Deck 15: The Context for Texas Politics and Government

Question 1

The textbook describes three types of political culture-individualistic,traditionalistic,and moralistic.Which best describes political culture in Texas?

A)Moralistic
B)A mixture of moralistic and traditionalistic
C)A mixture of moralistic, traditionalistic, and individualistic
D)A mixture of traditionalistic and individualistic
E)Individualistic

Answer 1

D

Question 2

By the late 1800s,relatively few Native Americans remained in Texas.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Which of the following is NOT one of the main Texas ideologies?

A)Libertarianism
B)Populism
C)Socialism
D)Conservatism
E)Liberalism

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which of the following was NOT a factor in the decline of Native American tribes in Texas?

A)Cholera
B)Smallpox
C)Military campaigns
D)The 1900 Galveston Hurricane
E)Forced removal to reservations in other states

Question 5

Most Texans are in agreement with the fundamental ideas relating to politics and government expressed in the Texan Creed.

Question 6

The early Anglos who settled in Texas from 1815 to 1836 were drawn primarily from

A)Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, and North Carolina.
B)Georgia, Mississippi, and Alabama.
C)Michigan, Vermont, and Virginia.
D)South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia.
E)New York, West Virginia, Mississippi, and South Carolina.

Question 7

Political culture

A)directly affects the rate of population growth in the state.
B)affects the adoption and implementation of political reforms.
C)is defined in the Texas Constitution.
D)is defined in laws passed by the legislature.
E)has little significance in contemporary Texas.

Question 8

The most important economic issue for Hispanics is trade with Latin America.

Question 9

Which of the following is NOT an element of the Texan Creed?

A)Individualism
B)Liberty
C)Constitutionalism
D)Democracy
E)Endurance

Question 10

Which of the following is an accurate statement about poverty in Texas?

A)Poverty is less prevalent than in the U.S. as a whole.
B)Hispanics are about three times more likely to live in poverty than are Anglos.
C)Considerably more African Americans than Hispanics live in poverty.
D)About 8% of Texans live in poverty.
E)The poverty rates for African Americans, Hispanics, and Asians are similar.

Question 11

Even though the Spanish explored Texas in the sixteenth century,they did not establish permanent settlements until

A)the late 1500s.
B)the late 1600s.
C)the mid 1700s.
D)the late 1700s.
E)the early 1800s.

Question 12

If you view government as an evil which limits the ability of individuals to make choices and achieve their own destinies,you are likely to be a liberal.

Question 13

The battle for the Alamo exemplifies Texans' passion for liberty.

Question 14

Which of the following sectors of the Texas economy began a serious decline in the 1980s?

A)Cotton
B)Cattle
C)High technology
D)Petroleum
E)Insurance

Question 15

In the past,the economy of Texas principally depended on

A)agriculture, mining, and high technology.
B)cotton, cattle, and petroleum.
C)tourism, high technology, and petroleum.
D)high technology, alcoholic beverages, and oil..
E)finance, telemarketing, and retail clothing stores.

Question 16

According to the National Center for Children in Poverty,approximately what percentage of Texas children lived in families below the poverty level in 2008?

A)1)7
B)3
C)8
D)14
E)23

Question 17

The belief that each person should act according to his or her own conscience is known as

A)equality.
B)freedom of conscience.
C)individualism.
D)liberty.
E)constitutionalism.

Question 18

Which of the following does NOT describe the contemporary Texas economy?

A)More diverse than in the past
B)More globalized than in the past
C)Less dependent on agriculture than in the past
D)The health of the economy is more reliant on the price of oil than in the past.
E)The third largest state economy in the nation

Question 19

The economy of contemporary Texas is land-based and colonial in structure.

Question 20

According to projected population trends,which group in Texas is projected to be the largest in twenty years?

A)Anglos
B)African Americans
C)Hispanics
D)Asians
E)Foreign-born Texans

Question 21

The most important adaptation Anglo farmers and ranchers had to make in order to survive on the frontier involved defense,which led to the creation of the

A)ranch hand.
B)hired gunslinger.
C)Grange.
D)Texas Rangers.
E)Colt pistol.

