Public Policy in the United States Test Preparation
Course Introduction
This course provides an in-depth exploration of public policy processes and issues in the United States, focusing on how policies are formed, implemented, and evaluated at the federal, state, and local levels. Students will examine the roles of governmental institutions, interest groups, and the public in shaping policy outcomes across areas such as healthcare, education, environment, and economic policy. Through critical analysis of historical and contemporary case studies, the course highlights the complexities and challenges of policy making in a pluralistic society, equipping students with analytical tools to assess policy effectiveness and understand the broader social, economic, and political implications of public decision making.
Recommended Textbook Struggle for Democracy 2012 Election Edition 11th Edition by Edward S. Greenberg
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18 Chapters
1872 Verified Questions
1872 Flashcards
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Chapter 1: Democracy and American Politics
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47 Verified Questions
47 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Political linkages are particularly suited to which of the following?
A) communicating the most fundamental and enduring factors that influence politics
B) transmitting the desires of people to representatives in government
C) overseeing the policymaking activities of Congress and the presidency
D) acting on behalf of the government
E) influencing the distribution of income and wealth in society
Answer: B
Q2) A monarchy includes rule by the one.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) What constitutes government action?
A) public officials that have formal, legal responsibility in making policy
B) political actors that do not hold official public office
C) institutions that transmit preferences to elected officials
D) what issues become important in politics and government
E) what government does
Answer: E
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3
Chapter 2: The Constitution
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109 Verified Questions
109 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The New Jersey Plan proposed a powerful central government with three branches.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q2) Article I of the Constitution describes the powers of the president.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) __________ broke new ground in expanding executive power, issuing 1,200 signing statements, thereby contravening official acts of Congress.
A) President Barack Obama
B) President Bill Clinton
C) President George H. W. Bush
D) President George Washington
E) President George W. Bush
Answer: E
Q4) __________ is a political doctrine advocating limited government based on popular consent.
Answer: Republicanism
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Chapter 3: Federalism: States and Nation
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107 Verified Questions
107 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The Framers adopted a federal system of government partly because it __________ government power.
A) centralizes
B) further fragments
C) squashes
D) regulates
E) enhances
Answer: B
Q2) __________ gives Congress the authority to exercise its enumerated powers.
Answer: Article I, Section 8
Q3) Explain the Tenth Amendment and the reservation clause.
Answer: An ideal response will:
1. Describe how the Amendment says that those powers not given to the federal government and not prohibited to the states by the Constitution are reserved for the states and the people.
2. Show how this leads to a great difference between the powers of the federal government and state governments.
Q4) The power to regulate commerce within a state belongs to the __________ government(s).
Answer: state
Page 5
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Chapter 4: The Structural Foundations of American
Government and Politics
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106 Verified Questions
106 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) __________ is the largest economy in the world, but __________ is catching up quickly.
A) China, Brazil
B) China, the United States
C) Japan, China
D) The United States, China
E) The United States, Japan
Q2) How can the recent debate over health care reform be explained using American political culture? What elements of the reform were helped by American political culture, and which were problematic in terms of American political culture? Include as many aspects of political culture as apply.
Q3) Which of the following makes typical Americans the most nervous?
A) capitalism
B) democracy
C) globalization
D) industrialization
E) mass production
Q4) An American is more likely to live in poverty than is a Frenchman.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 5: Public Opinion
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109 Verified Questions
109 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Why did 78 percent of the people oppose the idea of sending U.S. troops to Bosnia, in 1994, as peacekeepers?
A) The majority of Americans, then as now, embrace pure isolationism.
B) The majority of Americans, then as now, embrace pure multilateralism.
C) The operation looked harmless at the time.
D) The operation was not supported by the president at the time, only by Congress.
E) The threat to the United States did not appear tangible at the time.
Q2) Why should anyone be concerned about a U.S. citizenry that is poorly informed and that has no real opinions about government and politics?
Q3) __________ ensures that each member of a population has an equal chance of being selected.
Q4) Imagine that you are an advisor to the president. A situation is brewing in the Philippines that may require U.S. military intervention. Provide three brief rationales for why the United States should or should not intervene, arguing from the point of view of an isolationist, a unilateralist, and a multilateralist.
Q5) Only 40 percent of Americans know that our main source of electricity comes from
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Chapter 6: The News Media
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108 Verified Questions
108 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The book states that, "In 2009, Michael Jackson accounted for 60 percent of television news shows during the two days following his death, far more coverage than the mass antigovernment demonstrations in Iran." This is an example of what?
A) bias
B) agenda setting
C) nationalism
D) infotainment
E) investigative journalism
Q2) How might media managers choose to cover a story about a human rights tragedy in order to get politicians to take action?
A) Focus on matters that are of most concern to those who are not in power but rather vying for power.
B) Incorporate as much infotainment as possible.
