American National Government FINAL

17 November 2022
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Why does the House have greater party unity than the senate?
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House leaders have more organizational control over the actions of representatives than Senate leaders.
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In general, members of the house seek committee assignments that will:
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Allow them to influence decisions that are of special importance to voters in their districts.
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Oversight can best be described as:
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The efforts of Congress to supervise the manner in which its laws are implemented by the executive branch.
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In addition to pressuring members of Congress to vote a certain way on a bill, interest groups also have substantial influence in:
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Setting the legislative agenda.
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The "sophomore surge" refers to:
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The tendency for candidates to win a higher percentage of the vote when seeking future terms in office.
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In recent years, approximately what percentage of House members seeking re-election won their race?
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95 percent
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In each House district there are approximately ______ people.
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700,000
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Who has the most real power in the Senate?
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The majority and minority leaders
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Gerrymandering refers to:
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The manipulation of electoral districts to serve the interests of a particular group
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The four joint committees in Congress are:
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Economic, taxation, library, and printing
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Which of the following is a key assumption of the sociological model of representation?
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Because similarity helps promote good representation, the composition of legislative bodies should mirror the composition of society.
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In the House of Representatives, the majority leader:
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Is subordinate to the Speaker of the House
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Conference committees are:
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Temporary, involve members from both houses of Congress, and are charged with reaching a compromise on legislation once it has been passed by both the House and the Senate
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Who decides which committee assignments members of House of Representatives receive
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Each party's own "steering and policy" committee
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A proposed piece of legislation is called a:
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Bill
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How long is the term of office for a U.S. Senator?
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Six years
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The need to divide the labor of legislation is best exemplified in what formal structure of Congress?
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The establishment of standing committees
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Most members of the House attempt to stay on good terms with the Speaker of the House because:
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The Speaker possesses the power of recognition
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Congress is a ______ legislature with ______ members.
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Bicameral; 535
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Over the past several decades, the ______ and the ______ have benefited most from apportionment.
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South; West
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A signing statement is:
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An announcement the president makes about his interpretation of a congressional enactment he is signing into law
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What did the framers mean to accomplish by indirect election of the president?
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To make the president responsible to state and national legislatures
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Congress's tendency in recent years to give executive agencies fewer clear guidelines for implementing laws is the result of:
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The greater scope and complexity of the tasks that American government has undertaken
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The Environmental Protection Agency was created in 1970 by:
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An executive order
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The Office of Management and Budget and the Council of Economic Advisers are both parts of:
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The executive office of the president
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The State of the Union address is:
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Mandated by the Constitution
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The turning point in American politics toward a president-centered government came about during the administration of:
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Franklin Roosevelt
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The president's expressed powers include all of the following except:
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Partisan powers
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As a means of managing the gigantic executive branch, presidents have increasingly come to rely upon the:
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White House staff
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The president's delegated powers come from:
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Congress
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Why was George Washington's reception of Edmond Genet as ambassador of France during the French Revolution so significant?
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It reflected the authority of the president to officially recognize a specific regime as the sovereign power of a nation, even when there is doubt as to who rules that nation.
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What is the primary constitutional task of the vice president, besides succeeding the president in case of death, resignation, or incapacitation?
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To cast tie-breaking votes in the Senate
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Which statement about the Cabinet is incorrect?
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The Cabinet does not meet as a group, except during the State of the Union address.
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______ powers are specifically established by the language of the Constitution.
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Expressed
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In undertaking the campaign against the Taliban in 2001, George W. Bush:
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Sought and received congressional authorization for the bombing but not a declaration of war
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True or False: Recent presidents have refrained from asking Congress to declare war and have, instead, frequently deployed the military without congressional authorization.
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True
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When Dwight Eisenhower sent federal troops into Little Rock High School in 1957, it demonstrated that:
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The president may make unilateral use of the emergency powers to protect states against domestic disorder
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When Congress delegates power to the executive branch, it:
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Substantially enhances the importance of the presidency
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What is the general tendency of a president's popularity?
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Presidents usually start out popular and decline over the next four years.
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Why is the president's State of the Union address important?
