2015 US/VA Government Exam Review
Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
____
1. A government controlled by one person or a small group of people is called
a. a representative democracy.
c. an anarcho-syndicalist commune.
b. a dictatorship.
d. a direct democracy.
____
2. What is the term for the process by which aliens can become citizens?
a. immigration
c. dual citizenship
b. naturalization
d. probation
____
3. As Americans, we show our ____, or love for our country, by flying the flag.
a. majority rule
c. citizenship
b. patriotism
d. jingoism
____
4. Government by the consent of the governed is called
a. public policy.
c. popular sovereignty.
b. democracy.
d. self-perpetuating autocracy.
____
5. What was the legislative body that drew up the English Bill of Rights in 1689?
a. Parliament
c. the House of Burgesses
b. the First Continental Congress
d. the Second Continental Congress
____
6. According to the theory of ____, a country should sell more goods to other countries than it buys.
a. independence
c. bicameralism
b. mercantilism
d. confederation
____
7. Who wrote Common Sense?
a. Thomas Jefferson
b. John Locke
c. Thomas Paine
d. Charles Thomson
____
8. The Declaration of Independence states that among our inalienable rights are “Life, Liberty, and ____.”
a. independence from Tyranny
c. freedom of Religion
b. the pursuit of Happiness
d. the search for Prosperity
____
9. Who led an armed uprising of about 1,200 Massachusetts farmers on a federal arsenal?
a. John Locke
c. Daniel Shays
b. Thomas Paine
d. George Washington
____ 10. The ____ guaranteed that not even the king or queen was above the law.
a. Constitution
c. House of Burgesses
b. Magna Carta
d. Mayflower Compact
____ 11. A system of law based on precedent and customs is known as
a. common law.
c. tort law.
b. legislature.
d. statutory law.
____ 12. What is the term for a detailed, written plan of government?
a. constitution
c. compact
b. bicameral
d. confederation
____ 13. The ____ was the first constitution of the United States of America.
a. Articles of Confederation
c. Mayflower Compact
b. United States Constitution
d. Declaration of Independence
____ 14. Who did delegates unanimously agree should preside over the Constitutional Convention?
a. Benjamin Franklin
c. John Adams
b. Thomas Jefferson
d. George Washington
____ 15. The ____ called for Congress to have a Senate and a House of Representatives.
a. Virginia Plan
c. Great Compromise
b. Three-Fifths Compromise
d. New Jersey Plan
____ 16. What plan proposed that every five enslaved persons would count as three free persons?
a. the Three-Fifths Compromise
c. the New Jersey Plan
b. the Cotton Compromise
d. the Five-Thirds Plan
____ 17. The form of government in which power is divided between the national government and the states is called
a. federalism.
c. anarcho-syndicalism.
b. nationalism.
d. anti-federalism.
____ 18. The powers and duties of the ____ include dealing with the leaders of other countries.
a. legislative branch
c. industrial branch
b. judicial branch
d. executive branch
____ 19. The necessary and proper clause allows Congress to exercise
a. wartime powers.
c. unconstitutional powers.
b. implied powers.
d. judicial powers.
____ 20. What refers to powers given to state governments but not to the national government?
a. expressed powers
c. separation of powers
b. checks and balances
d. reserved powers
____ 21. The ____ believed the Constitution should provide protection for certain basic liberties.
a. Anti-Federalists
c. Whigs
b. Liberals
d. Abolitionists
____ 22. What part of the Constitution deals with how the legislative branch will work?
a. Preamble
c. Article I
b. the First Amendment
d. Bill of Rights
____ 23. The first 10 amendments to the Constitution are known as the
a. Great Compromise.
c. Bill of Rights.
b. Constitutional Convention.
d. Articles of Confederation.
____ 24. ____ is the notion that governmental power lies with the people.
a. The rule of law
c. Federalism
b. Popular sovereignty
d. Separation of powers
____ 25. What keeps one branch of government from becoming too powerful?
a. rule of law
c. supremacy of the Constitution
b. separation of powers
d. checks and balances
____ 26. ____ are held by both state and federal governments.
a. Concurrent powers
c. Enumerated powers
b. Expressed powers
d. Reserved powers
____ 27. ____ is a crime that involves harming a person’s reputation by printing lies about him or her.
a. Suffrage
c. Segregation
b. Libel
d. Slander
____ 28. ____ means that a person judged not guilty cannot be put on trial again for the same crime.
a. Due process
c. Double jeopardy
b. Suffrage
d. Censorship
____ 29. Which amendment states that an accused person is entitled to have a lawyer?
a. Fourth
c. Sixth
b. Fifth
d. Eighth
____ 30. What encouraged the hiring and promoting of minorities and women in fields that were traditionally closed to
them?
