Deck 1: Introduction to State and Local Politics

Question 1

Internal migratory patterns have helped to shape the country's

A)ethnic and racial makeup.
B)political institutions.
C)traditional political culture.
D)individualistic political culture.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The process that people use to determine what their government will do is known as

A)electioneering.
B)politics.
C)mobilization of bias.
D)nationalization of policies.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

At root,every government policy is intended to provide some

A)social welfare.
B)public good.
C)discretionary fund.
D)private gain.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Due to political oppression and the mechanism of agriculture,many African Americans moved north in what is known as the

A)"Trail of Tears."
B)"Great Migration."
C)"March for Freedom."
D)"March on Washington."

Question 5

A political culture that views government as something by the elites and for the elites is known as

A)moralistic political culture.
B)traditionalistic political culture.
C)nativistic political culture.
D)individualistic political culture.

Question 6

The rules,laws,and organizations through which and by which government functions is(are)

A)political culture.
B)federal procedures.
C)political institutions.
D)judicial rulings.

Question 7

In 2012,voters in Maryland upheld the DREAM Act passed by the legislature that would

A)legalize medical marijuana.
B)better the odds of state lotteries.
C)grant children of illegal immigrants instate tuition.
D)eliminate the sales tax on textbooks.

Question 8

Which of the following is NOT an example of how a state's geography can affect its politics?

A)Florida's sunshine and beaches allow it to rely heavily on the sales tax.
B)The politics of Tennessee is divided according to the eastern mountains,the middle farming belt,and the Mississippi River.
C)A century ago,the fertile prairies of Illinois created an economy based heavily on farming.
D)South Carolina's resentment of federal intervention during the Civil War led it to become a magnet for foreign automobile plants in the 1990s.

Question 9

Which of the following is NOT true about the rules and institutions of government?

A)Rules determine things like the power of an official,who can vote in an election,and what a court's jurisdiction is.
B)Rules and institutions in different states are similar to each other.
C)There are institutions,like the direct initiative process,that are still very important to the system,but do not have any physical representation.
D)Political parties and interest groups are considered institutions.

Question 10

The actions that government undertakes to accomplish common tasks are collectively known as

A)federal actions.
B)public policy.
C)judicial review.
D)legislative statutes.

Question 11

An institution by which a geographically defined group of people organize themselves to achieve their common goal is a(n)_.

A)government
B)interest group
C)caucus
D)election

Question 12

Which of the following is NOT true about the social characteristic of America?

A)It refers to the kinds of people that live in a place and the ways in which they are distributed in an area.
B)When immigrants first arrived in America,they tended to cluster together at their ports of origin for at least a generation or two.
C)States with old populations moving in or young populations moving out are less politically active than states with more stable populations.
D)The high population of African Americans in the Southeast is a legacy of slavery in that part of the country.

Question 13

Which of the following is a good example both of the ways government varies among the states and communities and of an institutional reform with significant unintended consequences?

A)Speed limits
B)City limits
C)Credit limits
D)Term limits

Question 14

Which is NOT one of the dominant political cultures of the United States based on the values and attitudes of the original European settlers?

A)Moralistic political culture
B)Traditionalistic political culture
C)Nativistic political culture
D)Individualistic political culture

Question 15

The most common way Americans think about general political values is along a one-dimensional continuum,which political scientists call

A)political efficacy.
B)political ideology.
C)political bias.
D)trust in government.

Question 16

Which of the following defines an individualistic political culture?

A)People who view government as something by the elites and for the elites
B)People who seek their fortunes through business and hard work and don't see any problem with government helping people achieve their personal economic goals
C)People who view government as a means to improve social conditions but discourage citizens from participating in the political process
D)People who view it as a nativistic political culture,but without the ethnocentrism.

Question 17

are the first place to look to understand state and local governments.

A)State constitutions
B)Legislative statutes
C)Gubernatorial powers
D)Municipal codes

Question 18

All of the following are true regarding political ideology and its political impact EXCEPT

A)research shows that individuals who tend to be conservative tend to vote Republican.
B)those states that are more conservative and Republican tend to have policies that we associate with that ideology and party,such as stricter gay rights and gambling regulations.
C)there is no correlation between policy,party,and ideology in Democratic-leaning states across the country.
D)in most states,the ideology of citizens is translated pretty accurately through political parties into public policy.

Question 19

Which of the following regarding wealthy states and communities is NOT true?

A)They tend to tax their citizens at a lower rate than poorer places.
B)They tend to tax their citizens less overall.
C)They tend to provide more and better social services for their citizens.
D)They tend to have higher property taxes to pay for better social services.

Question 20

In many mountain and western states,women

A)are better represented in public office than in southern states.
B)were not able to keep up with the hard frontier life,and now make up less than half the population.
C)did not receive the right to vote until the Nineteenth Amendment was passed.
D)pursued political office,but people in these states were not amenable to women's rights early on.

Question 21

Which method helps to explain politics and policy differences across the states?

A)Layer-cake method
B)Associative method
C)Federalist method
D)Comparative method

Question 22

Briefly discuss how states' social and ethnic diversity impact public policy choices.

Question 23

Describe the many ways state constitutions may differ from the U.S.Constitution.

Question 24

One significant way state constitutions differ from the U.S.Constitution is how they deal with

A)public policy.
B)legislative powers.
C)executive powers.
D)judicial powers.

Question 25

The has been used by political scientists to study the impact of political institutions on people's happiness.

A)analytic method
B)empirical design
C)comparative method
D)creative method

Question 26

Which state can boast of having the lengthiest constitution?

A)New Hampshire
B)Vermont
C)Alabama
D)California

Question 27

What is the comparative method of political analysis? Provide examples of how this method is useful for explaining patterns in politics and policy making.

Question 28

Why might you decide to oppose a particular public policy? Give at least two reasons.