POLS MIDTERM

25 July 2022
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100 test answers

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Which of the following statements about the marketplace of ideas is true?
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Private groups and the news media play important roles in shaping opinions in the marketplace of ideas.
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Which of the following statements best describes the changing ownership patterns in the American media?
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There has been a recent trend toward homogenization of national news as conglomerates have come to own a larger and larger percentage of media outlets.
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State ballot access laws, such as registration fees and petition requirements, have the effect of
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reducing the number of third-party and independent candidates who can run for office.
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________ is the single most important political act for most Americans.
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voting
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The power of the media to draw public attention to particular issues and problems is called ________.
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agenda setting
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Which of the following statements about the ideological preferences of Americans is FALSE?
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Prior to 2000, there were almost no Americans who identified themselves as liberal.
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What issue led to the demise of the Whig Party?
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slavery
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Which of the following is regulated by the federal government?
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television
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The Pentagon Papers were released as a result of
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a leak by a minor defense department staffer
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Which of the following is NOT a reason why a free media is necessary to democratic government?
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A free media is needed to ensure economic equality.
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Which of the following is true
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Individuals customize the political information they receive through their choices of news outlets.
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Opposition to legalized abortion is a position most likely supported by ________ while support for legalized abortion is a position most likely supported by ________.
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conservatives, liberals
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Which of the following statements about parties in Congress is FALSE?
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Only members of the majority party are allowed to take part in the election of the Speaker of the House.
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A frequent cause of measurement error in polls is due to ________.
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poorly worded questions
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A website devoted entirely to reporting on climate change and other environmental issues is an example of ________ journalism.
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niche
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About ________ percent of eligible voters turn out for midterm congressional elections.
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33
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What is one of the main differences between those who have gone to college and those who have not?
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There is a higher level of political participation among those with a college education.
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It is estimated that over ________ percent of Americans have a television.
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95
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Which of the following statements is true about the news media?
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the mass media have an enormous impact on public opinion
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The difference between a political value and political attribute is that values are
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basic principles while attitudes are specific preferences
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If a person supports a candidate because he or she is the front-runner in a poll, this is an example of ________.
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the bandwagon effect
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Which group has had a great popularity on radio talk shows
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conservatives
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From the end of the Civil War to the 1890s, the ________ Party was the party of the North, while the ________ Party was the party of the South.
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republican, democrat
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Which of the following statements about Organizing for America (OFA) is FALSE?
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OFA has established offices in only three states: California, New York, and Massachusetts.
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The penny press
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was created in the nineteenth century AND facilitated widespread literacy.
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The belief that government is a wasteful and dangerous institution and should be limited to as few activities as possible is an example of a political ________.
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ideology
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Compared with western Europe, the United States has ________ turnout in elections.
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a lower
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A liberal would most likely support
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an expansion in governmental social services
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The media can set the political agenda in the United States by
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identifying an issue as a problem that must be solved.
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As a third-party candidate, Ross Perot captured approximately ________ percent of the popular vote in the 1992 presidential election.
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20
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The complex set of beliefs and values that, as a whole, form a general philosophy about the government is called ________.
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Political ideology
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The ______ regulates broadcast media
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FCC
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The following are all concerns raised by the growing popularity of online news EXCEPT
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a reduction in the diversity of perspectives that can potentially be heard.
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Besides their ideological biases, journalists also exhibit selection biases in favor of news stories they view as
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having a great deal of dramatic or entertainment value.
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The United States has approximately ________ television stations and ________ daily newspapers.
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2000, 1400
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________ occurs when one party controls the presidency while another party controls one or both houses of Congress.
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Divided party government
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During the late 1840s and early 1850s, both the Democratic and Whig parties were divided by
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conflicts over slavery
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The fact that survey respondents overreport voting in elections and the frequency of their church attendance is an example of the ________.
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social desirability effect
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Brief quotes and short characterizations of the day's events in news coverage are called ________.
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sound bites
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Which of the following best describes the relationship between the government and the media in the United States today?
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The government does not own but regulates the content and ownership of broadcast media.
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Which of the following is NOT a key factor affecting one's level of participation?
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geographic region
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Pollsters use random digit dialing to gather national samples for surveys because
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there is not a complete list of all Americans that can be used to identify the population.
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________ promoted his policy agenda to the American people through "fireside chats."
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Franklin Roosevelt
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________ encompasses citizens' attitudes about political issues, leaders, institutions, and events.
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public opinion
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Reconstruction after the Civil War was led by the ________ Party.
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Republican
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Which of the following best characterizes the Clinton administration's attempts to influence public opinion?
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Clinton administration officials used techniques similar to those used in election campaigns to bolster popular enthusiasm for White House initiatives.
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The small group selected by pollsters to represent the entire population is called the ________.
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sample
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________ has released thousands of secret government documents.
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WikiLeaks
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Which of the following statements about voter identification laws is most accurate?
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Voter identification laws in the states disproportionately affect minority citizens and the less affluent.
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What has helped accelerate the trend toward less variety in national news in the past decade?
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the corporate consolidation of news media into a small number of conglomerates
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By 1932, ________ percent of the labor force in the United States was unemployed.
