American National Government Study Guide PDF

The Great Compromise successfully resolved differences between \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **large and small states** While each state has two senators, members of the House are apportioned \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **according to the state's population**\ \ The process of redistricting can present problems for co...

The Great Compromise successfully resolved differences between \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **large and small states** While each state has two senators, members of the House are apportioned \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **according to the state's population**\ \ The process of redistricting can present problems for congressional representation because \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **districts are often drawn to benefit partisan groups**\ \ Which of the following is an implied power of Congress?\ **the power to regulate the sale of tobacco in the states** Senate races tend to inspire \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **broad discussion of policy issues** The saying "All politics is local" roughly means \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **the local constituents tend to care about things that affect them** House leaders are more powerful than Senate leaders because of \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **the majoritarian nature of the House---a majority can run it like a cartel** A select committee is different from a standing committee because \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **a select committee is convened for a specific and temporary purpose, while a standing committee is permanent** Stopping a filibuster requires that \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **the chamber votes for cloture** Saying a bill is being marked up is just another way to say it is being \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **Amended** The key means of advancing modern legislation is now \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **the budget process** Many at the Continental Congress were skeptical of allowing presidents to be directly elected by the legislature because \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **they feared the opportunities created for corruption**\ \ Which of the following is a way George Washington expanded the power of the presidency?\ **He appointed the heads of various federal departments as his own advisors.** The people who make up the modern president's cabinet are the heads of the major federal departments and \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **must be confirmed by the Senate**\ \ A very challenging job for new presidents is to \_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **nominate and gain confirmation for their cabinet and hundreds of other officials**\ \ President Theodore Roosevelt's concept of the bully pulpit was the office's \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **premier position to pressure through public appeal** The passage of the Tenure of Office Act of 1867 was just one instance in a long line of \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **struggles for power between the president and the Congress** Which of the following is an example of an executive agreement?\ **The president signs legally binding nuclear arms terms with Iran without seeking congressional approval.** The Supreme Court's power of judicial review \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **enables it to declare acts of the other branches unconstitutional** The Supreme Court most typically functions as \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **an appeals court** In Federalist No. 78, Alexander Hamilton characterized the judiciary as the \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ branch of government.\ **least dangerous**\ \ Of all the court cases in the United States, the majority are handled \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **at the state level**\ \ Both state and federal courts hear matters that involve \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **both civil and criminal law** A state case is more likely to be heard by the federal courts when \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **it involves a federal question** Besides the Supreme Court, there are lower courts in the national system called \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **district and circuit courts**\ \ In standing by precedent, a judge relies on the principle of \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **stare decisis** A case will be placed on the Court's docket when \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ justices agree to do so.\ **four**\ \ One of the main ways interest groups participate in Supreme Court cases is by \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **Filing amicus curiae briefs. protesting in front of the Supreme Court building** The lawyer who represents the federal government and argues cases before the Supreme Court is the\ \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **solicitor general** When using judicial restraint, judges will usually \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **defer to the decisions of the elected branches of government**\ \ When a Supreme Court ruling is made, justices may write a \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ to show they agree with the majority but for different reasons.\ **concurring opinion** Which of the following is a check that the legislative branch has over the courts?\ **d. all of the above** \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ dictate the terms and conditions state governments would have to meet in order to qualify for financial assistance in a specific policy area.\ **Categorical grants** The Tenth Amendment created a class of powers exclusive to state governments. These powers are referred to as \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **reserved powers**\ \ Dillon's Rule gives local governments the freedom and flexibility to make decisions for themselves.\ **False** In a \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ political culture, the government is seen as a mechanism for maintaining the existing social order or status quo.\ **traditionalistic**\ \ Under a \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ political culture, citizens will tend to be more tolerant of corruption from their political leaders and less likely to see politics as a noble profession in which all citizens should engage.\ moralistic\ **individualistic** \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ was the first state to institute all mail-in voting and automatic voter registration.\ **Oregon**\ \ \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ are a officeholder who represent the will of those who elected them and act in constituents' expressed interest.\ **delegates** In a \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ legislature, members tend to have low salaries, shorter sessions, and few staff members to assist them with their legislative functions.\ **citizen** A(n) \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ veto allows the governor to cross out budget lines in the legislature-approved budget, while\ signing the remainder of the budget into law.\ **line-item**\ \ Under consecutive term limits, legislators can serve one time for the number of years allotted and are not permitted to ever compete for the office again.\ **False** The most common term limit across the states that have imposed them is \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ years.\ **eight** When term limits have been overturned, the most common method was \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **a decision by the state Supreme Court** Term limits have produced a statistically significant increase in the number of women serving in state legislatures.\ **False** Currently, \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ states have term limits in place.\ **Fifteen** Under the mayor-council system, the \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **legislative and executive responsibilities are separated**\ \ Which of the following is not one of the three forms of county government?\ **the mayor-council system** During George Washington's administration, there were \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ cabinet positions.\ **four** The "spoils system" allocated political appointments on the basis of \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **party loyalty** Two recent periods of large-scale bureaucratic expansion were \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **the 1930s and the 1960s**\ \ The Civil Service Commission was created by the \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **Pendleton Act of 1883** The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 created the Office of Personnel Management and the \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **Merit Systems Protection Board** Which describes the ideal bureaucracy according to Max Weber?\ **an apolitical, hierarchically organized agency** Which of the following models of bureaucracy best accounts for the way bureaucracies tend to push Congress for more funding each year?\ **the acquisitive model** an example of a government corporation is \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **Amtrak**\ \ The Freedom of Information Act of 1966 helps citizens exercise oversight over the bureaucracy by\ \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **opening government records to citizen scrutiny**\ \ When reformers speak of bureaucratic privatization, they mean all the following processes except\ \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **Whistleblowing** Which of the following is not an example of a public policy outcome?\ **none of the above; all are public policy outcomes** Public policy \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **requires multiple actors and branches to carry out** Toll goods differ from public goods in that \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **they require the payment of a fee up front** Which type of policy directly benefits the most citizens?\ **regulatory policy**\ Social Security and Medicare are notable for their assistance to which group?\ **the elderly** Setting aside Social Security and Medicare, other entitlement programs in the U.S. government \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **constitute well under one-quarter of the budget** Which stage of the public policy process includes identification of problems in need of fixing?\ **agenda setting** Policy analysts seek \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **evidence** A deficit is \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **the annual budget shortfall between revenues and expenditures**\ \ Entitlement (or mandatory) spending is \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **formula-based spending that goes to individual citizens** Why are foreign policy issues more complicated than domestic policy issues?\ **The international environment is unpredictable.** Which of the following is not a foreign policy type?\ **bureaucratic oversight** The goals of U.S. foreign policy include \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **all the above**\ \ A sole executive agreement is likely to be in effect longer than is a treaty.\ **false** All the following are examples of sharply focused foreign policy outputs\ except \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **international agreements** The War Powers Resolution \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **strengthened presidential war powers** The federal budget process matters in foreign policy for all the following reasons\ except \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **the budget for every presidential action has to be approved in advance**\ \ In terms of formal powers in the realm of foreign policy, \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **the president and Congress share power**\ \ Why do House members and senators tend to be less active on foreign policy matters than domestic ones?\ **Constituents are more directly affected by domestic policy topics than foreign ones.**\ \ Neo conservativism is an isolationist foreign policy approach of a nation keeping to itself and engaging less internationally.\ **False** President George W. Bush was a proponent of liberal internationalism in his foreign policy.\ **False** The U.S. policy of containment during the Cold War related to keeping \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.\ **communism from spreading** The use of drones within other countries' borders is consistent with which school of thought?\ **neoconservativism**