Deck 13: The Presidency

Question 1

Which of the following best describes the people who have been elected president?

A) Older and from western states
B) Primarily Catholics and Jews
C) Military commanders from the South
D) California natives
E) White, male Protestants

Answer 1

E

Question 2

Executive agreements are which of the following?

A) Not valid in foreign policy matters unless approved by the Senate
B) Agreements made between the president and the head of a foreign government that do not have to be approved by the Senate
C) An unconstitutional expansion of the power of the president
D) Binding upon future presidents
E) Used to achieve trivial matters, since the most significant issues must be addressed by the Senate

Answer 2

B

Question 3

A president can issue a pardon in which of the following circumstances?

A) For all offenses against the United States, including impeachment
B) For all offenses against the United States, except impeachment
C) For all offenses against the United States, or any state
D) For all offenses against the United States, any state, or any locality
E) For all offenses against a state, but only after a state's governor has refused to grant a pardon

Answer 3

B

Question 4

A constitutional amendment to clarify the way votes are cast in the Electoral College was necessary because of which of the following?

A) There was no way to tell which votes were for president and which were for vice president.
B) There was a tie in the electoral votes in the election of 1800.
C) Large states did not have fair representation in the Electoral College.
D) In three elections, no candidates received a majority of the votes in the Electoral College.
E) There was a tie in the electoral votes in the election of 1800 and no way to tell which votes were for president and which were for vice president.

Question 5

Which of the following statements about a president's veto power is most accurate?

A) Because vetoes are usually overridden, the power has become unimportant.
B) The president's veto is final, and this gives him or her complete control over legislation.
C) The threat of a veto gives the president significant influence over Congress and legislation.
D) The veto has been used by Congress to stop the president from signing legislation.
E) Because vetoes are rarely overridden, the power has become unimportant.

Question 6

The Constitution states that the required minimum age for the presidency is which of the following?

A) 30
B) 35
C) 40
D) 45
E) 50

Question 7

As chief executive, the president is constitutionally bound to do which of the following?

A) Enforce laws, treaties, and court orders
B) Submit a balanced budget to Congress
C) Inform Congress prior to military action
D) Oversee actions of state governments
E) Honor pronouncements of previous presidents

Question 8

Which amendment to the Constitution requires the president and the vice president to be chosen separately by the Electoral College?

A) Ninth
B) Tenth
C) Twelfth
D) Twenty-Fourth
E) Twenty-Fifth

Question 9

Which of the following is true of a pocket veto?

A) It can be used by a president only once during a term of office, although a president can use it twice if he or she serves two terms.
B) It can only be used when Congress adjourns for the session within ten days of the bill being submitted to the president.
C) It means that the legislation cannot be reintroduced in the next Congress.
D) It was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1936.
E) It's a veto in which the president does not send a veto message back to Congress.

Question 10

When a president receives a bill, which of the following is true?

A) The president can do nothing, and in ten days, if Congress is still in session the bill becomes law without his or her signature.
B) The president can do nothing, and if Congress goes out of session, the bill does not become law.
C) The president can sign it, and it becomes law.
D) The president can veto it.
E) All of these are correct.

Question 11

When no presidential candidate receives a majority of the electoral vote, which of the following occurs?

A) The current president serves two additional years, and then another general election is held.
B) The candidate who receives a plurality of the vote is elected.
C) Electors cast a second ballot to determine who is elected.
D) The election is decided by the House of Representatives.
E) The election goes to the Senate, and a majority is needed there.

Question 12

As commander-in-chief, the president has which of the following roles?

A) Is the symbolic leader of the military
B) Acts as the ultimate decision maker in military matters
C) Makes military decisions, but only with the approval of the joint chiefs of staff
D) Has limited authority and needs the secretary of defense's approval
E) Is obligated to meet with the joint chiefs of staff, and usually takes their advice

Question 13

During the course of the nineteenth century, the job of the chief executive grew accordingly, but remained essentially focused on which two areas?

