096190AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS MULTIPLE-CHOICE
QUESTIONS
2020-2021
Unit #1 – Foundations of American Government
1. Which of the following
... [Show More] concepts is fundamental to democracies?
a. Economic equality
b. Tyranny of the majority
c. Majority rule with minority rights
d. Bicameralism
e. Seniority
2. Individuals have power when they are able to
a. get elected to office.
b. be present at behind-the-scenes political meetings.
c. serve their fellow human beings.
d. get others to do what they want them to do.
e. vote without being influenced by outside forces.
3. Formal authority refers to a right to exercise power that is derived from a(n)
a. official ceremony.
b. majority vote.
c. consensus.
d. popular consensus
e. governmental office.
4. Linkage institutions are mechanisms through which citizens can influence the policy agenda. All of the
following are linkage institutions EXCEPT
a. the Constitution
b. political parties
c. interest groups
d. the media
e. elections
5. The primary source of legitimate political authority in the United States is the
a. Bill of Rights.
b. will of the people.
c. U.S. Constitution.
d. concept of civil liberty.
e. notion of civil rights.
6. Representative democracy allows individuals to gain political power through
a. media campaigns.
b. quadrennial elections.
c. nonpartisan elections.
d. reciprocal elections.
e. competitive elections.
7. A city council representative faces an important vote on how much, if any, money to spend on a new school.
The representative relies on a poll of her constituents to make a decision. This is in keeping with the form of
politics known as
a. participatory politics.
b. majoritarian politics.
c. pluralist politics.
d. elitist politics.
e. reciprocal politics.
8. Those who possess a disproportionate share of political power are defined as
a. capitalists.
b. majoritarians.
c. a political elite.
d. officeholders.
e. centralists
9. The pluralist view holds all of the following EXCEPT
a. No single elite has a monopoly on political resources.
b. Policies are the result of a complex pattern of shifting alliances.
c. Political resources are not distributed equally.
d. Political elites are divided.
e. Political elites do not respond to the interests of their followers.
10. According to Tocqueville, egalitarianism in the United States involves
a. self-interest.
b. moral precepts.
c. religious commitment
d. economic equality for all classes
e. equality of opportunity in the absence of a monarchy
11. Which of the following accurately characterizes the main difference between elite theories and pluralist
theories of politics in the United States?
a. Elite theories concentrate on the role of interest groups; pluralist theories emphasize the role of
individuals.
b. Elite theories argue that a single minority dominates politics in all policy areas; pluralist
theories argue that many minorities compete for power in different policy areas
c. Elite theories argue that social status is the major source of political power; pluralist theories
argue that wealth is the major source.
d. Elite theories emphasize the multiple access points that interest groups have to public officials;
pluralist theories stress the limits in the number and effectiveness of such access points.
e. Elite theories view government as efficient; pluralist theories view it as slow and wasteful.
12. In our society, government officials should be accountable to the people. This principle is known as
a. liberty.
b. equality.
c. civic duty.
d.
democracy.
e. capitalism.
13. Liberty and individualism are two key elements of
a. all Western democracies.
b. all twentieth-century nations.
c. most nations throughout history.
d.
U.S. political culture.
e. European nations in the 1700s.
14. Hyperpluralists differ from pluralist in their belief that
a. the representation of too many interests is detrimental to policymaking
b. only the wealthiest lobbyists are heard in Congress
c. power should be centralized in one branch of government
d. competition among groups leads to compromise and, hence, stronger policy
e. political groups get their funds exclusively from big business
15. All of the following are basic elements of the U.S. political culture EXCEPT
a. liberty.
b. populism
c. individualism.
d. laissez-faire
e. economic equality.
16. Which one in each of the following pairs are Americans more likely to tolerate?
a. political as opposed to economic inequality
b. ideologues as opposed to activists
c. economic as opposed to political inequality
d. activists as opposed to ideologues
e. political as opposed to sociological inequality
17. Religious diversity in the United States was largely the result of the absence of a(n)
a. powerful army.
b. bill of rights.
c. strong central government.
d. established aristocracy.
e. established religion.
