American Politics - Final Spring 2008
Blake Respini
Note: There are 43 questions of this portion of test. Place your answers on a scan-tron and bring to the in class portion
of the final. You may use notes and texts, but do not discuss the questions or received aid from others.
I have decided to ask you to write on only TWO questions in class on Friday. Three from the study guide will
appear on the exam and you will be asked to write on two. (They will be graded out of 25 points each.)
MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question.
1. Which is true of Congressional leadership:
a. the Senate Majority Leader has more control over his/her chamber than the Speaker of the House has
over his/her chamber
b. Congressional leaders must be confirmed by the President
c. once a party gains even a slim majority of a chamber, it controls all of the committees of that chamber
d. all of the above
2. A filibuster can be used to:
a. override a presidential veto
b. to prevent a vote on a bill
c. force the other chamber to pass a bill
d. get a bill out of committee
3. The most power member of the Senate is:
a. the President pro-tem
b. the Speaker
c. the Majority Leader
d. the President of the Senate
4. Which is true of the U.S. Congress:
a. all of its member’s terms are for 4 years
b. filibusters can take place in only in the Senate and not in the House
c. if either the House or Senate pass a bill, it becomes a law
d. all of the above
5. Which is true of the Senate:
a. 1/3 of the it faces re-election every two years
b. they can originate tax bills
c. they can bring charges of impeachment against a president
d. all of the above
6. Congressional committees are important because:
a. they serve as a graveyard for most bills
b. they can change bills
c. bills with their support usually pass
d. all of the above
7. Which is the only position(s) the majority party does NOT get to select:
a. committee chairs
b. the Speaker
c. the majority whips
d. the President of the Senate
e. all of the above
8. Ratification of treaties, judges and cabinet members:
a. is a power given to the president
b. requires a 2/3 vote of Congress
c. requires a majority vote of the House
d. requires a 2/3 vote of the Senate
9. Representation in the Senate is a bit skewed because:
a. gerrymandering has given the Democratic Party an edge.
b. citizens from lightly populated states are over represented.
c. the number of senators varies from state to state
d. all bills require a 2/3 vote.
e. all of the above
10. The Constitution does NOT specifically mention which of the following:
a. special executive powers granted during a “state of emergency”
b. the role of political parties
c. the power of judicial review
d. all of the above
11. The Department of the Interior is responsible for all of the following except:
a. both conserving and developing resources on federal lands
b. overseeing the Bureau of Indian Affairs
c. overseeing the National Forest Service
d. overseeing the National Park Service
12. Which is true of congressional districts:
a. reapportionment occurs every ten years and determines how many districts each state has
b. districts must be roughly equal in population
c. when they are drawn in configurations to benefit one party over another, it is called
gerrymandering
d. all of the above
13. Compared to the Senate, the House:
a. is less partisan
b. is more moderate and consensual
c. is more affected by short term political shifts in public opinion
d. more likely to be uncooperative with the sitting president
14. The president of the United States is sometimes referred to as the nation’s chief legislator because:
a. he votes in the case of a tie
b. he frames much of the debate that takes place in Congress
c. he chooses the leadership of Congress
d. he is in charge of maintaining our embassies
e. he is a defacto member of Congress
15. The last time war was declared by the Congress was:
a. on Japan in 1941
b. on North Korea in 1951
c. on Vietnam in 1964
d. on Iraq in 1989
e. on Iraq in 2003
16. Which of the following do NOT require ratification by the Senate:
a. signing statements, White House Staff appointments, and executive agreements
b. signing statements, treaties, and executive agreements
c. treaties and judicial appointments
d. cabinet appointments and White House Staff appointments
e. executive agreements and cabinet appointments
17. Which is part of the Cabinet rather than the Executive Office of the President:
a. the White House Staff
b. the National Security Advisor
c. the Secretary of State
d. the President’s councilor
18. The FBI is primarily responsible for:
a. investigating federal crimes
b. conducting world wide intelligence operations
c. watching over the actions of Congress
d. identifying cases of disloyalty towards the country
19. Which is true concerning the Civil Service:
a. hirees must take tests to prove competence before being hired can not be easily fired.
b. they constitution only the top policy making positions in government
c. they are expected to resign their posts when a new president comes to power
d. all of the above
20. Judicial review is the power of
a. the custom of following rulings of previous cases
b. Congress to veto Supreme Court decisions.
c. the president to veto Supreme Court decisions.
d. the Supreme Court to declare local, state, and federal laws unconstitutional.
