AP Government & Politics - Chapters 1 & 2 Test

Multiple Choice

Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.

____ 1. Government is defined as the

a.	organization that brings problems to the attention of public officials.	d.	agency that implements policies that have been enacted by other institutions
b.	institutions through which public policies are made for society.	e.	executive branch and agencies
c.	body that is concerned with economic problems while leaving social problems to other institutions of society.

____ 2. The policymaking institutions of the American national government include all of the following EXCEPT:

a.	Congress	d.	political parties
b.	the Presidency	e.	the Senate
c.	the Supreme Court

____ 3. A public good is defined as

a.	a public policy that is good for the nation as a whole.	d.	a choice that government makes in response to a political issue
b.	something provided by the government that cannot be provided by the private sector.	e.	All of these
c.	something in which any member of society can share.

____ 4. _________________ is a set of institutions that link together government, politics, and public policy.

a.	A policymaking system	d.	Government
b.	Democracy	e.	The bureaucracy
c.	A constellation

____ 5. A choice that government makes in response to some issue on its agenda is called

a.	public policy.	d.	selective selection.
b.	a law.	e.	stimulus-response.
c.	rational choice theory.

____ 6. ________________ arise when people disagree about a problem or a public policy choice made

a.	Political issues	d.	Wars
b.	Social crises	e.	Revolutions
c.	Governments

____ 7. A political party is a key __________________ in America’s democratic system.

a.	linkage institution	d.	input
b.	stimulus-response	e.	output
c.	majoritarian inhibitor

____ 8. One type of linkage institution is

a.	an interest group.	d.	a legislature.
b.	a bureaucracy.	e.	All of these.
c.	a government.

____ 9. The effects a policy has on people and problems is called

a.	policy implementation.	d.	policy impacts.
b.	policy agendas.	e.	policy outputs.
c.	policy issues.

____ 10. A means of selecting policymakers and/or organizing government so that policy represents and responds to the public’s preferences is

a.	democracy.	d.	public administration
b.	government.	e.	All of these
c.	politics.

____ 11. Two of the most important principles of democratic theory are majority rule and

a.	minority rights.	d.	majority restraint
b.	the plurality vote	e.	judicial review
c.	Roberts’ Rules of Order.

____ 12. Pluralist theory contends that in the United States

a.	many groups vie for power with no one set of groups dominating.	d.	because most citizens fail to pay attention to serious issues, government has become an elite institution.
b.	society is governed solely by an upper-class elite	e.	the many members of Congress dominate a singular official such as the President.
c.	too many influential groups cripple government’s ability to govern.

____ 13. The most fundamental element of democratic theory is

a.	majority rule	d.	access to information
b.	equality	e.	power to the people!
c.	government efficiency

____ 14. Representation refers to

a.	the protection of minority rights in a pluralist system.	d.	all policy views being included in political debate.
b.	majority rule.	e.	electing office-holders in fair and free elections.
c.	the correspondence between the few leaders and the many followers in a democracy.

____ 15. A system in which many groups make themselves heard and felt somewhere in the policy process is

a.	pluralistic.	d.	bureaucratic.
b.	hyperpluralistic.	e.	direct democracy.
c.	elitist.

____ 16. At the center of all theories of elite domination of politics is

a.	big business	d.	the Trilateral Commission.
b.	the President.	e.	the nouveau riche.
c.	the Congress.

____ 17. The theory that sees wealth as the basis of power is the

a.	democratic theory	d.	hyperpluralist theory.
b.	elite and class theory	e.	Jeffersonian theory.
c.	pluralist theory

____ 18. Hyperpluralists believe that the dominant player in American politics is

a.	groups	d.	rich individuals.
b.	the President.	e.	the media.
c.	the government.

____ 19. PAC stands for

a.	Political Action Committee	d.	Policy Advisory Commission
b.	Party Affairs Council	e.	Paul Auger’s Crazy
c.	Partisan Assistance Contribution

____ 20. The Declaration of Independence argued that

a.	people should revolt when they suffer deep injustices.	d.	revolution is justifiable whenever peole become angry with their government.
b.	nations are indivisible and a people must never secede from their mother nation.	e.	the British parliament was to blame for the evils imposed upon the colonists.
c.	people should always work peacefully within the system to redress any grievances they have.

____ 21. The Articles of Confederation were adopted by

a.	the Continental Congress.	d.	the Continental Army under command of General George Washington.
b.	President George Washington.	e.	the British Parliament.
c.	a small, self-appointed committee of the nation’s political leaders.

____ 22. Shay’s Rebellion was

a.	a slave uprising in Virginia.	d.	an uprising by small merchants demanding credit.
b.	an uprising by Revolutionary War veterans demanding pensions.	e.	the most decisive battle of the Revolution, after which British troops were never again able to mount a major offensive against American troops.
c.	an uprising by farmers to prevent judges from foreclosing on farms.

____ 23. The _________________, offered as one possible scheme at the Constitutional Convention, called for each state to be equally represented in Congress.

a.	New Jersey Plan	d.	Virginia Plan
b.	three-fifths compromise	e.	Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)
c.	Connecticut Compromise

____ 24. According to the Constitution, each state was entitled to how many senators?

a.	Two	d.	One
b.	It depended on the state’s population.	e.	As many as it wanted to send.
c.	None

____ 25. The Federalist Papers were

a.	essays in support of ratification of the constitution.	d.	the notes that George Washington took at the Constitutinoal Convention
b.	the original name of the constitution written by the Constitutional Convention.	e.	newspapers which backed the Federalist Party in early U.S. elections.
c.	essays written that were critical of the constitution.

____ 26. Who issued The Declaration of Independence

a.	the Continental Congress	d.	the 13 colonial legislatures
b.	President George Washington	e.	General George Washington
c.	the Constitutional Convention of 1776

____ 27. Who issued The Declaration of Independence

a.	the Continental Congress	d.	the 13 colonial legislatures
b.	President George Washington	e.	General George Washington
c.	the Constitutional Convention of 1776

AP Government & Politics - Chapters 1 & 2 Test

Answer Section

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. ANS: B

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2. ANS: D

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3. ANS: C

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4. ANS: A

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5. ANS: A

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6. ANS: A

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7. ANS: A

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8. ANS: A

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9. ANS: D

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10. ANS: B

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11. ANS: A

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12. ANS: A

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13. ANS: A

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14. ANS: C

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15. ANS: A

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16. ANS: A

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17. ANS: B

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18. ANS: A

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19. ANS: A

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20. ANS: A

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21. ANS: A

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22. ANS: C

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23. ANS: A

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24. ANS: A

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25. ANS: A

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26. ANS: A

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27. ANS: A

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