Political Science 101 - Introduction to American Government and Politics » Fall 2019 » Midterm Exam

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Question #1
Government is defined as an elected body whose job it is to raise revenue and coerce.
A.   TRUE
B.   FALSE
Question #2
What important power did the national government lack under the Articles of Confederation?
A.   It could not conduct foreign affairs.
B.   It could not impose taxes.
C.   It could not coin money.
D.   It could not declare war.
Question #3
Under Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution, specific powers were granted to ______ in order to prevent too much democracy.
A.   The Executive Branch
B.   The Legislative Branch
C.   States
D.   The Judicial Branch
Question #4
British colonists in North America in the late seventeenth century were greatly influenced by the political thought of ________.
A.   Thomas Jefferson
B.   John Locke
C.   King James II
D.   James Madison
Question #5
Which of the following influenced those creating the new Constitution to limit the will of the majority?
A.   Limitations on democracy put in place at the state level.
B.   Threats to private property rights enacted by states.
C.   State restrictions on participation such as voting.
D.   The failure of states to protect debtors after the Revolution.
Question #6
According to the Great Compromise, how would representation in Congress be apportioned?
A.   Each state would have equal representation in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
B.   Congress would be a unicameral legislature with each state receiving equal representation.
C.   Representation in the House of Representatives would be based on each state’s population and every state would have two senators.
D.   Representation in both the House of Representatives and the Senate would be based on a state’s population.
Question #7
The Declaration of Independence is an example of a social contract because the colonists establish that they have rights, explain how the king violated those rights, and demand to revoke and replace the contract.
A.   FALSE
B.   TRUE
Question #8
How did the delegates to the Constitutional Convention resolve their disagreement regarding slavery?
A.   It was agreed that a state’s slave population would be counted for purposes of representation but not for purposes of taxation.
B.   It was agreed that 60 percent of a state’s slave population would be counted for purposes of both representation and taxation.
C.   It was agreed that a state’s slave population would be counted for purposes of taxation but not for purposes of representation.
D.   It was agreed that Congress would abolish slavery in 1850.
Question #9
When writing the Constitution, agreements over security nationalism included giving Congress the power to do all of the following except:
A.   declare war
B.   engage in diplomacy
C.   ratify treaties
D.   raise an army and navy
Question #10
The only difference between John Locke and Thomas Hobbes' idea for a social contract was how much power the government should have.
A.   FALSE
B.   TRUE
Question #11
According to the Tenth Amendment, which of the following could be undertaken by states?
A.   Establish a military
B.   Regulate commerce
C.   Establishing a system of education
D.   Coin money
Question #12
Federalism can be viewed as an important component of eighteenth- century republicanism because it:
A.   Encourages experimentation and innovation in the states
B.   Promotes the principle of political equality
C.   Helps assure greater popular control over government
D.   Provides another way to fragment government power
Question #13
Federalists and anti-federalists disagreed over who should have more power: federalists wanted to give more power to states while anti-federalists favored giving the federal government more control. 
A.   FALSE
B.   TRUE
Question #14
According to the doctrine of _________________, when the national government has acted on a certain subject, the states cannot do anything that might interfere with that action.
A.   Paramount Necessity
B.   Preemption
C.   Devolution
D.   Nullification
Question #15
Which is not a merit of cooperative federalism?
A.   Federal assistance ensures some degree of uniformity of public services across states.
B.   Federal assistance encourages state and local governments to generate positive externalities.
C.   Cooperative federalism respects the traditional jurisdictional boundaries between states and federal government.
D.   Federal cooperation helps mitigate the problem of collective action among states.
Question #16
Federal systems of government are most likely to be found in nations that are:
A.   Wealthy and well educated
B.   About the same age as the United States
C.   Largely agricultural
D.   Large and diverse
Question #17
The American federal system:
A.   Divides power relatively equally among national, state, and local governments
B.   Divides powers between the states and central government and gives each constitutional standing
C.   Gives the national government complete power over states
D.   In theory, gives ultimate sovereignty to the states
Question #18
Even though the Constitution does not specifically give Congress the right to tell private businesses with whom they must do business, the Supreme Court has ruled that Congress does have this authority under the:
A.   Equal Protection Clause
B.   Interstate Commerce Clause
C.   Due Process Clause
D.   Elastic Clause
Question #19
Which factor is most likely to lead to the incumbency advantage for a candidate?
