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We the People

An Introduction to

American Politics

EIGHTH EDITION

Including Texas Edition chapters

TEST BANK

TEST BANK

We the People

An Introduction to

American Politics

EIGHTH EDITION

Douglas C. DowTHE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT DALLAS

Jeremy DuffMIDWESTERN STATE UNIVERSITY

Kevin WallstenCALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, LONG BEACH

B W • W • NORTON & COMPANY • NEW YORK • LONDON

Copyright © 2011, 2009, 2007, 2005, 2003, 2001, 1999, 1997 by W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

All rights reserved

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W. W. Norton & Company has been independent since its founding in 1923, when William Warder

Norton and Mary D. Herter Norton fi rst published lectures delivered at the People’s Institute, the

adult education division of New York City’s Cooper Union. The Nortons soon expanded their pro-

gram beyond the Institute, publishing books by celebrated academics from America and abroad. By

mid-century, the two major pillars of Norton’s publishing program—trade books and college texts—

were fi rmly established. In the 1950s, the Norton family transferred control of the company to its

employees, and today—with a staff of four hundred and a comparable number of trade, college, and

professional titles published each year—W. W. Norton & Company stands as the largest and oldest

publishing house owned wholly by its employees.

vii

WHY A NEW APPROACH?

In December 2007, W. W. Norton conducted a focus group with the brightest minds

in educational testing to create a new model for assessment. A good assessment

tool needs to:

(a) defi ne what students need to know and the level of knowledge and skills

expected of them to be competent in the concepts they are learning about;

(b) include test items that provide valid and reliable evidence by assessing the

material to be learned at the appropriate level;

(c) enable instructors to accurately judge what students know and what they

don’t know and to what degree, allowing instructors to focus on areas

where students need the most help.

In evaluating the test banks that accompany introductory texts, we found four

main problem areas:

(a) test questions were misclassifi ed in terms of type and diffi culty;

(b) there was a prevalence of low- level and factual questions that misrepre-

sented the goals of the course;

(c) trivial topics were tested via multiple items, while important concepts were

not tested at all;

(d) links to the topic were too general, preventing diagnostic use of the item

information.

Norton has collaborated with Valerie Shute (Florida State University) and

Diego Zapata- Rivera (Electronic Testing Ser vices) to develop a methodology for

delivering high- quality, valid, and reliable assessment through our test bank and

extensive suite of support materials.

PREFACE TO THE EIGHTH EDITION TEST BANK

viii | Preface to the Eighth Edition Test Bank

HOW DOES IT WORK?

The test bank authors list, in terms of importance, the concepts from each chapter

that they believe are the most important for students to learn— basically the top

six to eight big ideas in the chapter as well as three to fi ve ancillary concepts per

big idea.

The authors then create a concept map for each chapter that shows the rela-

tionships among these ideas. Once the concept maps are created, the authors

develop three types of questions designed to test students’ knowledge of a par tic u-

lar concept.

The question types are designed to help students (1) understand the facts, (2)

learn how to apply them, and (3) learn why they are true. By asking students ques-

tions that vary in both type and level of diffi culty, instructors can gather different

types of evidence, which will allow them to more effectively assess how well

students understand specifi c concepts.

THREE QUESTION TYPES

1. Factual questions (ask What?)— Test declarative knowledge, including text-

book defi nitions and relationships between two or more pieces of information.

2. Applied questions (ask How?)— Pose problems in a context different from

the one in which the material was learned, requiring students to draw from

their declarative and/or procedural understanding of important concepts.

3. Conceptual questions (ask Why?)— Ask students to draw from their prior

experience and use critical- thinking skills to take part in qualitative reason-

ing about the real world.

THREE DIFFICULTY LEVELS

1. Easy questions— Require a basic understanding of the concepts, defi nitions,

and examples presented in We The People.

2. Moderate questions— Direct students to use critical thinking skills, to dem-

onstrate an understanding of core concepts in de pen dent of specifi c textbook

examples, and to connect concepts across chapters.

3. Diffi cult questions— Ask students to synthesize textbook concepts with their

own experience, making analytical inferences about po liti cal science and

more.

Preface to the Eighth Edition Test Bank | ix

FIVE GENERAL RULES FOR NORTON ASSESSMENT

1. Each question mea sures and explicitly links to a specifi c competency.

2. Questions are written with clear, concise, and grammatically correct lan-

guage that suits the diffi culty level of the specifi c competency being assessed.

To ensure the validity of the questions, no extraneous, ambiguous, or confus-

ing material is included, and no slang expressions are used.

