Chapter 1 People, Politics, and Participation Exam Prep

American Democracy Now, 6e (Harrison)

Chapter 1 People, Politics, and Participation

1) Electoral politics in the United States was much the same in 1990 as it had been in 1890. The advent of which technologies transformed electoral politics?

A) computers, rapid air transit, and satellite television

B) cell phones, satellite television, and the Internet

C) personal computers, cell phones, and the Internet

D) cell phones, PDAs, and satellite radio

E) rapid air transit, personal computers, and PDAs

2) Which decade saw a marked decline in American attitudes toward government?

A) 1950s

B) 1960s

C) 1970s

D) 1980s

E) 1990s

3) Efficacy is citizens' belief that

A) they have the power to achieve something desirable, and that the government will listen to them.

B) government should be run efficiently and effectively by a small group of bureaucrats.

C) government exists for the maintenance of individual and general welfare.

D) government policies should be based on the protection of individual rights and freedoms.

E) government can and should work to benefit all sectors of society.

4) Despite lingering media characterizations of a cynical, nonparticipatory youth electorate, evidence indicates that many young voters are participating in which manner of civic engagement?

A) Internet activism

B) volunteerism

C) community activism

D) consumer participation

E) All of these answers are correct.

5) In which presidential election was voter turnout by 18- to 24-year-olds the highest?

A) 2000

B) 2004

C) 2008

D) 2012

E) Voter turnout for 18- to 24-year-olds was essentially the same in all four elections.

6) Which age group had the highest turnout rate in recent presidential elections?

A) 18–24

B) 25–44

C) 45–64

D) 65+

E) Voter turnout for the various age groups was essentially the same in recent elections.

7) Which of the following are actions practiced by individuals who engage in civic life and public experience?

A) active communication with representatives and policymakers

B) advocating for one's own and others' self-interest

C) holding public officials accountable for their actions and decisions

D) accumulation of knowledge about public issues

E) All of these answers are correct.

8) Political engagement can be defined as

A) citizen actions intended to solve public problems through political means.

B) citizen actions intended to address ideological differences through public interaction.

C) individual and collective actions designed to identify issues of public concern.

D) individual and collective efforts to describe political actions and outcomes.

E) citizen actions intended to generate public awareness of the country's problems.

9) Buycotting is

A) buying items produced by companies whose practices you agree with.

B) refusing to buy items produced by companies whose policies you disagree with.

C) buying items from companies who contribute donations to political parties you support.

D) buying items from companies whose products you like.

E) All of these answers are correct.

10) Which of the following terms matches this description? "A quality conferred on government by citizens who believe that its exercise of power is right and proper."

A) authenticity

B) legitimacy

C) veracity

D) populism

E) right of exercise

11) What is the foundation of the legal structure of the United States?

A) the Supreme Court

B) the federal Constitution

C) state constitutions

D) local constitutions

E) the federal court system

12) Which of the following is NOT a function of most governments?

A) to protect their sovereign territory

B) to preserve order and stability

C) to establish a legal system

D) to arrest all opponents

E) None of these answers is correct, as all are functions of the government.

13) A(n) ________ is when a king or queen has absolute authority over a territory and its government.

A) plutocracy

B) oligarchy

C) royalocracy

D) democracy

E) monarchy

14) All of the following are considered public goods EXCEPT

A) access to government-provided health care.

B) roads and highways.

C) bridges.

D) clean air and water.

E) access to air transportation.

15) What rate of income tax from all levels of government is currently in place in the United States?

A) between 15 and 25 percent of each dollar earned

B) between 15 and 35 percent of each dollar earned

C) between 25 and 35 percent of each dollar earned

D) between 25 and 45 percent of each dollar earned

E) between 35 and 45 percent of each dollar earned

16) Which of the following is NOT a commodity tax?

A) sales tax

B) property tax

C) income tax

D) sin tax

E) luxury tax

17) How many factors influence the way social scientists classify modern world governments?

A) two

B) three

C) four

D) five

E) six

18) Which of these types of government sees power held in the hands of an elite few?

A) monarchy

B) oligarchy

C) democracy

D) autocracy

E) tyranny

19) Which of these types of government places the supreme power of governance in the hands of citizens?

A) tyranny

B) oligarchy

C) democracy

D) monarchy

E) autocracy

20) Which of these types of governmental structure essentially controls every aspect of citizens' lives?

A) totalitarian

B) authoritarian

C) constitutional

D) libertarian

E) anarchic

21) Which of these countries is considered an authoritarian state system?

A) the United States

B) North Korea

C) Canada

D) Japan

E) China

22) Which of these countries is considered a totalitarian state system?

