American Government Exam 1 Questions for Review and Practice

Exam 1 Questions for Review and Practice The exam will be fifty questions, all multiple choices. You will have 50 minutes to complete the exam. This should be more than enough time for everyone. The attached file has 70 questions for you to review and practice. They cover modules /weeks 1-5. Make sure you review everything we cover up to and including module / week 5. The Exam will be in-class on October 3. 1. What was the most common initial reason for settlement in North America by the first colonists? a. family reunification b. religious freedom c. flight from diseases rampaging through Europe d. commerce 2. According to our textbook, what percentage of Americans are immigrants? a. 0.7 percent b. 3 percent c. 9 percent d. 15 percent 3. In a direct democracy, decisions are made collectively by citizens using __________. a. indirect democracy b. majority rule c. enlightened representatives d. oligarchy 4. Indirect democracy uses which of the following? a. plebiscites b. unanimity c. representation d. “mob rule” 5. Over time, Americans’ expectations of government have generally __________. a. increased b. decreased c. been related to national defense d. been related to foreign policy 6. According to our textbook, which is not a core element of the American Dream? a. education b. freedom c. high income d. home ownership 7. Americans generally have the lowest levels of confidence in which of the following institutions? a. the press b. business and industry c. the executive branch d. Congress 8. What are republics? a. representative democracies b. direct democracies c. a hallmark of direct democracy d. communist regimes 9. In general, which of the following is true about the U.S. population? a. It is mostly under the age of thirty. b. It is getting older. c. It is becoming more homogeneous. d. It is becoming more Christian. 10. Which accurately compares Southerners to Northerners? a. Northerners are more religious. b. Northerners are more likely to favor states’ rights. c. Southerners are more in favor of civil rights. d. Southerners are more likely to favor downsizing the federal government. 11. If you were living in a country with a unitary system of government, which government(s) would be strongest? a. the local governments b. the regional governments c. the subnational or state governments d. the national government 12. Which of the following was the first system of government of the United States? a. monarchy b. federal c. aristocracy d. confederation 13. Which form of government is best defined as a few people ruling in their own interest over constituents? a. Aristocracy b. Democracy c. Monarchy d. Oligarchy 14. Many of the ideas expressed in the Declaration of Independence were based on __________. a. authoritarianism b. social contract theory c. oligarchy d. divine right 15. A system of government that allows indirect representation of the popular will is a a. true democracy. b. nation. c. republic. d. plebiscite. 16. According to Aristotle, in a Democracy rule is by which of the following? a. the many in their self-interest b. a few people in their self-interest c. one person in the best interest of society d. the many in the best interest of society 17. Which social contact theorist describe the State of nature as a state of war? a. Locke. b. Hobbes. c. Rousseau. d. none of them. 18. The principle whereby if more than half of the voters agree on an issue then the entire group will abide by the decision is called a. plurality. b. direct democracy. c. equality of opportunity and results. d. majority rule. 19. At the Constitutional Convention, the delegates agreed that slaves would be counted as __________ of a person for determining population for representation in the House of Representatives. a. one-third b. three-fifths c. two-thirds d. four-fifths 20. Which of the following imposed a tax on paper items such as cards and books? a. Crown Act b. Paper Act c. Stamp Act d. Tax Act 21. __________ was a protest by Massachusetts farmers to stop foreclosures by state courts. a. The Committee of Correspondence b. The Federalist Papers c. The Declaration of Independence d. Shays’s Rebellion 22. Who was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence? a. James Madison b. Benjamin Franklin c. Thomas Jefferson d. John Adams 23. Which of the following articles contains constitutional language about the executive branch of government? a. Article I b. Article II c. Article III d. Article IV 24. Article I, section 8 of the Constitution contains the __________ powers. a. legislative b. executive c. judicial d. states’ 25. What type of legislature did the United States have under the Articles of Confederation? a. unilateral b. bilateral c. bicameral d. unicameral 26. What is the principle that each branch of the federal government has some ability to oversee and influence actions by other branches of government? a. weights and measures b. checks and balances c. action and reaction d. privileges and immunities 27. What was the subject of the Great Compromise? a. the legality of slavery b. representation in Congress c. the number of Supreme Court justices d. the form of the executive branch 28..Which of the following was a problem under the Articles of Confederation? a. The national government was too strong compared to the states b. Amendments were too easy to ratify. c. Congress imposed excessive taxes. d. Congress lacked the specific power to tax. 29. Which of the following people generally favored a stronger national government and supported the proposed U.S. Constitution? a. Shaysites b. Federalists c. Anti-Federalists d. Constitutionalists 30. Under the Constitution, the president is elected by which of the following? a. the Senate b. the People’s Plebiscite c. the Electoral College d. direct popular election 31. In what year was the U.S. Constitution ratified? a. 1776 b. 1797 c. 1791 d. 1788 32. Which of the following is a reason for the separation of powers? a. to ensure the power of the executive b. to promote equality of opportunity c. to prevent tyranny by any one branch d. to create gridlock in government 33. According to Federalist #10, which poses the biggest danger to the Republic when factions are formed around it? a. the difference in philosophical attitudes between elites and masses b. the unequal distribution of property c. political parties d. the lack of liberty 34. Powers specifically mentioned in the U.S. Constitution as belonging to the national government are called a. delegated or enumerated powers. b. implied powers. c. concurrent powers. d. reserved powers. 