Question 22

The Texas economy is unrelated to the Mexican economy,despite the long shared border.

Question 23

Which of these was NOT one of the mainstays of Spanish colonization of Texas?

A)The mission, which performed civilian as well as religious functions
B)The presidio, which provided frontier defense
C)The rancho, which sustained civilian life
D)The mills, which supported alcohol and tobacco trade
E)Towns or civilian settlements

Question 24

Compared with other states,Texas has rather generous programs that benefit the poor and the less well educated.

Question 25

Which of the following is the largest ethnic minority in Texas?

A)African Americans
B)Hispanics
C)Jews
D)Asians
E)Native Americans

Question 26

On average,Hispanics and African Americans have significantly lower incomes than do Anglos in Texas.

Question 27

What Native American tribe was most feared and respected by early Spanish explorers,and whose people displayed many of the characteristics of individualism that Anglo Texans on the frontier admired?

A)Caddo
B)Comanche
C)Tonkawa
D)Tigua
E)Wichita

Question 28

Despite inhabiting Texas since Spanish rule,African Americans made up no more than twelve percent of the Texas population prior to 1836 due to

A)the paucity of agricultural interests in early Texas which would have necessitated the use of slave labor.
B)the Mexican government's opposition to slavery.
C) the start of the Civil War, which prompted many African Americans to escape to the North to fight the Confederacy.
D)Mexican immigration law, which limited the influx of African Americans into Texas because of their limited economic and educational status.
E)reluctance by African Americans to move to Texas because of the growth of the Ku Klux Klan.

Question 29

At different times in the past,the Texas economy has been dependent upon the external demand for and prices of cotton,cattle,and petroleum.

Question 30

The ideological context for Texas government and politics centers on a set of ideas which includes individualism,liberty,democracy,equality,and constitutionalism,and is known as

A)the Constitution.
B)the Texan Creed.
C)the Texas Compact.
D)The Rangers' Creed.
E)The Code of the West.

Question 31

The first permanent resident Asian Americans in Texas were likely Chinese who immigrated to the state as laborers for

A)railroad construction.
B)agriculture.
C)cattle ranching.
D)the tanning industry.
E)road construction.

Question 32

Based on current trends,which ethnic group is expected to be Texas's majority population in thirty-five years?

A)Anglos
B)African Americans
C)Hispanics
D)Asian Americans
E)Native Americans

Question 33

The part of the Texan Creed that holds that government should not infringe upon a person's individual rights is the concept of

A)individualism.
B)democracy.
C)liberty.
D)equality.
E)constitutionalism.

Question 34

In 2010,the population of Texas was about

A)four million.
B)nine million.
C)thirteen million.
D)twenty-five million.
E)thirty million.

Question 35

Since independence from Mexico in 1836,which ethnic group has dominated Texas politics and government,providing all of Texas's governors,almost all of its statewide officials,and the overwhelming majority of its legislators?

A)Hispanics
B)African Americans
C)Asian Americans
D)Native Americans
E)Anglos

Question 36

In the last twenty years,Native American tribes in Texas have frequently been involved in Texas politics about

A)restitution.
B)patents and copyrights.
C)water rights.
D)gambling.
E)roads.

Question 37

Which Native American tribe of northeastern and eastern Texas greeted early Spanish explorers as Tayshas,meaning friends-which was the genesis of the name Texas?

A)Caddo
B)Comanche
C)Kickapoo
D)Kiowa
E)Tonkawa

Question 38

The oldest Native American reservation in Texas was established in 1854 as compensation for the tribe's neutrality during the Texas war for independence for the

A)the Alabama-Coushatta tribe.
B)the Kickapoo tribe.
C)the Tigua tribe.
D)the Tonkawa tribe.
E)the Kiowa tribe.

Question 39

Which of the following is accorded the highest social status and is closely tied to Texas individualism?

