Assignment:
1. When did Civil Rights become part of the Constitution?
A. They have always been part of the constitution
B. Civil Rights were included in the Bill of Rights
C. Civil Rights were incorporated when Congress passed the Civil Rights act of 1964
D. Through the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment
2. Which of the following statements regarding Reconstruction is false?
A. Former slaves held many political offices in the South
B. Parts of the former Confederacy were occupied by federal troops.
C. The Constitution was amended twice between 1865 and 1868.
D. Former Slaves who were permitted to vote supported the Democratic Party
3. What was the goal of the Abolitionist Movement?
A. To abolish unequal treatment of women
B. Removal of all slaves and former slaves from the U.S.
C. To abolish tariffs on slave-produced goods
D. To abolish slavery
4. Which of the following events is regarded as having caused the end of Reconstruction in the South?
A. Passage of the Civil Rights act of 1875
B. The disputed election of Rutherford B. Hayes as president
C. The Supreme Court decision in Dred Scott
D. The Seneca Falls Convention
5. Which Supreme Court case affirmed laws allowing Aseparate but equal@ facilities for whites and former slaves?
A. Dred Scott v. Sanderson
B. Roe V. Wade
C. Brown v. Board of Education
D. Plessy v. Ferguson
6. Which Supreme Court Case declared the end of Aseparate but equal?@
A. Dred Scott v. Sanderson
B. Roe v. Sade
C. Brown v. Board of Education
D. Plessy v. Ferguson
7. Which of the following acts prohibited discrimination in the workplace based on race?
A. The Fourteenth Amendment
B. The Civil Rights Act of 1875
C. The Nineteenth Amendment
D. The Civil Rights Act of 1964
8. Which of the following practices was not prohibited by the 1964 Civil Rights Act?
A. discrimination in the workplace
B. equal treatment for public accommodations
C. desegregation of public schools
D. poll taxes
9. In a case of workplace discrimination, in which of the following forums would you file your complaint?
A. The Supreme Court
B. Congress
C. The Department of Commerce
D. EEOC
10. To draw voting districts so that one group or party is unfairly advantaged is called:
A. gerrymandering
B. disenfranchisement
C. busing
D. logrolling
11. Which of the following was not used as a way to prevent African Americans from voting?
A. poll taxes
B. restrictive covenants
C. white primaries
D. literacy tests
12. What does Aredlining@ mean?
A. the practice of banks refusing to make loans to people living in certain neighborhoods
B. logrolling
C. the practice of denying someone=s rights by labeling him a Communist
D. striking a voter=s name from the roll because of that voter=s race
13. Which of the following groups was excluded from immigrating to the US between the late nineteenth century and the 1940s?
A. Chinese
B. Japanese
C. Mexicans
D. Russians
14. Before the 1920s, what was the political status of Native Americans?
A. they were federal citizens, but not state citizens
B. Foreigners
C. illegal immigrants
D. no status at all
15. The rights of the disabled not to be discriminated against in the workplace is guaranteed by:
A. The Civil Rights Act of 1964
B. The Civil Rights act of 1875
C. The Twenty-Fifth Amendment
D. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
16. Which of the following cases restricted the use of racial quotas in university admissions programs?
A. Board of Regents v. Bakke
B. Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
C. Bowers v. Hardwick
D. Romer v. Evans
17. The federal government derives its authority to enforce civil rights violations through which of the following:
A. the civil rights clause of Article VI
B. the commerce clause
C. the Tenth Amendment
D. the Fourteenth Amendment
18. In which of the following events did the media not play a central role?
A. the Korean War
B. the Vietnam War
C. the Civil rights movement
D. Watergate
19. The power of the media to bring public attention to particular issues and problems is called
A. framing
B. canvassing
C. agenda setting
D. polling
20. During the nineteenth century, newspapers were controlled by
A. wall street
B. political parties
C. churches and other religious groups
D. state governments
21. Which of the following presidents was the first to make extensive use of broadcast media to build a personal connection with the American people?