35. What two types of powers does Congress have under Article I, section 8, of the U.S. Constitution? a. enumerated; implied b. enumerated; suggested c. implied; explicit d. suggested; explicit 36. Under the system created by the Framers, the national and state governments share power and derive all authority from __________. a. the Bill of Rights b. the Constitution c. the people d. the president 37. Article VI of the U.S. Constitution establishes that federal law is __________ in conflicts between federal and state law. a. irrelevant b. inferior c. secondary d. supreme 38. Dillon’s Rule states that all local government must be authorized by which of the following? a. the federal government b. both the federal and state governments c. the state government d. the people 39. In Gibbons v. Ogden, the Supreme Court __________. a. broadly interpreted the national government’s power to regulate interstate commerce b. broadly interpreted the president’s power to wage war c. narrowly interpreted Congress’s power to make law and collect taxes d. narrowly interpreted Congress’s power to oversee the executive branch 40. Article I, section 8 of the Constitution gives Congress the power to "punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas." What sort of power is the authority to punish pirates? reserved implied police enumerated 41. Which is an example of a concurrent power? conducting foreign relations coining money administering elections taxing 42. Which do state governments tend to prefer? implied powers categorical grants unfunded mandates block grants 43. The __________ Amendment states that those powers not given to the federal government and not prohibited to the states by the Constitution are reserved for the states and the people. a. Eighth b. Tenth c. Eleventh d. Fourteenth 44. __________ powers are shared by the federal and state governments. a. Concurrent b. Confederal c. Enumerated d. Unified 45. The process of incorporation has resulted in the __________ of federal power. a. contraction b. expansion c. eradication d. decimation 46. Which political institution acts as the umpire of the federal system? a. Congress b. the bureaucracy c. the executive branch d. the Supreme Court 47. What best describes the difference between dual federalism and Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal government? The national government had more power under the New Deal than under dual federalism. Dual federalism was a patchwork of laws enacted by Congress; the New Deal was a single overarching law that governed the entire nation. Dual federalism entrusted the national government to solve problems; the New Deal looked to the states for solutions. Power sharing between the state and federal governments was relatively equal under the New Deal, but fairly unequal under dual federalism. 48. What was the dominant model of federalism starting with the New Deal? a. cooperative b. dual c. progressive d. unified 49. In McCulloch v. Maryland, which clause of the U.S. Constitution did the Supreme Court interpret as preventing Maryland from taxing the national bank? a. commerce b. supremacy c. due process d. equal protection 50. The Supreme Court’s Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857) decision narrowed the scope of the federal government’s power by determining that __________. a. state laws were supreme over conflicting national laws b. states had inherent power to nullify federal laws c. Congress could not regulate interstate commerce d. Congress lacked the authority to ban slavery in the territories 51. Which clause prevents the national government from sanctioning an official religion? a. establishment b. free exercise c. full faith and credit d. equal protection 52. Selective incorporation makes the protections in the Bill of Rights applicable to the states through which of the following amendments? a. Fourth b. Fifth c. Tenth d. Fourteenth 53. A defamatory, false written statement is __________; the same statement spoken aloud is __________. a. perjury; slander b. slander; libel c. illegal; legal d. libel; slander 54. Which of the following generally is unconstitutional in school? a. hate speech b. learning about religion c. free speech d. mandatory prayer 55. The doctrine of prior restraint says that the government cannot prohibit speech or publication __________. a. that is critical of the government b. that is illegal c. after the fact d. before the fact 56. Which test examines the constitutionality of religious establishment issues? a. orange b. Lemon c. free exercise d. prior restraint 57. Miranda rights require that the police inform suspects of which of the following rights? a. the right to a phone call b. the right to due process c. the right to a jury trial d. the right to remain silent 58. What kind of speech is by its very utterance intended to inflict injury or incite an immediate breach of peace? a. hate speech b. symbolic speech c. obscenity d. fighting words 59. The Supreme Court has used selective incorporation to __________ the authority of states. a. protect b. limit c. expand d. define 60. If a police officer has a reasonable belief that someone is committing or about to commit a crime, that officer can stop the suspect __________. a. only if that person gives consent b. only if the officer plans to arrest that person c. without getting a warrant d. only if there are three witnesses 61. In Barron v. Baltimore, the Supreme Court held that the Bill of Rights limits __________, not __________, activity. a. federal; state b. state; federal c. commercial; noncommercial d. noncommercial; commercial 62. Inciting a fight by using threats and profanity could be considered __________, which is not a protected type of speech. a. hate speech b. fighting words c. obscenity d. libel 63. In Gitlow v. New York, the Supreme Court held that __________. a. hate speech is not a constitutionally protected form of speech b. symbolic speech is not afforded the same protection as verbal speech c. states must comply with the Constitution’s free speech guarantee d. obscenity is determined by applying traditional, national standards 64. Which of the following rights has the Supreme Court found to be one of the penumbras of unstated liberties linked to explicitly stated rights? a. right to immigrate b. right to travel c. right to vote d. right to privacy 65. The Supreme Court has ruled that states can limit abortions if the regulations do not pose which of the following? a. a bar to equal protection b substantial inconvenience c. a prior restraint d. an undue burden 66. Which clause in the Constitution ensures that judicial decrees and contracts made in one state will be binding and enforceable in another? a. commerce b. full faith and credit c. due process d. equal protection 67. Before the ratification of the Constitution, the United States was organized as __________. a. a confederation b. a monarchy c. an oligarchy d. a conglomerate 68. The __________ clause of the Constitution means that legally sanctioned marriages performed in one state should automatically be recognized by other states. a. commerce b. supremacy c. full faith and credit d. equal protection 69. How does the Preamble to the Constitution begin? a. “We the People…” b. “We hold these truths to be self-evident…” c. “When in the Course of human events…” d. “In Order to form a more perfect Union…” 70. In what year was the Declaration of Independence signed? a. 1776 b. 1787 c. 1797 d. 1801