B
Where can the Bill of Rights be found? 1)
A) the Declaration of Independence
B) the first 10 amendments to the Constitution C) the Preamble of the Constitution
D) Article IV of the Constitution
E) the Declaration of the Rights of Man
D
According to the incorporation doctrine, 2)
A) corporations have the same legal rights as citizens.
B) the Ninth Amendment compels states to restrict ?life, liberty, and property? without due process of law.
C) Congress must enforce the fundamental freedo
E
The establishment clause 3)
A) prohibits the government from interfering with citizens? religious practices.
B) establishes a national church and a national religion.
C) tears down the wall of separation between church and state.
D) requires all elected o
C
The First Amendment says that 4)
A) ?The president shall enforce no law... abridging the freedom of speech or of the press.?
B) ?The states shall make no law... abridging the freedom of speech or of the press.?
C) ?Congress shall make no law... abridging
C
The Supreme Court uses the Lemon test primarily to decide on matters related to 5) A) racial discrimination
B) freedom of the press
C) the relationship between church and state D) the rights of the accused
E) abortion
C
The constitutional doctrine that government cannot prohibit speech or publication before the fact is 6) called
A) amicus curiae.
B) the prohibition clause.
C) prior restraint.
D) a priori limitation.
E) in re Anastaplo.
C
The direct incitement test allows government to limit speech 7) A) of accused terrorists.
B) that is likely to be offensive according to contemporary community standards. C) that is intended and likely to result in imminent lawless action.
D) that advocat
C
In the case of Schenck v. United States (1919), which tested the constitutionality of the Espionage 8) Act, the Supreme Court decided that
A) the right to criticize government was a fundamental civil liberty that could not be infringed even in times of wa
E
Which of the following types of speech can government restrict? 9)
A) political speech
B) unpopular speech
C) hate speech
D) symbolic speech
E) slander
B
10) What differentiates slander from libel? 10)
A) Private persons are libeled, whereas public figures are slandered.
B) Slander is oral, whereas libel is written.
C) Slander is intentionally malicious, whereas libel is a report of unverified rumor.
D) Sl
C
In Miller v. California (1973), the Supreme Court concluded that material was obscene if it 11) A) depicts sexual conduct in artistic way.
B) encourages lewd and lascivious thoughts.
C) lacks literary, artistic, political, or scientific value. D) violates
A
Someone who ?takes the Fifth? has 12) A) refused to testify against himself.
B) been given a breathalyzer test.
C) consented to a police search of his house or vehicle. D) been read his Miranda rights.
E) failed a mandatory drug test.
D
Under what circumstances can government officials conduct searches without a warrant? 13)
A) When arresting a suspect, officials may search the immediate area.
B) It is permissible when pursuing a dangerous suspect who is likely to destroy evidence.
C) It
B
Why can government regulate broadcast television more than most other media? 14) A) because television stations have open access to all citizens, regardless of age
B) because the airwaves over which stations broadcast are considered public property C) bec
D
In 1966, the Supreme Court ruled that arrested individuals must be informed of their constitutional 15) rights in
A) Mapp v. Ohio.
B) McCleskey v. Zant.
C) Gideon v. Wainwright D) Miranda v. Arizona.
E) Weeks v. United States
A
When can someone be tried twice for the same offense? 16) A) never
B) when new evidence comes to light after an acquittal C) when he is accused of murder, rape, or treason
D) when he is guilty
E) when he admits his guilt after an acquittal
B
17) The right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury is guaranteed by the ________ 17) Amendment.
A) Third B) Sixth C)Seventh D) Eighth E) tenth
D
The Eighth Amendment prohibits A) capital punishment.
B) unreasonable searches and seizures. C) multiple appeals in felony cases.
D) excessive bail and excessive fines.
E) trial by a jury of your peers.
C
Where is the right to privacy enumerated in the Constitution? A) in Article I, section 8
18)
19)
B) in the Second Amendment
C) The right to privacy is not specifically enumerated in the Constitution. D) in the Third Amendment
E) in the Preamble
True
The Supreme Court has ruled that burning the American flag is protected symbolic speech and can 20) not be outlawed by government.
True
During times of national crisis, it is especially difficult to determine the limits of government 21) intervention in the private sphere.
TRUE
During times of national crisis, it is especially difficult to determine the limits of government 21) intervention in the private sphere.