A)Being a conquistador
B)Being a migrant worker
C)Land ownership
D)Political expertise
E)Being a farm hand

Question 40

The Institute of Texan Cultures identifies how many ethnic groups in Texas?

A)Four
B)Five
C)Nine
D)Seventeen
E)Twenty-seven

Question 41

Liberalism as an ideology in Texas is traceable to the effects of

A)high taxation of industry and the subornation of fraud by limiting capital expansion.
B)the use of governmental authority to protect traditional values.
C)individualism as a course of action which undermines societal cohesion and order.
D)industrialization and the economic and social dislocations associated with it.
E)the infiltration of governmental bodies by socialists and communists.

Question 42

Economic issues have provided the basis for Texas conservatism with the view that

A)wealth should be stimulated among the working classes to further economic growth.
B)government programs to provide public services are unnecessary and anti-capitalist.
C)government power should be used to limit the economic effects of dramatic swings in the business cycle.
D)governmental intervention in the economy is crucial for the maintenance of a sound monetary and banking system.
E)government's role in the regulatory function is crucial to maintaining control of obscene profits by corporate interests at the expense of the workers.

Question 43

The idea of equality expressed in the Texan Creed that developed in Texas during the nineteenth century has its roots in ___________ but was limited to __________.

A)social welfare; education and health care
B)land ownership; Anglo men
C)egalitarianism; fraternity
D)the abolition of slavery; property owners
E)the Texas Constitution; Texas Bill of Rights

Question 44

With its roots in the late 1800s,populism favors?

A)government intervention to promote equality and to establish and maintain an ordered liberty.
B)limited government that allows capitalism to thrive and the market to maintain order.
C)government intervention to promote equality, while leaving the individual free to make moral or personal decisions.
D)strong government involvement, often by force, to maintaining strict order in society.
E)the collective sharing of resources and production.

Question 45

What was first discovered in Texas in 1901 near Beaumont?

A)Oil
B)Evidence of Native American settlements
C)Gold
D)The Rosetta Stone
E)An original signed copy of the Declaration of Independence

Question 46

In keeping with the Texan Creed's emphasis on constitutionalism,each Texas constitution has

A)delineated the responsibilities of state government in precise and certain terms.
B)empowered the executive with strong, centralized authority to administer the state.
C)called for a full-time legislature populated by professional politicians.
D)limited the authority of government.
E)created a government of expansive powers designed to grow and adapt to the social needs of the people.

Question 47

The state's greatest population and economic growth is in a core area called the Texas urban triangle and is anchored by

A)Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, and Houston.
B)Texarkana, Houston, and Dallas-Fort Worth
C)San Antonio, El Paso, and Dallas-Fort Worth
D)Austin, Houston, and Galveston
E)Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, and San Antonio.

Question 48

Libertarianism emphasizes the

A)belief in using government intervention to promote equality and establish or maintain an ordered liberty.
B)belief that government should not promote equality but regulate individual behavior to ensure an ordered liberty.
C)role of government in promoting equality while leaving free the individual to make moral or personal decisions.
D)autonomy of the individual and a minimal role for government.
E)dignity of government and the benefits of government-run social welfare programs.

Question 49

More than any other incident,what event in Texas history exemplifies Texans' passion for liberty?

A)The battle of San Jacinto
B)The battle of the Alamo
C)The discovery of oil at Spindletop
D)The signing of the Texas Declaration of Independence on March 2, 1836
E)The adoption of the Texas Constitution of 1876

Question 50

Which of the following best describes the Texas economy?

A)The Texas economy remains dependent on "the big three"-cotton, cattle, and petroleum.
B)The Texas economy is the third largest in the United States.
C)The Texas economy soared while the U.S. economy tanked in the most recent recession.
D)The Texas economy has raised the standard of living for nearly all Texans.
E)The Texas economy is mainly based on tourism, entertainment, and soybeans-the "new big three."