3. There are generally three or more questions per competency to ensure the

reliability of your test.

4. In developing the questions, every effort has been made to eliminate bias

(e.g., race, gender, cultural, ethnic, regional, handicap, age) to help with issues

of accessibility and validity.

5. Questions require specifi c knowledge of material studied, not general knowl-

edge or experience.

A FINAL NOTE

We hope that these ideas and methods have produced new ways of thinking about

assessment. Norton has a strong commitment to supporting instructors with high

quality support material.

1

CONCEPT MAP

I. What Americans Think about Government

A. Trust in Government

B. Po liti cal Effi cacy

II. Citizenship: Knowledge and Participation

A. Po liti cal Knowledge

B. Citizenship

III. Government

A. Is Government Needed?

i. Public goods

B. Forms of Government

i. Who governs?

1. Autocracy

2. Oligarchy

3. Democracy

ii. How much government control?

1. Constitutional government

a. Substantive limits

b. Procedural limits

2. Authoritarian government

3. Totalitarian government

C. Participation

i. Politics

ii. Representative democracy

iii. Direct democracy

American Po liti cal Culture CHAPTER 1

2 | Chapter 1

IV. Who Are Americans?

A. Race

B. Immigration

V. Thinking Critically about American Po liti cal Culture

A. Po liti cal Values

B. Po liti cal Culture

i. Liberty

1. Limited government

2. Laissez- faire capitalism

ii. Equality

1. Equality of opportunity

2. Po liti cal equality

3. Pop u lar sovereignty

iii. Democracy

1. Majority rule, minority rights

Keywords: authoritarian government, autocracy, citizenship, constitutional

government, democracy, direct democracy, equality of opportunity, government,

laissez- faire capitalism, liberty, limited government, majority rule, minority

rights, oligarchy, pluralism, po liti cal culture, po liti cal effi cacy, po liti cal equality,

politics, pop u lar sovereignty, power, representative democracy, republic,

totalitarian government

MULTIPLE- CHOICE

1. The newest federal cabinet department is

A. Veterans Affairs.

B. Homeland Security.

C. Education.

D. Health and Human Ser vices.

E. Trea sury.

ANS: B REF: p. 4 TOP: Factual KEY: public goods DIF: Easy

2. Since the 1960s, Americans’ trust in their government has generally

A. remained stable.

B. risen slightly.

C. risen sharply.

D. fallen slightly.

E. fallen sharply.

ANS:E REF: p. 5 TOP: Factual KEY: trust DIF: Easy

American Po liti cal Culture | 3

3. Which of the following is not an accurate statement about the consequences

of declining trust in government?

A. Distrust threatens the government’s ability to attract good workers to the

public sector.

B. Distrust makes people less willing to pay the taxes necessary for public

activities.

C. Distrust motivates people to participate in politics through voting, vol-

unteering for po liti cal campaigns, and running for offi ce.

D. Distrust weakens the government’s ability to help people in times of

crisis.

E. Distrust weakens the government’s ability to defend our national interest

in the world economy.

ANS: C REF: p. 8 TOP: Conceptual KEY: trust DIF: Diffi cult

4. The belief that you can infl uence how your government acts is called

A. po liti cal effi cacy.

B. saliency.

C. pop u lar sovereignty.

D. autocracy.

E. oligarchy.

ANS: A REF: p. 8 TOP: Factual – Defi nition KEY: po liti cal effi cacy

DIF: Easy

5. Which of the following is not a reason given to explain American citizens’

increased po liti cal apathy?

A. citizens’ lack of understanding politics

B. the increasing belief that people cannot make a difference in politics

C. an increase in the knowledge of how government operates

D. the perception that government is out of touch with public opinion

E. a decrease in the perception that government can be trusted to do the

right thing

ANS: C REF: pp. 8– 9 TOP: Conceptual KEY: po liti cal effi cacy

DIF: Diffi cult

6. The fi rst prerequisite to increasing po liti cal effi cacy is

A. increasing po liti cal knowledge.

B. decreasing po liti cal knowledge.

C. reducing po liti cal participation.

D. reducing trust in government.

E. reducing pop u lar sovereignty.

ANS: A REF: p. 9 TOP: Applied KEY: po liti cal effi cacy

DIF: Diffi cult

4 | Chapter 1

7. Po liti cal apathy among Americans hurts which core po liti cal value the most?

A. democracy

B. freedom of religion

C. economic liberty

D. equality of opportunity

E. equality of outcome

ANS: A REF: p. 9 TOP: Applied KEY: po liti cal effi cacy DIF: Easy

8. According to recent surveys, only ______ percent of the U.S. population

could identify Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, while approxi-

mately ______ percent could identify Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

A. 5; 50

B. 15; 60

C. 25; 75

D. 45; 85

E. 65; 95

ANS: D REF: p. 10 TOP: Factual KEY: po liti cal knowledge

DIF: Moderate

9. Survey data shows that the level of Americans’ po liti cal knowledge is

A. uniformly high.

B. low and spotty.

C. high regarding history but low regarding governmental pro cesses.

D. high concerning current events but low concerning history.

E. high regarding governmental pro cesses but low concerning national

po liti cal fi gures.

