Deck 4: The United States

Question 1

The "new left" and "new right" in American politics describes primarily

A) the emergence of new issues in the past 40 years.
B) the involvement of new and younger people in politics.
C) a realignment of voters.
D) a decline in participation.
E) an abandonment of traditional methods of participation.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The Federalist Papers highlighted the ideas of this philosopher about separating powers.

A) John Locke
B) Thomas Hobbs
C) Aristotle
D) Baron de Montesquieu
E) Rene Descartes

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Until the late __________, most observers thought that the United States was one of the countries most conducive to democracy.

A) 1940s
B) 1950s
C) 1970s
D) 1960s
E) 1930s

Answer 3

D

Question 4

American political culture can best be defined as

A) being dominated by deep ideological divisions.
B) having active participation in political life by most people.
C) containing a general distrust of presidents.
D) holding a widespread desire for limited government.
E) seeing massive political demonstrations leading to the formulation of policy.

Question 5

The arguments in favor of the ratification of the American constitution of 1787 were gathered together and are now known collectively

A) the Declaration of Independence.
B) the Articles of Confederation.
C) the Federalist Papers.
D) the Magna Carta.
E) the Anti-Federalist Papers.

Question 6

One reason that the original governing document of the United States was so weak was because

A) it was drafted by merchants who wanted to control finance.
B) George Washington wanted a weak state so that he could be president.
C) no one believed that a strong state could exist in the world at that time.
D) the colonists had just had a poor experience with a strong British crown.
E) France helped draft the document and the French government at the time was very weak.

Question 7

Which groups emerged in the 1960s and were composed of liberal voters who sought economic equality and protection for the poor, but also introduced the promotion of civil rights and opposition to the Vietnam War?

A) Old Left
B) New Left
C) Old Right
D) New Right
E) Middle

Question 8

The result of the 2012 election was that the __________ party controlled the presidency, the __________ party controlled the House of Representatives and the __________ party controlled the Senate.

A) Democratic; Democratic; Republican
B) Republican; Democratic; Democratic
C) Republican; Republican; Republican
D) Democratic; Democratic; Democratic
E) Republican; Republican; Democratic

Question 9

Your individual right to have whatever religious beliefs you want, free from government interference, is protected by

A) the Declaration of Independence.
B) the First Amendment.
C) checks and balances.
D) the Second Amendment.
E) the United Nations Charter.

Question 10

The biggest crisis of legitimacy of the American constitutional regime was

A) World War I.
B) the Civil War.
C) World War II.
D) the Great Depression.
E) the War of 1812.

Question 11

What is the name for the process America underwent in 2013 whereby across-the-board spending cuts were imposed on the federal government?

A) Individualism
B) Judicial review
C) Federalism
D) Sequestration
E) Fiscal cliff

Question 12

Separation of powers was designed by the authors of the American Constitution to

A) create diversity among the country's political elites.
B) concentrate power in a single institution.
C) distract voters from the creation of a strong central government.
D) prevent domination of government by any single faction.
E) distribute power among the states.

Question 13

Weaknesses in which system led to the creation of a new constitution in 1787?

A) Declaration of Independence
B) Constitution
C) Two Treatises on Government
D) Magna Carta
E) Articles of Confederation

Question 14

All of the following are the key ideas and ideals that the Framers had taken from European roots EXCEPT

A) rights of man.
B) separation of powers.
C) pursuit of life and liberty.
D) pursuit of happiness.
E) judicial review.

Question 15

The idea that America's political system is a product of a uniquely tranquil political history, a supportive political culture, and a weak, fragmented state is known as American

A) individualism.
B) quality.
C) exceptionalism.
D) uniqueness.
E) ingenuity.

Question 16

In__________ Madison advocated concentrating power in larger jurisdictions such as the federal government.

A) Federalist #10
B) Federalist #21
C) Federalist #51
D) Federalist #15
E) Federalist #85

Question 17

The only country that is geographically larger than the United States and has a larger population is

A) Canada
B) China
C) India
D) Russia
E) South Africa

Question 18

American political culture revolves most strongly around

A) a desire to control immoral behavior.
B) guarantees of absolute equality.
C) individualism.
D) high levels of political activism.
E) unquestioning acceptance of social controls.

Question 19

Between 1776 and 1787 the United States was governed under the

A) Constitution.
B) Charter of the United Federation of Planets.
C) Declaration of Independence.
D) Magna Carta.
E) Articles of Confederation.

Question 20

The Federalist Papers were written by

A) Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison
B) Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison
C) James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay
D) John Jay, James Monroe, and Alexander Hamilton
E) Alexander Hamilton, James Munroe, and John Jay

Question 21

What is the term used to describe the packaging of statements or actions in ways that politicians think people will find most attractive, often hiding the real import of the words or activities in the process?

A) Strategic speaking
B) Attention deficit
C) Speaking in code
D) Spin doctoring
E) Layered discussions

Question 22

__________ is the process that America underwent in 2013 whereby across-the-board spending cuts were imposed on the federal government?

Question 23

The American presidential system is different from most parliamentary systems because

A) of the inability of party leadership to force its elected representatives to vote certain ways.
B) the president can get what he wants through Congress easily.
C) all adults have the right to vote in the United States.
D) civil liberties are always respected in the United States.
E) executive power is not separate from legislative power.

Question 24

Durable shifts in the balance of power between party coalitions is known as

A) review.
B) realignment.
C) identification.
D) incrementalism.
E) compromise.

Question 25

Which of the following has NOT been a significant part of American political culture?