Question 51

Almost every political issue in Texas politics can be viewed as a conflict over the ideas

A)found in the Texas Constitution of 1876.
B)rooted in Texas's experience as a slave state before Reconstruction.
C)in the Texan Creed.
D)that were handed down from the state's English and Spanish legal traditions.
E)found in the Declaration of Independence.

Question 52

Efforts to diversify the Texas economy began about fifty years ago and have

A)failed to transform the economy's basic structure.
B)transformed the economy's basic structure.
C)increased the number of jobs in the cattle industry.
D)stabilized petroleum prices.
E)eliminated the need for high technology training for Texas workers.

Question 53

The relationship between the economies of Texas and Mexico are evident

A)in the declining poverty rate of Hispanics.
B)in the maquiladora program.
C)in the holidays celebrated by children and families in Texas.
D)from the increase in the personal income tax.
E)All of the above

Question 54

In 1881,the XIT Ranch in the Texas Panhandle was established on three million acres of land that were received

A)in exchange for building the Texas capitol.
B)as a gift from the Alabama-Coushatta tribe.
C)as spoils during the Spanish-American War.
D)in a poker game.
E)in lieu of taxes owed by John D. Rockefeller.

Question 55

Assume you are a prominent businessperson in Texas dealing in international trade and commerce.Asked to point to one of the major factors that has contributed to the globalization of Texas's economy,you point to

A)the North American Free Trade Agreement.
B)the importance of Texas petroleum exports to Mexico.
C)the role of many international trade treaties entered into exclusively by Texas and Mexico.
D)the importance of tourism along the Mexican border for economic growth of both economies.
E)All of the above

Question 56

Which of the following is NOT an argument for bilingual education in Texas?

A)Children who enter school but cannot understand English cannot be expected to master the concepts or materials that is presented solely in English.
B)Children who cannot master basic material because of language deficiency inevitably fall behind.
C)Bilingual education is expensive.
D)Bilingual children will grow up to play an important role in Texas's economic success.
E)Bilingual education helps Texas remain a leading center for international trade.

Question 57

The first real economy of Texas was

A)inherited from the Mexicans and was based on energy production.
B)created by southern planters and based on cotton, a money crop.
C)exclusively based on the barter system with Native Americans.
D)not developed until the industrial revolution and the urbanization of the state.
E)confined exclusively to the coastal region and based on shipping and trade.

Question 58

Economic diversification in the latter half of the twentieth century in Texas has been tied to the rise of

A)agriculture.
B)petroleum.
C)shipping and transportation.
D)service industries and finance.
E)high tech industries.

Question 59

From 1990 through 2008,the Texas economy has generally

A)underperformed relative to the national economy.
B)outpaced the overall national economy.
C)seen dramatic periods of fluctuation, going from boom to bust and back again.
D)been based on the exploration of outer space through NASA and the Johnson Manned Space Center in Houston.
E)matched the performance of the national economy.

Question 60

For much of the twentieth century,the basis for the Texas economy was

A)agriculture.
B)cattle.
C)cotton.
D)petroleum.
E)shipping.

Question 61

In a study of several states representing different political subcultures,it was determined that that states with a moralistic political subculture performed better than states with traditionalistic or individualistic political subcultures in

A)promoting individualism.
B)enhancing self-esteem.
C)adopting and implementing welfare reforms.
D)limiting the size of government.
E)protecting capitalism.

Question 62

Why do the wealthy participate in politics and government more frequently than the poor?

A)The wealthy are usually bred with a sense of noblesse oblige.
B)Politics and government have a greater effect on their lives than on the lives of the poor.
C)The wealthy consider it a sport.
D)The wealthy tend to be more aware of what they could lose or gain through policy changes.
E)The concerns of the wealthy are more communal, while the concerns of the poor are more individualistic.

Question 63

Members of which of the following group(s)have lower per capita incomes than Texas Anglos?

A)Asian Americans in Texas
B)African Americans in Texas
C)Hispanics in Texas
D)Americans as a whole
E)All of the above

Question 64

Historically,Hispanics are less likely to mention social issues as areas of concern to pollsters than Anglos.

