Practice Exam for Am Heritage Exam 1 (With Answers) The Human Predicament Cycle is BEST illustrated by which of the following? (A) Somalians riot when aid trucks from the United Nations run out of food. (B) The poverty of medieval peasants in the kingdom of Genovia causes them to revolt against nobles and establish a democratic republic. (C) The oppression of Kurds in Iraq causes them to flee into Turkey where they are initially received in refugee camps and then returned to Iraq. (D) Haitian slaves revolt against their French masters and are then brutalized by a leader of the revolution. (E) An American Heritage student is stuck on a test question. See City upon a Hill page 3 for a description of the Human Predicament. A certain political leader has a very warm view of human nature and sees much of the conflict in the world arising from social institutions such as private property or competition. Of the types of government discussed by City Upon a Hill, which would this leader most closely associate with? (A) Classical Republicanism (B) Libertarianism (C) Liberalism (D) Autocracy (E) Theocracy Four types of government are described in City Upon a Hill on pages 7­10. Liberalism is the type that sees people in the most favorable light. According to Liberalism, institutions or other influences corrupt people, making it necessary for government to protect them from such corruption. 1. 2. 3. Which of the following bests represents the idea of social compact? (A) On the first day of class, students debate and vote on the class syllabus and class rules that they will follow. (B) The class is designed to give autonomy to each student in deciding what tests and assignments he or she wants to do. (C) A student who is retaking the class explains to the other students what it will be like based on his past experience. (D) Students break into groups and brainstorm ideas for course improvement and then present them to the professor for approval. See City upon a Hill pages 13 and 276­277 for a description of the social compact. 4. A private equity firm will provide capital (money) to a business in exchange for ownership of the company. The private equity firm hopes that it will make a profit on its investment. A similar relationship was vital to the development of which of the follow communities? (A)
Plymouth (B)
Massachusetts Bay (C)
Jamestown (D)
Salem Jamestown is identified in the textbook as a “corporate” community (it was founded with the intention of making a profit). See City upon a Hill pages 17­20. 5. 6. 7. Which of the following best exemplifies someone living according to Calvinistic beliefs? (A) Horace feels that God has blessed him with strong skills in understanding piping, and when he successfully unclogs pipes he sees it as a way to honor God. (B) Elton is a preacher and allows anyone to join his church, feeling that tolerance exemplifies the teachings of the Bible. (C) Rufus is a politician who works hard to help others and volunteer because he knows that he will be saved in heaven only if he proves he is worthy. (D) Arthur is striving to become like God and so he spends several hours every day praying and memorizing scriptures. In class and in the book, the idea of the “Christian Calling” has been discussed. In City Upon a Hill, on page 24, it says that “Calvin believed that true Christians should be ‘workers in the world’”; they were to glorify God through building the Godly community in whichever way they had been called based upon the talents they were blessed with. Which of the following is the most similar to the way Stuart rulers like James I and Charles I claimed legitimacy? (A) Chun Kho has a government position and maintains that he has a right to rule because he was given the position based on excellent test scores. (B) Butch defends his role as ruler of the playground at his elementary school because he is bigger and stronger than anyone else. (C) Doris was elected president of BYU’s “Short Club” for people who are vertically challenged and expects the members to listen to her because they voted for her. (D) Chigotchawam knows he is destined to replace his father a chieftain because the Great Spirit has placed the responsibility for the tribe in his family line. James I and Charles I were both proponents of the Divine Right of Kings; City Upon a Hill, on page 30, reads “As far as James I was concerned, kings still ruled by the pleasure of God alone and thus never had to answer to anyone”. John Locke’s Second Treatise on Government provided immediate justification for which of the following events? (A) The signing of the Declaration of Independence (B) The formation of the Constitution of the United States (C) The Glorious Revolution in England 8. 9. (D) The English Civil War (E) The founding of the Church of England John Locke wrote his Second Treatise in 1688, and it was formally published just after the Glorious Revolution. (Specific dates are not usually important, but it is important to know the sequence of events and what led to what.) The Whig party in England in the 1680s opposed the king, but on what grounds? John Locke wrote his treatises on government to address the question of rulers and their claim to authority. His ideas became very influential during the American Revolution and are clearly seen in the Declaration of Independence. (See City Upon a Hill pages 31­34.) A certain grocery store has a policy of no discounts. One employee there likes to randomly give discounts to girls that he thinks are cute, in the hopes that it will one day land him a date. This practice is most closely analogous to which type of violation of the rule of law? (A) Publicity (B) Generality (C) Due Process (D) Consent (E) No violation Due process is a principle of the rule of law that requires laws to be administered impartially. In this example, the principle is being violated because the discounts are being given only to those that the employee thinks are cute. This does not violate generality because the store did not write up a rule saying that only those that are cute will receive a discount. It violates due process because the employee is administering the discounts unfairly. Generality has to do with the writing of the law, whereas due process has to do with the carrying out of the law. (See City Upon a Hill pages 35­38.) In April 2010, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed SB‐1070 into law. This law orders immigrants to carry their alien registration documents at all times and requires police to question people if there is reason to suspect that they are in the United States illegally. Some citizens and groups have opposed the law, stating that, when implemented, it could lead to police profiling Hispanics and questioning them more often and with more intensity, regardless of external evidence. Which rule of law principle are the citizens concerned that SB‐1070 might violate? (A) Generality (B) Publicity (C) Consent (D) Due Process (E) There is no violation The principle of Due Process states that “when laws are applied they must be administered impartially”. SB­1070, as written, does not explicitly single out a particular group to be put under more scrutiny than any other, but opponents of the law are concerned that in its implementation the law will be discriminatory towards Hispanics. 