AP Government 1st Semester Review

​AP Government 1st Semester Final Review

By Kimberly Bailey

Multiple Choice

Which of the following explains how the bureaucracy can address a problem shown in the infographic?

• The Department of Transportation can write stronger regulations on freight volume.

• The president can negotiate a treaty that would allow for increased imports of oil

• The House Committee on Energy and Commerce can hold a hearing on the cost of fuel

• The Supreme Court can overturn laws that regulate fuel economy

Multiple Choice

Based on your knowledge of United States government and politics, with which of the following statements would the author most likely agree?

• Free market principles influence American political culture as well as the cultures of other countries.

• The United States is moving toward a single religion while other countries become more religiously fragmented.

• Capitalism has little influence beyond the borders of the United States because of retribalization in other countries.

• Citizens in the United States have witnessed a decline in civil liberties because of the similarities between the two major parties

Multiple Choice

A state government places security cameras facing a popular site of protest in a public square in front of its statehouse. This scenario illustrates

• how political attitudes quickly shift in the United States

• the balance of promoting stability and ensuring civil liberties

• the free-rider problem of organizing a civil rights protests

• the impact of globalization on individual political attitudes

Multiple Choice

According to James Madison, which of the following best controls the effects of faction?

• Direct democracy

• The popular election of state judges

• A large republic

• Property requirements for eligibility to work

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is the best predictor of the Department of Education’s annual budget?

• The preferences of the Chair of the Senate Finance Committee

• The budget recommendations of the National Education Association

• The rate of increase of teachers’ salaries

• The size of the previous year’s budget

Multiple Choice

The term “bicameralism” refers to the

• establishment of two legislative chambers that have different structures and rules

• members of the House of Representatives having two-year terms

• president having veto power over both chambers of Congress

• members of the House and Senate having to appease their mutual constituencies

Multiple Choice

Candidates for political office use public opinion polls for all of the following purposes EXCEPT to

• assess recognition of the candidate’s name

• measure voters’ support for the candidate’s issues

• bring the opposition’s opinions into alignment with those of the candidate

• fine-tune policy stands

Multiple Choice

The House of Representatives impeaches the president. Which of the following scenarios represents how bicameralism is used as a check on the vote to impeach?

• If the president is removed, the vice president will take office to finish the president’s current term

• The Senate deliberates the case and votes to determine the president’s guilt or innocence.

• The chief justice of the Supreme Court presides over the trial

• After the impeachment, House managers will prepare a case to convict and remove the president from office.

Multiple Choice

Of the following, which has been used most to expand the power of the national government?

• The commerce clause of the Constitution

• The habeas corpus clause of the Constitution

• The bill of attainder clause of the Constitution

• The First Amendment

Multiple Choice

The committee system is more important in the House than in the Senate because

• the seniority system plays no role in the House and therefore committees must play a larger role

• the Constitution mandates the type of committee structure in the House

• committee members are appointed by the President

• the House is so large that more work can be accomplished in committees than on the floor

Multiple Choice

Unlike the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution does which of the following?

• Restricts the ability of Congress to tax.

• Restricts the ability of Congress to establish an army or navy

• Emphasizes state sovereignty over national sovereignty.

• Emphasizes both national sovereignty and federalism

Multiple Choice

Which of the following powers allows both the federal and state governments to make policies involving taxation?

• Concurrent powers

• Exclusive Powers

• Implied Powers

• Enumerated Powers

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is empowered to create new federal courts and specify the number of judges who will sit on them?

• The Supreme Court

• Congress

• President

• Department of Justice

Multiple Choice

One of the formal tools used by Congress for oversight of the bureaucracy is

• the line-item veto

• authorization of spending

• impoundment bills

• private bills

Multiple Choice

The decision in United States v. Lopez (1995) reflected new ideas about federalism at the time that can be best characterized by which of the following?

• A consolidation of power in the national government based on national supremacy

• Acknowledgement of the limitations of national power and a recognition of the reserved power of the states

• A delegation of power from the state governments to the federal government, increasing the power of the United States government

• An increase in cooperative federalism, where power and duties are shared between the federal and state governments

Multiple Choice

Which of the following best matches a political ideology with that ideology’s position on the proper role of government in regulating the economy?

• Communitarian—The government should regulate monetary policy but not fiscal policy

• Libertarian—Government regulation should increase when the economy is in decline.

• Conservative—The government should strictly limit its regulation of the marketplace.

• Liberal—The government should not intervene in economic decision-making

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is NOT a core value of United States political culture?

• Legal equality

• Political equality

• Economic equality

• Freedom of Speech

Multiple Choice

The framers of the Constitution designed which of the following to be LEAST responsive to public opinion?

• Office of the President

• Courts

• Congress

• The Electoral College

Multiple Choice

Members of Congress who have adopted the delegate role of representation normally cast their votes based on which of the following?