ANS: D REF: p. 10 TOP: Factual KEY: po liti cal knowledge

DIF: Moderate

10. What aspect of citizenship was most important for the ancient Greeks?

A. voting

B. holding offi ce

C. military ser vice

D. paying taxes

E. talking and debating

ANS: E REF: p. 10 TOP: Factual – History KEY: citizenship

DIF: Moderate


11. In order to be a good citizen, it is most critical to possess

A. powerful friends.

B. money.

C. knowledge.

D. strongly held convictions.

E. a college degree.

ANS: C REF: pp. 10– 11 TOP: Conceptual KEY: citizenship

DIF: Easy

12. According to the text, which of the following is the most important act of a

citizen?

A. participating in public debates

B. voting for the candidate of one’s choice

C. holding offi ce in the government

D. being born in the nation of which you are a citizen

E. contributing money to a candidate or po liti cal party

ANS: A REF: pp. 10– 11 TOP: Factual KEY: citizenship

DIF: Moderate

13. According to the text, which of the following is not a necessary part of the

knowledge a citizen must possess?

A. the candidates running for offi ce and their policy proposals

B. the structures of government

C. the po liti cal pro cess

D. demo cratic principles

E. the economic interests of other citizens

ANS: E REF: pp. 11– 13 TOP: Applied KEY: po liti cal knowledge

DIF: Moderate

14. It is important for Americans to have knowledge of demo cratic principles so

that they

A. will be able to determine who is or is not un- American.

B. understand what forms of po liti cal conduct are consistent with

democracy.

C. are better able to assess their own interests when making po liti cal

choices.

D. will be better able to judge the legitimacy of other nations.

E. will feel a stronger sense of patriotism.

ANS: B REF: pp. 11, 13 TOP: Conceptual KEY: po liti cal knowledge

DIF: Diffi cult

6 | Chapter 1

15. According to a 2007 poll, compared to readers of major newspaper websites,

the audience of the Daily Show with Jon Stewart and the Colbert Report had

______ po liti cal knowledge.

A. dramatically more

B. dramatically less

C. slightly more

D. slightly less

E. equal

ANS: E REF: p. 12 TOP: Factual KEY: po liti cal knowledge

DIF: Moderate

16. Studies show that an increasing number of young Americans receive their

po liti cal knowledge from

A. newspapers.

B. video games.

C. late- night comedy shows.

D. their friends and family.

E. talk radio programs.

ANS: C REF: p. 13 TOP: Factual KEY: po liti cal knowledge

DIF: Easy

17. Government can best be defi ned as

A. the institutions and procedures by which a territory and its people are

ruled.

B. the set of po liti cal principles and values that guide po liti cal life.

C. the legalized theft of others’ property.

D. the invisible hand that turns private interests into public goods.

E. the shared set of values, beliefs, and attitudes that people have about

politics.

ANS: A REF: p. 13 TOP: Factual – Defi nition

KEY: forms of government DIF: Easy

18. What is the principle difference between an autocracy and an oligarchy?

A. the responsiveness to pop u lar opinion

B. the number of people in charge

C. the level of wealth of the rulers

D. international diplomatic recognition

E. the strength of the military

ANS: B REF: p. 13 TOP: Factual KEY: forms of government

DIF: Easy


19. A government that accepts no legal limits on its power but may accept the

restraint of other social institutions, such as churches, is known as

A. oligarchic.

B. authoritarian.

C. totalitarian.

D. demo cratic.

E. republican.

ANS: B REF: p. 13 TOP: Factual – Defi nition


20. If the government were controlled by a small group of wealthy landowners

and corporate leaders, this would be best described as

A. an oligarchy.

B. an autocracy.

C. an authoritarian regime.

D. a totalitarian state.

E. a monarchy.



21. An autocracy exists when

A. the government is controlled by a single individual.

B. the government is controlled by a small but powerful group of people.

C. the constitution of a government is followed strictly.

D. the government is controlled by one dominant religious group.

E. citizens play a signifi cant part in government by electing key public

offi cials.



