Deck 13: Morality Politics

Question 1

As the Scopes Trial revealed,

A) monkeys proved to be the source of HIV-AIDS.
B) sometimes the opinions of scientists and the educated elite are sharply at odds with that of the majority of average citizens.
C) Curious George was a smart little monkey.
D) science teachers don't always follow the curriculum set by the state Board of Education.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following statements is true regarding moral arguments?

A) Both sides in a moral debate generally have enough support in a state or community to make them equally useful when discussion policy.
B) Typically, only one side in a morality policy debate makes a moral argument.
C) The most dominant moral arguments in American policy debates have statistical support and are steeped in fact-based logic.
D) It is clear that certain advocates are able to make their moral arguments relevant in any policy debate while others are not.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

In 1925, which of the following dealt with the issue of evolution?

A) Scopes Trial
B) Roe v. Wade
C) Curious George v. Doe .
D) The Trial of Sacco and Venzenti

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Which of the following statement is NOT true regarding morality policy compared to other public policies?

A) Most public policy is primarily about distributing economic costs, whereas morality policy generally has little economic impact.
B) Morality policy is about government support of one set of values at the expense of another set of values.
C) Morality policy debates are usually about the means to achieve a policy goal, rather than the ultimate goal.
D) Moral divisions are so basic to debaters' identities over questions of morality policy that they often cannot even agree to disagree.

Question 5

French observer Alexis de Tocqueville considered _______________ to be America's first political institution.

A) state legislatures
B) governors
C) state courts
D) religion

Question 6

Morality policy tends to

A) contain questions about whether a policy will work or not.
B) depress public interest in politics.
C) be less technical than other policies.
D) have complex arguments.

Question 7

Which of the following is NOT a reason why morality policy is difficult to implement?

A) Policy makers give less thought to how a morality policy will actually work.
B) In reality, the bans implemented by morality policies only increase the cost of engaging in certain activities.
C) The people charged with enforcing the policies may not share their advocates' zeal for them.
D) Morality policies are written to solve specific problems.

Question 8

Which of the following is a prominent way that most American politicians invoke morality policy today?

A) Leading the public in prayer
B) Regularly appealing to religious morality in their speeches
C) Infidelity
D) Encouraging prayer in public schools

Question 9

Which of the following is generally NOT true regarding morality policy and the use of statewide initiatives?

A) The clear relationship of an argument to a person's basics values can lead to excitement about the issue.
B) The simplicity of the arguments allows virtually anyone to be well informed.
C) Having a morality policy initiative on the ballot can turn off voters, thus decreasing election turnout.
D) Morality initiatives can change the nature of a candidate's election.

Question 10

Which of the following is central to morality policy making?

A) Legislators
B) Interest groups
C) Governors
D) Religious extremists

Question 11

The source of much violence that sometimes accompanies morality politics can be traced back to

A) fact-based opposition with high citizen support.
B) media bias for moral-based arguments.
C) a lack of news coverage on a particular issue.
D) frustration with the political process in America.

Question 12

What group of people are the main activists for morality policy issues?

A) Senior citizens
B) Conservatives
C) Catholics
D) Deeply religious adherents

Question 13

Many early settlers in what would become the United States believed that public policy in the states ought to outlaw

A) free education.
B) property trespassing.
C) racial discrimination.
D) violations of basic religious principles.

Question 14

Which of the following is NOT accurate regarding the unique features of morality policy politics?

A) People who form and join interest groups working on morality policy are often motivated by economic reasons.
B) Morality policy making tends to attract interest groups with a broad, comprehensive focus.
C) Frustration with the political process is common in morality politics.
D) When a strong morality policy becomes law, it is often difficult to enforce.

Question 15

In which state was biology teacher John Scopes convicted of violating state law by discussing the theory of evolution with his high school students?

A) Ohio
B) Indiana
C) Kentucky
D) Tennessee

Question 16

Which of the following is a typical characteristic of morality policy interest groups?

A) Morality policy interest groups tend to be non-religious and disinterested in public policy.
B) Most morality-based interest groups are driven by a single issue.
C) Morality policy interest groups tend to mobilize their members to work indirectly in the religious arena.
D) Often, members of morality policy interest groups simply write checks and let lobbyists do most of the work.

Question 17

Which of the following stirs up public debate over the basic values that help define our personal identities?

A) Ethical policies
B) Morality policies
C) Election policies
D) Belief policies

Question 18

Which of the following is NOT typically considered to be a morality policy issue?

