Deck 22: Who Governs to What Ends

Question 1

It is now easier to gain access to the courts, and once there, one is more likely to encounter judges who believe that

A) precedent should be adhered to as closely as possible.
B) courts should avoid political questions.
C) the Constitution should be interpreted broadly to permit particular goals.
D) the executive branch should dominate the legislative branch.
E) state laws are superior to federal laws.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

The text suggests that it takes a large number of political actors to get a federal law passed but only one ____________ to block one.

A) reporter
B) congressional committee
C) governor
D) lobbyist
E) author

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The text suggests that the Supreme Court's restriction of the government's authority was probably

A) the by-product of high levels of education among the members of the Court.
B) engineered by the various chief justices.
C) largely contrary to public opinion.
D) largely consistent with public opinion.
E) the logical consequence of reliance on precedent.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which of the following presidents was probably the last to have a fairly short national political agenda?

A) Eisenhower
B) Reagan
C) Carter
D) Clinton
E) G.W. Bush

Question 5

Under the Old System, it was understood that the press would

A) never ask the president follow-up questions.
B) never quote the president directly.
C) always submit press conference questions in writing in advance.
D) quote the president in matters related to domestic affairs but not foreign affairs.
E) have most printed material reviewed by the White House before publication.

Question 6

When the Supreme Court declares that a feature of the Bill of Rights is applicable to the states as well as the federal government, we say that feature has been

A) excised.
B) truncated.
C) bifurcated.
D) redacted.
E) incorporated.

Question 7

In our nation's more recent history, the critical questions surrounding new proposals have focused on

A) legitimacy.
B) transparency.
C) duplication.
D) effectiveness.
E) justiciability.

Question 8

The text suggests that constraints on federal action weakened or disappeared altogether as a result of

A) altered interpretations of the Constitution by courts.
B) the extension of important provisions of the Bill of Rights to the states.
C) greater access to the federal courts for citizens.
D) the Supreme Court's granting Congress the power to give broad discretionary powers to administrative agencies.
E) all of the above.

Question 9

Which of the following was true under what the authors refer to as the Old System?

A) Members of Congress rarely served more than one or two terms.
B) Congress did not really do that much.
C) Congressional salaries were not very impressive.
D) Congress was not in session for very long.
E) All of the above.

Question 10

In the aftermath of the Great Depression, well-educated politically active people began demanding federal policies regarding

A) civil rights.
B) public welfare.
C) environmental protection.
D) consumer safety.
E) all of the above.

Question 11

In the earliest years of our nation's history, the critical questions surrounding new proposals generally focused on

A) legitimacy.
B) transparency.
C) duplication.
D) effectiveness.
E) justiciability.

Question 12

The American Federation of Labor, led by Samuel Gompers, _________ federal involvement in labor-management issues.

A) resisted
B) encouraged
C) demanded
D) solidified
E) formalized

Question 13

One of the great puzzles surrounding the ever-increasing expectations we have of government is the fact that

A) the Constitution is designed to make it difficult for government to act.
B) the federal courts have facilitated these expectations.
C) few government officials have welcomed such change.
D) Americans seem to know less and less about government and politics.
E) political participation has continually decreased.

Question 14

The Supreme Court's most significant restriction of the government's authority resulted from its

A) refusal to hear cases involving business regulation.
B) refusal to hear cases involving the federal income tax.
C) refusal to allow the delegation of broad discretionary authority to administrative agencies.
D) rejection of legislation that originated in the Senate.
E) increasingly restrictive view of the contract clause.

Question 15

Which of the following statements regarding Congress in the Old System is incorrect?

A) Members had a large staff.
B) Members dealt with each other on a personal basis.
C) Members deferred to the prestige of House and Senate leaders.
D) Members tended to become part of some stable coalition.
E) None of the above.

Question 16

Under the Old System, a dominant theme in the debates concerning the legitimacy of the scope of the federal government's power was the

A) difficulty of quantifying efficiency.
B) importance of checks and balances.
C) need for congressional dominance.
D) limits of federalism.
E) importance of states' rights.

Question 17

A major development in the changing influence of the federal government was the new manner in which the Supreme Court interpreted

A) the Bill of Rights.
B) its previous rulings on checks and balances.
C) the Preamble to the Constitution.
D) the Eighth Amendment.
E) the Seventh and Eighth Amendments.

Question 18

The text suggests that the Founders generally expected the federal government to limit itself to

A) war.
B) peace.
C) interstate commerce.
D) establishing a national currency.
E) all of the above.

Question 19

Numerous rights have been applied to the states via the _____________ clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

A) takings
B) due process
C) equal protection
D) establishment
E) fairness

Question 20

Which of the following is not a characteristic of what the authors call the Old System?