22. A ser vice that a person needs but is usually unable to provide for him- or

herself individually is called

A. a public good.

B. a cultural commodity.

C. an oligarchy.

D. an entitlement.

E. a selective benefi t.

ANS: A REF: p. 13 TOP: Factual – Defi nition KEY: public goods

DIF: Easy

8 | Chapter 1

23. Which of the following is not an example of a public good?

A. a military defense force

B. a police force

C. a job

D. the administration of courts

E. social justice

ANS: C REF: p. 13 TOP: Factual – Defi nition KEY: public goods

DIF: Moderate

24. Who said that the best government was the one that “governed least”?

A. John Locke

B. Thomas Jefferson

C. Adam Smith

D. Abraham Lincoln

E. Franklin D. Roo se velt

ANS: B REF: p. 13 TOP: Factual – History KEY: public goods

DIF: Moderate

25. The willingness to be restrained by the power of social institutions, but not

po liti cal or legal institutions, is a hallmark of a(n) ______ regime.

A. totalitarian

B. authoritarian

C. demo cratic

D. oligarchic

E. monarchic



26. According to the text, what is the main benefi t of a constitutional government?

A. The government is limited by the rule of law.

B. The government must obey democracy.

C. The government will distribute social goods equally.

D. The government is stable.

E. The government will produce high levels of economic growth.

ANS: A REF: p. 13 TOP: Factual KEY: forms of government

DIF: Moderate


27. A government that is formally limited by laws and rules is called

A. demo cratic.

B. constitutional.

C. oligarchic.

D. authoritarian.

E. totalitarian.



28. Which of the following is not an example of a totalitarian regime?

A. pre–World War II Italy

B. pre–World War II Japan

C. Nazi Germany

D. the Soviet Union under Stalin

E. the United Kingdom

ANS: E REF: pp. 13– 14 TOP: Factual KEY: forms of government

DIF: Easy

29. Before the eigh teenth century

A. governments were primarily demo cratic.

B. totalitarian rule was common.

C. governments rarely sought the support of their people.

D. most governments were based on respect for the rule of law.

E. autocracies were extremely rare.

ANS: C REF: p. 14 TOP: Factual KEY: forms of government

DIF: Moderate

30. Of the nearly 200 governments in the world, what is the estimate of the num-

ber of actual constitutional democracies?

A. 20

B. 75

C. 89

D. 110

E. 150

ANS: C REF: p. 14 TOP: Factual KEY: forms of government

DIF: Moderate

10 | Chapter 1

31. The demand that there be no taxation without repre sen ta tion is a good

example of what po liti cal reform of the eigh teenth century?

A. the decline of pop u lar infl uence on government

B. more pop u lar infl uence on government

C. the decline in citizenship

D. the spread of autocracy

E. greater attention to the economic effects of politics

ANS: B REF: p. 14 TOP: Factual – History

KEY: forms of government DIF: Moderate

32. The key group in Eu rope that pushed for limited government was

A. the bourgeoisie.

B. the idiotes.

C. the citizens.

D. the poor.

E. the peasantry.

ANS: A REF: p. 14 TOP: Factual – History


33. Historically, what were the most effective intermediaries for increasing po liti-

cal participation?

A. elected monarchies

B. universities

C. in de pen dent judiciaries

D. newspapers

E. parliaments

ANS: E REF: p. 14 TOP: Factual – History


34. What major changes in Western government led to the establishment of con-

stitutional government?

A. legal limits on government and the right of more people to vote

B. the right of revolution and the spread of socialism

C. debt relief for the poor and the right of citizens to hold offi ce

D. the colonialism of the New World and the right of revolution

E. the growth in ethnic and religious diversity

ANS: A REF: pp. 14– 15 TOP: Factual KEY: forms of government

DIF: Moderate


35. John Locke and John Stuart Mill are important phi los o phers for which of the

following ideologies?

A. pop u lar participation

B. liberty and po liti cal rights

C. tradition and religion in government

D. revolutionary action

E. socialism and communism

ANS: B REF: pp. 14– 15 TOP: Factual – History


36. Why did the Progressives support women’s suffrage in the early twentieth

century?

A. The Progressives were a group dominated by women.

B. The Progressives wanted to make the United States as demo cratic as

possible.

C. The Progressives believed women would support their reform

movement.

D. The Progressives needed to develop a voting bloc to check and limit

upper- class northerners.