A) Gambling
B) Pornography
C) Taxation
D) Abortion

Question 19

What is the most common source for moral arguments against a particular behavior?

A) State constitutions
B) Religious documents
C) U.S. Constitution
D) Magna Carta

Question 20

What issue was at the center of the political assassination of Dr. George Tiller in Kansas?

A) Abortion rights
B) Same-sex civil unions
C) Alcohol regulations
D) Immigration reform

Question 21

Morality policy advocates can be successful in reshaping a policy when their arguments are

A) less about absolute moral values and more about incremental, instrumental problems.
B) deeply compelling to a targeted interest group.
C) focused on the scriptures found in the Old Testament.
D) in line with the religious convictions of state legislators.

Question 22

A state's abortion regulations largely reflect the

A) decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court.
B) basic values of those who live there.
C) number of abortions performed in the state.
D) opinions of key elected officials, such as the governor.

Question 23

One problematic characteristic of morality policy politics is that

A) morality-based laws are often difficult to enforce.
B) Americans are uninterested in morality politics.
C) even with sufficient resources and policy-making knowledge, morality-based interest groups have not made a significant impact on public policy.
D) legislators ignore morality-based politics because of its effects on election results.

Question 24

Which of the following is NOT true regarding post- Roe abortion politics?

A) Post- Roe abortion politics began with pro-life forces trying to ban the procedure outright in their state legislatures.
B) As the 1970s progressed, pro-life reformers grew tired of symbolic victories and began chipping away incrementally on an abortion's availability.
C) Pro-life groups eventually tapped into their sympathizers' moral outrage by engaging in extensive direct political action to stop abortions, often one procedure at a time.
D) In 1976 the U.S. Supreme Court struck down all seven of Missouri's new abortion restrictions as unconstitutional, thus discouraging states to pass more restrictions.

Question 25

Most potential morality policy issues are

A) constantly being debated.
B) pushed aside by legislators.
C) not on the active political agenda at any given time.
D) highly complex and almost never visible to the public.

Question 26

When policy making is so balanced that little policy debate or change occurs, it is known as

A) policy equilibrium.
B) policy shock.
C) halted policy.
D) even-handed politics.

Question 27

What is one of the unique factors regarding the start of the morality policy debate on same-sex marriage?

A) Both opponents and proponents of same-sex marriage were taken by surprise when the issue was thrust into the limelight.
B) Opponents had been fighting to keep same-sex marriage illegal, but lost significantly when it was legalized in several states.
C) Gay rights groups had continually pursued same-sex marriage policies, but never considered they would have so many statewide victories at the polls.
D) The U.S. Supreme Court, as with abortion regulations, ignited the initial spark in the debate.

Question 28

In recent years, in an effort to ban all abortions, a few states have

A) tried to define a fetus as a person.
B) outlawed private abortion clinics.
C) defunded Planned Parenthood clinics.
D) given rights to the father of a fetus.

Question 29

When something happens to ether change public opinion or public policy, thus upsetting the balance between them, it is known as a(n)

A) policy shock.
B) agenda change.
C) policy disruption.
D) political mess.

Question 30

A Pigouvian approach to minimizing minor 'sin' might be

A) placing an excise tax on cigarettes.
B) charging gamblers a negative externality when they enter a casino.
C) allowing abortion clinics to use public hospitals.
D) considering all behaviors to be morally reprehensible.

Question 31

The 1973 U. S. Supreme Court decision regarding the regulation of state abortion laws is commonly referred to as

A) Roe v. Wade .
B) Baker v. Carr .
C) Marbury v. Madison .
D) Miranda v. Arizona .

Question 32

Which of the following events regarding abortion regulation thrust the question of abortion-on-demand squarely into public debate?

A) The American Medical Association's ruling that abortion decisions should be made by doctors in order to prevent midwives from performing the procedure.
B) The decision by Sherri Finkbine of Houston, Texas, to make a well-publicized appeal to change a hospital's abortion policy.
C) The U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 ruling, Roe v. Wade , striking down state abortion bans.
D) The Roman Catholic Church's decision to become permanently involved in the morality debate over abortion-on-demand.

Question 33

Since the 1960s, the legal and social status of homosexuals in the United States has

A) improved dramatically, through steady, but quiet, political headway.
B) yet to appear on the agendas of state and local governments.
C) remained relatively constant, with minor gains and losses for advocates of gay rights.
D) substantially decreased, with the Supreme Court upholding various anti-sodomy laws.

