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WorksheetsUnit Two Review
Total questions: 59
Worksheet time: 30mins
Pork barrel legislation is best defined as which of the following?
Laws that include provisions on how agriculture and farming should be conducted
Laws that are created by the president without congressional approval
Laws that include federally-funded local projects that benefit a specific district
Laws that die in committees because they are unpopular
Senator Ramirez listens to her constituents’ wishes on every piece of legislation, but always votes her conscience, even if it goes against her constituents’ wishes on pieces of legislation they care about.
Which model of representation do her actions embody?
The politico model
The trustee model
The majoritarian model
The delegate model
Ohio has 16 representatives in the House of Representatives, but only two representatives in the Senate.
Which of the following statements best explains the reason for this difference in representation?
The House represents states according to the size of their population, while the Senate represents the states equally
The House represents the total number of state legislators, while the Senate represents states equally
The House gives more representation to the political party that won the most recent election, while the Senate represents the states equally
The House represents northern states, while the Senate represents southern states
Which of the following statements is most consistent with the cartoon's message?
As entitlement costs grow, discretionary spending has to increase in order to reduce the budget deficit
As discretionary spending grows, members of both the Republican party and Democratic party seek to cut entitlement costs
As discretionary spending grows, entitlement costs have to increase to maintain the budget
As entitlement costs grow, discretionary spending has to decrease unless tax revenues increase or Congress permits the budget deficit to increase
Which of the following statements best explains the impact the necessary and proper clause has had on congressional power?
It has weakened the power of Congress by restricting it to only those powers listed in the Constitution
It has weakened the power of Congress by allowing the Supreme Court to declare any law unconstitutional
It has broadened the power of Congress by allowing it to limit the executive branch’s ability to commit the United States to an armed conflict
It has broadened the power of Congress to enact legislation addressing a wide range of economic, environmental, and social issues
What is gerrymandering?
a strategy to delay a vote in the Senate by debating a bill, sometimes to an excess degree
a process of redistributing representatives across new districts after the census
an active effort to gain popularity with voters in a particular district before an election
a redistricting tactic that allows one part to gain an unfair advantage over the other party
Senator Krabs received thousands of letters and phone calls asking him to support a bill. The bill orders restaurants to list the ingredients in all of their products on their menu boards. Senator Krabs believes that the bill will cause valuable fast food restaurants in his district to go out of business, so he votes against the bill.
What model of representation is Senator Krabs portraying?
politico
trustee
partisan
delegate
What was the decision in Baker v. Carr (1962)?
Redistricting based on race must be held to a standard of strict scrutiny.
The Congress cannot use the necessary and proper clause to justify interfering with a state's own laws.
The courts have some jurisdiction over legislative redistricting disputes.
The Supreme Court can decide if the actions of the other branches of government are unconstitutional.
What political conflict causes a divided government?
The Senate refuses to end debate on a bill even though the House version has passed.
The Senate and the House refuse to agree on what should be in a new law.
The two political parties refuse to work together to pass legislation.
The president's political party is opposite from the party that controls Congress.
In November, a new Republican is elected to a seat in the Senate that a Democrat currently holds. The Democrat will be at a congressional session in December before the new senator enters office.
Which of the following describes this situation?
gridlock
bipartisan politics
lame-duck
divided government
What is an example of how the minority party can slow down the policymaking process in the Senate?
They can perform cloture.
They can filibuster a bill.
They can table a bill.
They can propose different rules for debate.
Which of the following is the name of the formal procedure that brings a bill out of committee and onto the House floor for a vote?
discharge petition
filibuster
hold
cloture
What is an example of mandatory spending?
Social Security payments
Education funding
Foreign aid
Defense spending
What is the Committee of the Whole?
the entire group of legislators from both the Senate and the House
the majority party in the House of Representatives
the group of all 100 members of the Senate
the group of all 435 members of the House
What does the necessary and proper clause allow Congress to do?
end long-winded debates in the Senate
amend the United States Constitution
force a bill out of committee and to the floor for a vote
pass laws in order to enforce other laws
What does it mean for a power to be "enumerated"?
It is implied in the Constitution.
It is explicitly stated in the Constitution.
It is shared between the federal government and the states.
It belongs only to the states.
How are senators currently selected for office?
Voters in each state elect a number of senators based on the state's population.
Voters in each state elect two senators regardless of the state's size.
Each state’s legislature appoints two senators to represent the state as a whole.
The House of Representative nominates two members of Congress from each state to join the Senate.
Which of the following best describes the message in the political cartoon?
Presidents should only seek a third term if their policies and platforms require it
Presidents after George Washington should strive to emulate his foreign policy
Presidential power should be restrained by term-of-office limits
Which of the following statements is reflected in the data in the chart?