A. Abraham Lincoln
B. Franklin D. Roosevelt
C. John F. Kennedy
D. Richard M. Nixon
22. American print and broadcast media tend to be more responsive to the
A. lower class
B. poor
C. downtrodden
D. affluent
23. Which of the following advised his fellow citizens to shun political parties (Apartisan politics@)?
A. Hamilton
B. Jefferson
C. Adams
D. Washington
24. Which of the following is true, according to the text:
A. Political parties are only important during election years.
B. Political parties are stable coalitions of individuals with shared or overlapping interests.
C. Political parties are necessary for propagating official ideology.
D. Political parties are not very useful for actually initiating public policy.
25. The two party system now used in the United States began when?
A. shortly after George Washington=s death
B. shortly before the civil war
C. the late nineteenth century
D. following the repeal of prohibition
26. Which of the following marked the decline of the Democratic party, until its resurgence in the 1930s?
A. Whiskey Rebellion
B. Shays= Rebellion
C. Prohibition
D. the Civil War
27. Who of the following has the most legitimate claim to the title, AFounder of the Democratic party?@
A. Andrew Jackson
B. George Washington
C. Abraham Lincoln
D. Alexander Hamilton
28. According to the text, which of the following are most likely to support the Republican party?
A. Latinos
B. Women
C. African Americans
D. the wealthy
29. Between the Civil War and the 1960's, which area of the U.S. was a Democratic stronghold?
A. midwest
B. west
C. south
D. New England
30. What is the best definition of soft money?
A. illegal donations
B. contributions intended to pay for party expenses but NOT used to support any specific candidate
C. donations which are not monetary in nature, such as office supplies or hotel rooms
D. money that is left over after the election
31. The power of ____________ is used by political party bosses to reward loyal party members.
A. the political machine
B. patronage
C. soft money
D. caucuses
32. Which of the following events ended the dominance of the Republican Party?
A. The Great Depression
B. The First World War
C. The Teapot Dome scandal
D. The Credit Mobilier scandal
33. Who was the first presidential candidate of the Republican Party?
A. Andrew Jackson
B. John Fremont
C. Abraham Lincoln
D. Ulysses Grant
34. How many party systems has the United States had since 1789?
A. two
B. six
C. twenty-four
D. forty-three
35. How many total members of congress are there?
A. 342
B. 535
C. 100
D. 630
36. How long is the term of a U.S. Senator?
A. two years
B. four years
C. six years
D. eight years
37. In each House district there are approximately how many persons represented?
A. 200,000
B. 600,000
C. 1,200,000
D. 2,500,000
38. Redistricting is controversial because:
A. they can be drawn so that one party has an advantage over another
B. Two incumbents can be forced to run for the same seat
C. some states gain extra seats while other states lose seats
D. all of the above
39. In the House of Representatives, the majority leader is
A. subordinate to the Speaker of the House
B. the same office as the Speaker of the House
C. superior in formal powers to the Speaker
D. There is no majority leader in the House
40. Who has the most formal power in the Senate?
A. the Speaker
B. the majority and minority leaders combined
C. the Senate president pro tempore
D. all Senators have equal power
41. Who is the Speaker of the House?
A. the vice president of the United States
B. the representative with the longest tenure is automatically appointed this position
C. the elected leader of the majority party in the House is the Speaker
D. a congressional employee who formally brings the House into session each day is the Speaker
42. In the House of Representatives, the determination of how much time and structure given to floor debate on a bill is up to which of the following?
A. the Rules Committee
B. the bill=s authors
C. the Ways and Means Committee
D. the majority leader
43. What is a filibuster?
A. referring a bill to multiple committees
B. a means by which a conference committee is avoided
C. a means to prevent a vote on a bill by speaking continuously on the floor
D. to call into question an action by the executive branch
44. How can a president=s veto be overridden by Congress?
A. by a two-thirds vote by either house
B. two-thirds vote by both houses
C. simple majority vote by either house
D. a president=s veto cannot be overridden
45. When two members of Congress who share no common interests agree to support each other=s bills, the practice is called:
A. filibustering
B. delegating
C. bargaining
D. logrolling
46. To which of the Senate=s constitutional powers of advice and consent not extend?
A. the president=s power to make treaties with foreign nations
B. the president=s appointment of top executive officials, such as cabinet members
C. all federal judicial appointments
D. executive agreements
47. Which of the following BEST describes the role of the House of Representatives in an impeachment proceeding?
A. judge
B. grand jury
C. prosecuting attorney
D. witness
48. AClosed rule@ and Aopen rule@ refer to:
A. whether deliberations are open to the general public
B. assignment to powerful committees
C. whether lobbyists are allowed inside Congress
D. whether floor debate on a bill will be permitted
49. Only two presidents have been impeached. Who were they?
A. Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton
B. Andrew Johnson and Warren G. Harding
C. Herbert Hoover and Bill Clinton
D. Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton
50. Why do we have an electoral college? Because the framers intended:
A. to make a more independent and powerful chief executive
B. to make the president more responsible to state legislatures
C. to bind the president to the will of the people
D. to create an imperial presidency as a check on Congressional power
51. Who has power to declare war under the constitution?
A. the president
B. the secretary of defense
C. the senate
D. the president upon advice and consent of the senate
52. Who are Florida=s elected senators?
A. Spessard Holland and Connie Mack
B. Bob Graham and Lawton Chiles
C. Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio
D. Hal Prince and Judy Chaplin
53. The goal of the War Powers Resolution was to
A. compel a congressional declaration of war for every large scale military operation
B. check the ability of Congress to cut off funding for troops when the president sends them overseas without Congressional approval