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It is an opportunity for the president to set the legislative agenda by initiating proposals and directing public attention to the executive's goals
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Which president was most concerned with managing and reorganizing the executive bureaucracy?
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Jimmy Carter
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What is the origin of most federal bureaus?
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Congress passes laws creating and funding most federal bureaus.
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Individual members of Congress can discover questions of public responsibility when engaged in:
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Constituent case work
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The first regulatory agencies established by Congress were:
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Independent regulatory commissions
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Civil servants were given legal protection against being fired without a show of cause in order to:
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Cleanse bureaucracy of political interference while upgrading performance
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The largest subunits of the federal executive branch are called:
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Departments
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Which of the following agencies' primary task is NOT the strengthening of the economy?
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Interior
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Which of the following statements best describes how recent administrations have approached the issue of bureaucratic reform?
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Democratic administrations have aimed to make the existing bureaucracy work more effectively, while Republican administrations have sought to reduce bureaucracy by contracting out government work to private companies.
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Which of the following is the best description of an iron triangle?
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The stable relationship between a bureaucratic agency, a clientele group, and a legislative committee
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The controversy over the Patriot Act reveals the complications of balancing:
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National security with the civil liberties of individuals
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In order to change the level of national economic activity and defend the value of the dollar in international trade, the federal government:
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Manipulates interest rates
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Who has authority to set interest rates and lending activities for the nation's banks?
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The Federal Reserve System
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_____ is the primary mission of the State Department.
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Diplomacy
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True or False: Every member and official of a government agency has been appointed as a part of the merit system.
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False
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Who stated, in his 1996 State of the Union address, that "the era of big government is over"?
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Bill Clinton
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The USA Patriot Act:
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Allows the attorney general to detain any foreigner suspected of posing a threat to internal security
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The concept of oversight refers to the effort made by:
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Congress to make executive agencies accountable for their actions
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The creation of the U.S. Northern Command was important because:
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It breached the long-standing line between domestic law enforcement and foreign military operations for the first time
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Which of the following is an agency created by Congress to assist it in overseeing the federal bureaucracy?
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General Accountability Office
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What is NOT a federal department entrusted with providing national security?
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Police
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The Court's power to review acts of Congress has not been seriously questioned because:
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The Court has been reluctant to strike down congressional laws and has overturned only a small number over the last 200 years
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The phrase stare decisis means:
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"Let the decision stand"
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What is the Uniform Commercial Code?
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A set of codes states may voluntarily adopt in order to reduce interstate differences in judicial opinions in contract law cases
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The written document in which attorneys explain why the court should rule in favor of their client is called a:
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Brief
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The size of the U.S. Supreme Court is set by:
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Congress
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When a case is resolved through a negotiated agreement before a full trial is completed, it is called:
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A plea bargain
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Prior cases whose principles are used by judges to decide current cases are called:
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Precedents
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When interest groups involved in litigation pursue a pattern-of-cases strategy, they are:
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Bringing the same type of suit into multiple circuits, hoping that a contradiction in rulings will bring about a Supreme Court review
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Prisoners who are challenging their conviction are most likely to file a writ of:
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Habeas corpus
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Why has partisan conflict surrounded federal judicial appointments in recent years?
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The federal courts play an important role in shaping American law and politics.
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The power of the Supreme Court to review state actions and legislation comes from:
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The supremacy clause of Article VI
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If an individual is arrested because their home was searched by police without a legal warrant, they could argue in court that they had been denied:
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The due process of law
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In what type of law is the government always the plaintiff?
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Criminal law
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Activist judges believe that the courts should:
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Go beyond the words of a constitution or statute to consider the broader societal implications of its decisions
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When the Supreme Court refuses to review a lower-court decision, announcing this decision through a brief unsigned opinion, it is called ______ opinion.
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A per curiam
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Which of the following is part of the Miranda rule?
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Arrested people have the right to remain silent
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Cases such as Loving v. Virginia and Griswold v. Connecticut illustrate that:
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The Supreme Court has the authority to overturn state statutes that contravene rights and privileges guaranteed under the Constitution
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Senatorial courtesy describes the practice of:
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Senators from a president's party approving of a judicial nominee from their home state
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The area of authority possessed by a court, in terms of either subject area or geography, is called its:
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Jurisdiction
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In most circumstances, a supreme court is best described as an ______ court.