Question 65

No Texas legislators in the past twenty-five years have been Hispanics.

Question 66

Which of the following statements about the distribution of income Texas is accurate?

A)There are wide disparities in the distribution of income in Texas.
B)There are few significant disparities in the distribution of income in Texas.
C)The distribution of income in Texas is fairly flat, as would be expected by our emphasis on egalitarianism.
D)Only about 5% of Texas households have annual incomes less than $25,000 or more than $100,000.
E)Income is distributed more equally in Texas than in the country as a whole.

Question 67

Which of the following accurately describes income in Texas in 2008?

A)The median income of Texas families was higher than the national average
B)The median income of Texas households was higher than the national average
C)The per capita income of Texans was higher than the national average
D)The per capita income of Texans was roughly equal across ethnic groups.
E)The per capita income of Texas Anglos was considerably higher than the per capital income of all Americans

Question 68

Which of the following states has the highest level of poverty among children?

A)New Hampshire
B)Utah
C)Mississippi
D)Texas
E)Alaska

Question 69

With slavery legalized in the Republic of Texas,the number of African Americans increased rapidly,composing 20% of the population by 1840.

Question 70

Why are the wealthy better able to be actively and routinely engaged in politics and government?

A)The wealthy have more resources, more available time, and more social connections.
B)The wealthy are much more interested in helping others.
C)The wealthy are much more likely to attend church and to have a reliable moral compass.
D)The wealthy watch more television and see more political ads on TV.
E)The wealthy are happier and more interested in sharing and spreading that happiness to others.

Question 71

In which of the following categories is Texas among the highest in the nation?

A)Automobile production
B)Maple syrup production
C)Mean household income
D)The number of Native Americans
E)The number of richest Americans

Question 72

By the late 1940s,the Hispanic population had replaced the African American population as the largest ethnic minority in Texas.

Question 73

The mission was an important institution of Spanish colonization.

Question 74

Which of the following best describes the political culture of Texas?

A)Government should act as a positive instrument with responsibility to enhance the well-being of its citizens.
B)Government should act solely to promote individual responsibility.
C)Government should act solely to maintain traditional social values.
D)Government should act both to significantly enhance the well-being of the poor and to maintain traditional social values.
E)Government should act to promote individual responsibility and to maintain traditional social values.

Question 75

During its history as an independent republic and during its early statehood,what was the economic heart of Texas?

A)Cotton
B)Cattle
C)Oil
D)Manufacturing
E)Land speculation

Question 76

What three political cultures did political scientist David Elazar identify?

A)Individualistic, traditionalistic, and moralistic
B)Individualistic, communistic, and traditionalistic
C)Moralistic, socialistic, and individualistic
D)Constitutionalism, legalism, and moralism
E)Libertarianism, egalitarianism, and paternalism

Question 77

Reflecting a governing preference for individual responsibility and the maintenance of social values,Texas's political culture is best described as a blend of

A)individualistic, traditionalistic, and moralistic subcultures.
B)the traditionalistic and moralistic subcultures.
C)the pragmatic and moralistic subcultures.
D)the individualistic and traditionalistic subcultures.
E)the individualistic and socialistic subcultures.

Question 78

Historically,how do wealthy Texans influence state politics?

A)By contributing money to public education to stimulate voter participation across the socioeconomic spectrum
B)By volunteering their time to participate in ground work for political campaigns
C)By recruiting and funding candidates for public office or by seeking public office themselves
D)By bribery and other forms of graft
E)By abstaining from voting as a form of protest

Question 79

Texas's population completed the transition from primarily rural to primarily urban in the 1940s.

Question 80

How does poverty affect political participation?

A)Poor people usually do not actively and routinely participate in politics and government.
B)Poor people actively and routinely participate in politics and government on social issues.
C)Poor people actively and routinely participate in politics and government on economic issues.
D)Poor people actively and routinely participate in politics and government on social welfare issues.
E)Poverty promotes political participation.