President Obama had more diverse appointments than any previous president, leading to more failed confirmations
Presidents have become less successful at getting federal judges confirmed over the past 50 years
Which of the following is an accurate conclusion based on a comparison of the trends in the line graph and your knowledge of presidential communication strategies?
Presidents have increased the length of their State of the Union messages to make the most of the opportunity to influence the electorate directly
Presidents have increased the length of their State of the Union messages to limit the available media time for opposition responses
Which of the following is an accurate comparison of the expressed powers of the president and the powers of Congress?
A
B
C
D
Which of the following scenarios is an example of the president using the bully pulpit approach to achieve policy goals?
The president appears on television to debate a presidential nominee on his record of policy accomplishments while in office
The president meets with senators from the opposing party to encourage them to support a piece of legislation that would increase funding of the arts
The president appeals to the American public to contact their representatives and urge them to support increased military spending
President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s fireside chats established which of the following norms in presidential communication?
criticizing the opposing political party for its lack of support
speaking to the public with a high degree of familiarity
When does the State of the Union happen?
in January or February of each year
in January the year the president takes office
Which of these goals would a president most likely use their “bully pulpit” for?
to convince Congress to accept their proposed bill
to issue a command to the executive branch of government
to select a nominee for the Supreme Court
to urge the public to vote for member of their political party
What is publicity?
the amount of positive excitement there is surrounding something
information that’s available to everyone
information that’s not available to the public
the amount of media attention something receives
Why might a president want to issue an executive order rather than attempt to make a law?
to change something in the Constitution
to bypass juridical review
to make a policy fast
The president must notify Congress within two days of committing troops to military action. If Congress does not authorize the action, the president must withdraw those troops after 60 days.
Which of the following established this rule?
Article I of the United States Constitution
the Twenty-second Amendment
Federalist No. 70
the War Powers Act
Which of the following amendments to the United States Constitution limits the president to two terms?
Twenty-fifth Amendment
Tenth Amendment
Twentieth Amendment
Twenty-second Amendment
Which of the following is a congressional check on the president’s power as Commander in Chief?
The War Powers Act
Federalist No. 70
How does the Supreme Court provide a check on the president’s foreign policy power?
It determines if treaties are constitutional.
It can remove ambassadors from their post.
Which of the following presidential actions can only be ratified with Senate approval?
State of the Union addresses
Executive orders
Foreign treaties
What is an estimate of the number of presidential appointees that the Senate must confirm?
380
1,200
How does the president influence who works in the executive cabinet?
The president confirms their nominations.
The president votes for them.
The president can impeach them.
The president appoints them.
What is an executive agreement?
an arrangement between the president and the head of a foreign country
a decision made by the Senate to confirm members to the president’s administration
Which of the following is an example of the president acting as the Head of State?
issuing a military order to move troops to a new location
campaigning on behalf of a member of the president’s political party
removing the director of the Department of Education
awarding a citizen the Presidential Medal of Freedom
What is one example of the president’s individual foreign policy power?
ratifying formal treaties
granting pardons
receiving ambassadors
What is an executive order?
a president’s refusal to approve a bill that Congress passed
a presidential directive that has the force of law
A president believes the Court has overstepped its constitutional authority by requiring state legislatures to redraw congressional districts to address partisan gerrymandering.
Which of the following could the president do to limit the Supreme Court’s power in response?
Refuse to implement the decision
Place term limits on Supreme Court justices
“The complete independence of the courts of justice is peculiarly essential in a limited Constitution. By a limited Constitution, I understand one which contains certain specified exceptions to the legislative authority . . . Limitations of this kind can be preserved in practice no other way than through the medium of courts of justice, whose duty it must be to declare all acts contrary to the manifest tenor of the Constitution void. Without this, all the reservations of particular rights or privileges would amount to nothing.”
-Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 78, “The Judiciary Department,” 1788
Which of the following statements best summarizes Hamilton’s argument?
The judicial branch should defer all rulings on legislative issues to Congress because members of Congress are elected, but judges are not
The judicial branch is responsible for interpreting the Constitution and judging whether the laws passed by Congress are constitutional
Based on the infographic and your knowledge of the Supreme Court, which of the following statements could be considered an accurate conclusion?
The Supreme Court never overturns existing precedents for fear of undermining the legitimacy of the Court
Ideological changes in the Supreme Court can lead to the Court rejecting existing precedents
Which of the following statements best describes judicial restraint?