A) Expansion and domestic policy
B) National defense and economic growth
C) Economic growth and technological growth
D) Social issues and educational opportunities
E) National defense and illegal immigration

Question 14

Which of the following individuals is constitutionally qualified to be president?

A) George, 40 years old, born in Florida but has spent his entire life in Cuba
B) John, 32 years old, who was born on an American military base in Germany where his parents were stationed
C) Abigail, 61 years old, born in Great Britain, but who is a naturalized U.S. citizen
D) James, 37 years old, born in Texas of Mexican parents
E) Alexander, 57 years old, who isn't a U.S. citizen, but who has been a legal alien in the United States for 25 years

Question 15

Which of the following amendments to the U.S. Constitution establishes procedures for filling presidential and vice presidential vacancies and makes provisions for presidential incapacity?

A) Eleventh
B) Fourteenth
C) Nineteenth
D) Twenty-First
E) Twenty-Fifth

Question 16

Which of the following was the only U.S. president to resign from office?

A) Gerald Ford
B) Richard Nixon
C) Andrew Jackson
D) Bill Clinton
E) Jimmy Carter

Question 17

The granting of release from punishment for a crime is called which of the following?

A) A reprieve
B) A congressional sanction
C) A pardon
D) Executive privilege
E) Impeachment

Question 18

Because a president in his or her second term cannot seek reelection, the president is commonly referred to as which of the following?

A) Yellow dog
B) Cooked goose
C) Cooked duck
D) Lame duck
E) Dead dog

Question 19

Treaties are subject to which of the following before becoming legally binding?

A) Judicial review by the Supreme Court
B) Ratification by a majority of the states
C) Ratification by a majority of both houses of Congress
D) Ratification by a two-thirds majority in the Senate
E) Ratification by a majority of the states and by a majority of both houses of Congress

Question 20

Which of the following people, a Revolutionary War hero who the Framers had in mind for the office of the presidency, helped shape the idea of what a president should be?

A) George Washington
B) Alexander Hamilton
C) Thomas Jefferson
D) James Madison
E) John Adams

Question 21

Which of the following is true of executive privilege?

A) It involves the ability of the president and executive branch officials to withhold certain information from Congress and the courts.
B) It means that members of the executive branch cannot be prosecuted for official acts.
C) It has been applied to the president's use of the pocket veto.
D) It allows the president discretion in making political appointments.
E) It was ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1974.

Question 22

The Constitution does not give the president the power to do which of the following?

A) Veto legislation
B) Convene sessions of Congress
C) Declare war
D) Serve as commander-in-chief of the military
E) Serve as administrative head of the nation

Question 23

The main function of the president's cabinet is to do which of the following?

A) Draft the federal budget and submit it to Congress for approval
B) Write federal regulations
C) Provide information regarding proposed legislation by testifying before Congress
D) Provide leadership in the event the president is unable to perform his duties
E) Provide advice to the president to aid in decision making

Question 24

Which of the following is true of executive orders?

A) They are merely opinions and have no force of law.
B) They are part of a president's executive power.
C) They have only been in effect since 1992.
D) They are part of a president's legislative power.
E) They are part of a president's judicial power.

Question 25

Which of the following best describes signing statements?

A) They are provided to the Supreme Court for all cases that involve the federal government.
B) They are used in place of the pocket veto and may be presented to either the Senate or the House of Representatives.
C) They accompany legislation and allow the president to point out sections of the law the president sees as unconstitutional.
D) They are the official forms designating approval of the submitted budget.
E) They are copies of the final legislation provided to the individual states.

Question 26

Presidents have been able to expand the power of the executive branch through which of the following provisions of the Constitution?

A) The necessary and proper clause
B) The general vestment of executive authority
C) The "Take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed" provision
D) The appointment of federal officials and judges
E) Presidential powers

Question 27

Presidential powers expressly given to the president by the Constitution are called which of the following?

