Deck 7: The Presidency

Question 1

What did the national government lack under the Articles of Confederation that suggested the need for a strong executive?

A) the ability to create a budget
B) the ability to veto a bill
C) the ability to negotiate treaties
D) the ability to respond quickly to emergencies

Answer 1

the ability to respond quickly to emergencies

Question 2

The Founders created a system of __________ to prevent a powerful monarchy.

A) concentric power
B) equal power
C) shared powers
D) diminishing power

Answer 2

shared powers

Question 3

In the early years of the Republic, American citizens harbored fears about a new system of government that included a federal executive. What was key to reassuring the public that the president would not become a powerful monarch akin to the British king from whom they had just broken away?

A) Essays were published under the pseudonym Cato assuring citizens that a president could be impeached if necessary.
B) Citizens had faith that George Washington would not abuse his authority.
C) The framers revised the Constitution to include a strong legislative branch of government.
D) The framers held meetings with citizens to answer questions about the Constitution.

Answer 3

Citizens had faith that George Washington would not abuse his authority.

Question 4

What is prerogative power?

A) The president has limited powers according to the Constitution, and Congress has the right to rein him in when he oversteps his bounds.
B) Legislative politics are secondary to the president's decisions because he or she alone has the right to act independently for the public good.
C) Although government should be centered on legislative politics, executives should be able to act when the law is silent and when necessary for the public good.
D) The president and Congress must work together on every issue and reach an agreement through compromise, as neither has the right to act alone.

Question 5

The framers designed the Constitution so that Congress would share power with _________________.

A) the bureaucracy
B) the vice president
C) the president
D) Joint Chiefs of Staff

Question 6

The philosophies of political philosopher John Locke influenced the framers of the Constitution. Although he favored limited government, Locke also was a proponent of __________, which bestows discretionary executive powers upon the presidency.

A) judicial authority
B) prerogative power
C) the personal presidency
D) the articles of impeachment

Question 7

What is the term used to describe the presidency as working collectively?

A) imperial presidency
B) institutional presidency
C) rotational presidency
D) parliamentary presidency

Question 8

Which shaped the modern presidency and gave birth to the welfare state?

A) the beginning of television
B) the Great Society
C) the New Deal
D) Reconstruction

Question 9

What is one of the reasons the Whig model of presidential powers began to erode by the end of the nineteenth century?

A) Changes in foreign and domestic affairs led to calls for strong executive leadership.
B) The United States was not yet a central player in world affairs.
C) Presidents believed they should not be the center of government.
D) Citizens began to fear that presidents were becoming too powerful.

Question 10

How has the rise of the institutional presidency altered congressional-presidential relations in the modern era?

A) Congressional staffing has increased more than presidential support staff, shifting the balance of power in favor of Congress.
B) The increase in presidential support staff has left the president with fewer responsibilities, making Congress more powerful.
C) The increase in presidential support staff has tipped the balance of power in favor of the presidency.
D) The complexity of executive branch staffing has reduced the president's influence in the policy process in comparison with congressional influence.

Question 11

Which of the following explains changes in the job of the vice president?

A) During the age of the nuclear missiles, many Americans believed that there should not be any learning curve for new presidents.
B) In 1848, Daniel Webster outlined additional roles that should become part of the vice presidency to make it a more significant office.
C) As the United States became a more global power, a need arose for the vice president to take on additional responsibilities
D) Based on the poor results of nine vice presidents assuming the presidency, initiatives have been taken so vice presidents spend more time with the president to be better prepared to take over the presidency if needed.

Question 12

How has the office of vice president changed over the years?

A) The vice president is no longer trusted as vice presidents were in the past.
B) The vice president, who once was highly involved, is now frozen out of the policymaking process.
C) The vice president has been more involved in the policymaking process in recent years than in the past.
D) The vice presidency has become a prerequisite for the presidency.

Question 13

What distinguishes the modern presidency from the institution originally envisioned by the framers of the Constitution?

A) The modern presidency has become the central focus of American politics since the 1930s, supplanting Congress as the "first branch" of government.
B) The modern presidency is less involved in the development of foreign policy than the framers intended.
C) Modern presidents exhibit a greater level of deference to Congress in budgetary matters than the framers intended.
D) Modern presidents are more cautious in promoting their legislative agendas than the framers intended.

Question 14

The president may seek the advice of the __________ regarding how much the administration should propose to spend for each government program.

A) National Security Council
B) House Ways and Means Committee
C) Office of Management and Budget
D) Treasury Department

Question 15

Which statement about first ladies is correct?

A) Abigail Adams was politically active during her husband's presidency.
B) Eleanor Roosevelt limited her role to informal, behind-the-scenes activities.
C) Hillary Clinton, although since becoming politically active, played a limited role while her husband was president.
D) Michelle Obama has been her husband's confidant but has had limited involvement in policy debates.