C) Highlight the tragedy in real time.
D) Focus on stories that throw off the relative power balance between Democrats and Republicans in Washington.
E) Run retrospectives on related events from the past.
Q3) Explain what makes a story "newsworthy."
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8
Chapter 7: Interest Groups and Business Organizations
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109 Verified Questions
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Sample Questions
Q1) An iron triangle customarily includes an interest group, an executive agency, and a Congressional __________.
Q2) The practice of appropriating money for specific pet projects of members of Congress is called __________.
A) bribery
B) earmarking
C) influencing
D) inside lobbying
E) networking
Q3) What is the main goal of an iron triangle?
A) abolishing free riders
B) creating more opportunities for collective action
C) developing networks of iron triangles
D) protecting their self-interest
E) providing selective benefits to potential groups
Q4) Consider the "Mapping American Politics" box about fuel consumption. Given the high level of fuel consumption in the United States and concerns about climate change and dependence on foreign oil, does the lobbying power of the automobile and energy industries need to be curtailed?
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Chapter 8: Social Movements
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104 Verified Questions
104 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Learning objective 8.4, "Factors That Encourage the Creation of Social Movements," discusses five factors that give rise to social movements. Analyze one of the movements discussed in the chapter, discussing how each of these five factors gave rise to the movement you choose. In your discussion, explain which one of these factors was the most critical to the success of that movement.
Q2) The more proximate a movement's goals are to other Americans' values, the more likely it is that the movement will succeed.
A)True
B)False
Q3) According to the "Using the Framework" feature, tolerance of alternative lifestyles increases as __________.
A) education increases
B) integration increases
C) women's rights increase
D) conservatism increases
E) media coverage increases
Q4) Define political efficacy and explain why it is important to social movements.
Q5) What is the definition of a social movement? What are important things to know about social movements?
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Chapter 9: Political Parties
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106 Verified Questions
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Sample Questions
Q1) What institutional feature helps prevent the rise of minor parties?
A) a constitutional restriction
B) the electoral college
C) multi-member districts
D) proportional representation
E) open-primary systems
Q2) Which of the following developments triggered the change in the party system during the dealignment era following the New Deal coalition?
A) Democratic Party support for civil rights and equal rights, and opposition to the Vietnam War
B) the historic victory of the Republicans in the congressional elections of 1994
C) Republican Party support for industrial workers and farm laborers
D) fierce debate about the doctrine of separation of church and state, which the Republicans supported
E) Ross Perot's crusade for a balanced budget, which upset the Republican coalition
Q3) One definitive period of __________, where power is transferred from one party to another, started with the rise of the New Deal coalition.
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11
Chapter 10: Voting, Campaigns, and Elections
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108 Verified Questions
108 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Generally, politically active people tend to have higher-than-average __________ and more __________.
A) intelligence; children
B) energy levels; political connections
C) incomes; education
D) rates of marriage; income
E) education; children
Q2) __________ refers to the proportion of eligible Americans who vote in a given election.
A) Show-up
B) Volume
C) Electoral population
D) Turnout
E) Caucuses
Q3) Explain the issues with Latino voter mobilization. What should be done to increase Latino voter turnout?
Q4) In 2010, the gap between the number of black and white voters was __________ compared with other presidential election cycles.
Q5) Why is age an important predictor of whether someone will vote?
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Chapter 11: Congress
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108 Verified Questions
108 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) "Pork" legislation may aid the district of a member of Congress by __________.
A) diverting unallocated funds to the service sector
B) increasing jobs and revenue with federally funded projects
C) increasing revenue through private market investment
D) taxing corporations less so they provide health insurance for employees
E) taxing waste producers more to pay for environmental cleanup
Q2) Congressional whips serve what main function?
A) act as official spokespersons for their chambers
B) help the Speaker schedule proposed legislation for debate
C) meet with members of the executive cabinet
D) persuade party members to toe the party line
E) serve as personal assistants to the majority and minority leaders
Q3) Explain the role of the Speaker of the House. List the responsibilities the position includes, and discuss the kinds of power or influence these responsibilities grant the Speaker.
Q4) __________ decides who shall be recognized to speak on the House floor, and rules on points of order (with advice from the parliamentarian), among other responsibilities.
Q5) The opposite of packing a district is __________, in which a homogenous voting block is split apart.
Page 13
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Chapter 12: The Presidency
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Sample Questions
Q1) What did the Framers do to avoid tyranny in the executive branch?
A) They made the president directly elected by the people.
B) They originally decided that the president should be elected by Congress.
C) They included separation of powers in the Constitution.
D) They did not allow the president to have military responsibility.
E) They limited the number of terms a president can serve.
Q2) Vetoes are rarely overridden.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Barack Obama used his veto power less at the beginning of his term.
A)True
B)False
Q4) One of many ways the president can influence Congress is by __________.
