GED Civics and Gov 1

Concurrent powers are __________

• Powers reserved for the Federal government.

• Powers shared by the State and Federal governments.

• Powers shared by the Legislative and Executive Branches.

• Powers reserved for the State government.

Answer explanation

In the United States Constitution there are certain powers reserved for either the State governments or the Federal government; however, there are also concurrent powers. These are powers shared by both the State and Federal governments: one example is the power to levy taxes.

On a traditional political spectrum, which of these groups would appear furthest to the left?

• Liberals

• Conservatives

• Moderates

• Radicals

Answer explanation

The traditional political spectrum (from left to right) goes like this: Radical; Liberal; Moderate; Conservative; Reactionary. So the furthest to the left would be a radical. A radical would support complete, dramatic, and immediate overhaul of existing social or political norms. Radicals might resort to violence in order to achieve their goals.

On the traditional political spectrum, which of these groups would appear furthest to the right?

• Conservatives

• Radicals

• Reactionaries

• Liberals

Which of these political parties has never existed in United States history?

• Democratic-Republicans

• Liberal-Democrats

• Federalists

• Whigs

Answer explanation

Of these answer choices, only the Liberal-Democrats (a British political party) have never existed in United States political history.

In the contemporary American political landscape, the number of independent voters is __________.

• climbing rapidly

• climbing steadily

• falling steadily

• falling rapidly

Answer explanation

For many Americans, party loyalty is the least pronounced it has ever been. Recent elections have seen a greater and greater number of voters who would declare themselves independent. This mirrors another contemporary trend in the American political landscape: more and more Americans are voting based on the candidate and his orher policies rather than simply voting along party lines; however, it is worth nothing that the majority of voters still vote very consistently for the same party.

How many major parties are there in US politics?

• 4

• 3

• 1

• 2

Which of these is a consequences of the American two-party system?

• Politicians adopt narrow and specific opinions to ensure their policies stand out in an election cycle.

• The media is generally unable to predict which of the two major parties will win an election.

• Fundraising and campaign advertising plays a small role in determining the winner.

• Politicians adopt broad opinions to appeal to the largest number of people as possible.

An election in which many voters switch their political party allegiance is called a __________.

• a realignment election

• a dealignment election

• a tipping point election

• a bemusing election

Answer explanation

A realignment election takes place when many votes switch their political-party allegiance. Often, a realignment election sees the rise of a third party or a previously unknown party into the two-party system. Other times it sees voters switching which of the two major parties they support. A realignment election often reflects widespread voter dissatisfaction with one or both of the two major parties.

A presidential candidate must win a majority of __________________ in order to become the next president.

• The Popular Vote

• The Electoral College

• The Affection of Different States

• None of these

Answer explanation

A presidential candidate must win a majority of the Electoral College in order to become the next President. This is a slightly tricky question. Many people are under the incorrect assumption that a candidate must win a majority of the popular vote in order to become President. In reality, becoming the President requires a majority of the Electoral College-- which does not necessarily require a majority of the popular vote (due to the way that we count votes).

Which of these is missing or could never happen under a two-party system?

• Moderate political viewpoints

• Primary elections

• Extreme political viewpoints

• Representative democracy

Answer explanation

One of the primary advantages of a two-party system, as compared to a multi-party system, is that if there are only two parties competing for power, they must try to attract as much of the electorate as possible. This generally causes both parties to be extremely moderate in their political leanings. It is not possible to have a coalition government in a two-party system. In a coalition government, which occurs often in parliamentary systems (such as those in the United Kingdom or Germany), no one party gains an absolute majority, so parties combine their votes together to form a coalition and more than one party rules. This has the advantage of allowing disparate and varied political opinions to work together.