A) Constitutional powers
B) Statutory powers
C) Established powers
D) Inherent powers
E) Emergency powers

Question 28

Who brings charges in the impeachment process, and where is the impeachment trial held?

A) The attorney general; the Senate
B) The House of Representatives; the Senate
C) The House of Representatives; the U.S. Supreme Court
D) The Senate; the House of Representatives
E) Both houses of Congress; the Supreme Court

Question 29

A written declaration that a president may make when signing a bill into law is known as which of the following?

A) Executive order
B) Executive agreement
C) Executive privilege
D) Signing declaration
E) Signing statement

Question 30

President Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909) said that because presidents can use the office to make a public argument for or against a policy, they have which of the following?

A) A bully pulpit
B) A dictatorship
C) A fireside chat
D) An imperial presidency
E) An international platform

Question 31

The president has the power to appoint all of the following positions with the exception of which of the following?

A) Federal District Court and Court of Appeals judges
B) Ambassadors
C) Cabinet members
D) Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives
E) U.S. Supreme Court justices

Question 32

Before a treaty can go into effect, which of the following must occur?

A) It must be submitted to the United Nations for approval.
B) It must be ratified by the Supreme Court.
C) It must be approved by three-fourths of the state governments.
D) It must be approved by a two-thirds vote in the Senate.
E) It must be approved by a majority vote in both houses of Congress.

Question 33

Executive privilege was limited by the Supreme Court as a consequence of which of the following?

A) The Clinton sex scandal
B) The Sedition Act
C) The Watergate scandal
D) World War II
E) The failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq

Question 34

The president, in his capacity as head of state, is responsible for which of the following?

A) Determining the countries with which the United States will have diplomatic relations
B) Engaging in activities that are largely symbolic or ceremonial in nature
C) Sending troops into combat
D) Leading the legislative process by submitting legislation
E) Administering the laws

Question 35

The president's power to recognize or not recognize a foreign government is what type of recognition?

A) Ratification
B) Ambassadorial
C) International
D) Diplomatic
E) Nonpartisan

Question 36

Going on official state visits to other countries, decorating war heroes, and dedicating parks are all examples of the president's role as which of the following?

A) Chief legislator
B) Chief diplomat
C) Commander-in-chief
D) Head of state
E) Chief executive

Question 37

Which of the following is true of members of the cabinet?

A) They are friends of the president that he or she invites to conferences on specific issues.
B) They are expressly identified in the Constitution.
C) They are all department secretaries who oversee administrative functions for the president.
D) The cabinet may include the vice president and other advisors if the president chooses to include them.
E) They are limited to one presidential term and must then leave government service.

Question 38

In the history of the United States, which of the following has never occurred?

A) The president was impeached and acquitted.
B) The president died while in office.
C) The president was impeached and convicted.
D) The president resigned.
E) The president was impeached.

Question 39

Which of the following is an example of the president's use of constitutional power?

A) Issuing an executive order
B) Declaring national emergencies
C) Giving a State of the Union message
D) Invoking executive privilege
E) Declaring war

Question 40

In which of the following court cases did the Supreme Court decide that executive privilege is not absolute and must give way when the government needs the information for a trial?

A) Brown v. Board of Education
B) Hamdi v. Rumsfeld
C) Jones v. Clinton
D) Bush v. Gore
E) U.S. v. Nixon

Question 41

In the twenty-first century, the United States has been involved in major military conflicts in which of the following nations?

A) Russia and China
B) Syria and Iran
C) Iraq and Afghanistan
D) Libya and Egypt
E) Crimea and Madagascar

Question 42

Which of the following is true of the Office of Management and Budget?

A) It is now called the Bureau of the Budget.
B) It directly controls the nation's money supply.
C) It publishes the budgets prepared by Congress.
D) It helps the president prepare the annual budget.
E) It is currently in the Department of the Treasury.

Question 43

When President Nixon was elected president in 1971 after promising to remove troops from Vietnam, he actually broadened the conflict to which two neighboring countries?