Question 16

According to some political scientists, which of the following leadership abilities is central to presidential success?

A) the ability to enter into executive agreements
B) the ability to write legislation
C) the ability to persuade members of Congress and the public
D) the ability to negotiate treaties

Question 17

If you lived in the first quarter of the twentieth century, the president at the time most likely subscribed to which model to define his powers?

A) stewardship
B) Whig
C) New Deal
D) institutional

Question 18

A president may use informal power in which of the following cases?

A) negotiating a treaty
B) presenting the state of the union address
C) discussing legislation with key members of Congress
D) appointing an ambassador to Brazil

Question 19

The first First Lady to make her role more public was __________.

A) Michelle Obama
B) Hillary Clinton
C) Abigail Adams
D) Eleanor Roosevelt

Question 20

Since Franklin Roosevelt, presidents have used radio and later television to reach the American people. Which of the presidents was dubbed by the press as the "Great Communicator"?

A) Harry Truman
B) Richard Nixon
C) Ronald Reagan
D) George W. Bush

Question 21

In which of the following situations did the president share the decision to go to war with Congress rather than acting on his own?

A) Abraham Lincoln ordered a naval blockade on the rebellious southern states.
B) Thomas Jefferson sent the U.S. Navy to fight Barbary pirates.
C) Harry Truman ordered troops to defend South Korea against North Korea.
D) Richard Nixon waged the Vietnam War.

Question 22

What role was George W. Bush performing when he created the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives?

A) chief executive
B) chief diplomat
C) chief legislator
D) chief of staff

Question 23

Which type of executive order would be used to declare a new holiday?

A) Levees
B) Proclamation
C) Presidential decision directive
D) National security directive

Question 24

Which of the following is true of how presidents have exercised their veto power?

A) Harry Truman had the fewest vetoes overridden.
B) Franklin Roosevelt exercised his veto power more than any other president.
C) Barack Obama, John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon Johnson had the lowest percentages of vetoes sustained.
D) Ronald Reagan had more vetoes overridden than Gerald Ford.

Question 25

Which statement regarding the battle over health care reform is true?

A) Bill Clinton made health care reform a priority in his first term, and his proposal for it gained much support in Congress.
B) Senator Edward Kennedy's Health Security Act was passed by Congress but ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
C) Health care reform has been proposed in various forms since the early twentieth century.
D) Barack Obama was the first president to propose health care reform.

Question 26

What role does the presidential veto play in regard to the balance of power?

A) to make the president more powerful than the Congress
B) to limit the powers of the president
C) to make sure that the president has the final say on all matters legislative
D) to incorporate an element of shared power in governance

Question 27

In the role of chief legislator, the president is responsible for which of the following?

A) leading the policymaking process
B) assembling a staff and a Cabinet
C) enforcing laws made by Congress
D) spending money as allocated by Congress

Question 28

What is likely to be the primary motivation for the president in utilizing an executive agreement?

A) to include the Senate in diplomatic activity with foreign leaders
B) to establish an agreement with a foreign government that does not require Senate ratification
C) to demonstrate a bipartisan spirit in passing legislation with Congress
D) to appease party supporters

Question 29

Under which of the following circumstances would the president be most likely to convene Congress?

A) The president wants to appoint a justice for the Supreme Court.
B) The president declares a national day of mourning upon the death of a former president.
C) The Congress has gone on strike and refuses to convene itself.
D) The president seeks a declaration of war on a foreign country that has attacked the United States militarily.

Question 30

Robert Dallek suggested that pragmatism, consensus building, charisma, trustworthiness, and __________ are five qualities usually found in effective presidents.

A) vision
B) strength
C) intelligence
D) empathy

Question 31

Which term describes the presence of mounting expectations placed on the president by the public?

A) presidential mandate
B) going public
C) institutional presidency
D) personal presidency

Question 32

Which president placed the presidency at the center of American governance?

A) Ronald Reagan
B) Abraham Lincoln
C) Harry S. Truman
D) Franklin D. Roosevelt

Question 33

As a result of the Watergate scandal, Richard Nixon __________.

A) was impeached by the House of Representatives
B) was prosecuted for felonies in the Senate
C) resigned to avoid impeachment and a Senate trial
D) became the only president to be impeached

Question 34

A president's approval ratings can be affected by numerous factors. Which of the following statements describes trends in presidential approval?

A) Once a president's approval ratings begin to decline, the trend is irreversible.
B) Presidents usually have high approval ratings at the beginning of their term of office.
C) Historically, presidents experience higher ratings in their second term.
D) Individual events seldom have a noticeable effect on presidential approval ratings.