The Presidency Leading The Nation Chapter.12 Full Test Bank - We The People 13e Complete Test Bank by Thomas Patterson. DOCX document preview.

The Presidency Leading The Nation Chapter.12 Full Test Bank

We The People, 13e (Patterson)

Chapter 12 The Presidency: Leading the Nation

1) The presidency is an

A) extraordinarily strong office with sufficient powers to enable the president to control national policy under virtually all circumstances.

B) inherently weak office, in that presidents have almost no capacity to influence the major directions of national policy.

C) office in which power is conditional, depending on whether the political support that gives force to presidential leadership exists or can be developed.

D) office where power depends almost entirely on its occupant; strong leaders are always successful presidents, and weak ones never succeed.

E) office where power is fairly constant, regardless of the occupant or the circumstances.

2) A president's power has largely depended on

A) the margin of victory in the presidential campaign.

B) whether circumstances favor strong presidential leadership.

C) the president's ability to come up with good ideas.

D) the president's skill at balancing the demands of competing groups.

E) midterm elections.

3) Which of the following did the framers want from a president?

A) national leadership

B) administration of the laws

C) direction in foreign affairs

D) command of the military

E) All of these answers are correct.

4) Congress has formally declared war ________ times in U.S. history.

A) 2

B) 5

C) 55

D) almost 200

E) close to 350

5) The presidency was created by Article ________ of the U.S. Constitution.

A) I

B) II

C) III

D) IV

E) VII

6) What did Alexander Hamilton argue about war in Federalist No. 69?

A) Congress is the only body with enough deliberative powers to be able to justly declare war.

B) War under any circumstances is unjust, even in self-defense.

C) A president should be allowed to declare war, because only the executive can react quickly enough.

D) A surprise attack on the United States is the only justification for war by presidential decree.

E) Building a strong military for engagement in foreign wars would be a key ingredient to establishing executive authority.

7) What did the Supreme Court rule about executive agreements in 1937?

A) They are legally binding in the same way that treaties are.

B) They can only be issued in matters of national security.

C) They will only be binding if reviewed and approved by both houses of Congress.

D) They can only be made with the approval of a president's entire cabinet.

E) They were ruled unconstitutional and are no longer used by the executive.

8) The president's constitutional roles, such as chief executive and commander in chief,

A) are based on very precise constitutional grants of power.

B) are rooted in tradition only; they have no basis in the language of the Constitution.

C) are not subject to check by Congress.

D) have expanded in practice to be more powerful than the writers of the Constitution intended.

E) are absolute powers under the Constitution.

9) The Whig theory holds that the presidency

A) is a shared office, where the president and the cabinet are equally powerful.

B) is a limited office whose occupant is an administrator who carries out the will of Congress.

C) is the office most representative of the people.

D) should provide strong leadership in the area of foreign policy but not in domestic policy.

E) is subordinate to the Supreme Court.

10) How did Theodore Roosevelt change the conception of the presidency?

A) He altered the stewardship theory to reduce the power of the presidency while remaining an activist president.

B) He sought to act only within the confines of expressly-granted constitutional authority.

C) He rejected the idea of the "strong presidency."

D) He cast aside the stewardship theory in favor of the Whig theory.

E) He cast aside the Whig theory in favor of the stewardship theory.

11) Which of the following is a reason for the relatively weak presidency during the 19th century, as compared to the presidency in the 20th century?

A) the smaller size and complexity of the federal government

B) the sectional nature of the nation's major issues

C) the U.S. government's smaller role in world affairs

D) all of these factors: the smaller size and complexity of the federal government; the sectional nature of the nation's major issues; and the U.S. government's smaller role in world affairs

E) None of these answers is correct.

12) The president's role in foreign policy increased largely because

A) Congress proved so inept in foreign affairs that the American people demanded a change.

B) America became more of a world power.

C) of the need to coordinate national economic policy and foreign policy, a task to which the presidency was well suited.

D) of the desire of U.S. business to expand into Latin America and Asia, which required executive action at the highest level.

E) of attitudes held by the American public.

13) What aspect of presidential election did Andrew Jackson try but fail to achieve?