A) Laos and Cambodia
B) Hanoi and Hong Kong
C) China and Thailand
D) Myanmar and Laos
E) Myanmar and Thailand

Question 44

As vice president under President Obama, which of the following was true of Joe Biden?

A) He kept his personal policy agenda to himself.
B) He was mostly relegated to a ceremonial role.
C) He was the key figure in overseeing American involvement in the Gulf War.
D) He was given significant responsibility for foreign affairs.
E) He did not appear to play a substantial role.

Question 45

After Democrats won control of the House and Senate in 2006, and pushed for the return of all U.S. troops in Iraq, President Bush actually increased the number of troops in an effort called which of the following?

A) The U.S. upsurge
B) Operation intensification
C) The surge
D) American augmentation
E) The international intensification

Question 46

How did President Eisenhower treat the office of vice president during his administration?

A) He decreased its visibility.
B) He increased its responsibility.
C) He believed the office should not be involved in foreign affairs.
D) He ignored the vice president most of the time.
E) He treated it the same as other presidents had done in the past.

Question 47

Which of the following is true of the Executive Office of the President?

A) It assists the president in carrying out major duties.
B) It is an advisory group made up of the heads of the fifteen major government departments.
C) It includes the National Security Agency.
D) It helps control the nation's money supply.
E) It is led by the Speaker of the House.

Question 48

Dwight D. Eisenhower instituted a more formal staff structure in the White House, starting with the appointment of Sherman Adams as the first person to hold which of the following positions?

A) Cabinet secretary
B) Chief of staff
C) Foreign policy advisor
D) Political director
E) Special prosecutor

Question 49

In 2011, President Obama announced the death of Osama bin Laden, who had coordinated the 9/11 attacks. Bin Laden had been killed in which of the following countries?

A) Iraq
B) Afghanistan
C) Iran
D) Syria
E) Pakistan

Question 50

To combat the Great Depression, Franklin Roosevelt was able to get Congress to pass legislation that matched his vision that radically altered the size of the federal government. This legislative program was known as which of the following?

A) The Cold War
B) The Great Society
C) The New Deal
D) The New Frontier
E) Reconstruction

Question 51

One of the measurements of presidential leadership is whether the president can have which of the following passed by Congress?

A) Their economic theories
B) Their preferred policies
C) Their cabinet appointees
D) Their negotiated treaties
E) Their executive orders

Question 52

In 1973, Congress passed which of the following that says the president cannot send troops into military conflict for more than sixty days without seeking a formal declaration of war from Congress?

A) National Security Act
B) Omnibus Act
C) Paris Peace Accords
D) Tonkin Gulf Resolution
E) War Powers Act

Question 53

Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, President Bush claimed exemption from which of the following rules on the treatment and detainment of prisoners?

A) War Powers Act
B) Geneva Convention
C) Paris Peace Accords
D) Tonkin Gulf Resolution
E) Omnibus Act

Question 54

Which of the following is used to instruct federal employees to take a specific action or implement a policy in a particular way?

A) Executive order
B) Military order
C) Presidential platform
D) Proclamation
E) Signing statement

Question 55

In 1964, Congress passed which of the following, allowing President Johnson to "take all necessary measures" to prevent further aggression?

A) War Powers Act
B) Geneva Convention
C) Paris Peace Accords
D) Tonkin Gulf Resolution
E) Omnibus Act

Question 56

During the early years of his administration, President Clinton gave a large amount of responsibility in which of the following fields to his wife, First Lady Hillary Clinton?

A) Education
B) Health care
C) Drug addiction
D) Mental health
E) All of these are correct.

Question 57

To whom does the Constitution give the power to declare war?

A) The president
B) The states
C) The secretary of defense
D) The attorney general
E) Congress

Question 58

The Constitution gives the vice president which of the following?