• The preferences of the majority of their constituents

• Their judgment of what is best for their constituency

• The instructions of their political party’s leadership

• Their political party’s most recent policy platform

Multiple Choice

Which of the following public policies would Democrats be most likely to support?

• Removing regulations in the marketplace

• Securing a national public health care system

• Reducing national government oversight of education policies in each state

• Decreasing mandatory spending for entitlement programs like Medicare

Multiple Choice

In selecting members of the White House staff, Presidents primarily seek people who

• give the White House ideological balance

• are personally loyal to the President

• have extensive governmental experience

• will help the President develop a good working relationship with Congress

Multiple Choice

Which of the following accurately characterizes the main difference between elite theories and pluralist theories of politics in the United States?

• Elite theories concentrate on the role of interest groups; pluralist theories emphasize the role of individuals.

• Elite theories argue that a single minority dominates politics in all policy areas; pluralist theories argue that many minorities compete for power in different policy areas

• Elite theories argue that social status is the major source of political power; pluralist theories argue that wealth is the major source.

• Elite theories emphasize the multiple access points that interest groups have to public officials; pluralist theories stress the limits in the number and effectiveness of such access points.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following policies involves more state spending than federal spending?

• Military policy

• Social security

• Education

• Medicare

Multiple Choice

Which of the following serves as an explanation for the differences between generations in voting patterns?

• Regional political party realignment

• Shifting issue networks

• Major political events affecting political attitudes

• Changes in political party mobilization techniques

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is true of most federal judges appointed by the president?

• They serve ten-year terms.

• They serve as long as the appointing president stays in power

• They serve for life on good behavior unless removed by the president.

• They serve for life on good behavior unless impeached and convicted by Congress.

Multiple Choice

Fiscal policies refer to the government’s power to

• regulate specific industries

• tax and spend

• reapportion congressional seats

• control the supply of money

Multiple Choice

All of the following have contributed to an increase in presidential power in the post-1945 era EXCEPT

• tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War period

• an increase in public expectations for services from the federal government

• economic and domestic problems such as inflation, unemployment, and civil rights issues

• legislation granting the President the power to impound funds appropriated by Congress

Multiple Choice

All of the following issues were decided at the Constitutional Convention EXCEPT

• representation in the legislature

• voting qualifications of the electorate

• method of electing the President

• congressional power to override a presidential veto

Multiple Choice

In Worcester v. Georgia (1832), the Supreme Court used the power of judicial review established in Marbury v. Madison (1803) to strike down a Georgia state law that regulated the relationship between citizens of Georgia and members of the Cherokee Nation. President Andrew Jackson opposed the decision and challenged the Supreme Court to enforce it. This example illustrates which of the following?

• The president can approve or veto decisions made by the Supreme Court.

• States are not required to follow the decisions of the national Supreme Court.

• Congress can prevent Supreme Court decisions from being enforced by appropriating money to the Department of Justice.

• Unpopular Supreme Court decisions can lead to debate about the court’s power.

Multiple Choice

Congress has exerted the greats influence on the operation of a federal agency by doing which of the following?

• Requiring the agency to participate in interagency task forces

• Dismissing an agency head who disagrees with congressional priorities

• Reviewing the annual budget appropriations for the agency

• Passing “sunset” legislation that terminates programs after a certain period

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is the most likely consequence of divided government?

• Reorganization of the federal bureaucracy

• Conflicts between states

• Delays in confirmation of federal court nominees

• Conflicts between national government and states

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is most important for getting an accurate measure of public opinion in a survey?

• Surveying only cell phone users

• Selecting a random sample

• Asking leading questions

• Contacting only registered voters

Multiple Choice

A President may persuade recalcitrant members of Congress to vote for a particular bill by

• having members who oppose the bill transferred to unpopular committees

• denying campaign funds to members who oppose the bill

• threatening to deny renomination to members who oppose the bill

• making a direct appeal to the public through mass media

Multiple Choice

“Young people who recalled experiencing more high-quality civic education practices in schools were more likely to vote, to form political opinions, to know campaign issues, and to know general facts about the US political system,” said Peter Levine, director of CIRCLE. “Civics education was not related to partisanship or choice of candidate. These results should allay political concerns about civic education being taught in schools.” Source: CIRCLE, 2013

• Public opinion polling

• Partisanship

• Political socialization

• Ideology

Multiple Choice

In 2012, after negotiations on a bill in Congress failed, President Obama issued an executive order that protected from deportation individuals illegally brought to the United States as children by their parents. The president took this action because

• the executive order would require Congress to bring a bill regarding illegal immigration to the floor for a vote

• disagreement between congressional leaders and the president on the issue meant that a compromise on a bill was not likely

• the president was reacting to a Supreme Court decision that required him to do something to protect these individuals

• the Constitution clearly gives the president control over the legal status of immigrants in the United States