a. civil liberties
c. Civil Rights Act
b. affirmative action
d. Equal Pay Act
____ 31. The Nineteenth Amendment extended ____ to women.
a. civil liberties
c. equal pay
b. suffrage
d. civil rights
____ 32. ____ are the freedoms to think and act without government interference or fear of unfair treatment.
a. Censorship
c. Due process rights
b. Civil liberties
d. Libel
____ 33. Which amendment protects Americans “against unreasonable searches and seizures”?
a. Fourth
c. Sixth
b. Fifth
d. Eighth
____ 34. The right of the government to take away private property for public use is called
a. due process.
c. affirmative action.
b. double jeopardy.
d. eminent domain.
____ 35. The Twenty-fourth Amendment prevents Southern states from using ____ to keep African Americans from
voting.
a. state laws
c. poll taxes
b. threats
d. racial profiling
____ 36. How do Americans give their consent to the government?
a. obeying laws
c. volunteerism
b. jury duty
d. voting
____ 37. People from a representative’s district are called his or her
a. cloture.
c. constituents.
b. lobbyists.
d. representees.
____ 38. The most powerful member of the House of Representatives is the
a. majority leader.
c. majority whip.
b. President of the House.
d. Speaker of the House.
____ 39. What is the term that is used when an official is formally accused of misconduct in office?
a. impeach
c. cloture
b. habeas corpus
d. censure
____ 40. Congress may not pass ____ laws, or laws that make an act a crime after the act has been committed.
a. filibuster
c. ex post facto
b. casework
d. cloture
____ 41. What term refers to government projects and grants that primarily benefit a Congress member’s home state?
a. pork-barrel projects
c. cloture grants
b. filibusters
d. fat money
____ 42. What is the tactic of delaying a vote until a bill’s sponsor withdraws the measure?
a. cloture
c. filibustering
b. gabling
d. voice voting
____ 43. If the president ignores a bill for 10 days and Congress is not in session, it is a
a. pocket veto.
c. line item veto.
b. filibuster.
d. slate bill.
____ 44. The ____ is a population count taken every 10 years.
a. constituent
c. habeas corpus
b. census
d. cloture
____ 45. A ____ is an oddly shaped district designed to increase the voting strength of a particular group.
a. cloture
c. rider
b. filibuster
d. gerrymander
____ 46. What is another name for Clause 18, the “necessary and proper” clause?
a. bill of attainder
c. elastic clause
b. filibuster
d. writ of habeas corpus
____ 47. A ____ requires police to explain to a court why they are holding a prisoner.
a. writ of habeas corpus
c. rider
b. bill of attainder
d. casework
____ 48. Having the ____ privilege allows Congress members to send mail without paying postage.
a. postal
c. casework
b. rider
d. franking
____ 49. What is the term for the help that Congress members give constituents in dealing with the federal
government?
a. franking
c. casework
b. filibustering
d. pork-barrel projects
____ 50. What are completely unrelated amendments tacked onto a Senate bill?
a. pigeonholes
c. joint resolutions
b. riders
d. baggage
____ 51. Senators can end a filibuster by a three-fifths vote in favor of
a. a roll-call vote.
c. a voice vote.
b. pigeonholing.
d. cloture.
____ 52. What is the indirect method we use to elect the president?
a. Executive College
c. Electoral College
b. executive agreement
d. electoral agreement
____ 53. Who follows the vice president in succession to the presidency?
a. Speaker of the House
c. attorney general
b. secretary of state
d. secretary of defense
____ 54. What is the most important role of the president?
a. head diplomat
c. chief of state
b. Chief Executive
d. economic leader
____ 55. The Twenty-fifth Amendment makes provisions for presidential
a. impeachment.
c. protection.
b. pardons.
d. succession.
____ 56. What is the basic goal of American foreign policy?
a. national security
c. trade sanctions
b. treaty negotiation
d. embargo resolution
____ 57. The president can bypass the Senate by making
a. a treaty.
c. a trade sanction.
b. an embargo.
d. an executive agreement.
____ 58. The United States Postal Service is an example of
a. an executive agency.
c. a government corporation.
b. a regulatory board.
d. an independent agency.