10. 11. 12. The king of Pandora and its parliament have passed new laws that levy tariffs on the imports. Pandora most clearly exhibits which of the following economic systems? (A) Mercantilism (B) Socialism (C) Market Economy (D) Communism (E) Free trade Mercantilism was based on the idea that the government should regulate the economy to strengthen national power. It emphasized the importance of stockpiling gold and silver. A nation could do so by exporting more than it imports. Exports generate inflows of gold and silver from other nations buying those exports, while imports require gold and silver to leave the nation, so that nations from which imports are purchased can be paid. (See City Upon a Hill pages 48­49.) A free market exists insofar as: (A) experts managing the nation’s commerce are appointed by elected officials. (B) individual citizens create, exchange, and control goods and resources. (C) charity, philanthropy, and volunteering decrease. (D) demand and supply are decided through majority vote. (E) government implements policies that favor businesses over consumers. Markets are organized around the simple premise that voluntary exchange or trade makes both parties better off. A pure market system is free of any central planning authority and assumes that people are self­interested. Adam Smith argued that a market economy channels self­interest to good outcomes. See City upon a Hill pages 294­295. Sir Edric Pierrepont was a French plantation owner from Haiti in the 1700s. He wanted to increase his plantation’s output, and he couldn’t decide whether to purchase more slaves or buy additional land. The slaves cost $1,000 each, and the price of land was $100 an acre. What was his opportunity cost if he decided to buy 20 additional acres? (A) 4 slaves (B) 2 slaves (C) $1,100 (D) $1000 (E) There is no opportunity cost because choosing either slaves or land would cost him the same amount of money. Every decision has an opportunity cost associated with it, which is the cost of the best foregone alternative. Here Sir Edric Pierrepont is giving up $2,000 cash if he buys 20 acres of land. $2,000 would be a correct answer, but that choice is not listed here. 2 slaves, however, would cost $2,000, and the question furthermore states that the main two alternatives that Edric is considering are slaves and land. Therefore, buying the 20 additional acres of land would mean that he could not purchase 2 slaves with that money. 13. 14. 15. The Anglan parliament recently passed a new, harsher penalty for drunk driving. Instead of just receiving a fine of $5,000, offenders now have to pay the $5,000 fine plus serve 10 years in jail. As a result of the new policy, the number of drunk‐
driving incidents has decreased dramatically. Which of the following economic principles best describes why the number of drunk‐driving incidents has decreased? (A) Law of Comparative Advantage (B) Competition (C) Law of Demand (D) Role of Profits (E) Role of Money By adding a 10 year sentence in jail to the $5,000 fine the Anglan parliament has essentially increased the “price” of drunk driving. The law of demand states that, as the price goes up, the quantity demanded goes down. As the “price” of drunk­driving has gone up, the number of drunk­driving incidents has gone down. According to the law of supply, which of the following situations would be most likely to occur? (A) Farmers rush to get hogs to the market before the price of the hogs increases. (B) The price of digital watches falls, causing producers to decrease their output. (C) In the face of milk price increases, dairy farmers quit the business. (D) Now that Sony, Atari, Microsoft, and Nintendo are all producing video games, the price of games is climbing out of sight. (E) The price of gas has continued to rise the past few months, which has led to a decrease in the amount of gas purchased. The law of supply observes that as the price of a particular good or service rises, suppliers will produce more of that good or service. The opposite is true as well; as the price of a good decreases, suppliers will produce less of that good, which is described in ‘B.’ ‘A,’, ‘C’, and ‘D’ describe situations that are contrary to the law of supply. ‘E’ describes the law of demand which observes that as the price goes up consumers will demand less of that good. (See City Upon a Hill pages 54 & 303.) According to America’s Founding Heritage, what was General Washington’s main role during the war? (A) To launch major offenses against the British and regain key colonial cities. (B) To simply keep an army on the field and force the British into a no­win situation. (C) To win a majority of battles and decisively force the British into submission. (D) To mastermind strategic planning for the Continental Congress. (E) To enlist the aid of foreign allies in overpowering the British. This is a recall question from the reading. There will generally be a few questions like this on the test. See City Upon a Hill pages 73­76. Historical Figures Matching: Match the following individuals to the idea or description they best represent. Some exams will feature matching sections where you have to identify historical figures or documents that we have read in class, etc. (A) John Adams (F) James II (B) John Locke (G) Thomas Jefferson (C) John Winthrop (H) David Hume (D) John Calvin (I) Charles I (E) William and Mary (J) Adam Smith 16. Considered the father of modern economics. J 17. Believed that men enter into social contracts for the “mutual preservation of their lives, liberties, and estates…” B 18. Invited to rule subject to the authority of Parliament E 19. Defended the British soldiers after the Boston Massacre. A 20. Was beheaded in English Civil War. I