1. Life, liberty, and property were John Locke’s: A. separate powers B. natural rights C. basis for fusing powers in the English parliamentary system D. basis of constitutional government.
2. Having a president, congress, and judiciary with balancing and checking powers is the basis of:
A. separation of powers B. fusion of powers C. all constitutional governments D. parliamentary government.
3. Article I, section 8, of the Constitution lists the powers of Congress; this list of specific Congressional powers is called:
A. the necessary and proper powers B. the elastic powers C. the delegated or enumerated powers D. the reserved powers.
4. President Johnson started these back in the 1960’s, but the Republicans made them more famous in 1996 when they put welfare into these: A. block grants. B. categorical grants in aid C. grants in aid D. general revenue sharing programs
5. Chief Justice John Marshall used the _________ as the constitutional basis to declare the National Bank Constitutional in McCulloch v. Maryland: A. inherent powers B. the necessary and proper clause C. the reserved powers D. hidden powers.
6. The Supremacy Clause states that: A. states’ rightists are right B. the Supreme Court is the supreme law of the land
C. The Constitution is the supreme law of the land D. stare decisis governs decision making.
7. Laissez-faire economic policies rely on the forces of the ____ to make the economy work properly.
A. business cycle B. the CEA C. OMB D. the president.
8. The Consumer Price Index or CPI is used to measure: A. GDP B. the inflation rate C. productivity D. stagflation.
9. The amount of money in circulation at any given time is largely controlled by: A. the president B. the Federal Board of Money Supply C. the Federal Reserve System D. U.S. National banks.
10. The federal government’s fiscal year begins: A. June 30 B. July 1 C. October 1 D. January 1.
11. The Supreme Court affirmed ___________ as an executive power in the case of US v Nixon 1974. A. the right to issue executive orders B. executive agreements C. executive reorganization D. executive privilege.
12. Which economist is associated with the phrases “counter-cyclical measures” and “priming the economic pump”?
A. Keynes B. Feldman C. Laffer D. Sprinkel.
13. Monetarist economists like Milton Friedman think that government policy can be useful with regard to:
A. fiscal policy B. the gold standard C. the cost and availability of money D. inflation rates.
14. A tax that hits the rich harder, a tax whose rate increases as one’s income increases is called a _____ tax.
A. regressive B. flat C. proportional D. progressive.
15. The Reagan supply side economist who invented a famous curve is:
A. Keynes B. Friedman C. Weidenbaum D. Laffer.
16. The Federal Reserve is most likely going to raise interest rates to fight:
A. unemployment B. recession C. trade deficits D. inflation.
17. A tax preference is another way of saying: A. a tax loophole B. a tax deduction C. a way of favoring an activity such as encouraging people to buy houses through provisions in the tax code D. all the above.
18. The period of global tension between the Soviets and the Americans after World War II until the fall of the Berlin wall was called: A. détente B. the Cold War C. the thaw D. the Marshall Period.
19. The ability of one side to attack the other side with nuclear weapons and destroy the other side’s ability to strike back describes:
A. a first strike capability B. a second strike capability C. a reserve capability D. deterrence.
20. Placing nuclear weapons in bombers, submarines and underground was the basis of:
A. the Nixon Doctrine B. the Helsinki accords C. the Triad D. mutually assured destruction or MAD.
21. The Soviet military alliance formed in opposition to NATO was:
A. the Rio Pact B. ANZUS C. the Warsaw Pact D. the Gorbachev doctrine.
22. The differences between men’s and women’s perceptions of political issues and the political parties is called the:
A. sexual socialization B. gender gap C. ERA zone D. Friedman factor. E. Erroneous Zone
23. The part of the public that is interested in policy issues and politics is the ____ public.
A. elite B. attentive C. mass D. motivated.
24. When pollsters select a random sample for a survey: A. everyone is equal B. everyone has an equal chance of being polled
C. truth about the population cannot be found D. one can predict what will happen next week.
25. Interest groups create these to raise money for issues and candidates:
A. parties B. political action committees C. slush funds D. telethons.
26. All the ideas a party or candidate stands for in a given election is its:
A. planks B. ideology C. candidates D. platform.
27. Historians call Roosevelt’s 1932 election a _________ election because the Democrats replaced the Republicans as the dominant party for several generations: A. deviating B. refurbishing C. realigning D. recasting.
28. A voter who splits his ticket is: A. a democrat B. a republican C. a libertarian D. an independent.
29. The Senate can stop a filibuster by voting: A. stare decisis B. cloture C. a discharge petition D. for riders.
30. The people a congressman represents are his: A. people B. pork barrel C. trustees D. delegates E. constituents.
31. State legislatures do this after every 10 year census:
A reappropriating B. realigning C. redistricting D. repositioning.
32. Gerrymandering happens during: A. realigning B. repositioning C. reapportioning D. redistricting.
33. Unlike treaties, executive agreements require:
A. senatorial approval B. house approval C. no Congressional vote D. funding
34. The first part of the impeachment process is: A. removal from office B. common C. the House’s bringing formal charges against an elected or appointed official D. trial for removal from office.
35. Patronage is a synonym for: A. civil service unions B. civil service systems C. spoils D. a game.
36. What is based on the “Rule of 4”? The Supreme Court’s A. accepting a case B. issuing dissenting opinions C. writing the majority opinion D. determining who writes the majority opinion.
37. The minimum number of judges to hear a case in an appeals court is: A. 3 B. 5 C. 7 D. 9.
38. When Supreme Court justices reach the same opinion but with different legal reasoning, they may issue _____ opinions.
