1989 AP U.S. Govt. & Politics
If you are in AP U. S. Government, this is a practice test for the AP exam, so study study.
- 1.Which of the following principles protects a citizen from imprisonment without trial?
- A.
Representative government
- B.
Separation of powers
- C.
Due process
- D.
Checks and balances
- E.
Popular sovereignty
- 2.A first-term member of the House of Representatives from North Dakota who wished to maximize opportunities for constituent service would be most likely to seek placement on which of the following committees?
- A.
Judiciary
- B.
Agriculture
- C.
Rules
- D.
Foreign Affairs
- E.
Science and Technology
- 3.In the last thirty years, the single most important variable in determining the outcome of an election for a members of the House of Representatives has been
- A.
Incumbency
- B.
Personal wealth
- C.
Previous political offices held in the district
- D.
Membership in the political party of the President
- E.
Positions on key social issues
- 4.The power of the Rules Committee in the House of Representatives rests on its authority to
- A.
Choose the chairs of other standing committees and issue rules for the selection of subcommittee chairs
- B.
Initiate all spending legislation and hold budget hearings
- C.
Place a bill on the legislative calendar, limit time for debate, and determine the type of amendments allowed
- D.
Determine the procedures by which nominations by the President will be approved by the House
- E.
Choose the President if no candidate wins a majority in the electoral college
- 5.In Marbury v. Madison (1803), the Supreme Court assumed the power to
- A.
Decide whether internal congressional procedures are constitutional
- B.
Advise Congress on the constitutionality of a proposed law
- C.
Regulate slavery
- D.
Decide on the constitutionality of a law or an executive action
- E.
Approved executive agreements
- 6.All of the following help to explain the president's difficulty in controlling cabinet-level agencies EXCEPT
- A.
Agencies often have political support from interest groups
- B.
Agency staff often have information and technical expertise that the President and presidential advisers lack
- C.
The President can only fire appointees before they have been confirmed by the Senate
- D.
Civil servants who remain in their jobs through changes of administration develop loyalties to their agencies
- E.
Congress is a competitor for influence over the bureaucracy
- 7.The activities of the Federal Reserve Board have the most direct influence on
- A.
Bank interest rates
- B.
Government spending
- C.
Oil prices
- D.
Troop-strength levels of the armed services
- E.
Availability of scarce minerals
- 8.Which of the following statements most accurately compares elections in the United States with those in most other Western democracies?
- A.
United States citizens have fewer opportunities to vote in elections
- B.
Political parties exert a stronger influence over voting in the United States
- C.
There are fewer obstacles to voting in the United States
- D.
There are more political parties in the United States
- E.
The voter turnout rate in the United States is usually lower
- 9.Which of the following activities of American labor unions is recognized by law?
- A.
Engaging in strikes
- B.
Denying the public access to a business
- C.
Refusing a subpoena to appear before an investigative committee of Congress
- D.
Disobeying a court injunction to return to work
- E.
Requiring members to make political contributions
- 10.Which of the following best describes the relationship between socioeconomic status and participates in politics?
- A.
The lower one's socioeconomic statues, the more likely it is that one will run for public office
- B.
The higher one's socioeconomic status, the greater the probability of active involvement in the political process
- C.
Adults who are unemployed have a greater personal interest in policy and tend to participate more actively in politics than do employed adults
- D.
People in the lower middle class are the most likely to participate in politics
- E.
There is no relationship between socioeconomic status and political participation
- 11.Suppose that in 1980 "strong" Democrats who shared Ronald Reagan's views on taxation and Republican women who opposed their party's plank on the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) both turned out to vote at unexpectedly low rates.These findings would provide evidence for which of the following hypotheses?
- A.
Anything that produces cross-pressure reduces turnout
- B.
Strong party identification promotes participation
- C.
"Rational" voters need a sense of civic duty to motivate them to vote
- D.
Those who express satisfaction with candidate choices are less likely to vote
- E.
Those who are party activists are not likely to vote
- 12.Which of the following were LEAST likely to have been part of the New Deal electoral coalitions?
- A.
Blue-collar workers
- B.
Racial minorities
- C.
Southerners
- D.
Northern business leaders
- E.
Farm laborers
- 13.The federal Constitution guarantees all of the following rights to a person arrested and charged with a serious crime EXCEPT the right to
- A.
Remain silent
- B.
Be represented by a lawyer
- C.
Negotiate a plea bargain
- D.
Demand a writ of habeas corpus
- E.
