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Each of the following questions is worth 10 points. Please write only between seven and eight concise sentences for each essay answer

to each question. Use only the material that corresponds to the chapter for that question in the textbook.

For each essay question, please go through the following checklist:
• A total of seven to eight concise sentences were used.
• Material from the textbook was cited. You may use the following simple citation when citing the textbook: 1) Ford et al. (#-#),

2) (Ford et al., #), where # stands for a specific page.
• The question(s) was/were answered.
• Remember that in order to receive 10 points for an essay question, it is expected that an answer will have seven to eight

concise sentences that answers the question(s), and has citation(s) from the textbook for the material used. Please avoid giving very

long answers, e.g., answers with ten or more sentences. Please also avoid using “I” and personal pronouns, e.g., answers should be

written in the third-person in a standard academic format.

For each multi-choice question, please choose the best answer, and write the answer in the space provided for it.

Plagiarism: Cheating and Plagiarism – are unethical and a violation of the Georgia State University Honor Code. If a student is guilty

of either cheating or plagiarizing, or of assisting other students in cheating or plagiarizing on an assignment, paper, quiz, or

examination, the student may receive a grade of “F” for the course and be suspended or dismissed from the University.
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Multiple-Choice Questions

Chapter 1

1. __________ is a theory of American politics that emphasizes the ability for interest groups representing a highly diverse set

of interests throughout American society to have meaningful influence over the making of laws and public policies.
Answer: ____
a. Elite theory
b. Pluralism
c. Majoritarianism
d. Marxism
e. All of the above

2. Compared to people who live under non-democratic governments, people who live under democratic governments …
Answer: ____
a. are less likely to be killed by their government.
b. report, on average, higher levels of happiness (when asked on surveys).
c. are more likely to live in a prosperous economy.
d. are less likely to experience a famine.
e. All of the above.
Chapter 2

3. The “separation of powers”
Answer: ____
a. refers to the division of power between executive, legislative and judicial branches of government.
b. refers to the division of power between the Republican and Democratic Parties.
c. refers to the division of power between the national government and state governments.
d. All of the above

4. The Bill of Rights (mostly) does which of the following?
Answer: ____
a. It expresses what the government may do.
b. It expresses what the government may not do.
c. It outlines the power of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches.
d. None of these options.

5. In Federalist 51, James Madison famously stated,

“If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on

government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this:

you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.”

Which of the following was a solution Madison offered to address this “great difficulty”?
Answer: ____
a. Give the executive branch enough power so it can dominate the other branches of government.
b. Institute the separation of powers with checks and balances.
c. Reduce or eliminate the influence of the people over government.
d. Make the judicial branch the supreme power within the new government.
e. Call for popular assistance in writing the proposed U.S. Constitution.

6. The power of judicial review
Answer: ____
a. is the power of courts when deciding legal cases to judge the constitutionality of federal and state laws as well as other

government actions.
b. is expressly granted to the U.S. Supreme Court in Article III of the U.S. Constitution.
c. is the power of the President to review actions taken by the judiciary.
d. is the power of Congress to review actions taken by the President.

Chapter 3

7. Federalism is a political system in which
Answer: ____
a. authority is divided among the three distinct branches of government.
b. authority is constitutionally divided between national and state governments.
c. authority is shared between the three branches of government, allowing for checks and balances.
d. labor is divided between county and local governments.

8. The “necessary and proper” clause of the Constitution does which of the following?
Answer: ____
a. It provides Congress with the authority to remove from office any elected official who goes against the “necessary and proper”

protections identified by the Constitution.
b. It provides Congress with the authority to make all laws necessary and proper for carrying into execution the powers enumerated

by the Constitution.
c. It provides the judicial branch with jurisdiction over any matter the Supreme Court deems to be “necessary and proper.”
d. It provides the executive branch with power to override any act of Congress so long as the president certifies such an override

as “necessary and proper.”

9. Over the course of history – and especially since the 1930s – the relationship between state governments and the national

government has
Answer: ____
a. changed so that the state governments are now relatively more powerful than the national government.
b. changed so that state governments are now relatively less powerful than the national government.
c. changed so that the military is in control of virtually all aspects of governance.
d. remained largely unchanged.

10. The authority to tax citizens belongs to
Answer: ____
a. the national government.
b. state governments.
c. both the national government AND state governments.
d. neither the national government nor the state governments.

Chapter 5

11. Which of the following cases OVERTURNED (or eliminated) the “Separate but Equal Doctrine” with respect to racially segregated

schools in the United States?
Answer: ____
a. Brown v. Board of Education
b. Mapp v. Ohio
c. Plessy v. Ferguson
d. Miranda v. Arizona

12. Women’s suffrage was not guaranteed by the federal government until
Answer: ____
a. the Fifteenth Amendment was ratified in 1870.
b. the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified in 1920.
c. the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention of 1861.
d. the formation of the American Woman Suffrage Association in 1869.

Essay-Based Questions

Chapter 1

13. Summarize the majoritarianism, elitism, and pluralism theories, and then explain which you believe is the more accurate description

of American politics.

14. The fundamental values of the political culture in the United States are liberty, order, individualism, equality, and property.

Explain which of these values is most important to you and which of these values you would be willing to have limited.

Chapter 2

15. Describe the relationship between unalienable rights and the social contract.

16. Explain and give examples of the processes of constitutional change.

Chapter 3

17. Explain how the Founders intended federalism and separation of powers to limit the expansion of national power

18. Explain how immigration policy is a challenge to federalism.

Chapter 4

19. Select three rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights and, using court cases and examples, explain how each was applied to the

states.

20. According to the Supreme Court, the establishment clause has a minimum meaning, which is found in your textbook. Using court cases

and examples, describe what the establishment clause means.

21. Discuss the threats posed by technology and security interests to the privacy rights of individuals in the United States today.

22. Identify three rights guaranteed to those accused of a crime and discuss how the Supreme Court has altered those rights over time.

Chapter 5

23. Discuss the limits of state and federal law in guaranteeing equality to all people. Provide an example of a situation where

equality to all people was guaranteed by state and/or federal law but that did not occur.

24. Compare and contrast the struggle for women’s rights with the struggle for civil rights by African Americans.

25. Discuss the significant events that led to the advancement of civil rights for persons with disabilities in the United States.