Judges ought to freely strike down laws that are inconsistent with their understanding of the Constitution
Judges rely on past decisions and their precedents when making decisions in new cases
Judges have the power to interpret the Constitution and declare a law unconstitutional
Judges should limit the exercise of their own power to interpreting the Constitution according to its original intent
“There is no position which depends on clearer principles, than that every act of a delegated authority, contrary to the tenor of the commission under which it is exercised, is void. No legislative act, therefore, contrary to the Constitution, can be valid.”
-Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 78, “The Judiciary Department,” 1788
Which of the following statements best summarizes Hamilton’s argument?
Few legislative acts are contrary to the Constitution
The Constitution delegates ultimate authority to the legislative branch
Arguments against the adoption of the Constitution are invalid
The Supreme Court should have the power of judicial review
How long is a Supreme Court justice in office for?
for as long as the president that appointed them is in office
for as long as they act in good behavior
for eight years after their appointment
for ten years after their appointment
What is the role of officials in the judicial branch?
to carry out laws
to amend laws
to write laws
to interpret laws
What's one thing the president can do to place a check on the judicial branch?
evade or ignore a Supreme Court decision
change the Supreme Court's jurisdiction
What is tenure?
a justice's style of interpreting the Constitution
a court's power to review cases from a lower court
the power of a court to hear certain cases
the length of time that an official serves in their position
In United States v. Morrison (2000), the Supreme Court struck down the part of the Violence Against Women Act that made gender-motivated violence a federal crime, as it was not related to the commerce clause.
Which prior Supreme Court case could be used as a precedent for the majority decision in United States v. Morrison (2000)?
United States v. Lopez (1995)
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
Stare decisis is best defined as which of the following?
Judges have the power to interpret the Constitution and declare a law unconstitutional
Judges ought to strike down laws that are inconsistent with their understanding of the Constitution
Judges should limit the exercise of their power to interpreting the Constitution according to its original intent
Judges rely on past decisions and their precedents when making decisions in new cases
Read the passage below and answer the following question.
Chris Wallace: “Mr. Trump, you're pro-life. But I want to ask you specifically: Do you want the court, including the justices that you will name, to overturn Roe v. Wade, which includes -- in fact, states -- a woman's right to abortion?”
Donald Trump: “Well, if that would happen, because I am pro-life, and I will be appointing pro-life judges, I would think that that will go back to the individual states.
Trump: “Well, if we put another two or perhaps three justices on, that's really what's going to be -- that will happen. And that'll happen automatically, in my opinion, because I am putting pro-life justices on the court. I will say this: It will go back to the states, and the states will then make a determination.”
-Presidential candidate Donald Trump, Final Presidential Debate, 2016
Based on his statement in the passage, which of the following policy goals does Trump want to promote through ideological appointments to the Supreme Court?
Adding an amendment to explicitly protect the right to an abortion
Crafting a federal law that bans all abortions
Adding an amendment to the Constitution declaring that a fetus has the right to life
Reversing the precedent that the right of privacy extends to a woman’s decision to have an abortion
What happens when the Supreme Court rules a law unconstitutional?
The US Congress is ordered to rewrite the law.
The law is sent to a higher court for review.
The law is nullified.
What does it mean for a court to issue a writ of certiorari?
It demands that someone bring themselves or certain evidence to the court.
It orders a lower court to hand records to a higher court for review.
In which essay did Alexander Hamilton argue in favor of judicial review?
Federalist No. 78
Federalist No. 10
What’s the official summary of a court proceeding called?
a ruling
a docket
Bureaucratic discretionary authority is best defined as which of the following?
the regulations issued by government agencies to implement public policy
the ability of executive agencies to decide the literal interpretation of the law and to take courses of action
Examine the cartoon and answer the question below.
Which of the following best describes the message in the political cartoon?
The president should reward political allies with government jobs
The patronage system leads to corruption
Which of the following scenarios is an example of a bureaucratic agency using its discretionary authority?
The Department of Education meets with the American Federation of Teachers to discuss policy implementation.
The Environmental Protection Agency issues a fine to a company for violations of the Clean Air Act.
Which of the following statements best explains the difference between iron triangles and issue networks?
Issue networks only include members of Congress, bureaucrats, and interest groups, whereas iron triangles include members of the media and other experts.
Issue networks are more likely to focus on a single issue, whereas iron triangles focus on a policy area.
In 1963, Congress passed the Clean Air Act, which sets limits on air pollution on a national level. In response, the Environmental Protection Agency set standards to limit carbon dioxide emissions from new power plants in the United States.
The action taken by the Environmental Protection Agency is an example of which of the following?
an agreement between two legislators in which they agree to trade votes for each other's benefit
a coalition of experts inside and outside of the government who want to influence particular areas of public policy
a ruling on whether a law violates the principles set in the United States Constitution
a directive from a bureaucratic agency establishing requirements on how actors in their jurisdiction can operate
