AP Government & Politics – 2005-2006

Chapter 1 (The Study of American Government)

Part I. Multiple choice. Choose the best answer.
1. The two great questions about politics addressed by your text are
[A] Who runs for office? and Who pays?
[B] Who votes? and Why?
[C] For how long?
[D] Who governs? and To what ends?
[E] Who is right? and Why?

2. The relationship between the two central questions addressed by your text “Who governs? and To
what ends?” can best be described in what way?
[A] They are two separate and distinct questions that should be addressed without reference to each
other.
[B] They are essentially two different versions of the same question.
[C] They are questions which cannot be separated without considering the very nature of politics.
[D] Who governs? deals with the purpose of politics; To what ends? deals with who holds political
power.
[E] They are two distinct questions, but each must be considered with the other in mind.

3. Today, the U.S. federal income tax takes an average of what percent of taxpayers’ income?
[A] 10
[B] 21
[C] 15
[D] 45
[E] 43

4. The text argues that political power is inextricably bound with

[A] an elitist attitude.
[B] religious and moral values.
[C] economic theories.
[D] mass media power.
[E] political purposes.

5. Power is best defined as the capacity to

[A] respect your positions without fully believing them.
[B] make and carry out decisions without regard to others.
[C] persuade others to do what they do not want to do.
[D] believe in others while motivating yourself.
[E] get others to act in accordance with your intentions.

6. The president’s husband gets her to change her position on abortion. Is this an example of political
power, according to your text’s definition?
[A] No, because abortion is not mentioned in the Constitution.
[B] Yes, because she’s gotten the president to act according to her intentions.
[C] Yes, because the spouse of a president is a legitimate member of a political elite.
[D] No, because the spouse of a president lacks the formal authority to exercise political power.
[E] No, because the exercise of political power requires overt action.
7. The text notes a tendency for issues that once were ________ to become ________.
[A] private, public
[B] simple, complicated
[C] social, political
[D] economic, social
[E] public, secret

8. Compared with the 1950s, government’s involvement in the everyday lives of Americans in the 1990s
is
[A] considerably greater.
[B] slightly greater.
[C] about the same.
[D] considerably less.
[E] slightly less.

9. Formal authority refers to a right to exercise power that is derived from a(n)
[A] popular consensus.
[B] governmental office.
[C] official ceremony.
[D] majority vote.
[E] consensus.

10. The primary source of legitimate political authority in the United States is the
[A] notion of civil rights.
[B] U.S. Constitution.
[C] will of the people.
[D] Bill of Rights.
[E] concept of civil liberty.

11. When did the U.S. Constitution become a source of legitimate authority?
[A] when it was written in Philadelphia
[B] at the time of the American Revolution
[C] only in recent years
[D] after the Supreme Court’s decision in Marbury
[E] after 1787, gradually

12. The texts suggests that, in the United States, no government at any level would be considered
legitimate if it were not in some sense
[A] aristocratic.
[B] humanitarian.
[C] democratic.
[D] elitist.
[E] altruistic.

13. The author cites the early presidential administrations, the Civil War, and the New Deal as
examples of struggles over
[A] who shall govern.
[B] how power is accumulated.
[C] what constitutes legitimate authority.
[D] when progress is possible.
[E] who gets what, when, and how.
 Ch. 1 Test 3

14. At the time of the Constitutional Convention, the view that a democratic government was desirable
was
[A] beyond debate.
[B] far from unanimous.
[C] close to unanimous.
[D] already waning.
[E] held by an elite only.

15. Max Weber argued that the decision making of a dominant bureaucracy was more likely to be
[A] indefensible.
[B] dialectical.
[C] inefficient.
[D] circular.
[E] rational.

16. The Greek city-state, or polis extended the right to vote to everyone except
[A] women.
[B] slaves.
[C] those without property.
[D] minors.
[E] All of these.

17. The term democracy was originally associated with

[A] Thomas Jefferson.
[B] Jesus Christ.
[C] Kierkegaard.
[D] Aristotle.
[E] Vladimir Lenin.

