanimity.

the system of government used in ancient Greece.

representation.

"mob rule."

Question 6          Which of the following BEST describes the relationships among states under the Articles of Confederation?

A strong constitutional system

A form of government modeled after Canada

A life-long rivalry

A loose league of friendship

An interdependent, cohesive partnership

Question 7          The 1786 rebellion in which an army of 1,500 disgruntled farmers marched on Springfield, Massachusetts, to prevent foreclosure on their farms was called

Shays's Rebellion.

Paul Revere's Ride.

Bacon's Rebellion.

the Battle of Lexington and Concord.

the Second Boston Tea Party.

Question 8          A committee was appointed at the Constitutional Convention to work out the differences between the proposals of large and small states; the result was the

Virginia Plan.

New Jersey Plan.

Great Compromise.

Electoral College.

Bill of Rights.

Question 9          The system of government in which power is divided between the state and national governments is called

federalism.

unitarism.

pluralism.

confederation.

constitutionalism.

Question 10        The series of 85 political papers written by John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison in support of ratification of the new constitution are called the

Pennsylvania Packet.

Federalist Papers.

Anti-Federalist Papers.

Crisis.

Common Sense.

 

SS236 People, Power, and Politics - An Introduction to American Government

Unit 2 Quiz   

Question 1          Under the Constitution, both the national and state governments

are totally autonomous.

do not share any powers.

are accountable to the people.

can regulate interstate commerce.

are able to establish local governments.

Question 2          A system of government where the local and regional governments derive all authority from a strong national government is known as a

unitary system.

federal system.

confederate system.

monarchy.

presidential system.

Question 3          In situations of conflict between state and national law, national law prevails due to

federalism.

the supremacy clause.

the Tenth Amendment.

judicial interpretation.

the Bill of Rights.

Question 4          The belief that the national government should not exceed its enumerated powers and that all other powers should be reserved to the states or the people is known as

the full faith and credit doctrine.

the doctrine of implied powers.

confederalism.

dual federalism.

the unitary political system.

Question 5          Frustrated by the U.S. Supreme Court's opposition to many New Deal programs, President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed

impeaching the entire Supreme Court.

reducing the pay of sitting Supreme Court justices.

increasing the number of justices from nine to thirteen.

packing Congress with his friends.

reducing the number of justices from nine to seven.

Question 6          Which Supreme Court decision mandated that all legislative districts within a state have the same number of people?

South Dakota v. Dole

U.S. v. Lopez

Baker v. Carr

Gibbons v. Ogden

Virginia v. Edwards

Question 7          The most commonly used system of judicial selection is

partisan elections.

nonpartisan elections.

the merit plan.

gubernatorial appointment.

legislative appointment.

Question 8          The legal status of American Indian tribes is that of

federal citizens.

domestic dependent nations.

state citizens.

registered aliens.

undocumented residents.

Question 9          Generally, the largest source of state revenue is

income taxes.

sales taxes.

property taxes.

federal aid.

excise taxes.

Question 10        In an effort to reduce massive budget shortfalls, some states have

eliminated legislative positions.

auctioned off government office buildings.

given the national government power over public schools.

dissolved their National Guard units.

increased taxes by as much as 15 %.

 

SS236 People, Power, and Politics - An Introduction to American Government

Unit 3 Quiz   

Question 1          Under the Articles of Confederation,

there were three branches of government.

there was no executive branch.

there were eighteen presidents with significant authority.

George Washington served temporarily as president.

the national government was supreme over the states.

Question 2          Removal of the president from office requires

a two-thirds vote in the House.

a simple majority in the House.

a two-thirds vote in the Senate.

a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress.

a three-fourths vote in the Senate.

Question 3          Agreements that the president concludes with foreign nations that do not require the advice and consent of the Senate are called

executive protocols.

executive orders.

treaties.

covenants.

executive agreements.

Question 4          White House staffers

are confirmed by the Senate, like all presidential appointees.

derive their power from personal relationships with the president.

number over 1,000.

are often former members of Congress.

possess independent legal authority.

Question 5          The first president to send a legislative package to Congress was

George Washington.

Abraham Lincoln.

Woodrow Wilson.

Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Harry S Truman.

Question 6          The Pendleton Act established the principle of ________ in federal hiring.

patronage

merit

civility

partisanship

gender equality

Question 7          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.

Tenth

Eleventh

Twelfth

Sixteenth

Nineteenth

Question 8          All Cabinet departments are headed by a secretary except for the Department of

Defense.

