Chapter 1

1.

1 point

According to the text, large corporations have disproportionate political power mainly because

most politicians are susceptible to bribes

the well-being of everyone as measured by jobs and income depends on the investment decisions and the profits of private firms

almost all of their top executives are white men

most government leaders were once CEOs of large corporations

the Constitution prohibits government from regulating business too heavily

2.

1 point

An economic system based on the private ownership of property in which profit is pursued through the investment of capital and the employment of labor is called ______.

the market

republicanism

capitalism

democracy

the corporate complex

3.

1 point

Since 1980, the gap between rich and poor in the United States has

been so difficult to measure that there's no way of knowing whether the gap has decreased, increased, or remained the same

increased

decreased a little

decreased a lot

stayed about the same

4.

1 point

According to the Constitution as it was originally ratified

the president has the power to declare war

members of the House of Representatives would be elected by the people every six years

Congress is prohibited from regulating interstate commerce

justices of the Supreme Court are elected by the House of Representatives and the Senate

senators would be chosen by the state legislatures

5.

1 point

The United States contains about _____ percent of the world's population, but accounts for about ____ percent of the world's gross domestic product (GDP)

5...23

15...53

5...33

15...33

5...13

6.

1 point

`In discussing criteria for assessing how well a representative democracy is working, the text says all of the following except

it's important to consider whether representatives are aware of constituents' interests

it's important to consider how inequality of resources affects the operation of the representative democracy

it's important to consider whether representatives are responsive to constituents' interests

it's important to consider whether representatives are effective in acting on behalf of constituents

it's important to consider whether the representatives live in the same neighborhood as their constituents

7.

1 point

When political scientists talk about the "privileged position of business," they mainly mean that

business executives are greedy

top corporate executives get paid much more than factory workers

business leaders have an advantage in influencing public policy debates

top corporate executives are admitted to elite private clubs that exclude blue-collar workers

top corporate executives get away with more illegal activity than most other people

8.

1 point

All House of Representatives members are

chosen by direct election every 2 years

chosen by direct election every 6 years

selected by state legislatures every 6 years

chosen by direct election every 4 years

selected by state legislatures every 2 years

9.

1 point

Substantive democracy refers to

the right to run for public office regardless of one's race, gender, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation

the existence of democratic institutions such as a legislative branch elected by the people

the existence of democratic procedures such as the right to vote

whether all citizens have equitable chances to influence and control the making of decisions that affect them

the existence of a Bill of Rights

10.

1 point

The Declaration of Independence

affirmed Great Britain's right to rule the thirteen colonies

is just another name for what is usually called the Constitution

was written to compensate for the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation

was signed in 1787

states that all human beings have certain unalienable rights

11.

1 point

The number of representatives from each state elected to the House of Representatives is based on

the year the state is admitted to the union (older states have greater representation)

the geographic size of the state

the state's population

equal representation of each state

the amount of federal tax revenue generated in that state

12.

1 point

According to the text, the principle of majority rule

is of no relevance in a representative democracy

is applied in the United States only to a confined range of issues

is applied in the United States to virtually every important issue

is the principle upon which the Constitution is based

is the principle upon which the Declaration of Independence is based

13.

1 point

According to the text, the lopsided distribution of income and wealth is or was a central concern of ______

the Tea Party Movement

the Occupy Wall Street movement

the abolitionist movement

the Business Rountable

the Federalists

14.

1 point

According to the text

contrary to popular belief, politics is less polarized now than it was fifty years ago

in the past half-century, differences within the Democratic and Republican parties have gotten larger at the same time as differences between the two parties have become smaler

throughout the twentieth century, the vast majority of southern whites voted Republican

U.S. politics is more divided by income and social class than it is by race

in the past half-century, differences within the Democratic party and Republican parties have gotten smaller at the same time as difference between the two parties have become larger

15.

1 point

In 2011, the top 1 percent of income earners in the United States owned about _______ of the nation's wealth.

80 percent

25 percent

5 percent

60 percent

40 percent

16.

1 point

According to the text, the Titanic offers a powerful metaphor for U.S. society and politics for all of the following reasons except

the Titanic's first-class passengers were treated much better than those in steerage, and the U.S. rich have much more of the good things in life than poor people have

the Titanic was the world's most powerful ship, and the United States is the world's most powerful nation

U.S. businesses' concerns with profits resemble the similar concerns of the Titanic's owners

there was great economic inequality among the Titanic's passengers, and there is great economic inequality in the United States

like the Titanic, the U.S. political system is doomed to fail

17.

1 point

A country's combined military and economic strength that results in it having a dominant position in the world is called a ______.

superpower

democracy

corporate complex

Titanic

New World Order

18.

1 point

Compared to the gap between high and low incomes in the United States, the wealth gap is

greater

about the same

much smaller

so difficult to measure that it's impossible to make such comparisons

slightly smaller

19.

1 point

According to the text

the world is no more interconnected now than it was a century ago

despite increased global interconnectedness, domestic and international affairs remain largely separate from one another

global interdependence increased U.S. power and vulnerability at one and the same time

as a result of the attacks of 9/11, the United States is no longer the world's lone superpower

it is only the twentieth century that U.S. politics have been shaped by war and trade

20.