E. The Progressives needed to develop a voting bloc to check and limit

lower- class southerners.

ANS: C REF: p. 15 TOP: Factual – History KEY: participation

DIF: Diffi cult

37. Who described politics as “who gets what, when, and how”?

A. James Madison

B. Abraham Lincoln

C. Harold Lasswell

D. Franklin Roo se velt

E. John Locke

ANS: C REF: p. 15 TOP: Factual – History KEY: participation

DIF: Moderate

38. According to the text, what is the goal of politics?

A. to have a say in a government’s leadership, or ga ni za tion, and policies

B. to get as much power as possible in order to serve one’s own interests

C. to construct a perfect constitutional order

D. to construct a po liti cal system that is conducive to economic growth

E. to construct a po liti cal system that provides as many people as possible

with the chance to participate

ANS: A REF: p. 15 TOP: Factual KEY: participation DIF: Moderate

12 | Chapter 1

39. Direct democracy is best defi ned as

A. a state of continual revolution.

B. the system that allows people to vote by telephone or over the Internet.

C. a system that allows citizens to vote directly for laws and policies.

D. the competition between interest groups for governmental power.

E. a system that allows citizens to elect representatives who play a signifi -

cant role in governmental decision making

ANS: C REF: p. 15 TOP: Factual – Defi nition KEY: participation

DIF: Easy

40. Having some share or say in the composition of a government’s leadership,

how it is or ga nized, or what its policies are going to be is called

A. government.

B. power.

C. autocracy.

D. federalism.

E. constitutionalism.

ANS: B REF: p. 15 TOP: Factual – Defi nition KEY: participation

DIF: Easy

41. Politics can be defi ned as

A. confl icts over the character, membership, and policies of any or ga ni za-

tion to which people belong.

B. the informal, private organizations through which a land and its people

are ruled.

C. a hierarchically structured or ga ni za tion that is designed to distribute

labor among several different groups of people.

D. a line- and- staff or ga ni za tion that is designed to facilitate control over

complex social arrangements.

E. alliances of various interest groups, policy experts, and elected representa-

tives who unite in order to promote a governmental solution to a problem.

ANS: A REF: p. 15 TOP: Factual – Defi nition KEY: participation

DIF: Easy

42. A representative democracy is a system of government that

A. allows citizens to vote directly on laws and policies.

B. allows citizens to make, veto, or judge statutes personally.

C. gives citizens a regular opportunity to elect top government offi cials.

D. gives citizens the ability to make important military decisions directly.

E. legally requires government offi cials to vote for policies that a majority

of their constituents prefer.

ANS: C REF: p. 15 TOP: Factual – Defi nition KEY: participation

DIF: Easy


43. Which of the following is an instrument of direct democracy?

A. the electoral college

B. litigation

C. initiatives

D. the House of Representatives

E. the Senate

ANS: C REF: pp. 15– 16 TOP: Factual – Defi nition KEY: participation

DIF: Moderate

44. The struggle of competing interest groups for governmental infl uence is called

A. pluralism.

B. direct action politics.

C. direct democracy.

D. oligarchy.

E. grassroots mobilization.

ANS: A REF: p. 16 TOP: Factual – Defi nition KEY: participation

DIF: Easy

45. The is the most important concept for the theory of pluralism.

A. individual

B. state

C. group

D. vote

E. nation

ANS: C REF: p. 16 TOP: Factual KEY: participation DIF: Moderate

46. At the time of the Founding, approximately ______ percent of non– Native

American inhabitants of the thirteen states were of Eu ro pe an ancestry.

A. 25

B. 50

C. 65

D. 80

E. 98

ANS: D REF: pp. 16– 18 TOP: Factual – History KEY: immigration

DIF: Easy

14 | Chapter 1

47. Which of the following statements about the changes in American society

between 1900 and 2000 is not true?

a. There has been a decline in the percentage of Americans who identify

themselves as Protestants.

b. The average age of Americans has risen.

c. There has been an increase in the percentage of Americans who live in

urban areas.

d. The percentage of whites has decreased.

e. The percentage of blacks has decreased.

ANS: A REF: pp. 18– 24 TOP: Factual – History KEY: race

DIF: Moderate

48. The National Origins Quota System

a. allowed a large quota of new immigrants from northern Eu ro pe an coun-

tries but only a small quota of new immigrants from eastern and south-

ern Eu ro pe an countries.

b. allowed only a small quota of new immigrants from northern Eu ro pe an

countries but a large quota of immigrants from eastern and southern

Eu ro pe an countries.

c. allowed the same quota of new immigrants from every country around

the world.

d. abolished the quota system for immigrants from certain countries.

e. outlawed all immigration from Eu ro pe an countries.