State.

Commerce.

Veterans Affairs.

Justice.

Question 9          The Environmental Protection Agency is a/an

independent regulatory agency.

independent executive agency.

government corporation.

Cabinet department.

iron triangle.

Question 10        The law enacted in 1939 to prohibit federal employees from becoming directly involved in political campaigns was called the

Campaign Reform Act.

Federal Employees Political Activities Act.

Pendleton Act.

Taft-Hartley Act.

Hatch Act.

 

 

SS236 People, Power, and Politics - An Introduction to American Government

Unit 4 Quiz   

Question 1          Any legislature with two houses is referred to as

Congress.

bifurcated.

bimodal.

bicameral.

bipolar.

Question 2          According to the Constitution, apportionment and redistricting must occur every

two years.

four years.

six years.

eight years.

ten years.

Question 3          The process of allotting seats in the House of Representatives is called

redistricting.

gerrymandering.

proportionality.

census.

apportionment.

Question 4          The advantage that MOST helps members of Congress stay in office is

redistricting.

incumbency.

political action committees.

being a member of the president’s party.

demographics.

Question 5          The only officer of the House of Representatives specifically mentioned in the Constitution is the

 

Speaker of the House.

president pro tempore.

vice president.

sergeant at arms.

majority leader.

Question 6          The official chair of the Senate is the _____.

majority leader

Speaker

caucus chair

vice president

president pro tempore

Question 7          All bills must be introduced by

members of Congress.

the president.

interest groups.

staffers.

the president's Cabinet.

Question 8          Individual senators can exercise tremendous power by filibustering

unless a majority of the Senate votes to cut her or him off from speaking.

unless the party leader tells him or her to stop.

unless three-fifths of the senators vote to cut her or him off.

unless two-thirds of the senators vote to cut her or him off.

unless three-quarters of the senators vote to cut him or her off.

Question 9          When both the presidency and Congress are led by members of the same party, the government is said to be

unified.

working together.

monolithic.

uni-party.

single cause.

Question 10                       

What is the Tenure of Office Act?

A bill that was never signed into law that guaranteed a president at least one full term in office.

A law preventing a sitting president from removing people appointed to Cabinet-level positions by previous administrations.

An act that was used to justify the impeachment proceedings of President Bill Clinton.

Legislation that attempted to establish term limits for members of the Senate.

A law that was an initial attempt at setting term limits for presidents.

 

SS236 People, Power, and Politics - An Introduction to American Government

Unit 5 Quiz   

Question 1          Which Article of the Constitution created the federal judiciary?

Article III

Article II

Article VI

Article I

Article IX

Question 2          How many justices currently serve on the Supreme Court?

five

six

twelve

nine

eight

Question 3          Ex post facto laws

are unconstitutional.

require judges to remove prisoners from jail.

are found in the Seventh Amendment.

inflict punishment on individuals without judicial action.

require authorities to prove a prisoner is being held lawfully.

Question 4          The Supreme Court ruled that individuals who are arrested must be informed of their constitutional rights in

Mapp v. Ohio.

Smith v. Massachusetts.

Weeks v. U.S.

McCleskey v. Zant.

Miranda v. Arizona.

Question 5          Supreme Court justices and federal judges serve for

four-year terms.

eight-year terms.

life.

life with good behavior.

twelve-year terms.

Question 6          In which of the following cases did the Supreme Court first claim the right of judicial review?

Chishom v. Georgia

Brown v. Board of Education

United States v. Nixon

Dred Scott v. Sandford

Marbury v. Madison

Question 7          State courts of original jurisdiction where cases begin are called

first courts.

appellate courts.

trial courts.

select courts.

district courts.

Question 8          The justices of the Supreme Court are

elected in a nonpartisan election.

confirmed by the president.

nominated by the Senate.

nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate.

nominated by the president and confirmed by both the House and Senate.

Question 9          When a case is granted review in an appellate court, the parties submit written __________ presenting their arguments.

ledgers

motions

briefs

opinions

plans

Question 10        A writ of __________ is a request submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court to review a lower court decision.

mandamus

prohibition

capias

attachment

certiorari

 

SS236 People, Power, and Politics - An Introduction to American Government

Unit 6 Quiz   

Question 1          Civil liberties are __________ that the government cannot take away.

property rights

personal freedoms

business rights

recognitions of equality

religious freedoms

Question 2          The Bill of Rights is made up of the first __________ amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

three

five

seven

ten

twelve

Question 3          Which rule bars the use of illegally seized evidence at trial?

double jeopardy

right to pay

prior restraint

exclusionary

hate speech

Question 4          Which U.S. Supreme Court case found that a woman’s right to have an abortion is protected by the implied constitutional right to privacy?

Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v.

Casey

Lawrence v. Texas

Miranda v. Arizona

New York Times Co. v. Sullivan

Roe v. Wade

Question 5          The Constitution protects against search of an individual’s person, home, or vehicle without __________.

due process

permission

a warrant

compensation

a good reason

Question 6          The Fourteenth Amendment attempted to guarantee which of the following to former slaves?

forty acres of farmland and a mule

free university education

economic equality with whites

citizenship rights

debt forgiveness

Question 7          What was the objective of the women’s suffrage movement?

the right to an abortion

the right to own property

equal pay for equal worth

the right to vote

broad gender equality

Question 8          Which of these does the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ban?

poll taxes and grandfather clauses

discrimination in public accommodations

integration in public transportation

discrimination based on sexual orientation

nonviolent direct action

Question 9          What did Jim Crow laws mandate?

voting rights

racial segregation

poll taxes

grandfather clauses

Black reforms

Question 10        What is the current legal status of American Indian tribes?

They are sovereign nations.

They have a status similar to states.

They have a status similar to counties.

They have a status similar to towns or townships.

They have a status similar to incorporated businesses.

 

SS236 People, Power, and Politics - An Introduction to American Government

Unit 7 Quiz   

Question 1          _____ is considered the founder of modern-day public opinion polling.

Walter Lippmann

Alfred M. Landon

George Gallup

John Zogby

William E. Harris

Question 2          To determine how reliable a poll is, one must first determine

the margin of error.

the standard deviation.

the inaccuracy rate.

the sample size.

the modal response.

Question 3          The authors of The Federalist Papers were convinced that

the new republic would not succeed without a Bill of Rights.

all government rests on public opinion.

until one could accurately measure public opinion, leaders would find it hard to lead.

public opinion should not affect congressional actions.

public opinion was unimportant when ratifying the new Constitution.

Question 4          The first organized political party in the United States was the ____ Party.

Democratic-Republican

Whig

Federalist

National Republican

Anti-Federalist

Question 5          The single greatest influence on an individual’s first party identification is

parents.

age.

race.

gender.

income.

Question 6          The American Independent Party, founded in 1968, took root as a result of what issue?

Desegregation

Tax reform

Social justice

Prohibition

Factionalism within the Republican Party

Question 7Third parties do best when

there is a major scandal.

trust in the major parties is low.

they have a dynamic candidate.

major parties are more similar in their issue positions.

they concentrate on winning national office, not state and local elections.

Question 8          The group that casts the ballots that actually elect a president is

the electorate.

superdelegates.

the Electoral College.

state legislators.

the Senate.

Question 9          The most politically cohesive religious group has been ______ voters.

Protestant

Catholic

Muslim

Jewish

Hindu

Question 10        The Voting Rights Act of 1965

gave African Americans the right to vote.

gives state governments the right to monitor discriminatory voting practices.

was not renewed in 2006.

bans any procedure that impinges upon minorities' right to vote.

allowed Hispanics applying for U.S. citizenship the right to vote.

 

SS236 People, Power, and Politics - An Introduction to American Government

Unit 8 Quiz   

Question 1          Nomination campaigns

involve candidates of the same political party.

end one week before Election Day.

last for a period of time established by law.

are usually a toss-up until the very end.

determine the final outcome of the election.

Question 2          Until 2002, the primary federal regulation of campaign finance occurred according to the

Campaign Contributions Law.

Federal Election Campaign Act.

Campaigns and Elections Act.

Federal Campaign Limits Law.

Bipartisan Campaign Financing Act.

Question 3          Nonprofit, tax-exempt groups that can expressly advocate for candidates and are not required to disclose the names of contributors are called

political action committees.

527 committees.

501(c) groups.

national party committees.

member PACs.

Question 4          A form of journalism popular in the late nineteenth century that featured pictures, comics, color, and sensationalized, oversimplified news coverage was called

muckraking.

"populist" journalism.

penny journalism.

blue dog journalism.

yellow journalism.

Question 5          Television and radio are regulated by the federal government because

there is an unlimited supply of broadcast stations.

television and radio are considered dangerous to the spirit of democracy.

the airwaves are public property.

it is specifically allowed by the Constitution.

media profits are not legally allowed to exceed certain levels.

