CYBERLAND UNIVERSITY OF NORTH AMERICA
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr.
University President & Professor of Political Science
FIRST PAGE
POLITICAL SCIENCE 201B:
AMERICAN NATIONAL GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
REVIEW FOR EXAMINATION I
SECTION A: MULTIPLE-CHOICE EXERCISE
DIRECTIONS: Choose the expression or term that best or most correctly completes each sentence.
1. Constitutional democracy is a system of government in
which--
A. the voters have effective means of ultimately control-
ling their elected representatives;
B. the powers of government are defined, limited and dis-
tributed by a body of fundamental law;
C. the voters are in a position to hold elected represen-
tatives accountable for their decisions and actions
while in office;
D. all of the above are true;
E. none of the above are true.
2. Modern constitutional democracies keep their political
leaders accountable to the general populace through--
A. the operation of rigidly doctrinaire and uncompromising
political parties;
B. elections as the medium for transfer of governing power;
C. oligarchy and the coup de e'tat;
D. revolutionary social movements;
E. none of the above.
3. "Constitutionalism" means--
A. limited government;
B. government based on the whim of public officials;
C. unlimited government;
D. absolute government;
E. authoritarianism.
4. In a governmental system characterized by constitutionalism,
the constitution--
A. allows the government to exercise unbridled power;
B. may prescribe certain procedures the government must
follow in making and enforcing decisions;
C. may prohibit the government from making and carrying out
certain decisions;
D. is characterized by A and B above;
E. is characterized by B and C above.
5. The functions of a constitution include--
A. setting the limits of political influence;
B. defining the powers of government;
C. specification of the major offices and institutions of
government and how each is to be filled;
D. A and C above;
E. B and C above.
6. The constitution of a political community such as the United
States of America--
A. takes precedence over all other laws of the community;
B. is subordinate to statutes enacted by the legislature;
C. to be valid and enforceable, must be in harmony with
orders issued by the chief executive;
D. limits the powers of all organs of government except the
upper chamber of the legislature;
E. is characterized by none of the above.
7. When governmental power is constitutionally allocated in
such manner as to ensure that the principal organs of gov-
ernment will check and restrain each other, prevent any one
organ from becoming dominant and thereby maintain an equi-
librium of political power, the system of government is
called--
A. authoritarianism;
B. absolute democracy;
C. balanced government;
D. simple, unchecked democracy;
E. majoritarian tyranny.
8. In the American constitutional system--
A. formal power relationships do not exist among the
principal organs of government;
B. the formal power relationships among the principal
institutions of government result from the constitu-
tional division of political influence among them;
C. constitutional power relationships exist among the
President, the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Repre-
sentatives, and the Federal Courts;
D. the U.S. Constitution limits the powers of all organs
of government except the Office of President;
E. none of the above are true.
9. In the American constitutional system, constitutional power
relationships exist--
A. between the national government and the fifty states;
B. among the two major political parties;
C. among the more powerful political interest groups;
D. between the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives
and the House standing committees;
E. between or among none of the above.
10. The central purpose of constitutionalism is--
A. to determine who within the society is to control and
run the government;
B. to check and restrain the persons who hold public
office and exercise governmental authority;
C. to certify political parties qualified to compete in
elections;
D. to allocate among citizens the material costs and
benefits of living in the community;
E. none of the above.
11. In an authoritarian system of government--
A. political power is concentrated in a single power
center;
B. the constitution effectively imposes limits on govern-
mental power;
C. there is a total or near-total absence of checks and
restraints on the exercise of political power;
D. A and C above are true;
E. none of the above are true.
12. In a dictatorship, unchecked and unrestrained political
power may be in the hands of--
A. one person;
B. an olirarchy, or small, closely-knit group of persons;
C. a majority of the voters or their elected representa-
tives in the government;
D. any of the above;
E. none of the above.
13. In a representative democracy, the legitimate power to
make the official decisions of government--
A. is exercised by the whole body of adult citizens;
B. is acquired and retained either directly or indirectly
as the result of winning free elections;
C. is vested in a mass legislative assembly in which all
qualified adult citizens have the right to participate;
D. is exercised by the voters in national plebiscites held
regularly and frequently;
E. resides in a single ruler wielding unchecked and un-
restrained political power.
14. The constitutional ingredient of modern constitutional
democracy relates to--
A. who holds and exercises governmental power;
B. how political authority is divided, distributed, and
limited by law;
C. how political authority is acquired and retained;
D. the organizational structure of political parties;
E. none of the above.
15. The democratic ingredient of modern constitutional democ-
racy relates to--
A. who holds and exercises governmental power;
B. how governmental power is divided, distributed, and
limited by law;
C. how political authority is acquired and retained;
D. A and C above;
E. B and C above.
16. Under the Articles of Confederation--
A. the members of the U.S. Congress, in voting on measures
pending in that body, functioned as independent deci-
sionmakers;
B. the U.S. Congress possessed a general, virtually un-
limited power to lay and collect taxes;
C. the states were represented in Congress on the basis of
population;
D. the central government of the U.S.A. existed and oper-
ated at the sufferance of the states;
E. decisions on national legislation were made by simple
majority vote in both houses of a bicameral legislature.
