Deck 3: The Historical, Structural, and Environmental Contexts of Public Policy

Question 1

What part of the Constitution is said to gives Congress very broad powers to make policy?

A)Due Process Clause
B)Commerce Clause
C)Equal Protection Clause
D)Elastic Clause

Answer 1

Elastic Clause

Question 2

If I were to say that focus of policy studies should be on the actions of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, what approach to policy studies would I be adopting?

A)rational-choice theory
B)elite theory
C)institutionalism
D)group theory
E)pluralism

Answer 2

institutionalism

Question 3

Which is not a historical era of "policy restraint" according to David Robertson and Dennis Judd?

A)era of national standards.
B)era of cooperation
C)era of national activism
D)era of state activism
E)None of these are described by Robertson and Judd.

Answer 3

era of cooperation

Question 4

What was the major task of the 'Divided Power' era of public policy making?

A)The regulation of large industries and monopolies.
B)The development of the 'New Deal' program.
C)The division of policy powers between the states and the federal government.
D)Setting national standards for achieving policy goals.

Question 5

Trust in government is a part of which policy environment?

A)social environment
B)political environment
C)structural environment
D)public environment
E)none of the above are correct

Question 6

Which of the following political theorists was most important to the founders the U.S. Constitution?

A)James Q.Wilson
B)Machiavelli
C)Karl Marx
D)John Locke

Question 7

In American political philosophy, governmental authority is delegated from

A)the president.
B)the people.
C)the government.
D)the Constitution.

Question 8

The separation of powers refers to

A)Relationships between the state and federal government.
B)The assignment of powers and duties to the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.
C)The relative strength of large states in presidential elections.
D)The difference in size and prestige between the House and the Senate.

Question 9

Federalism refers to

A)Relationships between the state and federal government.
B)The assignment of powers and duties to the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.
C)The relative strength of large states in presidential elections.
D)The difference in size and prestige between the House and the Senate.

Question 10

Why were the Articles of Confederation ultimately replaced by the federal Constitution?

A)Federal taxes were too high.
B)Many people thought that the national government was too weak to confront national challenges.
C)The smaller states felt they had less power under the Articles of Confederation.
D)The Articles of Confederation were set to expire in 1789 no matter what.

Question 11

Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution contains the Commerce Clause, which gives the federal government the power to

A)Regulate interstate and international commerce.
B)Establish a national bank.
C)Establish capitalism as the only possible economic system in the United States.
D)Subsidize the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.

Question 12

The Civil War Amendments

A)Made secession illegal.
B)Outlawed slavery, provided voting rights to African American men, and required states to respect individuals' equal protection and due process of law.
C)Required only that states give everyone due process of law.
D)Enshrined the peace treaty between the Union and the Confederacy in the Constitution.

Question 13

The Lochner doctrine made it harder to regulate what sort of economic activity?

A)Environmental regulation
B)Regulations of wages, hours, and working conditions
C)Regulation of railroad rates
D)Women's voting rights
E)Regulation of monopolies

Question 14

Which of the following was not a feature of Progressive Era legislative accomplishments?

A)Regulation of monopolies
B)Improvements of food and drug safety
C)Establishment of the Federal Reserve System
D)Sweeping federal powers to regulate industrial pollution

Question 15

Barron v. Baltimore established the constitutional principle that

A)people are citizens of each state and subject to the constitution of that state when the laws of that state are applied to the people.
B)the federal Constitution applies to the states and the federal government.
C)slaves are not people as a matter of law, but, rather, are property.
D)only property owners should have the right to vote..

Question 16

The Federal New Deal programs were enacted during which of Robertson and Judd's eras?

A)National Activism
B)Divided Power
C)State Activism
D)National Standards

Question 17

The Great Society program we enacted under which U.S. President?

A)Franklin D.Roosevelt
B)Harry S.Truman
C)Lyndon B.Johnson
D)Woodrow Wilson

Question 18

The era of National Standards was characterized by

A)more federal grants of discretion to state governments to implement programs.
B)more big, new deal style federal programs.
C)a return to pre-New Deal economic conservatism.
D)the assignment of most federal constitutional powers to the states.

Question 19

Explain briefly why our systems of government and policy making are relatively stable.

Question 20

How does federalism, the separation of powers, and two houses in Congress prevent government from acting without carefully considering the costs and benefits of new policies?

Question 21

What is "big government"? Did it end with the Reagan administration? Any other administration?

Question 22

Why did the founders include the "elastic clause" in the Constitution?

Question 23

In what ways might we say that government is "big"? In what ways might we say that it is "small" or even "not big enough"?

Question 24

What was the difference between Jefferson's and Hamilton's vision of the economic basis of the United States?

Question 25

What are the costs and the benefits of policy restraint? Do you believe that policy restraint's benefits outweigh its costs?

Question 26

People often confuse the differences between separation of powers and federalism in the Constitution. Explain what these concepts mean.

Question 27

Give two arguments in favor of decentralized power among levels of government.

Question 28

Why not leave the establishment of national standards to the states?

Question 29

Explain why the founders believed that a federal system of government was the most appropriate for the United States (there are several potential answers to this. Pick one theme).

Question 30

What are the "basic rules and norms" of American political culture that have contributed to the long-term stability of the American constitutional system?

Question 31

List one of FDR's New Deal programs and explain its purpose/importance

Question 32

What does the "incorporation doctrine" mean, and what does it have to do with public policy?

Question 33

Case law often determines the constitutional bounds under which the legislature and executive operate.

Question 34

Policy constraint is the idea that policy should be made carefully, not hastily

Question 35

Federalism describes the sharing of power between the Federal and state governments.

Question 36

Our constitutional system is structured in a way that often prevents rapid policy change.

Question 37

The period of the Industrial Revolution coincided with a period of State Activism in public policy making.

Question 38

The Supreme Court case Barron v. Baltimore decision held that people are citizens of the nation and of their states, and that they had to seek relief under the U.S. Constitution if they felt their rights had been violated

Question 39

The separation of powers ensures that the Congress does not make judicial decisions.

Question 40

According to the U.S. Constitution, the Speaker of the House of Representatives is the most senior member of the majority party.

Question 41

Federalism describes the fragmentation of power in American government between the three branches of government.

Question 42

The constitution is an iron-clad guarantee of individual liberties and political stability.

Question 43

The federal Constitution establishes political parties.

Question 44

President Ronald Reagan ran on a consistent program of cutting "big government"

Question 45

The federal government has always been powerful and important in the daily lives of Americans.