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American Government 2e

Review Questions

American Government 2eReview Questions
Table of contents
  1. Preface
  2. Students and the System
    1. 1 American Government and Civic Engagement
      1. Introduction
      2. 1.1 What is Government?
      3. 1.2 Who Governs? Elitism, Pluralism, and Tradeoffs
      4. 1.3 Engagement in a Democracy
      5. Key Terms
      6. Summary
      7. Review Questions
      8. Critical Thinking Questions
      9. Suggestions for Further Study
    2. 2 The Constitution and Its Origins
      1. Introduction
      2. 2.1 The Pre-Revolutionary Period and the Roots of the American Political Tradition
      3. 2.2 The Articles of Confederation
      4. 2.3 The Development of the Constitution
      5. 2.4 The Ratification of the Constitution
      6. 2.5 Constitutional Change
      7. Key Terms
      8. Summary
      9. Review Questions
      10. Critical Thinking Questions
      11. Suggestions for Further Study
    3. 3 American Federalism
      1. Introduction
      2. 3.1 The Division of Powers
      3. 3.2 The Evolution of American Federalism
      4. 3.3 Intergovernmental Relationships
      5. 3.4 Competitive Federalism Today
      6. 3.5 Advantages and Disadvantages of Federalism
      7. Key Terms
      8. Summary
      9. Review Questions
      10. Critical Thinking Questions
      11. Suggestions for Further Study
  3. Individual Agency and Action
    1. 4 Civil Liberties
      1. Introduction
      2. 4.1 What Are Civil Liberties?
      3. 4.2 Securing Basic Freedoms
      4. 4.3 The Rights of Suspects
      5. 4.4 Interpreting the Bill of Rights
      6. Key Terms
      7. Summary
      8. Review Questions
      9. Critical Thinking Questions
      10. Suggestions for Further Study
    2. 5 Civil Rights
      1. Introduction
      2. 5.1 What Are Civil Rights and How Do We Identify Them?
      3. 5.2 The African American Struggle for Equality
      4. 5.3 The Fight for Women’s Rights
      5. 5.4 Civil Rights for Indigenous Groups: Native Americans, Alaskans, and Hawaiians
      6. 5.5 Equal Protection for Other Groups
      7. Key Terms
      8. Summary
      9. Review Questions
      10. Critical Thinking Questions
      11. Suggestions for Further Study
    3. 6 The Politics of Public Opinion
      1. Introduction
      2. 6.1 The Nature of Public Opinion
      3. 6.2 How Is Public Opinion Measured?
      4. 6.3 What Does the Public Think?
      5. 6.4 The Effects of Public Opinion
      6. Key Terms
      7. Summary
      8. Review Questions
      9. Critical Thinking Questions
      10. Suggestions for Further Study
    4. 7 Voting and Elections
      1. Introduction
      2. 7.1 Voter Registration
      3. 7.2 Voter Turnout
      4. 7.3 Elections
      5. 7.4 Campaigns and Voting
      6. 7.5 Direct Democracy
      7. Key Terms
      8. Summary
      9. Review Questions
      10. Critical Thinking Questions
      11. Suggestions for Further Study
  4. Toward Collective Action: Mediating Institutions
    1. 8 The Media
      1. Introduction
      2. 8.1 What Is the Media?
      3. 8.2 The Evolution of the Media
      4. 8.3 Regulating the Media
      5. 8.4 The Impact of the Media
      6. Key Terms
      7. Summary
      8. Review Questions
      9. Critical Thinking Questions
      10. Suggestions for Further Study
    2. 9 Political Parties
      1. Introduction
      2. 9.1 What Are Parties and How Did They Form?
      3. 9.2 The Two-Party System
      4. 9.3 The Shape of Modern Political Parties
      5. 9.4 Divided Government and Partisan Polarization
      6. Key Terms
      7. Summary
      8. Review Questions
      9. Critical Thinking Questions
      10. Suggestions for Further Study
    3. 10 Interest Groups and Lobbying
      1. Introduction
      2. 10.1 Interest Groups Defined
