Introduction to American Government Exam Solutions
Course Introduction
Introduction to American Government explores the fundamental principles, structures, and processes of the United States government. This course examines the Constitution, federalism, the branches of government (executive, legislative, and judicial), and the dynamic relationship between national, state, and local authorities. Students will analyze the roles of political parties, interest groups, and the media, as well as significant policy issues and civil liberties that shape the political landscape. The course provides foundational knowledge of U.S. political institutions and encourages critical thinking about civic participation, democracy, and the impact of government on society.
Recommended Textbook
American Democracy Now 4th Edition by Brigid Callahan Harrison
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Chapter 1: People, Politics, and Participation
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Q1) Which of the following values is considered the MOST essential quality of American democracy?
A) equality
B) collectivism
C) liberty
D) security
E) self-government
Answer: C
Q2) By 2015, the population of the United States was about
A) 134 million.
B) 230 million.
C) 281 million.
D) 320 million.
E) 353 million.
Answer: D
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Chapter 2: The Constitution
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Q1) In September 1774, all colonies sent delegates to the First Continental Congress EXCEPT
A) Delaware.
B) Georgia.
C) Rhode Island.
D) New York.
E) New Hampshire.
Answer: B
Q2) Indentured servants were those who worked for a number of years
A) for a master in America, then returned to Europe.
B) for a master in America who had paid for their passage.
C) for a master in America after being transported against their will.
D) in America, then gained access to land and other property.
E) for a master in America, then left for the Caribbean and Mexico.
Answer: B
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Page 4
Chapter 3: Federalism
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Q1) Federal grants-in-aid are LOWEST in which policy area?
A) health
B) transportation
C) natural resources and environment
D) income security
E) education, training, employment, and social services
Answer: C
Q2) Federal grants-in-aid are HIGHEST in which policy area?
A) health
B) transportation
C) natural resources and environment
D) income security
E) education, training, employment, and social services
Answer: D
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Chapter 4: Civil Liberties
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which concept argues that true and free political discourse requires a forum for free and unrestrained political discussion?
A) confederalism
B) divine right theory
C) marketplace of ideas
D) horizontal federalism
E) intergovernmental relations
Q2) Since September 11, 2001, the federal government's powers of surveillance and observance have
A) grown significantly.
B) grown marginally.
C) stayed the same.
D) declined marginally.
E) declined significantly.
Q3) Identify and discuss the impact of time, place, and manner restrictions on freedom of assembly and political expression.
Q4) Discuss the creation of the clear and present danger test, and explain the government powers established under this standard.
Q5) Identify important features of the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments.
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Chapter 5: Civil Rights
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Sample Questions
Q1) The Constitution imposes responsibilities, or civil rights, on which of the following groups?
A) government officials
B) private citizens
C) private organizations
D) government employees
E) government officials and government employees
Q2) Attacks against individuals are considered hate crimes under most state law based on all the following biases EXCEPT
A) race or color.
B) religious persuasion.
C) nationality or ethnicity.
D) disability.
E) gender identity or sexual orientation.
Q3) Where did most of the initial battles for women's rights take place?
A) at the federal level
B) in the courts
C) in the home
D) with the president
E) at the state level
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Chapter 6: Political Socialization and Public Opinion
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Sample Questions
Q1) Most national polling organizations rarely poll more than ________ respondents.
A) 100
B) 150
C) 500
D) 1,000
E) 1,500
Q2) Which regions tend to favor the Democrats?
A) the Northeast and the Midwest
B) the West Coast and the South
C) the South and the West Coast
D) most major cities and the West
E) the Northeast, the West Coast, and most major cities
Q3) For the purposes of stratified sampling, how many sampling regions are there in the United States?
A) two
B) three
C) four
D) five
E) six
Q4) Define quota sampling and explain its uses.
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Chapter 7: Interest Groups
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Sample Questions
Q1) Define and explain the effects of the formation of iron triangles.
Q2) The benefits of interest group activity are most often not limited to the group's membership, but rather result in
A) collective goods.
B) the rational choice effect.
C) the umbrella problem.
D) consumer interests.
E) the limited interest effect.
Q3) Which of the following occupations are primarily represented by professional organizations?
A) doctors and lawyers
B) teachers and tradespeople
C) executives in business and industry
D) federal and state employees
E) truck and taxi drivers
Q4) Explain why interest groups use celebrities to publicly communicate their message.