____ 59. The ____ is the clearest statement of the administration’s plans and goals for the coming year.
a. cabinet
c. federal budget
b. bureaucracy
d. Council of Economic Advisers
____ 60. A state has as many ____ as the total of its U.S. senators and representatives.
a. spoils
c. points
b. electoral votes
d. ballots
____ 61. Where does the president live and work?
a. Camp David
b. Capitol
c. White House
d. Monticello
____ 62. The president has the power to issue an ____, which is a rule or command that has the force of law.
a. executive order
c. amnesty order
b. economic sanction
d. execution order
____ 63. According to the War Powers Act, the president must notify ____ immediately when troops are sent into
battle.
a. the Pentagon
c. the attorney general
b. Congress
d. the public
____ 64. ____ is a formal agreement between two or more countries.
a. An executive agreement
c. An embargo
b. A treaty
d. An accord
____ 65. What is an agreement among a group of nations that prohibits them all from trading with a target nation?
a. an embargo
c. a sanction treaty
b. a blockade
d. a tariff
____ 66. District courts have ____ jurisdiction, or the authority to hear federal cases first.
a. mandatory
b. original
c. executive
d. exclusive
____ 67. What jurisdiction allows a court to hear appeals from a lower court?
a. concurrent
c. appellate
b. incremental
d. exclusive
____ 68. The Supreme Court claimed the power of judicial review in the decision of what case?
a. Mayberry v. Shelbyville
c. Brown v. Topeka
b. Plessy v. Ferguson
d. Marbury v. Madison
____ 69. A justice who disagrees with the majority’s decision may write a ____ opinion.
a. dissenting
c. concurring
b. overruling
d. minority
____ 70. A ____ is a previous case that gives guidance to other judges hearing similar cases.
a. rule of law
c. brief
b. precedent
d. docket
____ 71. What is the term for a court’s authority to hear and decide cases?
a. justice
c. jurisdiction
b. judgment
d. juris doctoris
____ 72. The job of the ____ courts is to review decisions made in the lower district courts.
a. appeals
c. concurrent
b. supreme
d. exclusive
____ 73. An ____ offers a detailed explanation of the legal thinking behind a court’s decision.
a. inference
c. observation
b. obfuscation
d. opinion
____ 74. The ____ opinion states the facts of the case, announces the ruling, and explains the Court’s reasoning in
reaching the decision.
a. majority
c. concurring
b. ruling
d. dissenting
____ 75. Any disagreements between ____ are initially heard by federal courts.
a. businesses
c. individual citizens
b. state governments
d. military officers
____ 76. ____ parties rarely win major elections, and have never won a presidential election.
a. Ideological
c. Single-issue
b. Third
d. Radical
____ 77. The United States is said to have a ____ system.
a. three-party
c. two-party
b. one-party
d. multiparty
____ 78. Local party leaders try to build support for their party at the ____, or neighborhood, level.
a. district
c. grassroots
b. ward
d. street
____ 79. In ____ primaries, only declared members of a party are allowed to vote for that party’s nominees.
a. open
c. public
b. closed
d. limited
____ 80. Most states award the party’s nomination to the candidate who receives a ____ of votes.
a. majority
c. plurality
b. percentage
d. minority
____ 81. A ____ party is an association of voters with broad common interests who want to elect candidates that share
those interests.
a. third
c. political
b. Populist
d. social
____ 82. A ____ is a series of statements expressing a party’s principles, beliefs, and positions on election issues.
a. platform
c. plank
b. caucus
d. ward
____ 83. Each party chooses its convention delegates through a combination of primary elections and
a. wards.
c. caucuses.
b. canvassing.
d. committees.
____ 84. In ____ primaries, voters need not declare their party preference to vote for the party’s nominees.
a. limited
c. runoff
b. closed
d. open
____ 85. What is a third party formed only to promote a social, economic, or moral issue?
a. lame duck
c. stump
b. single-issue party
d. plank party
____ 86. If you vote for candidates from both parties, you are voting a ____ ticket.
a. double
c. split
b. twin
d. straight
____ 87. People who cannot go to the polls can request an ____ ballot in advance.
a. absentee
c. apathy
b. electorate
d. exit
____ 88. ____ polling often allows specialists to predict the winners before all votes are officially counted.
a. Elector
c. Exit
b. Media
d. Absentee
____ 89. Many people think ____, or lack of interest, is the main reason for low voter turnouts.
a. initiative
c. propaganda
b. apathy
d. ignorance
____ 90. What provides a way for citizens to approve or reject state or local laws?
a. referendum
c. mandate
b. proposition
d. initiative
____ 91. Special-interest groups help fund a candidate’s campaign by forming
a. propaganda units.
c. money beds.
b. bankrolls.
d. political action committees.