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25
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Advocates of limiting the powers of the national government justify their position by the ________ of the U.S. Constitution.
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Tenth Amendment
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How was political power in Congress divided under the Articles of Confederation?
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Each state has an equal vote
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It is important for Americans to have political knowledge so that they will
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be better able to assess their own interests when making political choices.
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The constitutional idea of states' rights was strongest during which historical period?
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the years immediately preceding the Civil War
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According to the authors of the text, the writing of the Constitution demonstrates the
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marriage of interests and principles
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The Federalists believed that the powers of government could be limited by
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creating an internal system of checks and controls within government.
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What led British officials to raise taxes on the American colonists during the 1760s?
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the amount spent on fighting the French and Indian Wars
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The Supreme Court justices determined that the Affordable Care Act was
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constitutional under Congress's power to tax.
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What is the main purpose behind the privileges and immunities clause of Article IV?
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It prevents states from discriminating against nonresidents.
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The number of categorical grants in the United States increased dramatically during the ________.
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1960s
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Which clause in the U.S. Constitution has been central in debates over same-sex marriage?
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the full faith clause
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Why did the delegates at the Philadelphia Convention turn down the idea of including a list of citizens' rights in the Constitution?
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They believed that since the federal government was already limited to its expressed powers, further protection of citizens was not needed.
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Which of the following statements is true?
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Native Americans became U.S. citizens in 1924.
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Using block grants to return power to the states was part of ________ during the Nixon (1969-1974) and Reagan (1981-1989) administrations.
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New Federalism
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Why was the Declaration of Independence a remarkable political statement for its time?
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It helped unify colonial groups that were divided along economic, regional, and philosophical lines by identifying shared problems, grievances, and principles.
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What is the term length of a federal judge?
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Barring impeachment, life
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________ are the three core values in American politics.
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Liberty, equality, democracy
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What did the New Jersey Plan propose for Congress?
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Representation would be equal for each state
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The United States, Canada, and Switzerland can all be described as ________ systems of government while France can be described as a ________ system of government.
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federal, unitary
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Which of the following economic policies was the national government allowed to implement during the nineteenth century?
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establishing a series of national banks
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Which of the following statements about the structure of American federalism is true?
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It has contributed to the longevity of the U.S. government by allowing many divisive policy decisions throughout American history to be made by states.
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The essential dilemma of a limited government raised by the ratification debates is
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a government too weak to do harm also cannot do good
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Why was United States v. Lopez (1995) important?
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It was the first time since the New Deal that the Supreme Court limited the power of Congress outlined under the commerce clause.
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The source of implied powers under the U.S. Constitution is the ________ clause.
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necessary and proper
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At the Philadelphia Convention, the proposed plan to create a Congress where representation was distributed according to population was called the ________.
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Virginia Plan
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The power of Congress to regulate commerce with foreign nations, among several states, and with Native American tribes is found in ________ of the U.S. Constitution.
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Article 1
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All of the following are constitutional powers of the president EXCEPT the power to ________.
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regulate commerce between states
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A ________ is a system of government in which states retain sovereign authority except for powers expressly delegated to a national government.
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confederation
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Low voter turnout and political apathy endanger ________
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democracy
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________ defended the British soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre.
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John Adams
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At the time of the founding of the republic, approximately ________ percent of non-Native American inhabitants of the 13 states were of European ancestry
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80
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Alexander Hamilton argued that the chief executive office should possess ________.
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energy
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Which of the following statements about the changes in American society between 1900 and 2010 is NOT true?
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the average age of Americans has fallen
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During the Philadelphia Convention, the New Jersey Plan was supported by ________ states.
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less populous
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The belief that political authority should rest with the people themselves is called ________.
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popular sovereignty
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Which of the following is true about the Southern Manifesto?
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Southern officials declared that their states were not bound by Supreme Court decisions outlawing racial segregation.
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________ compels state officials to obey costly federal regulations, but does not reimburse those costs.
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An unfunded mandate
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The first written constitution for the United States was called the ________.
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Articles of Confederation
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What was the purpose of the Annapolis Convention?
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to discuss revamping the Articles of Confederation
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A government that is formally limited by laws and rules is called ________.
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constitutional
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The privileges and immunities clause of Article IV is also referred to as the ________.
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comity clause
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The right of each citizen to vote is an example of ________.
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political equality
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Which of the following is NOT a reason for the declining levels of trust in the United States in recent years?
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an increase in the citizens' knowledge of how the political system operates
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In order to be a good citizen, it is most critical to possess ________.
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political knowledge
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The fact that the tax code in the United States is more advantageous to wealthy citizens than that of almost any other Western nation supports the claim that Americans
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generally tolerate economic inequality.
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Which of the following statements about contemporary America is true?
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About half of the states have legalized medical marijuana.
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According to historian Charles Beard, the framers of the Constitution were mostly concerned with
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promoting their own economic interests
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Which of the following statements best describes the discussion of local government found in the U.S. Constitution?
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Local governments are not mentioned in the Constitution.
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On the subject of representation, Antifederalists wanted
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representative bodies that resembled those represented to the highest degree.