Q5) Outline the relationship between interest-group participation and social class.
Q6) Discuss lobbying, and identify tactics used by lobbyists to communicate with and influence policy makers.
Page 9
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Chapter 8: Political Parties
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Q1) What is arguably the most important role of political parties in the American political system?
A) They promote responsibility among elected officials and provide a "check" on their powers.
B) They serve as training grounds for members and promote minority opportunity.
C) They ensure the government runs smoothly.
D) They foster cooperation between divided interests and factions.
E) They encourage citizen engagement and political participation.
Q2) What factor do scholars identify as supportive of the current two-party system?
A) increased public interest in politics
B) favorable laws that directly subsidize existing party structures
C) solid corporate and foreign support
D) a new cohort of young and dynamic candidates
E) lack of a viable alternative
Q3) All of the following are key Republican positions EXCEPT
A) environmental protection.
B) a pro-life stance on abortion.
C) a larger role for state governments.
D) the protection and support of business.
E) limiting or reducing social welfare programs.
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Chapter 9: Elections, Campaigns, and Voting
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Sample Questions
Q1) What is the minimum number of votes required to win the Electoral College?
A) 100
B) 270
C) 435
D) 527
E) 658
Q2) Compare and contrast open and closed primary elections.
Q3) The McCain-Feingold Act
A) passed over the veto of George W. Bush.
B) has so far withstood every court challenge.
C) ended public financing of presidential campaigns.
D) banned most soft money contributions.
E) All these answers are correct.
Q4) What technology has facilitated the use of instant runoff elections?
A) computers
B) mobile technologies and devices
C) cellular phones
D) computerized voting machines
E) touch-screen voting portals
Q5) Outline and discuss the key features of the Australian ballot system.
Page 11
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Chapter 10: The Media
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Sample Questions
Q1) What major factor, in addition to new technology, caused newspapers in the 1830s to lower their prices?
A) increased readership among the elite
B) decreased literacy rates
C) sale of advertising
D) falling circulation
E) lack of journalistic standards
Q2) Discuss the changing nature of the business of news.
Q3) Define and discuss narrowcasting and explain how it has changed political media content.
Q4) All these technologies are considered new media EXCEPT
A) the Internet.
B) blogs.
C) television.
D) smart phones.
E) satellite radio.
Q5) Outline how radio altered the relationship between politicians and their constituents.
Q6) Discuss the role of the blogosphere as an influence on contemporary politics.
Q7) Explain the effects of the ending of the fairness doctrine by the FCC.
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Chapter 11: Politics and Technology
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which decade brought about the advent of the Internet as we know it (graphic Web browsers, email)?
A) 2000s
B) 1990s
C) 1980s
D) 1970s
E) 1960s
Q2) Describe virtual communities and discuss their impact on civic engagement and participation in the real world.
Q3) Approximately what percentage of American adults used the Internet in 2014?
A) 29
B) 39
C) 51
D) 69
E) 87
Q4) Discuss the free speech concerns that have arisen because of the rapid rise of the Internet and related technologies.
Q5) Discuss the transformation of media from a "one-way" channel of information transmission to "two-way" street of information exchange.
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Chapter 12: Congress
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Sample Questions
Q1) Outline the process of casework as a form of congressional representation.
Q2) Which of the following BEST describes the makeup of the legislature in the United States?
A) unicameral
B) parliamentary
C) bicameral
D) executive
E) unichamber
Q3) Define gerrymandering and discuss its use in congressional redistricting.
Q4) When creating the Congress, the founders of the United States strove primarily to create a legislature that could check the power of the
A) president.
B) Supreme Court.
C) military.
D) federal bureaucracy.
E) federal courts.
Q5) Identify the advantages of incumbency in congressional elections.
Q6) Discuss the framers' differing visions for the roles of the House and the Senate.
Q7) What is the attentive public, and what is its impact on congressional politics?
Page 14
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Chapter 13: The Presidency
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which president initiated the New Deal, a series of social programs that dramatically transformed people's views of the role of the federal government?
A) Herbert Hoover
B) Franklin Roosevelt
C) Harry Truman
D) Dwight Eisenhower
E) Lyndon Johnson
Q2) Which of the following presidential powers have been granted by decisions of the Supreme Court?