A) A small agenda
B) Low voter participation rates
C) Dominance of states' rights
D) Focus on domestic affairs
E) A small and somewhat personal presidency

Question 21

During the Johnson administration, a great majority of the members of the House of Representatives came to enjoy

A) a bipartisan atmosphere.
B) fewer roll-call votes.
C) the franking privilege.
D) exponential pay raises.
E) relatively secure seats.

Question 22

George W. Bush described his political philosophy as

A) hope and change.
B) time for change.
C) compassionate conservatism.
D) efficiency in assistance.
E) smart government.

Question 23

Under the Old System, crises had a way of leaving the federal bureaucracy

A) more efficient.
B) more decentralized.
C) larger than it was before.
D) less organized.
E) popular.

Question 24

What makes it difficult, under the New System, to change an existing program?

A) Federalism
B) Executive dominance
C) Checks and balances
D) The dual-court system
E) The committee system

Question 25

The text suggests that, under the Old System, bold governmental action usually required a(n)

A) critical realignment.
B) divided government.
C) unified government.
D) crisis.
E) economic upswing.

Question 26

Which administration played a pivotal role in the transition from the Old to the New System?

A) Kennedy
B) Johnson
C) Nixon
D) Truman
E) Eisenhower

Question 27

The more government does, the more it will appear

A) inconsistent.
B) uncoordinated.
C) cumbersome.
D) connected.
E) Options A, B, and C

Question 28

The text suggests that, as government gets bigger, its members spend less time ______ and more time ______.

A) debating; managing
B) campaigning; advertising
C) managing; assessing
D) credit claiming; debating
E) governing; contemplating

Question 29

In the 1960s numerous assistance programs were collectively referred to as

A) the War on Poverty.
B) the One For All Program.
C) Head Start.
D) No Child Left Behind.
E) the Equality Initiative.

Question 30

After some initial complications, the legislative programs of Franklin Roosevelt began to succeed because

A) a Supreme Court justice changed his mind.
B) the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court was changed.
C) his reorganization plan for the Court was passed by Congress.
D) some Supreme Court justices retired.
E) Both A and D.

Question 31

Which of the following is a characteristic of the New System?

A) A large policy agenda
B) The diffusion and decentralization of power in Congress
C) The multiplication of interest groups
D) The end of debate over the legitimacy of government action
E) All of the above

Question 32

When assessing the efficiency of the government, it is always important to remember that Americans are especially energetic about

A) asserting their rights.
B) voting.
C) lobbying their U.S. senators.
D) complaining to the media.
E) tracking the success of this or that program.

Question 33

All parts of the government are becoming more

A) centralized.
B) bureaucratized.
C) automated.
D) efficient.
E) popular.

Question 34

The ultimate cause of red tape, bureaucratic stalemates, and confusion might be the fact that

A) public officials are self-interested.
B) bureaucrats are incompetent.
C) there is too much separation of powers.
D) citizens want different and often conflicting things.
E) federalism simply does not work.

Question 35

The text suggests that the New System did not take its current form until the

A) 1960s.
B) 1970s.
C) 1980s.
D) 1990s.
E) None of the above

Question 36

Under the Old System, power was mostly in the hands of

A) party leaders.
B) party activists.
C) interest group leaders.
D) congressional leaders.
E) Both A and D.

Question 37

All of the following were features of Lyndon Johnson's Great Society legislation except

A) Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF).
B) provision of federal aid to local schools.
C) aid to the states to fight crime and rebuild slums.
D) Medicaid.
E) Medicare.

Question 38

The text suggests that the New System began in the

A) 1910s.
B) 1920s.
C) 1930s.
D) 1940s.
E) 1950s.

Question 39

What made it difficult, under the Old System, to start a new program?

A) Federalism
B) Executive dominance
C) Checks and balances
D) The dual court system
E) The committee system

Question 40

The authors suggest one way of describing the New System is to call it a(n) __________ government.

A) restrictive
B) activist
C) counter-majoritarian
D) top-heavy
E) bottoms-up

Question 41

Before 1960, one unspoken rule of politics was that no _____ could be elected president.

A) Catholic
B) general
C) lawyer
D) governor
E) member of Congress

Question 42

The rapid increase in the number and variety of interest groups and their enlarged role in government are

A) an unintended consequence of federalism.
B) a rational response to the fact that elected officials can tend to only a few things.
C) the inevitable result of a two-party system.
D) the primary cause of increased voter turnout.
E) the primary cause of divided government.

Question 43

Politicians generally assume that the mass media will never cover a story about things that are

A) extraordinarily bad.
B) confusing and potentially upsetting.
C) related to Congress.
D) related to courts.
E) going well.

