American Government Study Guide
for Exam #1
PSCI 210 Section 1
Professor Greene
All students should bring a Scantron form to
take the exam.
The exact form is a Scantron F-289.
Exam 1
Terms and Concepts
| Federalist Party New Jersey Plan Liberalism v. Conservatism Social Contract Political Culture Federalism Political Ideology Political Efficacy Interest Group PACs Lobbying Federalist Papers and Federalist #10 "The Revolving Door" and Interest Groups Iron Triangle 26th Amendment Supremacy Clause Elastic Clause Shay's Rebellion Dual Federalism 19th Amendment Implied Powers 16th Amendment Articles of Confederation Mapp v Ohio Clear and Present Danger Test Establishment Clause Miller v. California Jim Crow Laws Probable Cause 1964 Civil Rights Act Regents of Univ. of CA v Bakke Prior Restraint Plessy v Ferguson Civil Liberties versus Civil Rights Karl Marx Max Weber |
John Locke Connecticut Compromise Gender Gap McCulloch v. Maryland 20th Amendment Marbury v. Madison Tenth Amendment 18th Amendment Unitary versus Federalist System Separation of Powers Decade of Devolution The Bill of Rights Majoritarian Politics Double Jeopardy 8th Amendment Voting Rights Act of 1965 Fifth Amendment Ex Post Facto Laws 17th Amendment Electoral College Political Machines Pluralism John Marshall Elitism Roger Taney Gerrymandering 3/5 Compromise Buckley v. Valeo Common Cause (an organization) Affirmative Action Slander versus Libel Brown v Board of Education U.S. v Nixon Miranda Rule Civil Rights Movement Common Sense Virginia Plan |
Major Themes
The major theories regarding "who governs" in America.
The major events associated with the Constitutional Convention.
The various types of federalism and the major trends from the colonial period into the current era (2000s).
Be familiar with the evolution of the civil liberties in the United States.
Be familiar with the evolution of the civil rights movement in the United States.
The historical development of political parties.
The major types of interest groups and their role in the political process.
The major aspects of political culture found in the United States.
Be familiar with electoral behavior (voting behavior) as described in the text.
Be familiar with the fundamentals of campaigns and elections.
Be familiar with the role that the media plays
in American politics.
Examples of True/False and Multiple
Choice questions
True/False Examples
1. States have more power in a unitary system
than in a confederate system of government. (FALSE)
2. The Supreme Court has ruled that reasonable suspicion (not
probable cause) is adequate grounds to stop and frisk a person
(for weapons) without a warrant. (TRUE, U.S. v. Sokolov,
1989 and Terry v. Ohio, 1968)
3. Under the Articles of Confederation, states were only allowed "one" vote per state. (TRUE)
4. Research indicates that negative advertising has no effect on either voter preference or voter turnout. (FALSE. Research shows that negative advertising is effective)
5. During the 108th Congress (2003-05), the salaries for members of the Congress was $154,650. (TRUE; this was the salary for both houses of Congress)
6. The way the media frames the news is of little importance because journalists only report newsworthy events. (FALSE; one of the greatest powers of the press involves "framing" the news)
7. The United States is a good example of the "direct democracy." (FALSE; the United States has a representative democracy. That is, we elect representatives to the legislative bodies. The closest example to a direct democracy is found in small towns in New England that use town meetings where most citizens are allowed to participate.
8. The most common form of political participation in the United States is voting. (TRUE)
9. The Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution forbids "cruel and unusual punishment." The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that capital punishment is NOT cruel and unusual punishment. (TRUE; it should be noted that it can take years for execution sentences to be carried out because of the appeals process. Moreover, the cases are often more expensive than life sentences. Recall from class the Nebraska case of Harold "Wili" Otey, who was executed in September of 1994 for a murder committed in 1977).
10. If no presidential candidate receives a majority of the electoral college (it takes 270 of the 538 electoral votes to win), according the the U.S. Constitution, election of the president is to be decided by the House of Representatives. (True; the 2000 election was an exception since the final outcome was determined by the U.S. Supreme Court. This was because legal challenges were made that forced the courts to be involved. The rule is: if no candidate receives a majority of electoral votes, the House of Representatives elects the President from the 3 Presidential candidates who received the most electoral votes. Each state delegation has one vote. The Senate would elect the Vice President from the 2 Vice Presidential candidates with the most electoral votes. Each Senator would cast one vote for Vice President. If the House of Representatives fails to elect a President by Inauguration Day, the Vice-President Elect serves as acting President until the deadlock is resolved in the House).
11. Some state and local elections where the votes resulted in a tie have been decided by a "coin toss." (True; as hard as it may be to believe, this has occurred. One such case occurred in South Dakota).
12. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that college students can register and vote in the states where they are attending college. (True: Symm v. U.S. , 439 U.S. 1105 (1979).
Multiple Choice Examples
1. A legislature consisting of two houses is considered
a. unicameral
b. semicameral
c. bifurcated
d. bicameral (The
answer is "d")
2. The size of the U.S. House is fixed by law at
a. 100 members
b. 535 members
c. 435 members
d. the size of the U.S. House is not
fixed by law (The answer is "c")
3. The plan that dominated the discussion at the constitutional convention in Philadelphia was the
a. Virginia Plan
b. New Jersey Plan
c. Connecticut Plan
d. New York Plan (The answer is "a")
4. When the media influences which subjects
become national political issues, it is playing the role of
a. scorekeeper
b. gatekeeper
c. watchdog
d. investigator (The answer is "b."
The media has the power to determine which issues are reported
and the amount of coverage an issue receives)
5. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 resulted in
a. greater regulation of radio broadcasting.
b. a larger number of small companies owning
most of the big-market radio stations.
c. a few large companies owning most of the
big-market radio stations.
d. less variety of opinions and shows on
radio. (The answer is c)
6. The amendment to the U.S. Constitution that forbids "unreasonable searches and seizures" is the:
a. Fourth Amendment
b. Second Amendment
c. Third Amendment
d. Eighth Amendment (The answer is "a." This
is one of the most controversial and complicated areas of constitutional law.
For example, generally, law enforcement officers must have probable cause
and a search warrant for searches, but there are a variety of exceptions.
If evidence is gathered illegally, then it falls under the "exclusionary
rule," which forbids the evidence from being used in court. But there are
also many exceptions to this rule. Generally, the U.S. Supreme Court has been
loosening the restrictions to the exclusionary rule during the past 20 years).
Note: Exam 1 will cover Chapters 1-11. (Note that Chapters 5 and 6 -- Civil Liberties and Civil Rights -- are included on Exam 1. If you are using the 9/e of the text, you will find these chapters later in the book. The 10/e moved these chapters to Chapters 5 and 6). This study guide is NOT all-inclusive. It is intended to provide students with examples of major concepts that may appear on the exam. All exams are objective (true/false and multiple choice questions). Note that the chapter on the media will be included on Exam 2.
Reminder: There are two (2) required exams in this section of PSCI 210; Exam #1 and Exam #2. The final comprehensive exam (given during exam week) is an OPTIONAL exam.