Receive and speedy and public trial
- 14."The Constitution limits the sixe of the District of Columbia to _______." -State of Alabama literacy test, 1936The question above and the literacy test from which it came were most likely designed to
- A.
Determine the literacy of potential voters
- B.
Prevent Black people from exercising their right to vote
- C.
Assess the general population's understanding of the Constitution
- D.
Promote opposition to statehood for the District of Columbia
- E.
Stop people from moving to the District of Columbia
- 15."We are unanimously of opinion, that the law passed by the legislature of Maryland, imposing a tax on the Band of the United States, is unconstitutional and void....This is a tax on the operation of an instrument employed by the government of the Union to carry its powers to execution. Such a tax must be unconstitutional...." -excerpt from a United States Supreme Court decision.This decision of the Supreme Court upheld the principle that
- A.
The federal government and the state governments are equal
- B.
Congress has only those powers specifically enumerated in the Constitution
- C.
Congress has the power to make laws to carry out its constitutional duties
- D.
Taxation without representation is unconstitutional
- E.
The federal government alone may levy taxes
- 16."We are unanimously of opinion, that the law passed by the legislature of Maryland, imposing a tax on the Band of the United States, is unconstitutional and void....This is a tax on the operation of an instrument employed by the government of the Union to carry its powers to execution. Such a tax must be unconstitutional...." -excerpt from a United States Supreme Court decision.Which of the following resulted from this Supreme court decision?
- A.
The power of the national government was strengthened
- B.
The power of the Supreme Court was weakened
- C.
The owner of state governments to tax individual citizens was clearly limited
- D.
Congress was given the power to coin money
- E.
Congress alone was given the power to charter banks
- 17.The details of legislation are usually worked out in which of the following settings?
- A.
A party causus
- B.
The majority leader's office
- C.
The floor of the House
- D.
Legislative hearings
- E.
A subcommittee
- 18.Which of the following is responsible for the preparation of executive spending proposals submitted to Congress?
- A.
Treasury Department
- B.
Council of Economic Advisors
- C.
Federal Trade Commission
- D.
Department of Commerce
- E.
Office of Management and Budget
- 19.In United States v. Nixon the Supreme Court ruled that
- A.
The judicial branch should not intervene in political disputes between the President and Congress
- B.
Presidential power is not automatically extended during times of national emergency
- C.
Presidents must account to the Court for the way in which they implement policy
- D.
There is no constitutional guarantee of unqualified executive privilege
- E.
The President does not have the power of an item veto over congressional legislation
- 20."Pork barrel" legislation helps the reelection chances of a member of Congress because such legislation
- A.
Gives the member of Congress national standing and coverage on national television news
- B.
Helps earn the member of congress a reputation for service to his or her district
- C.
Attracts campaign contributions from ideological political action committees (PAC's)
- D.
Prevents other candidates from claiming that the member of Congress is too liberal for his or her district
- E.
Requires the member of Congress to travel extensively
- 21.Which of the following statements reflects a pluralist theory of American politics?
- A.
American politics is dominated by a small elite
- B.
Public policies emerge from cooperation among elites in business, labor, and governemtn
- C.
Public policies emerge from compromises reached among competing groups
- D.
American politics is dominated by cities at the expense of rural areas
- E.
The American political arena is made up of isolated individuals who have few group affiliations outside the family
- 22.All of the following are formal or informal sources of presidential power EXCEPT
- A.
Presidential authority to raise revenue
- B.
Presidential access to the media
- C.
Precedents set during previous sdministrations
- D.
Public support
- E.
The Constitution
- 23.An advantage that bureaucrats in federal government have over the President in the policymaking process is that bureaucrats
- A.
Control the budgetary process
- B.
Have an independence from the President that is guaranteed by the consititution
- C.
Find it easier to marshall public support that does the President
- D.
Usually have a continuity of service in the executive branch that the President lacks
- E.
Have better access to the media than does the President
- 24.Which of the following is the best predictor of the Department of Education's annual budget?
- A.
The preferences of the Chair of the Senate Finance Committee
- B.
The budget recommendations of the National Education Association
- C.
The rate of increase of teachers' salaries
- D.
The number of children entering kindergarten
- E.
The size of the previous year's budget
- 25.Which of the following groups would be LEAST likely to maintain a national lobbying organization in Washington D.C.?
- A.
Environmentalists
- B.
Public housing tenants
- C.
Nurses
- D.
Automobile manufactures
- E.
Automobile assembly-line workers
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