1 point

As a result of the election of Barack Obama, the country's first black president, people of color now

are less victimized by street crime than whites are

lives as long as whites

are as well educated as whites are

experience similar conditions as before; the income and wealth of people of color has not significantly improved since the election of Barack Obama

earn as much as whites

21.

1 point

The Great Compromise refers to the Constitutional Convention debate concerning

ratification of the Constitution

the number of justices on the U.S. Supreme Court

the election of the president

the division of power between the federal government and the states

representation in Congress

22.

1 point

According to the text, the United State's capitalist market system

is inherently not democratic

may or may not be democratic depending on whether the government officials adhere to the Constitution's basic principles

may or may not be democratic depending on which party controls Congress

may or may not be democratic depending on who is president

is inherently democratic

23.

1 point

According to the text, the recession and global economic crisis of 2008

called into question the ideology and practice of less-regulated capitalism

reaffirmed the dangers of too much government regulation of the market

is conclusive proof of the validity of Ronald Reagan's ideas

was predicted a decade earlier by Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan

shows that the world is less interconnected than is generally believed

24.

1 point

__________ is the idea that the ultimate and supreme source of political authority lies not with rulers but with the people, the citizens of a republic

the separation of powers

the market

Popular sovereignty

Federalism

the Bill of Rights

25.

1 point

In the contemporary United States

the vast majority of Protestants vote Democratic

roughly half of Catholics vote Democratic and roughly half vote Republican

the vast majority of Catholics vote Republican

the vast majority of Evangelical Protestants vote Republican, as do the vast majority of Catholics and other Protestants

the vast majority of Jews vote Republican

26.

1 point

The national government is characterized by a system of checks and balances that includes all of the following except

the president can remove Supreme Court justices whose decisions are unconstitutional

the president can veto congressional legislation

the Senate must approve key presidential appointments

the capacity to govern is shared by the executive, legislative, and judicial branches

the Supreme Court can review laws passed by Congress and signed by the president

27.

1 point

Under the Articles of Confederation, the federal government had the exclusive power to

coin money

make rules regarding international trade

raise a militia

negotiate treaties with other nations

levy taxes

28.

1 point

All of the following statements about the Bill of Rights are true except

it prohibits courts from requiring people to testify against themselves

it constitutes the first ten amendments of the Constitution

it guarantees all adults over the age of 21 the right to vote

it reserves to the people or the states any powers not explicitly assigned to the federal government

it prohibits Congress from designating any religion as an official one

29.

1 point

Compared with other economically developed countries, the gap between rich and poor in the United States is

slightly less

so difficult to measure that it's impossible to make such comparisons

about the same

greater

much less

30.

1 point

According to the text, the most powerful predictor of an individual's health and mortality is that individual's_____

genetics

social class position

race

smoking

exposure to carcinogens

31.

1 point

The Constitution dealt with slavery by

declaring that a slave would be free forever if she or he escaped to a state that prohibited slavery

counting every five slaves as three persons for apportioning seats in the House of Representatives

outlawing slavery in the North, but not in the South

prohibiting Congress from ever passing laws abolishing the importation of slaves

making slaves citizens

32.

1 point

What percent of the U.S.'s total income is earned by the poorest 20 percent of U.S. households?

Approximately 20 percent

Approximately 9 percent

Approximately 15 percent

Approximately 3 percent

Approximately 50 percent

33.

1 point

Regarding military spending, the United States spends_______.

about the same as the second-biggest military spending nation, China

slightly more than the second-biggest military spending nation, China

more than all other nations combined

more than the next fifteen highest military spending nations combined

about the same as the next five highest military spending nations combined

34.

1 point

According to the text, the Reagan Revolution

was successful at dismantling the welfare state

led the Democratic party to champion the virtues of big government more strongly than ever before

resulted in conservatives setting the main terms of the public debate

pushed conservative ideas further outside of the political mainstream than they had ever been

was a myth manufactured by political pundits

35.

1 point

Federalism is a political system in which

the Constitution guarantees citizens certain basic political liberties

national power is limited by the reservation of certain powers to the states

the Constitution outlines the powers of state and local government

there are checks and balances among the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government

state constitutions trump the national constitution if there is a conflict between the two

36.

1 point

According to the text, it is important to consider substantive as well as procedural democracy. If a political scientist were studying the extent to which there is substantive democracy in a political system, she or he would most likely be concerned with

how economic inequality affected the operation of the political system

how much federalism existed

what the laws said about how members of the legislature are elected

whether the political system had a bill of rights

what the Constitution said

37.

1 point

The number of a state's electors in the Electoral College is determined by

the number of the state's U.S. Senators

the sum of the state's members in the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate

the state's population

electoral laws established by Congress

the number of representatives the state elects to the House of Representatives

38.

1 point

The Articles of Confederation

gave the president much more power than it gave Congress

allowed each state to retain its sovereignty and independence

were signed in 1787

is just another name for what is usually called the Constitution

provided for an extremely strong and powerful national government

39.

1 point

The close relationship between business and government is referred to as a

superpower

system of checks and balances

market economy

corporate complex

constitutional democracy

40.

1 point

What percent of the U.S.'s total income is earned by the richest 20 percent of the country's households?

Approximately 20 percent

Approximately 30 percent

Approximately 40 percent

More than 50 percent

More than 80 percent