ANS: A REF: pp. 19– 20 TOP: Factual – History KEY: immigration

DIF: Moderate

49. Which of the following statements best describes naturalization laws in the

United States prior to 1870?

a. All free people could become naturalized citizens after living in the

country for at least fi ve years.

b. All free people could become naturalized citizens after living in the

country for at least ten years.

c. Only free whites could become naturalized citizens.

d. Only freed black slaves could become naturalized citizens.

e. Only Native Americans could become naturalized citizens.

ANS: A REF: p. 20 TOP: Factual – History KEY: race

DIF: Moderate


50. Po liti cal culture refers to

A. the way that artists, musicians, fi lmmakers, and cultural critics use their

message to infl uence po liti cal decision making.

B. the factors that infl uence the way informal social organizations make

decisions.

C. the shared values, beliefs, and attitudes that serve to hold a nation and its

people together.

D. the system of or ga niz ing po liti cally, which is defi ned in the Articles of

Confederation.

E. the formal rules that govern the interaction between the executive, legis-

lative, and judicial branches.

ANS: C REF: p. 24 TOP: Factual – Defi nition KEY: po liti cal culture

DIF: Easy

51. Throughout American history, the concept of liberty has been linked to

A. the idea of privacy.

B. the idea of limited government.

C. the idea of unlimited government.

D. the idea of economic equality.

E. the Articles of Confederation.

ANS: B REF: pp. 24– 25 TOP: Factual – History

KEY: po liti cal culture DIF: Moderate

52. According to the text, what were the essential documents of the American

Founding?

A. the Declaration of In de pen dence and the Constitution

B. the Declaration of In de pen dence and the Magna Carta

C. the Constitution and the Magna Carta

D. the Constitution and the Mayfl ower Compact

E. the Mayfl ower Compact and the Magna Carta

ANS: A REF: pp. 24– 25 TOP: Factual – History

KEY: po liti cal culture DIF: Moderate

53. What are the three core values in American politics?

A. liberty, equality, and democracy

B. democracy, patriotism, and the rule of law

C. equality, oligarchy, and free enterprise

D. anarchy, equality, and patriotism

E. socialism, oligarchy, and liberty

ANS: A REF: pp. 24– 26 TOP: Conceptual KEY: po liti cal culture

DIF: Moderate

16 | Chapter 1

54. The Bill of Rights was designed to protect

A. equality.

B. liberty.

C. democracy.

D. capitalism.

E. socialism.

ANS: B REF: p. 25 TOP: Applied KEY: po liti cal culture

DIF: Moderate

55. The Bill of Rights is

A. the fi rst ten amendments to the Constitution.

B. the fi rst constitution the Found ers wrote.

C. the charter of freedom established by the En glish lords against the king.

D. the Fourteenth Amendment.

E. the fi rst governing document of Plymouth Colony.

ANS: A REF: p. 25 TOP: Factual – Defi nition KEY: po liti cal culture

DIF: Easy

56. In American po liti cal culture, economic freedom means

A. low infl ation.

B. job security.

C. laissez- faire capitalism.

D. low taxes.

E. a government- controlled stock market.

ANS: C REF: p. 25 TOP: Conceptual KEY: po liti cal culture DIF: Easy

57. The term laissez- faire means

A. fair trade.

B. laziness is folly.

C. hard work.

D. leave alone.

E. equal treatment.

ANS: D REF: p. 25 TOP: Factual – Defi nition KEY: po liti cal culture

DIF: Easy

58. The right of each citizen to vote is an example of

A. equality of opportunity.

B. equality of result.

C. po liti cal equality.

D. educational opportunity.

E. laissez- faire capitalism.

ANS: C REF: pp. 25– 26 TOP: Factual – Defi nition

KEY: po liti cal culture DIF: Easy


59. “One person, one vote” refl ects the principle of

A. po liti cal equality.

B. equality of opportunity.

C. majority rule.

D. economic liberty.

E. pop u lar sovereignty.

ANS: A REF: p. 26 TOP: Factual – Defi nition KEY: po liti cal culture

DIF: Moderate

60. The Constitution’s Preamble, beginning with the words “We the People,” is

an illustration of what principle?