Question 34

Which early twentieth century British economist work has informed morality politics by arguing that negative externalities should be regulated with taxation?

A) Chester Arthur
B) Arthur Laffer
C) Arthur Schlesinger
D) Arthur Pigou

Question 35

For the vast majority of all potential moral questions, state and local public policy is in sync with the opinion of the

A) state legislature.
B) state supreme court.
C) majority of the general public.
D) state's elderly population.

Question 36

When a law bans an activity that some see as sinful, it is known as a(n)

A) sin tax.
B) vice law.
C) anti-indulgence law.
D) social offense.

Question 37

Which of the following is true regarding the death penalty in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries?

A) Anti-death penalty reformers refrained from using moral arguments.
B) By 1880, executions were banned in a majority of the states.
C) Reformers found tremendous political success by advocating limits to the death penalty rather than banning it.
D) For each of their arguments, death penalty reformers suggested general, big-ticket changes.

Question 38

What positive moniker did groups opposed to abortion-on-demand adopt in the 1970s?

A) Pro-choice
B) Pro-life
C) Pro-fetus
D) Anti-murder

Question 39

Which of the following is a fairly predictable pattern of how issues come onto the public agenda, how their politics develop, and how they recede from active debate?

A) Issue advocacy
B) Issue growth
C) Issue placement
D) Issue evolution

Question 40

Which of the following morality policy issues has had a major impact on American politics since the 1960s?

A) Same-sex marriage
B) Gambling
C) Prohibition
D) Abortion

Question 41

Which aspect of the Hawaii Supreme Court decision to allow same-sex marriage concerned most states?

A) Its fundamental and moral legality
B) Every state's constitutional requirement to honor legal documents from other state.
C) The spread of same-sex marriage advocates across the nation
D) The reduction in taxable income if all same-sex couples could marry

Question 42

What is one thing that we have not yet seen in the political struggle over same-sex marriage?

A) True marriage among homosexuals being established in a state
B) The use of direct democracy to ban gay marriage
C) Some states and localities granting legal status to same-sex couples
D) Political violence

Question 43

What act allowed an exception to the Full Faith and Credit Clause and provided a definition of marriage according to federal law?

A) Defense of Marriage Act
B) Family Preservation Act
C) Freedom to Choose Act
D) Marriage Protection Act

Question 44

What is one possible explanation for why same-sex marriage bans and public opinion might not always align?

A) The state's legislative referendum process is complex.
B) People lie on public opinion surveys.
C) Citizens are more likely to reject same-sex marriage bans than approve them.
D) Only a few states have held ballot measures on the issue.

Question 45

What has been used extensively and successfully in many states by opponents of gay marriage?

A) Ballot initiatives
B) Legislative lobbying
C) Gubernatorial vetoes
D) State supreme court opinions

Question 46

Describe the characteristics of interest groups involved in morality policy, and then explain what role they play in morality policy debates. Provide examples from your state.

Question 47

Explain three reasons why it is difficult to implement morality policy. Provide at least one example for each reason.

Question 48

What have leaders of anti-same-sex marriage groups advanced as their primary argument?

A) Homosexuality is immoral.
B) Same-sex marriage is similar to abortion.
C) Heterosexual and same-sex couples should not live in the same neighborhoods.
D) Same-sex marriage threatens the institution of heterosexual marriage.

Question 49

Several states, beginning with Oregon in 1994, despite efforts by the Bush Administration, have legalized

A) physician-assisted suicide.
B) parental rights.
C) abortion.
D) under-aged drinking in the presence of a parent.

Question 50

Discuss the process of issue evolution. How do issues come onto the public agenda, how do their politics develop, and how and why do they recede from active debate?

Question 51

Which state was the first to establish, and has yet to repeal, a legal relationship for same-sex couples with all the legal trappings of marriage?

A) Massachusetts
B) Maine
C) Vermont
D) New Jersey

Question 52

How does federalism impact morality policy? Give at least three reasons, making sure to provide examples to illustrate your argument.

Question 53

Describe the origins and development of morality policy in the United States. Do you think the influence of morality policy is more prevalent today than in the past?

Question 54

Which of the following American political institutions helps reduce morality policy rhetoric and conflict?

A) Bicameralism
B) Federalism
C) Local governments
D) State courts