      3. 10.2 Collective Action and Interest Group Formation
      4. 10.3 Interest Groups as Political Participation
      5. 10.4 Pathways of Interest Group Influence
      6. 10.5 Free Speech and the Regulation of Interest Groups
      7. Key Terms
      8. Summary
      9. Review Questions
      10. Critical Thinking Questions
      11. Suggestions for Further Study
  5. Delivering Collective Action: Formal Institutions
    1. 11 Congress
      1. Introduction
      2. 11.1 The Institutional Design of Congress
      3. 11.2 Congressional Elections
      4. 11.3 Congressional Representation
      5. 11.4 House and Senate Organizations
      6. 11.5 The Legislative Process
      7. Key Terms
      8. Summary
      9. Review Questions
      10. Critical Thinking Questions
      11. Suggestions for Further Study
    2. 12 The Presidency
      1. Introduction
      2. 12.1 The Design and Evolution of the Presidency
      3. 12.2 The Presidential Election Process
      4. 12.3 Organizing to Govern
      5. 12.4 The Public Presidency
      6. 12.5 Presidential Governance: Direct Presidential Action
      7. Key Terms
      8. Summary
      9. Review Questions
      10. Critical Thinking Questions
      11. Suggestions for Further Study
    3. 13 The Courts
      1. Introduction
      2. 13.1 Guardians of the Constitution and Individual Rights
      3. 13.2 The Dual Court System
      4. 13.3 The Federal Court System
      5. 13.4 The Supreme Court
      6. 13.5 Judicial Decision-Making and Implementation by the Supreme Court
      7. Key Terms
      8. Summary
      9. Review Questions
      10. Critical Thinking Questions
      11. Suggestions for Further Study
    4. 14 State and Local Government
      1. Introduction
      2. 14.1 State Power and Delegation
      3. 14.2 State Political Culture
      4. 14.3 Governors and State Legislatures
      5. 14.4 State Legislative Term Limits
      6. 14.5 County and City Government
      7. Key Terms
      8. Summary
      9. Review Questions
      10. Critical Thinking Questions
      11. Suggestions for Further Study
  6. The Outputs of Government
    1. 15 The Bureaucracy
      1. Introduction
      2. 15.1 Bureaucracy and the Evolution of Public Administration
      3. 15.2 Toward a Merit-Based Civil Service
      4. 15.3 Understanding Bureaucracies and their Types
      5. 15.4 Controlling the Bureaucracy
      6. Key Terms
      7. Summary
      8. Review Questions
      9. Critical Thinking Questions
      10. Suggestions for Further Study
    2. 16 Domestic Policy
      1. Introduction
      2. 16.1 What Is Public Policy?
      3. 16.2 Categorizing Public Policy
      4. 16.3 Policy Arenas
      5. 16.4 Policymakers
      6. 16.5 Budgeting and Tax Policy
      7. Key Terms
      8. Summary
      9. Review Questions
      10. Critical Thinking Questions
      11. Suggestions for Further Study
    3. 17 Foreign Policy
      1. Introduction
      2. 17.1 Defining Foreign Policy
      3. 17.2 Foreign Policy Instruments
      4. 17.3 Institutional Relations in Foreign Policy
      5. 17.4 Approaches to Foreign Policy
      6. Key Terms
      7. Summary
      8. Review Questions
      9. Critical Thinking Questions
      10. Suggestions for Further Study
  7. A | Declaration of Independence
  8. B | The Constitution of the United States
  9. C | Federalist Papers #10 and #51
  10. D | Electoral College Votes by State, 2012–2020
  11. E | Selected Supreme Court Cases
  12. Answer Key
    1. Chapter 1
    2. Chapter 2
    3. Chapter 3
    4. Chapter 4
    5. Chapter 5
    6. Chapter 6
    7. Chapter 7
    8. Chapter 8
    9. Chapter 9
    10. Chapter 10
    11. Chapter 11
    12. Chapter 12
    13. Chapter 13
    14. Chapter 14
    15. Chapter 15
    16. Chapter 16
    17. Chapter 17
  13. References
  14. Index
1.