A) The job of presiding over the Senate and voting in case of a tie
B) Many responsibilities independent of presidential authority
C) The job of chief of staff to the president
D) The right to use the veto power, with presidential approval
E) The job of presiding over the Senate and voting in case of a tie, and the right to use the veto power, with presidential approval

Question 59

Which of the following Supreme Court decisions in 2004 rejected attempts to deny habeas corpus protections to an enemy combatant who was a U.S. citizen because federal law prohibits such denial to U.S. citizens?

A) Bowdimaine v. Bush
B) Hamdan v. Rumsfeld
C) Hamdi v. Rumsfeld
D) United States v. Nixon
E) Youngstown Sheet and Tube v. Sawyer

Question 60

Although the First Lady has no formal responsibilities, Eleanor Roosevelt was seen as a strong advocate in which of the following areas?

A) Civil rights
B) Temperance
C) Mental health
D) Physical health and fitness
E) Literacy

Question 61

What do Americans expect from the spouse of the president?

Question 62

What are inherent powers? Give some examples of how they have been implemented by presidents in the years since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

Question 63

Discuss the types of veto power the president has, and what checks Congress has if the president exercises the veto.

Question 64

Describe the evolution of the president's wartime powers, providing examples from various military activities throughout American history.

Question 65

In order to guarantee civil rights to all Americans, President Lyndon Johnson worked with Congress to pass which of the following acts?

A) The Civil Rights Act of 1964
B) The Voting Rights Act of 1965
C) The Fair Housing Act of 1968
D) The Economic Opportunity Act of 1964
E) All of these are correct.

Question 66

Explain the pattern of presidential succession and the policies established by the Twenty-Fifth Amendment.

Question 67

Provide a detailed explanation of the case for presidential term limits. Include a discussion of the history that led up to the passage of the Twenty-Second Amendment.

Question 68

Explain how the president can use what Theodore Roosevelt called "the bully pulpit."

Question 69

During the New Deal, Franklin Roosevelt worked with Congress to pass a number of acts and new government programs to help the economy. These programs included which of the following?

A) The Securities and Exchange Commission
B) The National Labor Relations Board
C) The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
D) The Social Security program
E) All of these are correct.

Question 70

By the end of his administration, Lyndon Johnson's relationship with the press was downright hostile due to which of the following?

A) His handling of the Vietnam War
B) His views on civil rights
C) Passage of the Medicare and Medicaid programs
D) Passage of the School Lunch Program
E) All of these are correct.

Question 71

One area where President Roosevelt was unsuccessful in passing legislation was in his attempt to do which of the following?

A) Put the motion picture industry under government control
B) Add 200,00 troops to the U.S. Army between 1933 and 1936
C) Make radios mandatory in every American home
D) Add additional justices to the Supreme Court who shared his beliefs
E) Guarantee $50/week to every American

Question 72

How do political polarization in Congress and divided government affect the success with which the president pursues his agenda?

Question 73

Explain the pardoning power of the president.

Question 74

Describe the executive offices that support the president.

Question 75

Explain executive orders, detailing their powers and usage, and contrast this idea with that of signing statements.

Question 76

Which of the following presidents mounted an aggressive campaign to scale back federal programs that provided benefits to individuals?

A) Franklin D. Roosevelt
B) George H. W. Bush
C) Richard Nixon
D) Ronald Reagan
E) Lyndon Johnson

Question 77

Discuss the characteristics commonly shared by U.S. presidents, and discuss the prospects for deviation from the norm.

Question 78

Who created the position of White House press secretary, in part because of his media savvy?

A) John F. Kennedy
B) Richard Nixon
C) Dwight D. Eisenhower
D) George W. Bush
E) Franklin D. Roosevelt

Question 79

Describe the difference between the president's role as chief diplomat and head of state. Provide examples to support your argument.

Question 80

Which of the following jobs programs was created during Franklin Roosevelt's presidency?

A) Civilian Conservation Corps
B) Works Progress Administration
C) Public Works Administration
D) Civil Works Administration
E) All of these are correct.