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Appellate
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True or False: Men are more likely to be poor than women.
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False
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Which of the following social policies is currently the most costly to the government?
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Social security
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The periodic adjustment of benefits or wages that takes into account the increased cost of living is called:
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Indexing
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When was Social Security established?
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1935
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______ are government grants of cash or other valuable commodities, such as land, used to promote activities desired by the government.
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Subsidies
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Which of the following statements about Social Security is FALSE?
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Contributors receive benefits in strict proportion to their contribution
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How did the Federal Reserve respond to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001?
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It cut interest rates to promote increased investment and spending.
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Which of the following groups receives the most benefits from government's social policies?
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The middle class
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If a new tax on luxury goods such as sports cars, boats, and helicopters were passed in order to reduce the disparities between the highest and lowest income brackets, we would refer to this as:
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A policy of redistribution
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Which of the following groups are more than twice as likely as other Americans to be below the poverty line?
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Single mothers
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Which of the following is the best example of the shadow welfare state?
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Workplace medical insurance
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Which of the following statements about government spending is most accurate?
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The government spends far more on programs for the elderly than on programs for veterans and on unemployment insurance benefits.
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Why have politicians always favored using subsidies to promote certain economic activities?
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They can be treated as "benefits" that can be spread widely in response to many demands.
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Which of the following statements about noncontributory programs, such as TANF and Medicaid, is most accurate?
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The federal government provides only some of the funding for these programs and, as a result, citizens receive very different levels of benefits in different states.
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Which of the following was NOT one of the goals of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009?
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Providing for a national health care system
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Which of the following least explains why the elderly receive a large share of social benefits?
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Most members of Congress are themselves elderly or soon will be
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Which of the following is a program of forced savings?
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Medicare
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______ are programs where the government provides a tax deduction for spending on health insurance and other benefits by both employers and employees.
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Tax expenditures
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What is the most significant force determining the distribution of opportunities in the United States?
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Education
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Since the mid-1990s, by how much has the number of welfare recipients declined in the United States?
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Over 50%
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The UN Security Council has ______ permanent members and ______ elected members.
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Five permanent; ten elected
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The three main goals of American foreign policy are:
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Security, prosperity, and the creation of a better world
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True or False: the United States never contributes to the United Nations' peacekeeping efforts
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False
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Protests against the World Trade Organization (WTO) in recent years were prompted by:
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The perception that the WTO was not paying enough attention to developing countries
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The policy of striking a nation that you fear might be contemplating hostile actions is called:
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Preemption
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Foreign aid is an economic ______. Sanctions are an economic ______.
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carrot; stick
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The representation of a government to other foreign governments is called:
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Diplomacy
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The nineteenth-century policy of ______ was based on the geographic distance of the United States from other countries.
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Isolationism
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Dispute arbitration occurs when:
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An international disagreement is referred to a neutral third party for resolution
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Which of the following statements about foreign policy is most accurate?
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The institutional powers of the presidency give presidents an advantage over political forces based in Congress when determining American foreign policy.
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Most American presidents have been:
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Domestic politicians who set out to make their place in history through achievements in domestic policy
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In 2005, which of the following set off a new set of power struggles in Washington, DC, over control of the intelligence community?
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The appointment of a National Intelligence "Czar"
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The traditional American distrust of diplomacy has resulted in which situation?
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Presidents often use military or political leaders outside the State Department during a crisis.
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Which of the following countries is NOT a NATO member?
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Mexico
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Which of the following is NOT a component of American foreign policy?
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Social Security
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The Monroe Doctrine refers to:
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The idea that foreign powers should not meddle in the Western Hemisphere
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The fact that the United States remains silent in the face of human rights violations by countries like Saudi Arabia illustrates that:
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Promoting human rights is less important to American foreign policy than security concerns and economic interests
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Why has Congress become a major foreign policy maker since World War II?
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Congress is regularly called upon to approve financing of foreign policies.
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In foreign policy, the Bush Doctrine refers to:
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Preemptive war
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For the first 150 years of American history, Congress's role in foreign policy was limited because:
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The United States' role in world affairs was very limited