A) elimination of the Electoral College

B) elimination of candidate selection by primary

C) elimination of the unit rule

D) the equalization of Electoral College votes, eliminating population as a factor

E) an increase in the number of presidential candidates per party

14) Under which president did the Electoral College selection process change to a popular vote?

A) George Washington

B) Thomas Jefferson

C) James Madison

D) Andrew Jackson

E) Martin Van Buren

15) The use of the primary system to select delegates to the presidential nominating convention began in

A) the early 1800s during the presidency of Thomas Jefferson.

B) the 1830s during the presidency of Andrew Jackson.

C) the early 1900s during the Progressive era.

D) the 1930s during the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt.

E) the 1970s in the aftermath of the Vietnam War and student protests.

16) The primary election, in which voters choose the presidential nominees,

A) was introduced during the Jacksonian era.

B) is used in Europe as well as in the United States.

C) became the primary model for selecting party presidential nominees in the later half of the 20th century.

D) is designed to strengthen the political parties.

E) was introduced during the Cleveland era.

17) After which presidential election year did the Democrats force major changes in the presidential nominating process?

A) 1948

B) 1960

C) 1968

D) 1984

E) 1992

18) The invisible primary

A) takes place in the year prior to a presidential election.

B) is typically won by the person who is either the most liberal or the most conservative.

C) takes place in the Republican Party, but not the Democratic Party.

D) takes place in the Democratic Party, but not the Republican Party.

E) is another term for the presidential caucuses.

19) Candidate strategy in the early presidential nominating contests is designed chiefly to gain

A) momentum.

B) the support of the party's organizational leaders.

C) the support of the party's congressional leaders.

D) the endorsement of the mass media.

E) the support of partisan rivals.

20) Which state typically holds the first presidential caucus?

A) Kansas

B) Minnesota

C) Iowa

D) Nevada

E) Nebraska

21) Which state typically holds the first presidential primary?

A) Vermont

B) New Hampshire

C) New York

D) California

E) Florida

22) The selection of the vice presidential nominee at the national convention is based on the

A) results of the primaries and caucuses; the candidate who places second in these contests is nominated as the running mate of the candidate who finishes first.

B) convention delegates' judgment as to the candidate who would make the best vice president.

C) results of public opinion polls taken just before the convention begins.

D) presidential nominee's choice of a running mate.

E) None of these answers is correct.

23) Roughly ________ was spent on the 2016 presidential election (including the primaries). 

A) $24 million

B) $240 million

C) $1.1 billion

D) $2.4 billion

E) $24 billion

24) What is the total number of votes in the Electoral College?

A) 100

B) 435

C) 538

D) 765

E) 1,024

25) How many Electoral College votes are needed to secure victory for a presidential candidate?

A) 51

B) 218

C) 270

D) 321

E) 430

26) According to the U.S. Constitution, if no one candidate receives a majority vote of the Electoral College, who chooses the president?

A) the U.S. Senate

B) the U.S. House of Representatives

C) both the Senate and House in joint session

D) the Supreme Court

E) the people, in a runoff election

27) Which of the following presidents failed to win an electoral majority but still won the presidency by decision of the House of Representatives?

A) John Quincy Adams

B) Rutherford B. Hayes

C) Benjamin Harrison

D) George W. Bush

E) All of these answers are correct.

28) The U.S. House of Representatives last decided the outcome of a presidential election in ________.

A) 1928

B) 1892

C) 1856

D) 1824

E) 1800

29) States that apply the unit rule

A) grant all their electoral votes as a unit to the candidate who wins the state's popular vote.

B) hold a single primary for presidential candidates from each major party.

C) use the caucus instead of the primary for presidential candidate selection.

D) do not use the Electoral College system.

E) are not considered to be states in which there is a competitive race between candidates.

30) The only two states that are exceptions to the unit rule are

A) Michigan and Montana.

B) New Hampshire and Vermont.

C) Maine and Nebraska.

D) Georgia and Louisiana.

E) Rhode Island and Oregon.

31) Which of the following is true of general election campaigns for president?

A) Major-party nominees start the election campaign with little support.

B) Major-party nominees start the election campaign with heavy support.