18. In recent times, Aristotle’s ideal of democracy has been most closely approximated by
[A] the U.S. House of Representatives.
[B] the Southeastern United States before the Civil War.
[C] the New England town meeting.
[D] the AFL-CIO.
[E] the Constitutional Convention.

19. The arrangement by which individuals gain power through competition for the people’s vote is
called
[A] democratic centralism.
[B] the “rule of the many.”
[C] representative democracy.
[D] participatory democracy.
[E] direct democracy.

20. Joseph Schumpeter defined democracy as the competitive struggle for people’s
[A] hearts.
[B] consciousness.
[C] minds.
[D] power.
[E] votes.
21. The key to the success of a representative democracy is
[A] community control of policy formulation.
[B] an enlightened public.
[C] the direct participation of citizens in holding office.
[D] genuine competition for leadership.
[E] the direct participation of citizens in making policy.

22. Democracy in the United States is distinguished from many European democracies by the fact that,
in the United States,
[A] the government plays a more active role in elections.
[B] the government frequently changes hands.
[C] many more offices are elective.
[D] more campaign money comes from public sources.
[E] more people participate in the electoral process.

23. Democracy in the United States is distinguished from many European democracies by the fact that,
in the United States,
[A] the government plays a more active role in elections.
[B] the government frequently changes hands.
[C] more people participate in the electoral process.
[D] more campaign money comes from private sources.
[E] fewer offices are elective.

24. The Framers of the U.S. constitution favored

[A] Socialism
[B] direct democracy
[C] participatory democracy
[D] Marxism
[E] representative democracy

25. Critics of representative democracy have pointed out all of the following except
[A] it responds too slowly.
[B] it serves special interests.
[C] it is unresponsive to majority opinion.
[D] it does not adequately protect basic liberties.
[E] A and C.

26. 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] pluralist politics.
[B] elitist politics.
[C] majoritarian politics.
[D] participatory politics.
[E] reciprocal politics.

27. Under what circumstances would majoritarian politics normally not be effective?
[A] when a political leader feels sharply constrained by what most people want
[B] when an issue is sufficiently important to command the attention of most citizens
[C] when an issue is sufficiently feasible so that what citizens want done can in fact be done
[D] when an issue is too complicated or technical for most citizens to understand
[E] All of these.
 Ch. 1 Test 5

28. Those who possess a disproportionate share of political power are defined as
[A] officeholders.
[B] majoritarians.
[C] centralists.
[D] a political elite.
[E] capitalists.

29. The term participatory democracy applies most accurately to which of the following societies?
[A] the Southeastern United States before the Civil War
[B] modern China
[C] Greece in the fourth century B.C.
[D] the Soviet Union between 1917 and 1990
[E] the United States since 1787

30. C. Wright Mills, Karl Marx, and Max Weber are cited in the text as theorists who attempted to
explain the
[A] fate of political institutions.
[B] fall of Western European capitalists.
[C] dynamics of Western history.
[D] behavior of the U.S. electorate.
[E] behavior of political elites.

31. Marxists claim that, in modern society, the two major classes contending for power are the
[A] government and proletariat.
[B] industrialists and capitalists.
[C] city dwellers and farmers.
[D] capitalists and workers.
[E] intelligentsia and bourgeoisie.

32. Marx’s view of government would dispose one to view an administration’s proposal of a large
military budget as a(n)
[A] search for national security.
[B] threat to world peace.
[C] ploy to appease the international community.
[D] service to defense corporations.
[E] exercise in bargaining and compromise.

33. Marxists refer to those who own the means of production as

[A] bureaucrats.
[B] the collective.
[C] the bourgeoisie.
[D] the proletariat.
[E] imperialists.

34. Marxists analyze society primarily through the lens of

[A] pluralism
[B] race
[C] bureaucracy
[D] class
[E] institutions
35. The founder of the elitist school in contemporary America was
[A] Ralph Abernathy.
[B] Max Weber.
[C] C. Wright Mills.
[D] Auguste Comte.
[E] William F. Buckley, Jr.