D
Which of the following phrases best encapsulates the meaning of the term ?civil rights?? 23) A) the guaranteed freedoms on which the government cannot intrude
B) the personal liberties of individual citizens
C) the assurance of equal treatment to all citi
D
What was the purpose of the Missouri Compromise? 24) A) to guarantee women the right to vote while denying the right to vote to slaves
B) to prohibit the expansion of slavery into any new states admitted to the union C) to enhance the civil rights of nonc
B
Slavery was banned by the ________ Amendment. 25)
A) Twelfth
B) Thirteenth
C) Fourteenth
D) Fifteenth
E) Nineteenth
B
What were Black Codes? 26)
A) Supreme Court decisions that mandated separate but equal facilities for newly freed slaves
B) laws passed in southern states that denied legal rights to newly freed slaves
C) unsuccessful attempts by northern states to recrui
E
The Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments are collectively known as the 27) A) Natural Law Legislation.
B) Bill of Liberties.
C) Bill of Rights.
D) civil liberties amendments.
E) Civil War Amendments.
D
What was the original purpose of the Fourteenth Amendment? 28) A) to ensure that the state governments abided by the Bill of Rights
B) to deny the right to vote to former slaves
C) to protect the interests of slave-holding northerners D) to guarantee citi
A
Laws enacted by southern states that resulted in segregation by race were also known as 29) A) Jim Crow laws.
B) Black Codes.
C) freedmen statutes.
D) sharecropper statutes.
E) grandfather clauses.
B
Which of the following best summaries the reaction in the South to the Fifteenth Amendment? 30)
A) Southern states engaged in a massive get-out-the-vote effort among former slaves.
B) Southern states found creative ways to avoid enfranchising blacks, such
C
In ________, the Supreme Court found that segregated rail transportation was constitutional 31) because separate but equal accommodations did not violate the equal protection clause of the
Fourteenth Amendment.
A) the Slaughterhouse cases B) the Civil Rig
A
In the years after the Supreme Court?s decision in Plessy v. Ferguson, public accommodations in the 32) South were largely
A) segregated and unequal. B) segregated and equal.
C) separate and equal.
D) integrated and unequal.
E) integrated and equal.
E
The 1954 Supreme Court decision that overturned Plessy was 33) A) the Sweatt case.
B) McLaurin v. Oklahoma. C) Missouri v. Gaines.
D) Cooper v. Aaron.
E) Brown v. Board of Education.
C
In Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court determined that 34)
A) schools must ensure a racial mix equal to that of the surrounding community.
B) school bussing is patently unconstitutional.
C) the doctrine of ?separate but equal? has no place in p
B
What was the immediate response of the South to the Supreme Court?s decision in Brown v. Board 35) of Education?
A) The South reluctantly complied with the Court?s mandate, although they complained about it relentlessly.
B) The South did everything within
B
Who was a leader of the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the head of the Montgomery Improvement 36) Association?
A) Malcolm X
B) Martin Luther King, Jr.
C) Rosa Parks D) Linda Brown
E) Seneca Falls
C
In August 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. led a huge march on Washington that culminated in 37) A) the brutal beatings of African Americans by D.C. residents.
B) the arrest of thousands of marchers by the D.C. police. C) King?s ?I Have a Dream? speech.
D) t
E
Following the assassination of President Kennedy, what was President Lyndon B. Johnson?s 38) legislative priority?
A) equal rights for military veterans B) restoring Jim Crow laws
C) pacifying the demands of the South D) equal rights for the disabled
E) c
D
Currently, the largest ethnic minority group in the United States is 39) A) Asian Americans.
B) white Americans.
C) African Americans. D) Hispanic Americans.
E) Native Americans.
False
Women were granted the right to vote at the same time as African Americans.
C
Women?s suffrage was guaranteed by the ________ Amendment. 42) A) Fourteenth
B) Fifteenth
C) Nineteenth D) Twenty-first
E) Twenty-second
C
Women?s struggle for equality differs from other civil rights struggles primarily because 43)
A) women have faced fewer obstacles to employment.
B) women have faced fewer obstacles to political participation.
C) women are not a minority.
D) women have no
A
Throughout the twentieth century, which group advocated most vocally and effectively for the 44) rights of disabled Americans?
A) war veterans B) the NAACP
C) elderly Americans D) the MALDEF
E) workers in high-risk jobs
A
What does the Americans with Disabilities Act require? 45) A) workplace accommodations for disabled Americans
B) at least 5 percent of all congressional seats must be held by disabled Americans C) at least 5 percent of all state legislative seats must be
E
Nancy Pelosi is the first woman 46) A) selected as the Democratic whip in the House of Representatives.
B) elected to Congress from California. C) to serve in Congress.
D) to serve as President of the Senate.
E) to serve as Speaker of the House.
E
47) The U.S. Congress is 47) A) nonpartisan.
B) the only democratically elected legislature in the world.
C) prohibited from passing laws that might conflict with state laws. D) required to reapportion every year.
E) bicameral.