18. The notion that individuals should work hard, save their money, and avoid dependence on the state is
sometimes referred to as the
a. Protestant (work) ethic.
b. blue-collar ethic.
c. doctrine of social Darwinism.
d. evolutionary principle.
e. labor theory of value.
19. Some people argue the culture war is about
a. which ethnic group governs.
b. what kind of country we ought to live in.
c. how much money should be spent on social programs.
d. the ethics of foreign policy.
e. which groups deserve to influence policy.
20. In recent decades, what has been the relationship between public confidence in political institutions and that
in other institutions?
a. They have both gone down.
b. The former has gone down while the latter has remained unchanged or declined.
c. The former has remained steady while the latter has gone down.
d. The former has gone up while the latter has gone down.
e. Both have remained quite steady.
21. If people have a sense of political efficacy, then they believe they
a. trust the government to do what is right.
b. would rather live here than elsewhere.
c. are capable of joining interest groups.
d. feel alienated from public policy.
e. have a say in what government does.
22. Which of the following theories claims that too many competing groups cripple government’s ability to
govern?
a. hyperpluralist theory
b. pluralist theory
c. elite theory
d. democratic theory
e. class-based theory
23. Which of the following principles is most fundamental to democratic theory?
a. free elections and universal suffrage
b. minority rule
c. universal public education
d. political parties
e. a written constitution
24. According to traditional democratic theory, all of the following are characteristics of an ideal democracy
EXCEPT
a. freedom of speech
b. a written bill of rights
c. equality of voting
d. citizens have collective control over the government’s policy agenda
e. government extends rights to everyone who is subject to its laws
25. The following functions are shared by all governments EXCEPT
a. maintaining a national defense
b. ensuring social equality
c. preserving order
d. providing public services
e. socializing the young
26. On which of the following indicators of democratic health does American democracy do poorly?
a. Political equality
b. Majority rule
c. Minority rights
d.
Voter turnout
e. Freedom of speech
27. According to pluralists, a wealthy interest group would
a. have more access to policymakers
b. compete with other interest groups for an equal share of influence
c. buy all of the votes on a piece of legislation
d. manipulate public opinion to support legislation proposed by Congress
e. have no influence on the policy agenda
28. The most recent immigrants to the United States have tended to come from
a. Central America and Asia
b. southern and eastern Europe
c. northern and western Europe
d. the former Soviet Republics
e. the Middle East and Scandinavia
29. Which of the following statements most accurately summarizes the figure on the next page?
a. The gap in political knowledge between the young and the old has narrowed between 1972 and 2008
b. While political knowledge has decreased for all age groups between 1972 and 2008, the decrease has
been the largest for younger Americans
c. In 1972 the young were considerably more politically knowledgeable than the elderly; in 2008 the
elderly were considerably more politically knowledgeable than the young
d. Older Americans are more likely to vote than younger Americans
e. The advent of cable television and the Internet helps explain why Americans were more politically
knowledgeable in 2008 than they were in 1972.
30. How are older Americans different from younger Americans?
I. Older Americans are more likely to vote.
II. Older Americans are increasingly resistant to taxes.
III. Older Americans are more supportive of investing Social Security funds in the stock market.
IV. Older Americans are less likely to favor spending money on government health and social welfare
programs.
a. III only
b. I and II only
c. I, II, and III only
d. II, III, and IV only
e. I, II, and IV only
31. The U.S. is expected to have a “minority majority” population by 2050. What does this mean?
a. Hispanic Americans will outnumber the Caucasian population
b. Female conservatives will outnumber male conservatives
c. Asian Americans will outnumber Hispanic Americans
d. Voters under the age of 30 will outnumber senior citizens
e. The minority populations will collectively outnumber the Caucasian population
32. Which of the following is NOT one of the modern challenges to democracy, as described in the textbook?
a. Escalating campaign costs
b. Increased complexity of issues
c. A global economy
d. Limited participation in government
e. Diverse political interests
33. Examples of direct democracy include programs of citizen participation and
a. interest group participation.
b. guerrilla warfare.
c. competitive elections.
d. political party centralism.
e. community control over decision-making
6
34. All of the following were considered to be “swing states” in 2012 EXCEPT
a. Virginia
b. Nevada
c. Ohio
d. Florida
e. Texas
35. All of the following demographic trends will confront the U.S. in the 21st Century EXCEPT
a. Racial diversity is growing.
b. The number of senior citizens is decreasing.
c. The number of African Americans serving in elected office has increased.
d. Much of the American population growth since World War II has been centered in the West and the South.
e. Asian Americans have begun to achieve political success.