17. Under the Articles of Confederation--
A. each state retained its sovereignty and independence;
B. a national judicial system was established to settle
disputes among the states;
C. Congress possessed authority to levy taxes only on
landed property.
D. each state was represented in Congress on the basis of
taxable wealth;
E. the national constitution could be amended, if two-
thirds of the states agreed to the amendment.
18. Under the Articles of Confederation--
A. the national legislature consisted of a three-chamber
Congress;
B. the members of Congress were appointed by and received
their compensation from the state legislatures;
C. the central government could pressure states into taking
action contrary to their own best interests;
D. Congress had the authority to regulate trade with other
nations and among the states of the American union;
E. enactment of a national law required a simple majority
vote in Congress.
19. A movement to revise the Articles of Confederation emerged
because--
A. the colonies were having difficulty bringing the Revolu-
tionary War to a successful conclusion;
B. the military establishment was gaining too much power;
C. the young American nation was facing serious problems
and the central government lacked sufficient authority
to deal with them effectively;
D. the people were beginning to see the central government
as possessing and exercising excessive power;
E. of none of the above.
20. George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison
were among those American leaders who--
A. believed that a stronger national government was
essential to the survival and progress of the U.S.A.;
B. sought to make the Baptist Church the established
religion of America's central government;
C. came to view reunion with the British Empire as the only
avenue of escape from America's predicament during the
late 1780s;
D. advocated a substantial transfer of political authority
from the national government to the states;
E. sympathized with and supported revolutionary movements
seeking to bring about the violent overthrow of existing
state governments.
21. The delegates who attended the Federal Constitutional Con-
vention of 1787 and drew up the U.S. Constitution were
greatly influence by--
A. dissatisfaction with unbalanced state governments
dominated by their state legislatures;
B. problems created or aggravated by existence of a weak
and ineffective central government under the Articles
of Confederation;
C. the perceived threat of majoritarian tyranny and mob
rule in the states;
D. all of the above;
E. none of the above.
22. The motives of those who led the movement to obtain a new
national constitution to replace the Articles of Confedera-
tion included creation of a national government strong
enough to--
A. check and restrain the state legislatures;
B. protect and promote commerce;
C. suppress internal disorders and maintain domestic
tranquillity;
D. do all of the above;
E. do none of the above.
23. The Framers of the U.S. Constitution sought to structure the
central government in such manner as to--
A. establish and maintain a balance of political power in
the governmental system;
B. limit the power of popular majorities;
C. protect and preserve liberty;
D. do all of the above;
E. do none of the above.
24. The Framers of the U.S. Constitution sought to structure the
national government in such a way as to--
A. make decisionmaking by majority in the national legisla-
ture slow and difficult;
B. facilitate the formation of cohesive national political
parties;
C. make decisionmaking by majority in the national legisla-
ture quick and easy;
D. make decisionmaking by majority in national elections
quick and easy;
E. do none of the above.
25. The central controversy at the Federal Constitutional Con-
vention was over--
A. counting slaves as part of a state's population for
purposes of determining the state's representation in
the national legislature;
B. the treatymaking power of the national government;
C. whether the states were to be represented equally in the
national legislature or on the basis of population or
wealth;
D. the nature and method of selection of the national
executive;
E. counting slaves as part of a state's population for
purposes of determining the amount in direct taxes the
state would have to contribute to the national treasury.
26. At the Federal Constitutional Convention, the set of propos-
als that called for a bicameral national legislature in
which the states would be represented according to popula-
tion or wealth in both chambers was the--
A. Georgia Plan;
B. Virginia Plan;
C. Massachusetts Plan;
D. New Jersey Plan;
E. North Carolina Plan.
27. At the Federal Constitutional Convention, the set of propos-
als that called for a single-chamber national legislature in
which the states would be represented equially was the--
A. Georgia Plan;
B. Virginia Plan;
C. Massachusetts Plan;
D. New Jersey Plan;
E. North Carolina Plan.
28. At the Federal Constitutional Convention, the compromise
that provided for a two-chamber national legislature, with
representation according to population in one chamber and
equal representation of the states in the other chamber,
was the--
A. Missouri Compromise;
B. Three-fifths Compromise;
C. New York Compromise;
D. Connecticut Compromise;
E. Philadelphia Compromise.
29. The Federalists--
A. favored ratification of the U.S. Constitution;
B. opposed ratification of the U.S. Constitution;
C. advocated confederation;
D. worked for the creation of a unitary state;
E. favored authoritarianism.
30. The FEDERALIST PAPERS urged--
A. adoption of the Declaration of Independence;
B. ratification of the Articles of Confederation;
C. rejection of the U.S. Constitution:
D. ratification of the Mosaic Code;
E. ratification of the U.S. Constitution.
31. The FEDERALIST PAPERS--
A. offered arguments in favor of the Articles of Confedera-
tion;
B. explained how American government would operate under
the U.S. Constitution;
C. were politically neutral;
D. were intended to convince New York that it should reject
the proposed new Constitution;
E. recommended formation of a constitutional monarchy in
the U.S.A.