A) the United States

B) North Korea

C) Canada

D) Japan

E) China

23) Which of the following best describes the form of government of the United States?

A) oligarchy

B) authoritarian democracy

C) constitutional democracy

D) constitutional monarchy

E) directed democracy

24) Which of these types of governmental structure is limited, or restricted in its actions, so that citizens' rights are protected?

A) totalitarian

B) authoritarian

C) constitutional

D) libertarian

E) anarchic

25) What does the Greek term demokratia translate to mean?

A) democracy

B) people power

C) people's will

D) liberty

E) freedom

26) Who was the chief advocate of divine-right monarchy, or the idea that monarchs and emperors ruled according to God's will?

A) Jean-Jacques Rousseau

B) Baron de Montesquieu

C) Jacques-Benigne Bossuet

D) John Locke

E) Thomas Hobbes

27) A social contract can be defined as an agreement between people and their leaders in which

A) the leaders agree to surrender some powers in exchange for popular support.

B) the people agree to give up some liberties in exchange for the protection of their other liberties.

C) the people agree to give up most of their liberties in exchange for security and protection.

D) the leaders agree to surrender most of their powers to popular political structures.

E) the people agree to surrender all their liberties in exchange for security and protection.

28) Why did Martin Luther's actions spark the Reformation?

A) He called for a social contract between religious leaders and the faithful.

B) He campaigned to be pope but was rejected.

C) He denounced the concept of the divine right of kings.

D) He openly criticized harmful practices of the Catholic Church.

E) He wanted the powers of Catholic priests to be increased.

29) Who of the following constructed the concept of natural law, which asserts that standards that govern human behavior are derived from human nature and can be universally applied?

A) Sir Isaac Newton

B) Baron de Montesquieu

C) Jacques-Benigne Bossuet

D) John Locke

E) Thomas Hobbes

30) According to ________, without the rule of a strong monarch, people would lead lives that were "…solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short."

A) Jean-Jacques Rousseau

B) Martin Luther

C) Isaac Newton

D) Thomas Jefferson

E) Thomas Hobbes

31) Who wrote Two Treatises on Civil Government in 1689, arguing against divine right monarchy and proposing the existence of inalienable individual rights?

A) Sir Isaac Newton

B) Baron de Montesquieu

C) Jacques-Benigne Bossuet

D) John Locke

E) Thomas Hobbes

32) According to Jean-Jacques Rousseau, government that is created by the people is dependent on the authority of the people to rule, which is otherwise known as

A) legitimacy.

B) the divine right.

C) natural law.

D) social contract theory.

E) popular sovereignty.

33) What structure of government, in which citizens decide policy through majority rule, was formed by the colonists in New England who fled religious persecution in England?

A) indirect democracy

B) representative democracy

C) direct democracy

D) oligarchy

E) constitutional democracy

34) What is another name for indirect democracy, where citizens elect representatives who decide policies on their behalf?

A) representative democracy

B) guided democracy

C) limited democracy

D) directed democracy

E) constitutional democracy

35) Political culture can be defined as the

A) different political parties and ideologies that are formed within societies.

B) groups and industries within our society that concern themselves with political issues.

C) individual beliefs and opinions of citizens within large communities and societies.

D) people's collective beliefs and attitudes about political and government processes.

E) people's collective support or dislike of different political parties and governmental institutions.

36) 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

37) The debate about whether government agencies should be permitted to collect private communication data is most closely related to the American value of

A) equality.

B) capitalism.

C) consent of the governed.

D) liberty.

E) emphasis on individual, family, and community.

38) Which centuries saw the evolution of the modern concept of equality?

A) sixteenth and seventeenth

B) seventeenth and eighteenth

C) eighteenth and nineteenth

D) nineteenth and twentieth

E) twentieth and twenty-first

39) In the early years of the American republic, the right to vote was

A) available to white men only.

B) available to white men and women only.

C) available to white and black men only.

D) available to women and men of all races, but not immigrants.

E) available to women and men of all races, including immigrants.

40) Debates about whether the government should tax the wealthy more than other classes embody the concept of

A) political ideology.

B) legal equality.

C) liberty.

D) economic equality.

E) political culture.

41) In economic and legal senses, property is defined as

A) land.

B) material possessions.

C) liquid or transferable capital assets.

D) property, firms, or businesses.

E) anything that can be owned.

42) In a democracy, the idea of the consent of the governed argues that government power

A) derives from the people's consent.

B) derives from its inherent right to promote law and order.

C) is justified and necessary.

D) derives from its security apparatus, particularly the army and the police force.

E) is acceptable as long as individual rights are recognized.

43) Which of the following statements about majority rule is NOT true?

A) Only policies with a vote of 50 percent plus one are enacted.