C) Third-party candidates had increasing chances of winning over the past several decades.

D) Most independents lean toward supporting third-party candidates.

E) The Electoral College does not factor into campaign strategy.

32) Which of the following states is most likely to vote Democratic in the next presidential election?

A) Washington

B) North Carolina

C) Montana

D) Ohio

E) Indiana

33) Which of the following states is most likely to vote Republican in the next presidential election?

A) Pennsylvania

B) New York

C) Vermont

D) Colorado

E) Texas

34) Which of the following states is most likely to be a battleground state in the next presidential election?

A) North Dakota

B) New York

C) Alabama

D) Colorado

E) California

35) Which of the following is a formal constitutional requirement for becoming president?

A) must be at least 40 years of age

B) must be resident in the United States for at least 10 years

C) must be a natural-born citizen

D) must be a white male

E) must be a Protestant

36) Who among the following did NOT serve as a state governor prior to being president?

A) Ronald Reagan

B) Bill Clinton

C) John F. Kennedy

D) George W. Bush

E) Jimmy Carter

37) Which of the following is true of the vice presidency?

A) Presidents in the 19th century paid more attention to their vice presidents and granted them more authority.

B) The Constitution assigns no executive authority to the vice president.

C) Jimmy Carter reduced the power of the vice presidency by removing the vice president's office from the White House.

D) The constitutional powers of the vice presidency have been increased by Congress twice during U.S. history.

E) Daniel Webster and Henry Clay accepted nominations to the vice presidency as stepping stones to the presidency.

38) The Executive Office of the President (EOP) was created in ________.

A) 1789

B) 1804

C) 1865

D) 1888

E) 1939

39) Which of the following is part of the Executive Office of the President?

A) Office of Management and Budget

B) National Economic Council

C) National Security Council

D) Office of Legislative Affairs

E) All of these answers are correct.

40) The presidential advisory unit that, as a whole, has declined significantly as an advisory resource for the president in the last century is the

A) National Economic Council.

B) Office of Management and Budget.

C) White House Office.

D) National Security Council.

E) cabinet (as a whole).

41) The president is able to appoint more than ________ people to top positions in the administration.

A) 250

B) 800

C) 2,000

D) 8,000

E) 24,000

42) The president's success is most dependent on winning over

A) the courts.

B) the bureaucracy.

C) the foreign service.

D) Congress.

E) his or her chief of staff.

43) Which president, because of the circumstances of the day, was able to accomplish more in the first few months than any other president has in a comparable amount of time?

A) Ronald Reagan

B) Theodore Roosevelt

C) Bill Clinton

D) Barack Obama

E) Franklin Roosevelt

44) The honeymoon period occurs during

A) a president's second term only.

B) the first part of a president's term.

C) the period of a president's term immediately following a successful foreign policy initiative.

D) the period of a president's term immediately following a successful domestic policy initiative.

E) the State of the Union address.

45) A president is likely to propose the most new programs

A) during his or her first year in office.

B) after reelection to a second term.

C) immediately after Congress enacts a major presidential initiative.

D) when international conditions are stable.

E) during his or her last year in office.

46) Political scientist Aaron Wildavsky's "two presidencies" thesis holds that a president is likely to be most successful with Congress on policy initiatives involving

A) social welfare policy.

B) foreign policy.

C) tax policy.

D) economic policy.

E) environmental policy.

47) Why did President Obama sign the 2014 farm bill?

A) He wanted the support of farm states for his reelection bid.

B) It was almost exactly the bill he wanted.

C) It was close to the bill he wanted, with a few exceptions.

D) He recognized he had no chance of getting a better farm bill.

E) None of these answers is correct.

48) Which of the following is true of the president's veto power?

A) The presidential veto is an executive tool of near unlimited power.

B) The threat of a veto has never proven to be enough to make Congress bend to the president's demands.

C) Congress can usually muster the two-thirds majority in each chamber required to override a presidential veto.

D) The veto is as much a sign of presidential weakness as of strength, because it arises when Congress refuses to accept the president's ideas.

E) Obama was able to use the veto to force Congress to give him full restoration of a food stamp provision that he wanted.