A. majority rule

B. po liti cal equality

C. pop u lar sovereignty

D. minority rights

E. po liti cal rights

ANS: C REF: p. 26 TOP: Applied KEY: po liti cal culture DIF: Easy

61. Po liti cal rights are a protection against

A. pluralism.

B. the tyranny of the majority.

C. the tyranny of the minority.

D. the equality of result.

E. socialism.

ANS: B REF: p. 26 TOP: Applied KEY: po liti cal culture

DIF: Moderate

62. What is the most important check on majority rule in the United States?

A. pop u lar sovereignty

B. pluralism

C. minority rights

D. laissez- faire

E. “one person, one vote”

ANS: C REF: p. 26 TOP: Applied KEY: po liti cal culture

DIF: Moderate

18 | Chapter 1

63. The existence of slavery in the United States is a good example of how

A. American values are not always refl ected in practice.

B. Americans do not value liberty.

C. Eu ro pe an ideals have infl uenced American po liti cal culture.

D. po liti cal needs are often placed above economic needs.

E. liberty requires pop u lar sovereignty.


DIF: Moderate

64. Which of the following statements concerning po liti cal values in the United

States is true?

A. American values often confl ict with each other in practice.

B. Because of their diversity, Americans do not share a similar set of core

po liti cal values.

C. The origins of American po liti cal values are found in the 1960s.

D. American politics relies on its value neutrality.

E. A belief in economic equality is the oldest and most strongly held Amer-

ican value.


DIF: Diffi cult

65. The belief that po liti cal authority should rest with the people themselves is

called

A. equality of opportunity.

B. po liti cal equality.

C. pluralism.

D. pop u lar sovereignty.

E. federalism.

ANS: D REF: p. 28 TOP: Factual – Defi nition KEY: po liti cal culture

DIF: Easy

66. The separate but equal doctrine was introduced in what Supreme Court case?

A. Plessy v. Ferguson B. the civil rights cases

C. Brown v. Board of Education D. Roe v. Wade E. Marbury v. Madison

ANS: A REF: p. 28 TOP: Factual – History KEY: po liti cal culture

DIF: Moderate


67. Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education reveal two very differ-

ent visions of what po liti cal value?

A. liberty

B. democracy

C. equality

D. fairness

E. pop u lar sovereignty

ANS: C REF: p. 28 TOP: Applied KEY: po liti cal culture

DIF: Moderate

68. Disputes over affi rmative action demonstrate that

A. Americans disagree over the public’s legitimate role in ensuring the

equality of opportunity.

B. Americans are generally supportive of equality of results.

C. economic liberties are more important than democracy.

D. Americans have stopped valuing democracy.

E. Americans strongly support laissez- faire capitalism.

ANS: A REF: p. 28 TOP: Conceptual KEY: po liti cal culture

DIF: Diffi cult

69. Affi rmative action is very controversial because

A. Americans argue about whether it promotes or restrains equality.

B. it is inherently an undemo cratic way of achieving liberty.

C. some argue that it limits po liti cal equality in order to promote

cost- effectiveness.

D. it is a legacy of the Jim Crow years.

E. some argue that it undermines pop u lar sovereignty.

ANS: A REF: pp. 28, 30 TOP: Conceptual KEY: po liti cal culture

DIF: Diffi cult

70. What observation did phi los o pher Immanuel Kant make in his 1795 essay

“Toward Perpetual Peace”?

A. The only way to achieve peace is by promoting more religion.

B. Perpetual peace is an impossible dream because people are blinded by

narrow self- interest.

C. The best route to peace is through strategic balance of power between

the United States and major Eu ro pe an nations.

D. Demo cratic regimes seldom make war on each other.

E. Autocratic regimes seldom make war on each other.

ANS: D REF: p. 29 TOP: Factual – History KEY: po liti cal culture

DIF: Diffi cult

20 | Chapter 1

71. Which of the following is a common explanation for why the United States

should pursue a policy of demo cratization?

A. Demo cratization is less expensive than diplomacy.

B. Demo cratization leads to more po liti cal participation within the United

States.

C. Demo cratization leads to po liti cal stability.

D. Demo cratization leads to more economic equality among nations.

E. Demo cratization leads to a healthy environment.

ANS: C REF: p. 29 TOP: Conceptual KEY: po liti cal culture

DIF: Moderate

72. Which of the following statements is true?

A. The United States has a greater gap in income between the poorest and

richest than any other developed nation.

B. The gap between the rich and the poor can be explained by American

support of oligarchy.

C. American politics is structured by centuries- long class antagonism.

D. Income gaps between Americans are small compared with those in

other developed nations.

E. The United States has a smaller gap in income between the poorest and

richest than any other developed nation.