B) It is often paired with the concept of the protection of minority rights.

C) Political candidates in all democracies must win a majority of votes.

D) Governments based on this rule believe in the right of self-governance.

E) It is implicit within the concept of consent of the governed.

44) Which of the liberties protected by the Constitution illustrates the intimate relationship between individual and community life favored by the Constitution's framers?

A) freedom of speech

B) protection from search and seizure

C) freedom of assembly

D) freedom of religion

E) right to bear arms

45) Political ideology provides a framework for which of the following?

A) thinking about politics

B) thinking about policy issues

C) considering the role of government in everyone's lives

D) thinking about political structures

E) thinking about politics, thinking about policy issues, and considering the role of government in everyone's lives

46) Which of the following was NOT one of the key tenets of classical liberalism?

A) unfettered market economy

B) freedom of thought

C) strong governmental authority

D) rule of law

E) consent of the governed

47) Modern liberalism advocates which of the following principles?

A) separation of church and state

B) minimal government authority

C) unfettered market economy

D) government ownership of the means of production

E) maintenance of the status quo

48) Which ideology places the greatest emphasis on traditional values?

A) liberalism

B) conservatism

C) socialism

D) libertarianism

E) populism

49) Conservatism advocates which of the following principles?

A) separation of church and state

B) no prayer in public schools

C) the importance of civil liberties

D) limited role of government in public well-being

E) government-provided safety net

50) Which ideology places the greatest emphasis on equality?

A) liberalism

B) conservatism

C) socialism

D) libertarianism

E) populism

51) Which ideology places the greatest emphasis on government control of the economy?

A) liberalism

B) conservatism

C) socialism

D) libertarianism

E) populism

52) Libertarianism advocates which of the following principles?

A) government-provided safety net

B) socialist economy

C) "hands-on" government approach

D) rights of property owners

E) All of these answers are correct.

53) Which ideology places the greatest emphasis on economic freedom?

A) liberalism

B) conservatism

C) socialism

D) libertarianism

E) populism

54) Which age group is most liberal?

A) 18–35

B) 36–51

C) 52–70

D) 71+

E) All age groups are about equally liberal.

55) Which age group is most conservative?

A) 18–35

B) 36–51

C) 52–70

D) 71+

E) All age groups are about equally conservative.

56) The key difference among modern liberals, conservatives, and libertarians is their view of

A) political culture.

B) representative democracy.

C) the capitalist economy.

D) fundamental human rights.

E) the role of government.

57) What type of ideological scale have social scientists developed to accurately represent people's ideologies?

A) one-dimensional

B) two-dimensional

C) multidimensional

D) linear spectrum

E) circular chart

58) By 2019, the population of the United States reached about

A) 134 million.

B) 230 million.

C) 281 million.

D) 330 million.

E) 353 million.

59) Projections of the U.S. population indicate that, by 2050,

A) the proportion of older Americans will have increased.

B) the proportion of older Americans will be about the same.

C) the proportion of middle-aged Americans will have increased.

D) total population numbers will be lower than they are now.

E) total population numbers will have leveled off.

60) Which regions of the United States are seeing increased elderly populations, as younger people leave these regions and seek opportunities elsewhere?

A) West and Northeast

B) South and Southwest

C) Midwest and Plains

D) Southwest and Northeast

E) Southeast and Northeast

61) Between 1980 and 2000,

A) both the Hispanic and white percentages of the population increased.

B) both the Hispanic and black percentages of the population decreased.

C) the Hispanic percentage of the population increased, while the white percentage of the population decreased.

D) the black percentage of the population decreased, while the Asian percentage of the population increased.

E) whites dropped below 50 percent of the total population.

62) Older Americans live in greater numbers in which state?

A) Texas

B) Florida

C) Arizona

D) California

E) Alaska

63) Which of the following are effects of changes in the U.S. population's ethnic makeup?

A) changes in national and local political culture

B) changes in people's political attitudes

C) changes in terms of who governs

D) changes in political campaigns and outreach

E) All of these answers are correct.

64) Outline how technology has transformed politics since the mid-twentieth century.

65) Discuss the key trends and developments in political involvement in the United States since the 1970s.

66) Identify and explain the key functions of the United States government.

67) Outline the key features of monarchies, oligarchies, and democracies.

68) Explain the difference between an authoritarian government and a totalitarian one, and identify examples of each.

69) Outline the evolution of modern American democracy over the last 500 years.

70) Compare and contrast the political philosophies of John Locke and Thomas Hobbes.

71) Discuss and identify key features of the political culture of the United States.

72) Describe key beliefs and ideologies present in the United States today.

73) Identify and explain the significance of the demographic changes occurring in the United States during the twenty-first century.