49) Political scientist Richard Neustadt argues that presidential power, at its core, is the power to

A) threaten.

B) persuade.

C) veto.

D) make war.

E) appoint Supreme Court justices.

50) What is the most important factor in determining whether or not a president will get what he wants from Congress?

A) the partisan makeup of Congress

B) how often the president threatens to veto bills

C) whether or not the president has ever served in Congress

D) the president's ability to do personal favors for members of Congress

E) whether a president is serving a first term or a second term

51) If the U.S. House of Representatives chooses to impeach a president, who conducts the trial?

A) the U.S. Supreme Court

B) the U.S. House of Representatives

C) the U.S. Senate

D) the Federal Bureau of Investigation

E) the Department of Justice

52) The forced removal of a president from office through impeachment and conviction requires action by the

A) House of Representatives only.

B) Senate only.

C) House and Senate in a joint session.

D) House and Senate in separate proceedings.

E) Supreme Court in a judicial proceeding.

53) Which president narrowly survived an impeachment conviction?

A) Andrew Johnson

B) John Quincy Adams

C) Theodore Roosevelt

D) Warren Harding

E) Calvin Coolidge

54) How many presidents have been impeached in U.S. history?

A) 0

B) 1

C) 2

D) 3

E) 4

55) The War Powers Act was enacted in order to

A) guide the military in its use of force in field situations where it is impractical to seek direction from the president.

B) allow the president more leeway in committing U.S. troops to combat.

C) define the relationship between the United States and its allies.

D) limit the president's war-making power.

E) weaken Congress in foreign policy matters.

56) Which of the following is a provision of the War Powers Act?

A) It prohibits the president from sending troops into combat.

B) It requires hostilities to end within sixty days unless Congress extends the period.

C) It requires Congress to consult with the president whenever feasible before passing measures that will restrict president-ordered military action.

D) It requires the president to inform Congress within one month of the reason for the military action.

E) It removes from Congress the power to restrict the timing or size of president-initiated military actions.

57) A president's policy initiatives are significantly more successful when the president

A) has the strong support of the American people.

B) is a former member of Congress.

C) is on good terms with other world leaders.

D) is in office when the economy goes bad, which creates a demand for stronger leadership.

E) None of these answers is correct.

58) In the modern era, the equivalent practice of using the presidency as a bully pulpit (Theodore Roosevelt) is summed up in the phrase, "________."

A) going public

B) spin control

C) air wars

D) lobbying the bureaucracy

E) manipulating the media

59) Which of the following is typical of post-WWII presidents with respect to public popularity?

A) leaving office with less than 50 percent approval ratings

B) starting office with very low approval ratings

C) experiencing a steady increase in approval ratings during their first terms

D) seeing spikes in popularity during economic downturns

E) seeing drops in popularity during stressful international challenges

60) Which of the following describes what political scientist Hugh Heclo calls "the illusion of presidential government"?

A) the inability of the president to influence the legislative priorities of Congress, even though the party in power pays lip-service to the president's agenda

B) the presidential image-building through public relations that contributes to the idea that the president is in charge of the national government

C) the belief by the public that Congress should follow the presidential agenda, regardless of whether or not the majority party is the same party of the president

D) the image-building that the president's foreign policy strength lends to the rest of his agenda

E) the image strength lent by the sheer size of the executive establishment, even though the president has little direct control over most of it

61) Explain the difference between the Whig theory of the presidency and the stewardship theory. Which is the norm today?

62) How does the unit rule work in the Electoral College? How does this effect a candidate's choice of which states to concentrate on in a campaign?

63) Identify the four systems of presidential selection that the United States had during its history. What has been the overriding reason for the changes that have taken place?

64) Discuss the circumstances that contribute to the success or failure of presidential influence on national policy.

65) Discuss the relationship between the president and Congress. Why does the president need congressional support? What conditions affect the success of the president with Congress?

66) Discuss the relationship of presidential power to public support for the president, and explain why this relationship is both an asset and a liability for the president.

Document Information

Document Type:
DOCX
Chapter Number:
12
Created Date:
Aug 21, 2025
Chapter Name:
Chapter 12 The Presidency Leading The Nation
Author:
Thomas Patterson

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