32. During the Ratification Campaign, a concession made by the
Federalists to ensure ratification and adoption of the U.S.
Constitution was an agreement to amend the Constitution to--
A. provide for a Federal Bill of Rights;
B. provide for representation of the states according to
taxable wealth in one house of Congress and representa-
tion of the states on the basis of population in the
other house;
C. require the President to submit treaties to the U.S.
Senate for ratification or rejection;
D. delete all references to civil liberties in the Consti-
tution;
E. withdraw from Congress authority to levy taxes.
33. In order to obtain Massachusetts' ratification of the U.S.
Constitution, the supporters of ratification allowed a con-
cession on the content of the Constitution that included--
A. counting each slave as three-fifths of a person;
B. election of U.S. Senators by direct popular vote;
C. incorporation of a Bill of Rights into the new Consti-
tution;
D. giving U.S. Supreme Court justices life-time appoint-
ments;
E. legal recognition of the legitimate right of a state to
secede from the Union.
34. In FEDERALIST 51, James Madison asserted--
A. to protect liberty and prevent tyranny, ambition must be
made to counteract ambition;
B. separation of powers alone can be depended upon to func-
tion as an effective roadblock to tyranny from any
source;
C. because the executive tends to predominate in republican
governments, the top executive authority should be a
plural body, with each member having only one vote in
decisions of the executive;
D. to safeguard liberty and prevent tyranny, there must be
a total transfer of political authority from the states
to the central government;
E. none of the above.
35. Under the U.S. Constitution, each principal organ or branch
of the national government has some authority over the de-
cisions and actions of the others and a strong incentive as
well as the right to delay or block those decisions and
actions. This feature of the American constitutional system
is known as--
A. federalism;
B. checks and balances;
C. political centralization;
D. simple, unchecked democracy;
E. separation of powers.
36. The U.S. Constitution divides the national government into
three institutionally separate and largely independent
branches of government, legislative, executive, and judi-
cial. This feature of the American constitutional system
is called--
A. federalism;
B. checks and balances;
C. political centralization;
D. majoritarianism;
E. separation of powers.
37. The U.S. Constitution prohibits the practice of the same
persons simultaneously holding office in two or more
branches of the national government. This feature of
American government is referred to as--
A. federalism;
B. checks and balances;
C. political centralization;
D. majoritarian government;
E. separation of powers.
38. Separation of powers in the American governmental system--
A. tends to prevent a situation in which two or more gov-
ernmental branches are controlled by the same political
faction;
B. facilitates majority rule in the national government;
C. helps ensure that the three branches of government will
be largely independent of each other and will operate on
an equal basis with each other;
D. is characterized by A and C above;
E. is characterized by B and C above.
39. The constitutional power of the President to veto a bill
passed by Congress is an example of the Framers' applica-
tion of the principle of--
A. federalism;
B. checks and balances;
C. political centralization;
D. straight majority rule;
E. separation of powers.
40. When the U.S. Supreme Court, through exercise of its power
of judicial review, finds the actions of Congress or of the
executive unconstitutional and null and void, the Court is
following most closely the principle of American government
that is generally referred to as--
A. checks and balances;
B. federalism;
C. liberty;
D. equality;
E. majoritarianism.
41. The Framers' incorporation of separation of powers and
checks and balances into the U.S. Constitution resulted in
a national government characterized by--
A. strict separation of powers among the legislative,
executive, and judicial branches;
B. separated institutions sharing powers;
C. complete independence of the different branches and
organs of the national government;
D. a preponderance of political power concentrated in the
U.S. Congress;
E. none of the above.
42. The American system of checks and balances--
A. enables the three branches of government to participate
in one another's processes;
B. prevents the three branches of government from partici-
pating in each other's processes;
C. allows the three branches of government to counteract
one another's exercise of power;
D. does A and C above;
E. does none of the above.
43. The system of separation of powers and checks and balances
in America's national government--
A. means that no branch of government is allowed to assume
and monopolize a function or activity that is the pri-
mary responsibility of another branch;
B. prevents one branch of government from participating in
the primary functions of the other branches;
C. results in the concentration of political authority in
the hands of a single majority faction;
D. makes the three branches of government completely inde-
pendent of each other;
E. is characterized by none of the above.
44. Under the American system of separation of powers and
checks and balances--
A. no one person can serve in the executive branch and
the judiciary simultaneously;
B. no one governmental branch, acting alone, chooses the
justices of the U.S. Supreme Court;
C. U.S. Senators and Representatives are chosen from
different sets of constituencies;
D. all of the above are true;
E. none of the above are true.
45. Balanced government requires--
A. all government officials to be popularly elected;
B. all powers to be separately exercised;
C. voting rights for felons;
D. each branch of government to exercise its powers with
the concurrence of the other branches;
E. concentration of legislative and executive powers in
the popularly elected chamber of the legislature.
46. The American system of balanced government--
A. enhances prompt and speedy government responses to
crises;
B. prohibits one branch of government from exercising any
control over the functions performed by another branch;
C. prevents quick and easy majority decisionmaking;
D. makes the judiciary the first among equals in the na-
tional government;
E. facilitates legislative supremacy.