A) expressed powers
B) inherent powers
C) statutory powers
D) expressed powers and inherent powers
E) emergency powers
Q3) Define signing statement, and discuss the use of signing statements by George W. Bush during his two-term administration.
Q4) Describe and discuss the process of presidential impeachment.
Q5) Discuss the importance and key powers of the president's role as chief economist.
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Chapter 14: The Bureaucracy
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Sample Questions
Q1) Based on studies cited by public administration scholar Charles Goodsell, which of the following statements is correct?
A) Most government employees are very motivated and hard workers.
B) Most government employees are very unmotivated, lazy workers.
C) Most government employees are motivated by higher salaries.
D) Most government employees are motivated by shorter work hours.
E) Most government employees have lower levels of formal education than employees in the private sector.
Q2) Which of the following open up government functions and documents to the public, ensuring transparency and public access to decision making?
A) authorization laws
B) executive orders
C) appropriations laws
D) sunshine laws
E) sunset clauses
Q3) Who are inspectors general, and what is their function?
Q4) Who are SES bureaucrats, and how are they appointed to office?
Q5) Describe the purpose and features of the E-Government Act of 2002.
Q6) Discuss the purpose and structure of government corporations.
Page 16
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Chapter 15: The Judiciary
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following Supreme Court justices is MOST liberal?
A) Stephen Breyer
B) John Roberts
C) Antonin Scalia
D) Clarence Thomas
E) Samuel Alito
Q2) Who is charged with drafting pool memos, which summarize the facts, describe the legal arguments, and make a recommendation as to whether the Supreme Court should take the case?
A) the chief justice
B) the associate justices
C) the Attorney General of the United States
D) Supreme Court clerks
E) the U.S. Attorney's Office in each state
Q3) Which of the following conducts impeachment trials for federal judges?
A) the House
B) the Senate
C) the Supreme Court
D) the Attorney General of the United States
E) the executive through the White House counsel
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Chapter 16: Economic Policy
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is the income level in the middle of all household incomes?
A) per capita income
B) average income
C) real income
D) household income
E) median household income
Q2) The legal borrowing limit for the national government is called the
A) national debt.
B) budget deficit.
C) debt ceiling.
D) continuing resolution.
E) subsidy.
Q3) Which of the following provides the BIGGEST share of tax revenue in the FY 2015 budget?
A) social insurance receipts
B) individual income tax
C) corporate tax
D) excise taxes
E) estate and gift taxes
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Page 18
Chapter 17: Domestic Policy
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of these groups does the government rely on to assist in overseeing compliance, and in reporting violators of national laws and regulations?
A) public officials
B) citizens
C) interest groups
D) the media
E) All these answers are correct.
Q2) Explain the purposes of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 regarding people's access to health insurance.
Q3) According to the 2013 Gallup poll discussed in the text, the HIGHEST percentage of Americans identify themselves as
A) Democrats.
B) Republicans.
C) independents.
D) Libertarians.
E) conservatives.
Q4) Define food insecurity and explain the programs designed to address food insecurity.
Q5) Outline the factors that complicate the formation of national domestic policy.
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Chapter 18: Foreign Policy and National Security
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Sample Questions
Q1) The concept of limited war was first applied in which of the following conflicts?
A) World War I
B) World War II
C) Korean War
D) Vietnam War
E) First Gulf War
Q2) What is the MAIN goal of U.S. foreign policy makers when a military action is less concerned with changing a nation's policies than with deposing its leaders?
A) conquest of territory
B) resource acquisition
C) regime change
D) policy change
E) protection of human rights
Q3) Which of the following countries is NOT a member of NAFTA?
A) Mexico
B) Panama
C) Canada
D) United States
E) All these countries are members of NAFTA.
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Page 20
Chapter 19: State and Local Government
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Sample Questions
Q1) The form of general-purpose government found in a majority of cities is comprised of an elected body with legislative and executive powers and a(n)
A) weak mayor.
B) strong mayor.
C) council-manager.
D) independent commission.
E) council of governments.
Q2) Compare and contrast district and authority special-purpose governments.
Q3) Since 1960, which of the following prior positions has been the second-most common for presidents?
A) U.S. senator
B) U.S. congressman
C) state treasurer
D) state governor
E) state lieutenant governor
Q4) Identify and discuss key features of a traditionalistic political culture.
Q5) Explain the key features of municipal governments and townships.
Q6) Define a plural executive system and explain its impact on gubernatorial authority.
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