A. per curiam B. dissenting C. unanimous D. concurring.
39. The right of a court to hear a case for the first time is called:
A. appellate jurisdiction B. stare decisis C. ripeness D. original jurisdiction.
40. The historian who wrote An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution was:
A. Weber B. Montesqieu C. Toqueville D. Beard E. Murray.
41. A legislature with two houses is: A. parliamentary B. bicameral C. decidual D. bisexual.
42. What is now somewhat more than 21 trillion dollars:
A. the gross domestic product or GDP B. the annual budget deficit C. the national debt D. both the national debt and the GDP.
43. What government does is called: A. policy B. agenda C. the new left D. the rule of the register.
44. Ex post facto laws are:
A. allowed under the constitution B. inhibitive C. useful on the War on Drugs D. illegal retroactive laws.
45. Who claimed the elites in industrial societies were the capitalists? A. Weber B. Marx C. Mills D. Stockhousenman
46. The Supremacy Clause is found in Article __ of the Constitution: A. I B. III C. V D. VI.
47. When the African-American members of the Democratic Party in the House of Representatives meet together they called themselves the Black _.A. Plethora B. Consensus C. Caucus D. Quorum.
48. When the Supreme Court decides a case based on the precedents established in similar cases in the past the Court is using the principle of A. certiorari B. stare decisis C. res gestum D. ex post facto
49. Interest groups use amicus briefs to try to influence the_____ branch.
A. executive B. legislative C. bureaucratic D. judicial E. filibustered.
50. Which former President introduced the Supreme Court’s “Rule of 4”? A. Buchannan B. Bush C. Wilson D. Taft.
51. Concurring opinions tend to be: A. clarifying B. destructive C. confusing D. uncommon.
52. A closed rule on a bill is found in the: A. House B. Senate C. conference committees D. Supreme Court.
53. Which group promoted primary elections and Initiative and Referendum as ways to get the people more directly involved in the political process? A. Liberals B. Conservatives C. Progressives D. Libertarians.
54. Since George Bush brought few Republicans into office with his 1988 victory, political scientists say that he had:
A. long coattails B. short coattails C. charisma D. turn-coat-tails.
55. A Supreme Court Conference may be used to:
A. decide certiorari B. influence the thinking of members C. vote on cases D. all the above.
56. The gender gap always gives Democratic Party candidates a unbeatable advantage: A. true B. false.
57. Marx interpreted the political world he saw mostly in ______ terms: A. party B. religious C. economic D. cultural.
58. The Bill of Rights was: A. added to the Constitution in 1791 B. a part of the original constitution C. added in the 20th Century D. insisted on by the Federalist Party.
59. A “standard national poll” will use a sample size of approximately ____people. A. 500 B. 1,000-1,500 C. 7,000 D. 9,000
60. An individual issue in a party platform is a: A. plank B. issue burden C. caucus point D. talking point.
61. Baker v. Carr dealt with the issue of: A. segregation B. one person/one vote C. abortion D. the death penalty
62. Which president established the principle that every program—including tax cuts– passed has to be paid for in the legislation:
A. Clinton B. Bush C. Reagan D. Carter.
63. Federal District Courts have: A. original jurisdiction B. appellate jurisdiction C. both types D. only diversity of citizenship jurisdiction.
64. The Senate usually stops most filibusters with the required 60 votes: A. true B. false.
65. Deficit spending was rare during the Bush and Obama presidencies. A. true B. false.
66. Isolationism as a foreign policy goes back to: A. Wilson B. Washington and Jefferson C. Van de Griff D. Roosevelt.
67. With a flat tax the tax rate would be: A. graduated B. reduced for higher incomes C. the same for all income levels
D. increased for higher incomes.
68. Laffer and his famous “Curve” suggested that if government taxed people at the rate of 100% then: A. no one would work
B. work efforts would be increased C. work effort would go unchanged D. work would be its own reward.
69. The Kemp/Roth tax cuts that Reagan eventually passed in 1981 were first introduced:
A. in the 1960’s B. in the 1970’s C. in 1980 D. only under Bush.
70. Six months of negative or zero economic growth in the GDP defines: A. recovery B. recession C. inflation D. depression.
71. The U.S. economy operates primarily on the principle of: A. a command economy from Washington B. free market forces
C. central control of major businesses D. none of the above.
72. Which ideological group emphasizes the ideas of limited government and that government should support traditional values?
A. liberals B. populists C. libertarians D. conservatives.
73. Free competition among political parties for control of government is an important aspect of:
A. socialism B. factionalism C. democracy D. communism.
74. The belief that interest groups openly compete with each other to influence government policies is called:
A. pluralism B. elite theory C. democracy D. liberalism.
75. The annual value of all goods and services produced in the economy is called the: A. GDP or Gross Domestic Product
B. GDP deflator C. private sector’s worth D. public sector’s worth.
76. Inflation generally means that there is: A. a surplus of goods in the market B. too much money available for the goods available C. a healthy, robust economy D. an easy way to solve our political problems.
77. Most liberals believe: A. in no government regulations B. in traditional values C. in government’s ability to help make society better and fairer D. in balanced budgets.
78. The part of the country which has the majority of Congressmen:
A. the East B. the Midwest C. the Sunbelt D. the Rustbelt E. the Frostbelt.
79. The Bill of Rights was originally added to the Constitution to: A. strengthen individual rights against the federal government
B. give new powers to the states C. provide for a stronger central government under the new Constitution D. protect poor people.
80. The Constitution’s giving specific governmental powers to the state and national governments is the basis of our:
A. unitary system B. federal system C. confederal system D. balanced system.