A) presidential job approval
B) executive privilege
C) impeachment
D) negotiating treaties
E) pardoning
Q5) How has the role of the vice presidency changed over time?
Q6) Compare the White House staff and the Cabinet.
Page 14
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Chapter 13: The Executive Branch
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Sample Questions
Q1) A civil service employee has a dispute with a coworker and wants to file a complaint. Which office will review the case?
A) the Office of Dispute Resolution
B) the Employee Assistance Program
C) the Merit Systems Protection Board
D) the Office of Personnel Management
E) the Civil Service Commission
Q2) Each independent agency in the executive branch is headed by a Cabinet secretary.
A)True
B)False
Q3) How does the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) influence rule-making by departments and agencies? When was the act passed?
Q4) What factors might contribute to inefficiencies within the federal bureaucracy?
Q5) The Social Security Administration rendering a decision about whether an individual was wrongly denied disability payments illustrates the __________ function of the federal bureaucracy.
Q6) What are the benefits and drawbacks of the rule-making requirements specified in the Administrative Procedure Act?
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Chapter 14: The Courts
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107 Verified Questions
107 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) How many courts of appeals are in the federal system?
A) two
B) six
C) thirteen
D) eleven
E) five
Q2) In which of the following cases did the Supreme Court first claim the right of judicial review?
A) Chishom v. Georgia
B) Brown v. Board of Education
C) United States v. Nixon
D) Dred Scott v. Sandford
E) Marbury v. Madison
Q3) Which of the following cases should originate in the state courts?
A) disputes involving the First Amendment
B) disputes involving ambassadors
C) disputes involving shipping and commerce on the high seas
D) disputes between citizens in the same state
E) disputes between states
Q4) How are nominees to the federal district courts selected?
Page 16
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Chapter 15: Civil Liberties: the Struggle for Freedom
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108 Verified Questions
108 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The contract clause prohibits the executive branch from entering into contracts without the consent of the legislative branch.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Discuss how the Supreme Court analyzes obscenity under the First Amendment.
Q3) In Dred Scott v. Sandford, the Supreme Court essentially invalidated which of the following?
A) Ohio Compromise
B) Missouri Compromise
C) Illinois Compromise
D) Louisiana Compromise
E) Montana Compromise
Q4) Which of the following rights has the Supreme Court found to be one of the unstated liberties that arises from other explicitly stated rights?
A) right to marry
B) right to travel
C) right to vote
D) right to privacy
E) right to have a family
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Chapter 16: Civil Rights: the Struggle for Political Equality
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108 Verified Questions
108 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following best describes the purpose of the literacy test that was used in the South?
A) to sabotage the civil rights movement
B) to support Jim Crow laws
C) to stop African Americans from voting
D) to encourage boycotting of elections by African Americans
E) to stop the vandalizing of polls by angry segregationists
Q2) In the South after Reconstruction, what did the Democratic Party use to prevent African Americans from having a meaningful impact on the outcome of elections?
A) Jim Crow laws
B) whites-only primaries
C) majority-minority districts
D) de facto segregation/discrimination
E) affirmative action
Q3) The __________ was enacted in 1990 and is designed to protect the civil rights of disabled Americans.
Q4) Because of the Supreme Court's decision in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, an affirmative action program that uses racial __________ would likely be deemed unconstitutional.
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Chapter 17: Domestic Policies
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Sample Questions
Q1) Payroll taxes are earmarked for __________.
A) Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
B) Obamacare and Medicaid
C) Social Security and Medicare
D) unemployment insurance
E) personal retirement savings accounts
Q2) One reason for the increase in health care costs is the aging population in America.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Senior citizens are likely to be concerned about potential cuts to the medical program known as ___________.
Q4) Congress has the primary responsibility for setting interest rates in the United States. A)True B)False
Q5) Social Security is considered an entitlement program. A)True B)False
Q6) Temporary Assistance to Needy Families replaced the federal program
Page 19
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Chapter 18: Foreign Policy and National Defense
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Sample Questions
Q1) The Middle Eastern country of __________, which has been an important part of American foreign policy for a long time because of its role in the oil economy, has now become a greater concern because of its regional ambitions and progress in developing nuclear weapons.
Q2) The cost of providing health care for military veterans is expected to increase due to the influx of veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
A)True
B)False
Q3) What is a hegemon? What is a hegemon expected to do? To what extent is the United States a hegemon? Is the world better off if there is a hegemon? Should the United States act more like a hegemon?
Q4) What are the president's foreign policy powers? What are Congress's foreign policy powers? Who has more foreign policy powers and why? Is the existing balance of power between Congress and the president appropriate, or would the United States be better off if one branch's powers were to increase and the other branch's powers decrease? Provide a justification for your answer.
Q5) How have changes to the world economy affected the United States' approach to foreign policy with China?
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