A.   candidate’s socioeconomic status
B.   candidate’s political party
C.   media’s support of the candidate
D.   gerrymandering of the candidate’s district
Question #20
Which of the following makes it easy for a citizen to register to vote?
A.   lengthy residency requirement
B.   grandfather clause
C.   National Voter Registration Act
D.   competency requirement
Question #21
In the movie Electoral Dysfunction, Canada is highighted as an example of how the United States could overcome many voting problems by adopting a national ballot standard.
A.   FALSE
B.   TRUE
Question #22
A winner-take-all election system promotes a two party system because it does not give any representation to anyone besides the candidate with the most vote, which makes a third party candidate a possible spoiler.
A.   FALSE
B.   TRUE
Question #23
What characterizes those most likely to vote in the next election?
A.   over forty-five years old
B.   high school education or less
C.   income under $30,000
D.   residency in the South
Question #24
Which of the following citizens is most likely to run for office?
A.   Maria Trejo, a 28-year-old part-time sonogram technician and mother of two
B.   Jeffrey Lyons, a 40-year-old lawyer and father of one
C.   Linda Tepsett, a 40-year-old full-time orthopedic surgeon
D.   Mark Forman, a 70-year-old retired steelworker
Question #25
Why do Belgium, Turkey, and Australia have higher voter turnout rates than the United States?
A.   more polling locations
B.   more elections
C.   compulsory voting laws
D.   fewer registration laws
Question #26
According the movie Electoral Dysfunction, the US has over 80,000 electoral districts which all utilize different standards and methods to conduct voting in local, state, and national elections.
A.   TRUE
B.   FALSE
Question #27
According to the movie Electoral Dysfunction, voting is a right established in the Constitution.
A.   FALSE
B.   TRUE
Question #28
Which of the following is a reason to make voter registration more difficult?
A.   make the registration process faster
B.   increase voter turnout
C.   decrease the cost of elections
D.   decrease election fraud
Question #29
In the movie Electoral Dysfunction, the example of children in a classroom voting to use either markers or colored pencils best represents the advantages of using the existing electoral college model instead of a popular vote.
A.   TRUE
B.   FALSE
Question #30
Which of the following election procedures would be most advantageous to minority parties?  
A.   Elect members to Congress through a system of proportional representation
B.   Elect members to Congress on a combined ticket with the President
C.   Elect members to Congress under a “first-past-the-post” system  
D.   Elect members to Congress under a single-district, winner-take-all system 
Question #31
Which of the following is an accurate explanation in how voter party identification has changed over time?
A.   Voters are evenly divided between identifying as Republicans and Democrats.
B.   Voters identifying as Independent has declined.
C.   Voters identifying as independent has increased.
D.   Republican identification is greater than Democratic identification.
Question #32
Our two party system is the result of all of the following except:
A.   structural requirements a party must meet to get on a ballot
B.   lack of religious, ehtnic, racial parties
C.   constitutional language establishing winner-take-all elections
D.   historical geographic and economic divides in the country
Question #33
Due to the racial/ ethnic make up of the party coalitions, the Republican party is likely to increase in size as the country continues to diversify.
A.   TRUE
B.   FALSE
Question #34
Which of the following was NOT one of the factors that Lipset thinks has led to American Exceptionalism?
A.   a lack of common ancestry
B.   America's revolution against England
C.   America's founding by Protestants
D.   strong union membership among American workers
Question #35
The Supreme Court case that led to the expansion of dark money group involvement in political campaigns is known as
A.   Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission
B.   McCutcheon v. Citizens United
C.   Bopp v. Potter
D.   McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission
Question #36
When going through Mill's process of weighing liberties, all of the following are considered EXCEPT:
A.   determine if the actions are harmful
B.   determine which action is more harmful
C.   add up the number of people impacted by the action
D.   determine whether the action is self or other regarding
Question #37
Politics can be defined as determining who gets what, when, where, and how.
A.   TRUE
B.   FALSE
Question #38
In class, when we discussed collective action problems (remember the cable tv example), solutions to change individual behavior to get people to overcome their self interest include all of the following EXCEPT:
A.   educating them on what is best
B.   providing incentives
C.   using coersion to punish
D.   relying on peer pressure

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