21. The concept of iron triangles is used to show:
a. the relationships between friends, lovers and acquaintances
b. the relationships between the three branches of government
c. the relationships between voters, elected officials and political parties
d. the relationships between lobbyists, government agencies and congressional committees
e. the relationships federal, state and local governments
22. Which most directly relates to the president’s role as chief executive:
a. he suggests legislation to Congress
b. he appoints Department heads and oversees the federal bureaucracy
c. he negotiates treaties
d. he vetoes legislation
23. The cabinet is comprised primarily of:
a. the heads of the Executive Office of the White House
b. the heads of the Departments
c. the president’s closest personal advisors
d. the president’s foreign policy team
24. Which is true of the federal bureaucracy:
a. it has the ability to write specific rules and regulations that carry the force of law.
b. it is prohibited by the Constitution from writing administrative law.
c. it can make rules and regulations but has no power to enforce them
d. it tends to enforce laws in the same manner no matter who is president
25. Who does not hold executive power:
a. the president
b. Senators
c. mayors
d. governors
26. Vertical infighting in the federal bureaucracy stems from:
a. overlapping jurisdictions of supposed specialized areas of authority
b. the inability of the president to make political appointments.
c. civil service rules that prevent department leaders from firing some of their subordinates
d. the fact that department heads can not be removed from office by the president
27. Which is NOT part of the president’s legal powers as commander in chief:
a. ordering troops into combat when ever he sees the need
b. declaring war
c. establishing war strategy
28. Presidential vetoes __________________________.
a. are rare and usually over ridden by Congress
b. are more common when the president and Congress are controlled by the same party
c. can be blocked by 2/3 of both houses of Congress
d. all of the above
29. The idea of judicial precedent:
a. suggests that judges should adhere to the legal reasoning of previous cases
b. suggests that judges should follow the lead of Congress in determining the intent of laws
c. suggests that judges must base rulings on the original intent of the framers of the Constitution
d. demands that judges exercise judicial restraint
30. A regulatory agency is said to be “captured” when:
a. the Supreme Court demands it suspend its activties
b. the businesses it is meant to regulate dominate it
c. Congress comes to dominate it
d. the president gets it under his control
31. As the U.S. the head of state, the president:
a. is known as the Secretary of State
b. is meant to represent the people of the United States both at home and abroad
c. it supposed lobby for his party’s interests in a partisan manner
d. all of the above
32. Which is most true of the executive branch:
a. the president is the only one with real power
b. roles are clearly defined and seldom overlap
c. the Cabinet oversees the Executive Office
d. the Executive Office is comprised of those who advise while cabinet is primarily responsible for seeing
that the various functions of government are carried out.
33. The head of the Department of Justice is known as
a. the Attorney General
b. the Director of the FBI
c. the Secretary of Justice
d. the National Security Advisor
34. Which of the following is TRUE concerning the philosophy of judicial restraint?
a. in the past it has been most strongly opposed by conservatives.
b. it is in direct opposition the idea of "original intent."
c. it argues that legislatures rather than courts should set policy.
d. it has been used to expand the rights we are granted under the Constitution.
35. Which is the best example of horizontal conflict in the federal bureaucracy:
a. the Secretary of Defense and Secretary of State argue over proper policy towards Iran
b. Congress and the President argue over environmental policy
c. EPA scientists publicly bad mouth the policy of the head of the EPA
36. Which appointee to the Supreme Court was not confirmed after because liberals opposed his extremely
conservative ideology:
a. Robert Bork
b. Samuel Alito
c. Judge Judy
d. Clarence Thomas
37. Under the Bush Administration, the EPA:
a. has tried to prevent California from limiting green house gas emissions
b. has eased standards for measuring air pollution
c. reduced the reporting requirement for companies that use toxic materials
d. all of the above
38. The farm subsidy bill passed in May of 2008:
a. was designed to make the Department of Agriculture more efficient in times of tight budgets
b. provides a case study of Congress’ effectiveness in cutting bureaucratic bloat
c. was supported by Congressional Democrats who feared losing newly gained seats in agricultural districts
d. all of the above
39. Under the Bush administration, the Department of Education:
a. passed Title IX, which granted females equal athletic funding in schools
b. made it easier for schools to comply with Title IX
c. eliminated federal aid to woman’s sports programs
d. established the 3 prong rule for Title IX compliance
40. The Department of the Interior’s ruling that the polar would be put on the Endangered Species list:
a. was an admittance that global warming finally had to be combated.
b. was accompanied by a statement that the decision could not be used as a mandate to control greenhouse
gas emissions, despite a Supreme Court order to do so.
c. provides an example of Congress, the EPA, and environmentalists working together to form
a coherent policy regarding the environment.
d. was made despite warnings from Congress that the department could not add nor remove species from the
list.
41. The U.S. Supreme Court has declared that freedom of speech can be suspended:
a. NEVER
b. if it creates a “clear and present danger”
c. if it is only “symbolic” speech
d. anytime a student enters the “schoolhouse gate”
42. The concepts of specialization and reciprocity in Congress suggest that:
a. committees tend to defer to one another
b. most bills are partisan in nature
c. special interest groups must focus their lobbying efforts on all members of Congress
d. all of the above
43. In the case of Marbury v Madison:
a. Marshall rule in favor of Marbury and ordered a “writ of mandamus”
b. Marshall weakened the influence of the Supreme Court
c. Marshall declared the “midnight appointments” unconstitutional
d. Marshall refused to expand the court’s range of original jusisdiction