ANS: A REF: p. 30 TOP: Applied KEY: po liti cal culture

DIF: Moderate

73. According to the text, the United States did not become a fully demo cratic

nation until

A. 1790, when all thirteen states ratifi ed the Constitution.

B. the 1860s, after the Civil War.

C. the 1820s, when property requirements for voting were dropped.

D. the early twentieth century, when women were granted suffrage.

E. the 1960s, when the right of African Americans to vote was enforced by

federal laws.

ANS: E REF: p. 32 TOP: Factual – History KEY: po liti cal culture

DIF: Moderate


74. Which of the following statements about property restrictions on the right to

vote in the United States is true?

A. Property restrictions on the right to vote are explicitly forbidden in the

Constitution and have never been instituted.

B. Property restrictions on the right to vote were in effect early in the coun-

try’s history but were eliminated by 1828.

C. Property restrictions on the right to vote were instituted in 1828 and are

still in effect in many states.

D. Property restrictions on the right to vote are spelled out in the Constitu-

tion and have been in effect since 1788.

E. Property restrictions on the right to vote were in effect early in the coun-

try’s history but were eliminated with the passage of the Nineteenth

Amendment in 1920.

ANS: B REF: p. 32 TOP: Factual – History KEY: po liti cal culture

DIF: Moderate

75. In ______ women were granted the constitutional right to vote.

A. 1863

B. 1870

C. 1900

D. 1920

E. 1965

ANS: D REF: p. 32 TOP: Factual – History KEY: po liti cal culture

DIF: Moderate

76. Low voter turnout and po liti cal apathy endanger

A. equality.

B. economic liberty.

C. democracy.

D. constitutionalism.

E. laissez- faire capitalism.

ANS: C REF: p. 32 TOP: Conceptual KEY: po liti cal culture

DIF: Easy

22 | Chapter 1

TRUE/FALSE

1. Over the past several de cades, the public’s belief that the government is

responsive to the people has declined.

ANS: T REF: p. 8

2. Recent polls reveal that more than three- fourths of Americans know the

name of the current speaker of the House.

ANS: F REF: p. 10

3. The most important thing for a citizen to possess is po liti cal knowledge.

ANS: T REF: pp. 11, 13

4. Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union are both examples of autocracies.

ANS: F REF: p. 13

5. When a single ruler controls all government power, it is called an oligarchy.

ANS: F REF: p. 13

6. Constitutional democracies were often found throughout ancient Greece.

ANS: F REF: pp. 13– 14

7. Parliaments began in Eu rope as institutions for aristocrats.

ANS: T REF: p. 14

8. The proletariat was the key social force leading to limited government dur-

ing the eigh teenth century.

ANS: F REF: p. 14

9. The referendum is a form of direct democracy.

ANS: T REF: p. 15

10. Because of the United States’ diversity of races, ethnicities, and religions,

Americans do not share a common po liti cal culture.

ANS: F REF: p. 24

11. The principle of “one person, one vote” summarizes the idea of liberty.

ANS: F REF: pp. 25– 26

12. The United States has never accepted the principle of pop u lar sovereignty.

ANS: F REF: p. 26


13. Many of the most critical dilemmas of American politics involve confl icts

over the way commonly held values are put into practice.

ANS: T REF: p. 26

14. Plessy v. Feguson and Brown v. Board of Education are both Supreme

Court cases dealing with the meaning of equality.

ANS: T REF: p. 28

15. Property restrictions on the right to vote were eliminated in 1920.

ANS: F REF: p. 32

ESSAY QUESTIONS

1. Po liti cal analysts have identifi ed a decline in the trust citizens put in their

government. Why is trust such an important trait for politics? In what ways

is it helpful for levels of trust to be high? What are some of the causes of the

decline in trust? How might trust be regained?

ANS: Answers will vary.

2. What does it mean to be a citizen? How have American ideals of citizenship

been infl uenced by the ancient Greeks? Why is po liti cal knowledge so vital

for citizenship and what are the different types of po liti cal knowledge?


3. Write an essay describing some of the different types of government. How

would you defi ne and distinguish them? What are the specifi c characteris-

tics of representative democracy?


4. What is po liti cal culture? What is the makeup of the po liti cal culture in the

United States? Give two examples of how the po liti cal culture of the United

States helps to unite Americans, even in disagreement.


5. While most Americans share similar po liti cal values, how they interpret

those values in practice often differs radically. Describe some of the con-

fl icts that arise in politics when broadly defi ned values are implemented in

governmental policies. What are some of the controversies that have arisen

over the meaning of equality? Over the meaning of liberty?


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