A
The structure of the legislative branch of government is described by ________ of the Constitution. 48)
A) Article I B) Article II C) Article III
B
Members of the House of Representatives must
A) take an oath to uphold socialist principles.
B) have lived in the United States for at least seven years.
C) be at least thirty years old.
D) pass a religious test.
E) all of the above
E
There are ________ members of the House of Representatives and ________ members of the Senate. 50)
49)
A) 376; 50 B) 435; 50 C) 527; 100 D) 527; 50 E) 435; 100
C
Senators are elected for ________-year terms.
A) two B) four C) six D) seven E) eight
D
Apportionment and redistricting typically occur every A) two years.
B) four years. C) six years. D) 10 years.
E) 20 years.
B
According to Article I, section 8 of the Constitution, Congress has the power to A) impeach state governors.
B) lay and collect taxes. C) pass ex post facto laws. D) grant titles of nobility.
E) revoke natural laws.
B
The Constitution gives formal law-making powers to A) the Senate but not the House of Representatives.
B) Congress.
C) the bureaucracy.
D) the executive branch.
E) the House of Representatives but not the Senate.
B
55) How does the Constitution define impeachable offenses? 55) A) ?actions contrary to the Interests of the Union, or those actions which Appear contrary.?
B) ?Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.?
C) ?a felony of any class.?
D) ?abuse
C
Who conducts impeachment trials? 56) A) the Supreme Court
B) the House of Representatives C) the Senate
D) a joint session of Congress
E) the president?s cabinet
D
The House of Representatives has the sole power to 57) A) declare war.
B) approve treaties.
C) try impeached officials. D) initiate revenue bills.
E) make agreements with the executive.
A
The Senate has the sole power to 58) A) approve major presidential appointments.
B) establish post offices and post roads. C) regulate the District of Columbia.
D) issue patents and copyrights.
E) declare war.
A
Which of the following accurately characterizes a difference in the way the House and Senate 59) operate?
A) The House is more formal than the Senate.
B) The Senate leadership is more powerful than the House leadership.
C) It is easier to pass legislation
A
The leader of the House of Representatives is called the 60) A) Speaker of the House.
B) majority leader.
C) president pro tempore. D) ombudsman.
E) President of the House.
A
The congressional leaders who line up members on partisan issues and serve as a link between the 61) rank-and-file members and the leadership are called
A) whips.
B) sergeants at arms.
C) minority leaders. D) parliamentarians. E) majority leaders.
B
The constitutional officer who presides over the Senate is the 62) A) Speaker of the Senate.
B) vice president of the United States. C) House majority leader.
D) majority caucus.
E) president of the United States.
C
How is a tie broken in the Senate? 63) A) The president of the United States breaks the tie.
B) There is no way to break a tie. If there is a tie vote, the measure does not pass. C) The vice president of the United States breaks the tie.
D) The president
E
Committees allow for 64)
A) fraternization.
B) emancipation.
C) socialization.
D) temptation.
E) specialization.
B
What is the role of conference committees? 65)
A) to ensure ethical behavior by members of Congress
B) to reach compromises on bills after both chambers have passed similar bills
C) to hear testimony from citizens and interest groups
D) to set the congres
B
66) Why do members of Congress pass pork and earmarks? 66) A) because Congress prefers to pass bills that are in the long-term best interests of the country
B) because they help members of Congress get reelected
C) because agricultural subsidies are neces
D
All of the following are advantages of incumbency EXCEPT 67) A) the franking privilege.
B) name recognition.
C) easier fund raising.
D) publicly funded campaigns.
E) access to the media.
E
From 1998 to 2008, about ________ percent of incumbents who sought reelection were successful. 68)
A) 10
B) 30
C) 50
D) 70
E) 90
A
69) Which demographic group is the least well represented in Congress? 69) A) Hispanics
B) those with advanced degrees C) millionaires
D) men
E) veterans
B
Elected representatives who listen to their constituents? opinions and then use their best judgment 70) to make decisions are
A) politicos. B) trustees.
C) delegates.
D) incommunicados.
E) simpaticos.
D
71) A senator may agree to vote for a bill that will bring money to a colleague?s district. In exchange, 71) the colleague will agree to vote for a future bill that the initial senator supports. This is called
A) casework.
B) using the frank.
C) dischargi
C
Most bills introduced in Congress 72) A) are vetoed by the president.
B) are passed eventually. C) die.
D) are passed quickly.
E) are passed but not enacted because they are unconstitutional.
B
How can a filibuster be stopped? 73) A) with a discharge petition
B) with a cloture motion
C) through senatorial courtesy
D) with a three-fifths vote of all House members
E) A filibuster can not be stopped. That is why they are so powerful.
True
No bill can become law without the consent of both houses of Congress.
True
Congress can halt executive activities by cutting off funds for them.