36. The adversarial, contentious spirit of U.S. society is related most closely to Americans' belief in
a. individual rights.
b. social equality.
c. group harmony and cohesion.
d. democracy.
e. bicameralism.
37. One of the ways in which the culture war differs from other political disputes is that
a. compromise is almost impossible.
b. money is a critical issue.
c. it is exclusively about what kinds of policies the government ought to adopt.
d. the issues are basically simple ones.
e. it has no distinct winners or losers.
38. A city council representative faces an important vote on how much, if any, money to spend on a new school.
The representative relies on a poll of her constituents to make a decision. This is in keeping with the form of
politics known as
a. participatory politics.
b. majoritarian politics.
c. pluralist politics.
d. elitist politics.
e. reciprocal politics.
Unit #2 – Political Ideology and Participation
1. Which of the following statements about the gender gap is the most accurate, according to the text?
a. Men have “deserted” Democratic candidates for Republican ones.
b. The gender gap has remained constant in the past four elections.
c. Women voters tend to identify more strongly than men with the Republican party.
d. Most analysts agree about the electoral significance of the gender gap.
e. Men have “deserted” Republican candidates for Democratic ones.
7
2. The general pattern of public-opinion/political cleavages in this country has been
a. horizontal, based on class.
b. vertical, based on many variables.
c. vertical on economic issues and horizontal on social issues
d. impossible to analyze clearly.
e. cross-cutting, based on many variables.
3. In polling, a random sample is one that
a. is generated by a computer using complex algorithms.
b. gives each person an equal chance of being in the sample.
c. has no preselection criteria.
d. just happens, with no control by any outside force.
e. perfectly matches the population
4. Given a sampling error of 3 percent, if 47 percent of respondents say they will vote for George W. Bush, we can
infer that
a. between 44 percent and 50 percent of the voters will vote for Bush.
b. the likelihood of 47 percent voting for Bush is 97 percent.
c. 3 percent of the respondents are falsifying their intentions.
d. Bush will lose the election narrowly 97 times out of 100.
e. None of the above
5. Which statement most accurately describes the party loyalties of African-Americans?
a. They are generally Republican.
b. They are generally Democrats.
c. They are overwhelmingly Democrats.
d. They are overwhelmingly Republican.
e. They are usually independents.
6. Among the following groups, the group that is most likely to hold political views that are similar to
Anglo-whites are
a. blacks.
b. Hispanics.
c. Asian-Americans.
d. Latinos.
e. Mexican-Americans
7. Voters in the South have become progressively less attached to
a. the Democratic party.
b. the Republican party.
c. liberal ideology.
d. conservative ideology.
e. independent parties.
8. A coherent and consistent set of beliefs about who should rule and how is referred to as
a. political efficacy.
b. public opinion.
c. pragmatism.
d. realism.
8
e. political ideology.
9. All of the following statements concerning Americans' ideological thinking are correct except
a. Most Americans describe themselves as liberal.
b. Only a small minority of Americans take ideologically consistent views on political issues.
c. People often express opinions at odds with the ideological label they attach to themselves.
d. Ideological thinking may be greater in some years than in others.
e. A plurality of Americans classify themselves as moderate.
10. Today, a conservative would be more likely than a liberal to oppose
a. a strong military presence abroad.
b. deregulation of airlines.
c. restrictions on a woman’s right to abortion.
d.
a tax increase.
e. the death penalty
.1
1. Today, a liberal would be more likely than a conservative to oppose
a. the death penalty.
b. a reduction in defense spending.
c. school busing to achieve desegregation.
d. legalizing marijuana.
e. raising taxes, especially on the rich.
12. Although rising in recent elections, voter turnout in U.S. presidential elections is typically
a. less than 25 percent.
b. less than 30 percent.
c. less than 70 percent.
d. approx. 80 percent.
e. nearly 100 percent.
13. Political participation encompasses all of the following activities except
a. voting. [Show Less]