36. C. Wright Mills expresses his view of power and policy making in his work entitled
[A] The Inner Circle.
[B] The Proletarian Lament.
[C] The Owners of Production.
[D] The Power Elite.
[E] Bureaucracy and its Critics.

37. C. Wright Mills suggested the most important policies are set by
[A] a handful of key political leaders.
[B] top military officials
[C] corporate leaders.
[D] All of these.
[E] None of these.

38. Karl Marx and C. Wright Mills would be most likely to agree on
[A] the centrality of a constitution and laws.
[B] the existence of a small power elite.
[C] the spread of socialist ideology.
[D] the diffusion of vital political resources.
[E] material dialecticalism as a starting point to politics.

39. Max Weber argued that Karl Marx had neglected the most important institution in modern times,
namely, the
[A] bureaucracy.
[B] media.
[C] military.
[D] university.
[E] mass media.

40. The pluralist view holds all of the following except

[A] Political resources are not distributed equally.
[B] Political elites do not respond to the interests of their followers.
[C] Policies are the result of a complex pattern of shifting alliances.
[D] No single elite has a monopoly on political resources.
[E] Political elites are divided.

41. That extragovernmental elites do not control politics could be agreed on by both
[A] the Marxists and the elitists.
[B] Mills and Dahl.
[C] the elitists and Max Weber.
[D] the pluralists and the Marxists.
[E] Max Weber and the pluralists.
 Ch. 1 Test 7

42. The decentralization of political resources would be emphasized by the

[A] pluralists.
[B] isolationists.
[C] elitists.
[D] Marxists.
[E] structuralists.

43. Those who emphasize the role in politics of shifting coalitions of groups are referred to as
[A] elitists.
[B] structuralists.
[C] Marxists.
[D] pluralists.
[E] isolationists.

44. Regarding the role of self-interest in the positions that people take on important issues, it is safest
to say that
[A] organizational self-interest rather than economic self-interest is usually the best guide to people’s
actions.
[B] economic self-interest may be important but is usually not the only guide to people’s actions.
[C] political preferences can be predicted invariably by knowing an individual’s economic or
organizational position.
[D] the self-interest of individuals is usually a complete guide to their actions.
[E] self-interest is rarely an important factor in understanding political attitudes and behavior.

45. The text cites the AFL-CIO’s civil rights position in the 1960s as an example of
[A] an innocent bystander caught up in a battle between opposing forces.
[B] an organization as a whole acting politically out of considerations broader than its members’
individual interests.
[C] how economic interests lead directly to policy preferences.
[D] the manner in which interest groups can impose their viewpoints on large majorities.
[E] the subtle ways in which obstructionism can be exercised in Washington.

46. Your text argues that the history of U.S. involvement in foreign affairs alternates between
[A] good and bad influences.
[B] Yankee and cowboy leadership.
[C] realism and idealism.
[D] expansionist and imperialist tendencies.
[E] inward and outward movements.

47. According to your text, to infer the distribution of political power from studying the laws on the
books would be
[A] too ambitious an undertaking.
[B] the best single approach.
[C] workable most of the time, but not always.
[D] acceptable if courts were policy makers.
[E] too simplistic an approach.

48. The text asserts that judgments about institutions and interests can be made
[A] only when one takes the time to accumulate sufficient sociological data.
[B] more reliably prospectively than retrospectively.
[C] when economic circumstances are properly assessed.
[D] only after watching them act on a variety of important issues.
[E] on the basis of general ideological suppositions about modern society.
49. The text concludes that the place to begin exploring how power is conducted in national politics is
[A] the political parties.
[B] the current confrontation between Democrats and Republicans.
[C] the founding of the national government at the Constitutional Convention.
[D] the dissection of case studies of recent policy decisions.
[E] the study of how children acquire their political attitudes.