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| 1 | |
Which of the following is not considered a core political ideal in the United States? |
| | A) | Socialism |
| | B) | liberty |
| | C) | equality |
| | D) | self-government |
| | E) | individualism |
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| 2 | |
The reality that officials in the United States spend comparatively less money on government programs for the poor than other fully industrialized democracies reflects the American ideal of |
| | A) | unity. |
| | B) | equality. |
| | C) | diversity. |
| | D) | collectivism. |
| | E) | individualism. |
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| 3 | |
The two primary sources of political conflict are |
| | A) | liberalism and conservatism. |
| | B) | partisan differences and philosophy. |
| | C) | scarcity and differences in values. |
| | D) | ethnicity and geographical differences. |
| | E) | libertarianism and populism. |
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| 4 | |
Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean Jacques Rousseau would all have agreed with which of the following statements? |
| | A) | The people must obey their rulers, even when their rulers act unjustly. |
| | B) | People in a state of nature are happier than people living under a government. |
| | C) | All legitimate governments are based on a social contract. |
| | D) | The only legitimate government was one that regularly consulted the will of the people. |
| | E) | By agreeing to live under a government's rule, persons lose all claims to individual rights. |
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| 5 | |
In Leviathan (1651), _____ argued that the government rests on a social contract in which ordinary people surrender what they would have in the state of nature in return for the protection a sovereign ruler could provide. |
| | A) | Thomas Hobbes |
| | B) | John Locke |
| | C) | Jean Jacques Rousseau |
| | D) | Thomas Jefferson |
| | E) | James Madison |
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| 6 | |
One effect of the American political system's use of checks and balances is |
| | A) | extreme fragmentation of governing authority. |
| | B) | that the three branches operate independently of each other. |
| | C) | the absolute guarantee that governmental power will not be abused. |
| | D) | an unusually expedient decision making process. |
| | E) | the reality that policy errors are completely avoided. |
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| 7 | |
Which of the following statements provides the most accurate description of democracy as practiced in the United States? |
| | A) | The people directly govern themselves. |
| | B) | Elitist institutions are absent from the American government. |
| | C) | The power of the people to make and enforce laws is checked by nothing except the will of the people. |
| | D) | The people govern through elected representatives. |
| | E) | The will of the majority always prevails. |
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| 8 | |
Which of the following is an input into the American political system? |
| | A) | public opinion |
| | B) | voting |
| | C) | political parties |
| | D) | interest groups |
| | E) | All of the answers are correct |
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| 9 | |
Which of the following is an output of the American political system? |
| | A) | law passed by Congress |
| | B) | presidential decision in foreign policy |
| | C) | law passed by Congress and presidential decision in foreign policy |
| | D) | Congress |
| | E) | executive bureaucracy |
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| 10 | |
In contrast to most regimes established by military coups in recent decades, Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia were |
| | A) | authoritarian. |
| | B) | democratic. |
| | C) | totalitarian. |
| | D) | aristocratic. |
| | E) | majoritarian. |
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| 11 | |
Pluralists such as _____ argue that government responds to the true interests of most Americans most of the time. |
| | A) | G. William Domhoff |
| | B) | Max Weber |
| | C) | C. Wright Mills |
| | D) | Robert Dahl |
| | E) | All of the answers are correct |
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| 12 | |
Thomas Jefferson counted the founding of which university to be among his greatest accomplishments? |
| | A) | the College of William and Mary |
| | B) | the University of Virginia |
| | C) | Harvard |
| | D) | Yale |
| | E) | Princeton |
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| 13 | |
Being the world's highest rate, roughly _____ of Americans have a college degree. |
| | A) | two-thirds |
| | B) | one-half |
| | C) | one-quarter |
| | D) | 10 percent |
| | E) | 1 percent |
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| 14 | |
Which of the following statements is true? |
| | A) | Slavery lasted for almost 250 years in America. |
| | B) | The Jim Crow era followed the Civil War. |
| | C) | In 1882, Congress suspended Chinese immigration on the assumption that the Chinese were an inferior people. |
| | D) | President Calvin Coolidge asked Congress for a permanent ban on Chinese immigration in 1923. |
| | E) | All of the answers are correct. |
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| 15 | |
Which of the following statements is true of African Americans today? |
| | A) | African Americans have equal rights under the law. |
| | B) | African Americans are twice as likely as whites to live in poverty. |
| | C) | African Americans are twice as likely as whites to be unable to find a job. |
| | D) | African Americans are twice as likely as whites to die in infancy. |
| | E) | All of the answers are correct. |
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| 16 | |
Which Western philosopher declared in a political tract from 1690 that all individuals have certain natural rights, including those of life, liberty, and property? |
| | A) | Thomas Hobbes |
| | B) | John Locke |
| | C) | Jean Jacques Rousseau |
| | D) | Thomas Jefferson |
| | E) | James Madison |
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| 17 | |
In which famous document did James Madison argue that government is most dangerous when a single group gains complete political control? |
| | A) | Social Contract |
| | B) | Second Treatise on Civil Government |
| | C) | the Constitution |
| | D) | the Declaration of Independence |
| | E) | Federalist No. 10 |
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| 18 | |
The Federal Reserve Board is illustrative of the _____ theory of political power. |
| | A) | majoritarian |
| | B) | pluralist |
| | C) | elitist |
| | D) | bureaucratic |
| | E) | aristocratic |
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| 19 | |
Which of the following is true of majoritarianism in the United States? |
| | A) | Majorities do sometimes rule in America. |
| | B) | In many policy areas, majority opinion is ignored by policy makers. |
| | C) | When majority opinion on major issues changes, policy tends to change in that direction as well. |
| | D) | The public is interested and well-informed on all policy issues. |
| | E) | All the statements are true, except the statement that the public is interested and well-informed on all policy issues. |
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| 20 | |
_____ refers to the characteristic and deep-seated beliefs of a particular people about government and politics. |
| | A) | Classical liberalism |
| | B) | Political culture |
| | C) | Capitalism |
| | D) | Pluralism |
| | E) | Socialism |
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