CHAPTER 1 What Should We Know About American Government? Student: ___________________________________________________________________________
Answers Are at the End Of Each Chapter CHAPTER 1 What Should We Know About American Government? Key
1. The belief that government is run by self-seeking politicians and dominated by special interest groups is, according to the text, A. factual. B. an exaggeration. C. well documented. D. self-evident. E. rarely held.
2. Winston Churchill observed that democracy is A. "the best government." B. "the best of all possible governments." C. "the worst form of government for most of the world." D. "the worst form of government except for all those other forms that have been tried." E. "the only form of government that can succeed in future generations."
3. The text suggests that politics is A. inevitable. B. optional. C. counterproductive. D. a modern idea. E. largely irrelevant.
4. In a direct democracy, A. political parties select rulers and base decisions on party platforms. B. citizens are consulted by most leaders before policy is made. C. unelected officials make decisions in the best interests of the people. D. voters choose representatives to make policy for them. E. all or most citizens make government decisions by themselves.
5. When citizens vote on major issues that are put on the ballot, this is an example of a(n) A. representative democracy. B. oligarchy. C. parliamentary system. D. republic. E. direct democracy.
6. The United States is a A. direct democracy. B. parliamentary-style government. C. presidential democracy. D. oligarchy. E. representative democracy.
7. The term that the Framers of the Constitution used to describe our form of democracy was A. publius. B. polis. C. pure democracy. D. confederation. E. republic.
8. A government's legitimacy is based on its A. willingness to use power. B. sense of responsiveness and honor. C. right to use power. D. disregard of external forces. E. view of the citizenry.
9. A government whose decisions people will obey because they think the government has the right to make them is considered A. authoritarian. B. legitimate. C. powerful. D. institutionalized. E. bureaucratic.
10. In a parliamentary system, all power is invested in the national A. executive. B. judiciary. C. bureaucracy. D. legislature. E. treasury.
11. The chief executive in a parliamentary system is usually called A. the president. B. the prime minister. C. the CEO. D. the governor. E. the commander in chief.
12. In a parliamentary system, the prime minister is chosen by the A. judicial system. B. elected national legislature. C. people. D. electoral college. E. party representatives.
13. The prime minister can rule as long as he or she A. is able to manage the bureaucracy. B. has the support of the courts. C. wins a plurality of the popular vote. D. wins a majority of the popular vote. E. is supported by a majority of parliament.
14. One notable feature of parliamentary government is that A. the governor is elected by the legislature. B. the courts rarely interfere with the other branches. C. the legislative branch controls the bureaucracy. D. elections are held every year. E. power is decentralized.
15. In a presidential system, the bureaucracy reports to A. Congress and the president. B. Congress and the courts. C. the courts. D. the president. E. Congress.
16. The theory underlying the presidential system is that A. policies should be tested at election time. B. the courts should not interfere. C. policies should be tested at every stage of the policymaking process. D. more power should be vested in the executive branch. E. More power should be vested in the courts.
17. The text suggests that decisions about public policy usually A. emerge out of complicated struggles among many different interests. B. emerge out of complicated struggles between big business and Wall Street. C. reflect the interests of small groups that have interests in the military. D. reflect the opinions of the far right and the far left. E. depend on the relationship between unions and big business.
18. Pluralism asserts that political resources are A. centralized. B. scarce. C. widely available. D. stagnant. E. concentrated.
19. Today, the average income tax rate for American families is over _____ percent. A. 20 B. 25 C. 30 D. 35 E. 40
20. Hardly any policy becomes law without adjusting it to meet the needs of A. the states. B. big business. C. labor unions. D. the military. E. the federal bureaucracy.
21. It is important to remember that the business of lobbyists is protected by the _____ Amendment. A. First B. Fifth C. Ninth D. Tenth E. Nineteenth
22. The text suggests that the American system stimulates A. compromise. B. communication. C. concentration of power. D. uniformity. E. disagreement.
23. Most Americans have confidence in what the federal government does. FALSE
24. It is possible to be critical of government and yet passionately defend its principles. TRUE