C. end the Viet Nam War
D. limit the power of the president to commit American troops to military action without authorization of Congress
54. Which of the following statements about the cabinet is incorrect, according to the text?
A. the cabinet has no status under the Constitution
B. the cabinet does not make decisions collectively
C. the cabinet does not meet as a group, except during the State of the Union address
D. the Senate must approve the President=s choice of cabinet secretaries
55. The groups of advisers and analysts to the president are collectively called the
A. cabinet
B. Akitchen@ cabinet
C. White House staff
D. Executive Council of Advisors
56. Which of the following is the Vice President constitutionally authorized to do?
A. serve as Speaker in the House of Representatives
B. cast tie-breaking votes in the Senate
C. act as commander in chief of the armed forces
D. act as representative of the President overseas
57. Who was the first First Lady to seek and win public office on her own?
A. Dolly Madison
B. Eleanor Roosevelt
C. Betty Ford
D. Hillary Clinton
58. The Executive Office of the President was established in:
A. 1790
B. 1829
C. 1939
D. 1965
59. Who coined the term Abully pulpit?@
A. Theodore Roosevelt
B. Franklin Roosevelt
C. Abraham Lincoln
D. Jimmy Carter
60. The size of the U.S. Supreme Court is set by
A. the Constitution
B. Congress
C. the president
D. referendum
61. In which of the following types of cases is the state ALWAYS the plaintiff?
A. public law
B. civil law
C. common law
D. criminal law
62. If a private party brought a suit against a corporation for breaking a contract, what kind of law would this lawsuit involve?
A. criminal
B. civil
C. public
D. duel
63. Which of the following is the name of the doctrine which requires courts to follow precedents set by authoritative prior decisions?
A. stare decisis
B. habeas corpus
C. ex post facto
D. post hoc ergo propter hoc
65. Approximately how many Federal judges are there at present?
A. 9
B. 87
C. 866
D. 3,492
66. What is the main function of the chief justice of the Supreme Court?
A. to decide what cases will be decided by the court
B. to write the majority opinions
C. to preside over the court=s public sessions and private conferences
D. to act as constitutional advisor to the president
67. When the president places a candidate on the bench while Congress is not in session, the process is called:
A. recess appointment
B. pocket veto
C. Senate bypass
D. expedited confirmation
68. What is the largest number of justices to have served on the Supreme Court?
A. six
B. nine
C. twelve
D. ten
69. Out of the following list, which is the most frequent type of case heard by the Supreme Court?
A. petition for writ of mandamus, an extraordinary writ
B. constitutional challenges to state laws
C. requests for writ of habeas corpus
D. requests for stay of execution
70. What was the Supreme Court=s decision regarding the line-item veto?
A. it was upheld as a constitutional exercise of congressional power
B. it was struck down as an unconstitutional violation of the separation of powers
C. the Supreme Court refused to hear the issue, employing its Apolitical question@ doctrine
D. it was upheld as an authorized delegation of federal powers to the states
71. In what year was Marbury v. Madison decided?
A. 1789
B. 1861
C. 1803
D. 1929
72. What is Acommon law?@
A. another name for federal law
B. laws, typically criminal, that were adopted from English precedent
C. law made by an administrative body
D. law that is guided by the Constitution
73. The requirement of standing means that parties in a case must
A. be in an upright position
B. have a definite injury or interest at stake
C. actively participate in court during the trial
D. know the law they are using to defend themselves
74. Most cases reach the U.S. Supreme Court through
A. writ of appeal
B. writ of habeas corpus
C. writ of amicus curiae
D. writ of certiorari
75. The written document in which attorneys explain why the appellate court should rule in favor of their client is called:
A. intervention
B. writ of certiorari
C. brief
D. writ of habeas corpus
76. When the Supreme Court refuses to review a lower-court decision, announcing this decision through a short unsigned opinion is called a/an _________________ opinion.
A. Per Curiam
B. Ex Parte
C. concurrent
D. Amicas Curiae
77. A person, agency, or interest group who is not a party to a case but who has an interest in its outcome may file
A. a petition for writ of certiorari
B. a Per Curiam brief
C. an Amicas Curiae brief
D. a standing brief
78. Prisoners who are challenging their detention in federal court are most likely to file a writ of
A. Habeas Corpus
B. Certiorari
C. Jurisdiction
D. Stare Decisis
79. Aside from the justices themselves, which of the following has the greatest power in shaping the number of cases that might go to the Supreme Court?
A. the attorney general
B. the Senate judiciary committee
C. the state supreme courts
D. the United States Solicitor General
80. What is the significance of dissenting opinions?
A. they are made to appeal to a justice=s constituency groups
B. they have as much weight of law as the majority=s opinion does
C. dissents are signs that the Court is in disagreement on an issue and could change its ruling in the future
D. dissents are meant to confuse lawyers and government officials as to the true meaning of a decided case