A) Widespread questioning of the Constitution
B) Popular acceptance of limited government
C) Strong sense of individualism
D) General satisfaction with leadership
E) Grudging acceptance of new groups into the system

Question 26

Policy making in the United States tends to be

A) quick.
B) effective.
C) incremental.
D) strong.
E) ideological.

Question 27

The United States is structured in such a way that the national government shares power with the state and local governments, a system known by what name?

A) Federal
B) Unitary
C) Confederal
D) National
E) Anarchical

Question 28

If a bill is sent to a congressional committee and the committee chooses not to "take on" the bill, what happens to that bill?

A) It gets assigned to another committee.
B) It goes to the other chamber of Congress for them to assign to a committee.
C) It gets "marked up" by the committee.
D) It must wait ten days, and then be resubmitted to the same committee for a new hearing.
E) It is considered "dead."

Question 29

Which political party was formed as a result of the coming together of several anti-slavery and anti-secession groups to compete in the 1860 presidential election, with Abraham Lincoln as their candidate?

A) Whigs
B) Democrats
C) Republicans
D) Bull Moose
E) Greens

Question 30

Which of the following is NOT terribly important in determining the way representatives and senators vote on bills before them?

A) Their own opinions
B) What they think their constituents want
C) Opinions of lobbyists and campaign contributors
D) Classical themes in political theory
E) What their party leaders want

Question 31

Prior to 1787, the governing document of the United States was the __________.

Question 32

_________movements burst onto the political scene during the campaign for the 2010 mid-term congressional elections.

A) Euroskeptic
B) Greens
C) Anti-Masons
D) The Freedom Party
E) Tea Party

Question 33

__________ is the one thing America currently leads the world in exporting to other countries.

Question 34

A distinguishing feature of American courts that is rare in other liberal democracies is the

A) presumption of defendants' innocence.
B) possibility of judicial review.
C) determination of verdicts by judges alone.
D) presidential control of the courts.
E) government attorneys as prosecutors and defenders.

Question 35

The "checks and balances" system in the United States is based on a(n) __________, which means that usually no one part of the government can act without the possibility of being reversed by another part of the government.

Question 36

__________ is the only industrialized democracy that does not provide at least basic health care coverage for everyone.

A) Canada
B) France
C) Great Britain
D) The United States
E) Italy

Question 37

While the United States is a _____ system, other liberal democracies have __________ states.

A) federal; unitary
B) unitary; federal
C) federal; confederal
D) confederal; unitary
E) federal; confederal

Question 38

The Republican Party generally attracts more votes that the Democratic Party does from all of the following groups EXCEPT

A) men.
B) those over 65.
C) rural voters.
D) whites.
E) environmentalists.

Question 39

According to Mann and Ornstein, __________ played a central role in creating the dysfunctional mess of wasteful spending during Obama's first term.

A) the legislature
B) The Tea Party
C) republicans
D) democrats
E) interest groups

Question 40

More than __________ uninsured Americans have to fend for themselves.

A) 75 million
B) 100 million
C) 25 million
D) 45 million
E) 10 million

Question 41

The __________ party was formed in 1860 with Abraham Lincoln as their candidate?

Question 42

__________ is probably the most powerful political value in American political culture.

Question 43

What do we mean when we talk about American exceptionalism? Do you believe that America is exceptional according to that definition? Why or why not?

Question 44

The authors discuss five factors that can potentially affect the way a member of Congress votes on a piece of legislation. Identify and define three of the five factors. Of the five factors, which of the five factors is more important? Why? Use a specific example to support your argument.

Question 45

The __________ was the biggest crisis of legitimacy of the American constitutional regime.

Question 46

One of the unusual features of the government of the United States is __________, in which a national government shares power with states and local governments.

Question 47

In the 1950s many political scientists critiqued American parties for not having strong enough stances that differed from one another. Today many political scientists critique American parties for having stances that are too rigid and extreme. Which do you prefer and why? Which do you believe leads to better public policy outcomes?

Question 48

There has been significant debate in the United States regarding health care policy, including the need to provide coverage to all. How has the political system shaped the debate? How has it helped or hindered getting new laws passed and implemented to address this issue?

Question 49

Why does America only have two major parties? Do you believe that having two, as opposed to three or five or more major parties is good or bad for the creation of public policy?

Question 50

Identify the two major parties in America and explain what blocs of voters make up each party's typical voting coalition. How have these voting coalitions changed in the past century?

Question 51

Unlike most of the world's industrialized democracies, which rely on a parliamentary form of government, the United States uses a __________ system.

Question 52

The framers intentionally built into the system multiple, overlapping layers of authority so that no one person, group, or party could get everything, referred to as __________.

Question 53

What do we mean when we say that America has a "weak state"? How has America's historical legacies contributed to this weak state?

Question 54

Who are the "New Left" and "New Right" in American politics? Where did they come from? How are their ideas affecting American politics today? Give specific examples.

Question 55

Some analysts argue that Donald Trump's administration will "make America great again," while others are convinced that the president and his team represent a threat to American democracy. Given what you have learned about comparative politics, which of these interpretations do you agree with? More importantly, why did you reach this conclusion?

Question 56

Analysts have often pointed to the civil nature of American politics as a critical factor leading to over a century of stability. Is civil culture still an important contribution to stability here in the United States? What evidence is there for a continuing civil culture today? What evidence is there for a changing civil culture? Do you think the stability or the change is more powerful in the country today? Why?

Question 57

What are two ways in which the U.S. political system is different from that in other industrialized democracies? What is the primary factor that explains each difference?