Which of the following makes it easy for a citizen to register to vote?

  1. grandfather clause
  2. lengthy residency requirement
  3. National Voter Registration Act
  4. competency requirement
2.

Which of the following is a reason to make voter registration more difficult?

  1. increase voter turnout
  2. decrease election fraud
  3. decrease the cost of elections
  4. make the registration process faster
3.

What unusual step did Oregon take to increase voter registration?

  1. The state automatically registers all citizens over eighteen to vote.
  2. The state ended voter registration.
  3. The state sends every resident a voter registration ballot.
  4. The state allows online voter registration.
4.

What effect did the National Voter Registration Act have on voter registration?

5.

What challenges do college students face with regard to voter registration?

6.

If you wanted to prove the United States is suffering from low voter turnout, a calculation based on which population would yield the lowest voter turnout rate?

  1. registered voters
  2. voting-eligible population
  3. voting-age population
  4. voters who voted in the last election
7.

What characterizes those most likely to vote in the next election?

  1. over forty-five years old
  2. income under $30,000
  3. high school education or less
  4. residency in the South
8.

Why do Belgium, Turkey, and Australia have higher voter turnout rates than the United States?

  1. compulsory voting laws
  2. more elections
  3. fewer registration laws
  4. more polling locations
9.

What recommendations would you make to increase voter turnout in the United States?

10.

Why does age affect whether a citizen will vote?

11.

If you were going to predict whether your classmates would vote in the next election, what questions would you ask them?

12.

A state might hold a primary instead of a caucus because a primary is ________.

  1. inexpensive and simple
  2. transparent and engages local voters
  3. faster and has higher turnout
  4. highly active and promotes dialog during voting
13.

Which of the following citizens is most likely to run for office?

  1. Maria Trejo, a 28-year-old part-time sonogram technician and mother of two
  2. Jeffrey Lyons, a 40-year-old lawyer and father of one
  3. Linda Tepsett, a 40-year-old full-time orthopedic surgeon
  4. Mark Forman, a 70-year-old retired steelworker
14.

Where and when do Electoral College electors vote?

  1. at their precinct, on Election Day
  2. at their state capitol, on Election Day
  3. in their state capitol, in December
  4. in Washington D.C., in December
15.

In which type of election are you most likely to see coattail effects?

  1. presidential
  2. midterm
  3. special
  4. caucuses
16.

What problems will candidates experience with frontloading?

17.

Why have fewer moderates won primaries than they used to?

18.

How do political parties influence the state’s primary system?

19.

Why do parties prefer closed primaries to open primaries?

20.

Susan is currently working two part-time jobs and is frustrated about the poor economy. On Election Day, she votes for every challenger on the ballot, because she feels the president and Congress are not doing enough to help her. What type of vote did she cast?

  1. retrospective
  2. prospective
  3. pocketbook
  4. straight ticket
21.

Which factor is most likely to lead to the incumbency advantage for a candidate?

  1. candidate’s socioeconomic status
  2. gerrymandering of the candidate’s district
  3. media’s support of the candidate
  4. candidate’s political party
22.

In what ways is voting your party identification an informed choice? In what ways is it lazy?

23.

Do physical characteristics matter when voters assess candidates? If so, how?

24.

Which of the following is not a step in the initiative process?

  1. approval of initiative petition by state or local government
  2. collection of signatures
  3. state-wide vote during a ballot election
  4. signature or veto by state governor
25.

A referendum is not purely direct democracy because the ________.

  1. voters propose something but the governor approves it
  2. voters propose and approve something but the legislature also approves it
  3. government proposes something and the voters approve it
  4. government proposes something and the legislature approves it
26.

What problems would a voter face when trying to pass an initiative or recall?

27.

Why do some argue that direct democracy is simply a way for the wealthy and businesses to get their own policies passed?

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