Question 44

Which of the following would have probably been least affected by the choice of a parliamentary system by the Founders?

A) Centralization of authority
B) Foreign policy
C) Executive power
D) Taxation
E) Social welfare policies

Question 45

The Supreme Court has played a critical role in the restricted view of government that is so conspicuous throughout our history.

Question 46

From time to time during the nineteenth century, federal officials might be blamed for, and thrown out of office because of,

A) crime rates.
B) the economy.
C) the environment.
D) civil rights.
E) all of the above.

Question 47

Almost all electoral politics is

A) two-tiered.
B) bi-partisan.
C) local.
D) over regulated.
E) non-partisan.

Question 48

In 2009, Barack Obama proposed a budget with an estimated deficit of more than $_______.

A) 1 trillion
B) 400 million
C) 100 million
D) 20 million
E) 6 million

Question 49

The authors guess that taxes would probably have been ________ if the Founders had adopted a parliamentary system in America.

A) unaffected
B) less controversial
C) lower
D) higher
E) flat

Question 50

The Founders expected the government to have a broad policy agenda.

Question 51

One perhaps ironic result of an activist government is

A) an increase in public trust of government.
B) a decline in interest group activity.
C) a decline in voter turnout.
D) an increase in party-related activity.
E) an increase in the role of courts.

Question 52

Which of the following statements concerning the enormous expansion of the scope and goals of the federal government is incorrect?

A) It has not been random or unguided.
B) Power has been enlarged in some directions more than others.
C) Certain goals have been served more frequently than others.
D) The selection of goals has been shaped by our political culture.
E) None of the above

Question 53

Although we hold the president responsible for a variety of problems, it is certainly true that

A) the president cannot address them efficiently without excessive use of the veto.
B) few are relevant to the voting decisions of most Americans.
C) most can be solved by less partisanship in Washington.
D) most can be solved with a little assistance from Congress.
E) many are totally beyond the president's reach.

Question 54

Today, the government is held responsible for

A) crime.
B) the economy.
C) the environment.
D) civil rights.
E) all of the above.

Question 55

An activist government is ____ susceptible to control by electoral activity than a passive one.

A) much more
B) slightly more
C) less
D) always more
E) increasingly

Question 56

By 2009, the federal government had become the majority stockholder in what was once the world's largest __________ company.

A) steel
B) railroad
C) automotive
D) telephone
E) internet

Question 57

If the United States had adopted a parliamentary system, we might have expected all of the following except

A) quicker adoption of majoritarian policies.
B) more centralization of bureaucratic authority.
C) even more opportunities for citizens to challenge government policies.
D) greater executive control of government.
E) higher and more centralized taxation.

Question 58

The interstate highway system was built during the administration of Dwight Eisenhower.

Question 59

Americans probably use ______ more frequently than the citizens of any other nation to make or change public policy.

A) the media
B) the courts
C) protests
D) voting
E) boycotts

Question 60

Planning, in government, tends to take place

A) when there are surpluses.
B) when the debt becomes intolerable.
C) after members of Congress explain problems to the media.
D) after leaks.
E) after a crisis takes place.

Question 61

Today, bureaucrats have less discretion than they did several decades ago.

Question 62

Under the Old System of American politics, voter turnout was low.

Question 63

Crises have had a way of leaving the government bureaucracy larger than it had been beforehand.

Question 64

The American Federation of Labor welcomed federal involvement in labor-management issues.

Question 65

Governors and mayors were more important than the president for many years in American history.

Question 66

The Constitution was specifically designed to make it easy for government to act.

Question 67

It is increasingly more difficult to gain access to the federal courts.

Question 68

A dominant theme under the Old System of American politics was the importance of states' rights.

Question 69

Political resources have become more widely distributed.

Question 70

The special protection that the courts once granted to property rights has been substantially reduced.

Question 71

Under the Old System of American politics, the focus of policy debate was usually on domestic affairs.

Question 72

Provisions of the Bill of Rights have been extended to the states via the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Question 73

The New System of American politics began in the 1930s.

Question 74

Under the Old System of American politics, leaders in the House and Senate had considerable power.

Question 75

Political elites change their minds more slowly than the average citizen.

Question 76

The Supreme Court's view of limited government was generally supported by the American public.

Question 77

Federal aid to educations was usually opposed because people feared it would lead to federal control of local schools.

Question 78

Early in our nation's history, members of Congress rarely served more than one or two terms.

Question 79

Under the old system, a president was never quoted directly unless his words were spoken at a press conference.

Question 80

Campaign finance laws and court rulings have given legal status and constitutional protections to thousands of political-action committees.