Question 6          The equal time rule

means that all political candidates must be covered by news stations for roughly the same amount of time.

applies to all political candidates.

is not enforced during debates.

means that stations cannot charge one candidate more than another for air time.

means that at debates, candidates must have equal time to speak.

Question 7          Of the three branches of government, which of the following is the LEAST media friendly?

Executive

Judicial

Legislative

Interest groups

The bureaucracy

Question 8          How are interest groups different from political parties?

They are not recognized by the federal government.

They rarely participate in the political process.

There are very few differences.

They do not nominate candidates for public office.

They are not concerned with collective goods.

Question 9          Today, the most common and most effective types of economic interest groups are

labor unions and farmers.

business groups, labor unions, and women.

business groups and universities.

big business, and to a lesser extent, labor.

labor unions and universities.

Question 10        Interest groups

rely on voter guides.

successfully lobbied for the U.S. to honor the Kyoto Protocol on climate change.

often hire lobbying firms to represent them in Washington, D.C.

are largely libertarian in focus.

have greater access when Democrats are in office.

 

SS236 People, Power, and Politics - An Introduction to American Government

Unit 9 Quiz   

Question 1          The U.S. often avoided participation in foreign affairs through a foreign policy of

isolationism.

preemption.

multilateralism.

globalism.

protectionism.

Question 2          President ________ led the U.S. into World War I.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Woodrow Wilson

Warren G. Harding

Calvin Coolidge

Herbert Hoover

Question 3

The first international organization created to keep the peace after World War I was the

World Peace Foundation.

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

League of Nations.

United Nations.

Nations of Peace.

Question 4          The ______________ was a confrontation over the deployment of ballistic missiles in Cuba, which almost led to war between the U.S. and the Soviet Union in the 1960s.

Moscow Affair

Cuban Missile Crisis

Bay of Pigs Invasion

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Plan

Cold War

Question 5          The Cold War ended when communist regimes in Eastern Europe collapsed in

1969.

1976.

1982.

1989.

1996.

Question 6          Who attacked the United States on September 11, 2001?

Al-Qaeda

Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi

The Taliban

Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades

Iraq

Question 7          The National Defense Act of 1916

created the Department of Defense.

authorized U.S. involvement in World War I.

mandated the use of the term National Guard.

created the Central Intelligence Agency.

created the National Security Agency.

Question 8          Congress's role in foreign policy making includes which of the following?

Commanding the armed forces

Signing treaties

Appointing ambassadors

Appointing judges to international tribunals

Declaring war

Question 9          President ____________ warned against the development of a military-industrial complex.

George Washington

Abraham Lincoln

Woodrow Wilson

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Ronald Reagan

Question 10        The goal of _______________ is to prevent would-be nuclear states from gaining access to the technology they need to make or deliver nuclear weapons.

denial

disarmament

arms control

negotiation

defense

 

SS236 People, Power, and Politics - An Introduction to American Government

Unit 10 Quiz   

Question 1          All of the following are theories that have been offered to explain how public policy is made EXCEPT

bureaucratic theory.

interest group theory.

pluralist theory.

libertarian theory.

elite theory.

Question 2          Medicaid was designed to provide health care

for the aged and ill.

for the poor.

for the working class.

for children.

for everyone.

Question 3          The National Defense and Education Act was a policy designed to

teach military strategy.

emphasize math and science in schools in an ultimate effort to fight communism.

add funding to military schools.

introduce military history in high schools.

promote English-only education.

Question 4          The U.S. economic system is a

pure capitalist system.

mixed free-enterprise system.

pure laissez-faire system.

mixed Marxist and socialist system.

pure centralized economic system.

Question 5          Which president signed legislation that deregulated commercial airlines, railroads, motor carriers, and financial institutions?

Richard M. Nixon

Gerald R. Ford

Jimmy Carter

Ronald Reagan

Bill Clinton

Question 6          Social Security was created in the

1790s.

1860s.

1930s.

1960s.

1970s.

Question 7The Great Depression began in

1887.

1909.

1917.

1929.

1943.

Question 8          The Environmental Protection Agency was created by President

John F. Kennedy.

Lyndon B. Johnson

Richard M. Nixon.

Gerald R. Ford.

Jimmy Carter.

Question 9          Which of the following countries owns the greatest percentage of American debt?

Russia

Great Britain

Canada

China

Japan

Question 10        Social Security was created in the

1790s.

1860s.

1930s.

1960s.

1970s.