____ 92. Elections are a two-part process involving primary races and
a. the campaign.
c. the nomination.
b. the general election.
d. the campaign financing.
____ 93. If you vote for all the candidates in one political party, you are voting a ____ ticket.
a. split
c. conservative
b. narrow
d. straight
____ 94. What term refers to all of the people who are eligible to vote?
a. electorate
c. tabulates
b. constituents
d. masses
____ 95. If neither presidential candidate wins a majority of electoral votes, who elects the president?
a. House of Representatives
c. Supreme Court
b. Senate
d. outgoing president
____ 96. Citizens can vote to remove a public official from office in a
a. referendum.
c. proposition.
b. recall.
d. initiative.
____ 97. Political action committees give most of their money to
a. Democrats.
c. incumbents.
b. Republicans.
d. third-party candidates.
____ 98. Television, radio, newspapers, magazines, recordings, movies, and books are called
a. mass media.
c. electronic media.
b. print media.
d. white noise.
____ 99. The mass media plays an important ____ role by exposing government misconduct.
a. leak
c. spotlight
b. intelligence
d. watchdog
____ 100. ____ groups support causes that affect the lives of Americans in general.
a. Economic interest
c. Public interest
b. Watchdog
d. Mass media
____ 101. ____ provide lawmakers with tremendous amounts of information.
a. Drafts
c. Mass media
b. Interest groups
d. Lobbyists
____ 102. ____ includes the ideas and attitudes that most people hold about the government and political issues.
a. Mass media
c. Propaganda
b. Public opinion
d. Public policy
____ 103. People who share a point of view about an issue sometimes form an ____ to promote their beliefs.
a. action committee
c. opinion committee
b. issue group
d. interest group
____ 104. The primary goal of interest groups is to influence
a. public opinion.
c. corporations.
b. the president.
d. public policy.
2014 US/VA Government Exam Review
Answer Section
MULTIPLE CHOICE
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STA: CE.3.a
STA: CE.4.e
STA: CE.2.a
STA: CE.11.a
STA: CE.2.b
STA: CE.7.d
STA: CE.7.a
STA: CE.2.b
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CE.7.d
CE.7.d
CE.2.a | CE.6.a
CE.7.b
CE.2.b
CE.6.b
CE.5.a
CE.2.b
CE.2.b
CE.2.a
CE.6.c
CE.6.b
CE.2.b
CE.2.b
CE.2.b
CE.7.a | CE.7.d
CE.2.b
CE.3.b
CE.2.b
CE.6.b
CE.2.b
CE.3.c | CE.3.d
CE.7.d
CE.6.b | CE.7.b
CE.2.a | CE.6.b
CE.7.a
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STA: CE.7.b
STA: CE.2.b
STA: CE.3.b
STA: CE.7.b
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CE.5.f
CE.6.b | CE.7.b
CE.6.b | CE.7.b
CE.2.b | CE.6.b
CE.7.b
CE.7.b
CE.11.b
CE.7.b
CE.5.f
STA: CE.7.b
STA: CE.7.b
STA: CE.8.a
STA: CE.8.a
STA: CE.8.a | CE.8.b
STA: CE.8.a
STA: CE.8.a
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CE.8.a
CE.5.a
CE.5.a
CE.5.a
CE.5.e
CE.5.a
CE.5.a
CE.5.a
CE.5.a
CE.5.e
CE.5.a
STA: CE.5.e
STA: CE.5.c
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90.
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A
D
C
D
B
D
D
PTS:
PTS:
PTS:
PTS:
PTS:
PTS:
PTS:
PTS:
PTS:
PTS:
PTS:
PTS:
PTS:
PTS:
PTS:
PTS:
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
DIF:
DIF:
DIF:
DIF:
DIF:
DIF:
DIF:
DIF:
DIF:
DIF:
DIF:
DIF:
DIF:
DIF:
DIF:
DIF:
A
A
A
E
A
A
A
A
A
E
A
A
A
A
E
E
STA:
STA:
STA:
STA:
CE.3.c | CE.3.d | CE.5.e
CE.3.c | CE.3.d
CE.5.c
CE.5.e
STA: CE.3.c | CE.3.d | CE.5.e
STA: CE.6.b
STA: CE.5.d
STA: CE.7.d
STA: CE.7.d
STA: CE.7.b
STA: CE.7.d