Deck 4: Constitutional Democracy: Models of Representation

Question 1

Thomas Jefferson was more worried about the potential for abuse in majority rule than Alexander Hamilton.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The modern system of democracy is based on a single model, developed centuries ago.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

John Calhoun favored a system that would allow the federal government to dictate policies to the states.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Federalism in the United States today is stronger than it originally was.

Question 5

Which country has the modern world's first, and oldest, constitutional democracy?

A) The United States
B) France
C) Russia
D) Israel
E) Britain

Question 6

What tool enables branches of government to resist any illegitimate expansion of power by other branches?

A) Dual federalism
B) Checks and balances
C) Supremacy Clause
D) Bicameralism
E) Brokered democracy

Question 7

Hudson's four models represent actual democracies.

Question 8

Constitutional democracies stress order and a political economy above all else.

Question 9

In order to be considered a democracy, a government must function openly and according to a clear set of rules.

Question 10

Alexander Hamilton's vision of a strong central government is the model for our U.S. Constitution.

Question 11

The principle of due process is guaranteed by the Fifth and Thirteenth Amendments to the Constitution.

Question 12

President Franklin Roosevelt (FDR) tried to reverse the growing power of the federal government with a program called "new federalism."

Question 13

What term describes the concept of a form of government ruled by active citizens rather than elected/appointed officials?

A) Constitutional democracy
B) Republic
C) Direct democracy
D) Segmented democracy
E) Tyranny of the majority

Question 14

The Founding Fathers were driven by a mix of idealism and realism.

Question 15

Madison's plan to stop partisan factions from selfishness was to arm government with checks and balances,
separation of powers, and federalism.

Question 16

Which question(s) does Katz think is crucial in the design of democratic systems?

A) Are there minorities that need to be protected from the majority?
B) Do key groups in society trust and respect one another?
C) Does the threat to democracy come mainly from the rulers or the masses?
D) Are voters sufficiently educated and motivated to make political decisions?
E) Are equality and social justice central goals?

Question 17

Cosmopolitan democracy presupposes that the nation-state is less important in an age when we are all citizens of the world.

Question 18

A crosscutting cleavage leaves one entity cut off from all others.

Question 19

Which of the following is an idea inherent in a constitutional democracy?

A) The majority always gets its way.
B) Government should be responsive, limited, and effective.
C) Ineffective government is an unavoidable side-effect.
D) There should be a popularly elected head of state.
E) The majority is never morally correct.

Question 20

Constitutions are necessary to safeguard majority rule.

Question 21

Which of the following best describes the theory of federalism?

A) A division of power between a national government and its regional subdivisions
B) A division of power between a state government and its respective agencies
C) The fundamental structure of constitutional democracy
D) A state that promotes a strong central (federal) government
E) A safeguard against the dangers of decentralization

Question 22

In establishing the American democratic republic, the Founding Fathers borrowed from the works of all of the following earlier thinkers EXCEPT

A) Thomas Hobbes
B) Alexis de Tocqueville
C) Jean-Jacques Rousseau
D) Niccolò Machiavelli
E) Baron de Montesquieu

Question 23

Which of the following is the closest to a practicable model of direct democracy?

A) Participatory democracy
B) Pluralist democracy
C) Presidential democracy
D) Developmental democracy
E) Protective democracy

Question 24

What is essential to the success of any government?

A) History
B) Democratic principles
C) Symbolism and ritual
D) Tradition and strong leadership
E) Continuity and stability

Question 25

Contemporary political scientists often refer to which of the following as the first prominent exponent of a pluralist model of democracy?

A) John Calhoun
B) Thomas Jefferson
C) Alexander Hamilton
D) John Quincy Adams
E) John Adams

Question 26

Which of the following leaders was the biggest champion of majority rule?

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

Question 27

Reserved powers are protected by which Amendment?

A) Sixth Amendment
B) Eighth Amendment
C) Tenth Amendment
D) Thirteenth Amendment
E) Fourteenth Amendment

Question 28

How does federalism help safeguard civil and political liberties?

A) By employing checks and balances
B) By building a unitary system of government
C) By invoking the Supremacy Clause
D) By implementing the theory of dual Federalism
E) By limiting the scope of national government

Question 29

What term is used to define the winner of an election as the candidate with the most votes?

A) Majority
B) Simple majority
C) Virtual majority
D) Plurality
E) Distributive winner

Question 30

Which of the following terms best describes the U.S. government today?

A) Participatory democracy
B) Pluralist democracy
C) Presidential democracy
D) Developmental democracy
E) Protective democracy

Question 31

What was the legislative body of the United States was designed to be?

A) Tyranny of the majority
B) Parliamentary
C) Bicameral
D) Cosmopolitan Democracy
E) Unicameral

Question 32

Which of the following landmark rules of law was achieved in seventeenth century Britain?

A) The Magna Carta
B) The Habeas Corpus Act
C) Tyranny of the Majority Rule
D) No Taxation without Representation
E) The Separation of Powers Act

Question 33

Which of the following best represents the ideas of John Locke?

A) Meaningful freedom could not exist without written laws.
B) The rule of law was unacceptable because it suppressed individual freedoms.
C) Government must be free to function without restrictions.
D) The seventeenth century saw limited advances in the rule of law.
E) Reason is always influenced by passion.

Question 34

What is meant by Alexis de Toqueville's term, "tyranny of the majority"?

A) When minority groups assert their interests over those of the majority
B) When presidents ignore the desires of the majority of citizens
C) When terrorists use threats or violence to force their will on a population
D) When a dominant group uses its control of government to trample the rights of minority groups
E) When those not in power attempt to seize control of the government

Question 35

Which of the following factors has made some critics wonder if democracy is obsolete?

A) The rise of new information technologies
B) The lack of a new model of authoritarian capitalism
C) The decline of the global economy
D) The decreasing rates of voter participation
E) The increasing prevalence of majority rule