AP Government
Chapter 8 Test
Name _______________________
Date ___________ Period ______
Multiple Choice
1. _____ Describe the executive branch under the Articles of Confederation. 281
a. there was no executive branch under the Articles of Confederation
b. a strong plural executive
c. a strong bicameral executive
d. a weak plural executive
e. a strong single executive
2. _____ What is the major function of the vice president? 282
a. to serve as commander in chief of the military
b. to preside over the president’s cabinet
c. to make executive branch appointments
d. to succeed the president if she dies or becomes disabled
e. to govern all U.S. territories and protectorates
3. _____ Which of the following is a constitutional requirement to become
president? 282
a. to be a male citizen for at least 14 years
b. to be married
c. to win a majority of the popular vote
d. to be at least 35 years old and a natural born citizen
e. to be “experienced in government and well versed in the law”
4. _____ Presidents are elected for 282
a. 2 year terms
b. 4 year terms
c. 6 year terms
d. 8 year terms
e. life and serve during times of good behavior
5. _____ What was the decision in U.S. v. Nixon? 284
a. presidents have extensive executive privilege
b. President Nixon must comply with court orders relating to Watergate
c. the president can accept gifts from lobbyists and foreign dignitaries, but
he must pay taxes according to the value of the gift
d. “When the president does it, that means it’s not illegal”
6. _____ What was Watergate? 284
a. a series of illegal searches of the foreign embassies of communist
countries
b. secret negotiations with the Soviet Union in which Nixon agreed not to
challenge the Berlin Wall if the Soviets released several American spies
who were being held hostage
c. the break-in of the Democratic Party’s nationals headquarters and the
proceeding cover-up
d. warrantless wiretaps of the international phone calls of American citizens
e. a scandal involving Nixon’s use of the White House for illegal campaign
purposes that ultimately led to his resignation
7. _____ If the president dies in office and the vice presidency is vacant, the next
in the line of succession is the 284
a. President Pro Tempore of the Senate
b. Secretary of Defense
c. Speaker of the House
d. Secretary of State
e. Secretary of the Army
8. _____ The 25th Amendment 285
a. established the office of First Lady of the United States
b. provide a means for filling vacancies in the vice presidency
c. authorizes the creation of an Air Force
d. clarifies impeachment procedures
e. limits the president to two consecutive terms
9. _____ Which president appointed the highest proportion of women to senior
administration positions requiring Senate confirmation? 287
a. Ronald Reagan
b. Bill Clinton
c. Jimmy Carter
d. George Bush
e. George W. Bush
10. _____ Which best describes the confirmation of the president’s Cabinet
nominees? 287
a. about half of his nominees are confirmed
b. about three-quarters of his nominees are confirmed
c. nearly all of his nominees are confirmed
d. confirmations typically occur only if the Senate is controlled by the
president’s party
e. the president’s first choices are confirmed, but his second choices are
usually confirmed
11. _____ In order to make a treaty, the president must 287
a. have the approval of the House Foreign Relations Committee
b. have the advice and consent of the Senate
c. have the approval of the State Department
d. include stipulations that no American soldiers will be placed in jeopardy,
nor abandonment on the battlefield
e. certify to the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court that the treaty is
in the best interest of the country
12. _____ Presidents have the power to 287
a. introduce revenue bills in the Senate
b. convene congress
c. ratify treaties
d. confirm high-level executive branch appointments
e. introduce revenue bills in the House
13. ______ Agreements that the president enters into with foreign nations that do
not require the advice and consent of the Senate are called 288
a. memos of commitment
b. executive agreements
c. memos of understanding
d. covenants
e. executive orders
14. _____ How are presidential vetoes overridden? 289
a. with a simple majority in the Senate
b. with a simple majority in the House
c. with a 2/3 majority of a joint session of Congress
d. with a 2/3 majority in each chamber
e. with a simple majority in the House and in the Senate
15. _____ Through 2006, how many vetoes did George W. Bush issue? 289
a. 1
b. 12
c. 28
d. 189
e. 434
16. _____ What is the line-item veto? 289
a. the refusal to spend money allocated by Congress
b. when the president does not sign a bill within the last ten days of a
congressional session
c. when the president allows the bill to become law without his signature
d. the authority to invalidate specific spending items without vetoing the
entire bill
e. a vote in Congress where a majority of Democrats vote for a bill and a
majority of Republicans vote against it
17. _____ Who currently has a line-item veto power? 289
a. several state governors
b. the vice president
c. the president
d. the Speaker of the House
e. none of those listed above has the line-item veto power
18. _____ Why did Congress pass the War Powers Act? 291
a. because President Johnson misled Americans about progress of the
Vietnam War
b. because the president needs to have considerable discretion when waging
war
c. to prevent future congresses from cutting off funding for military activities
d. to justify the use of military force against Iraq
e. to boost the morale of Vietnam veterans
19. _____ Who was the most famous person to ever receive a presidential pardon?
292
a. Richard Nixon
b. Al Capone
c. Johnny Cash
d. Martha Stewart
e. Samuel A. Mudd
20. _____ Which of the following is a presidential check on judicial power? 292
a. the line-item veto
b. euthanasia
c. impeachment
d. the pardon
e. all of the above
21. _____ President ____________ used the pardoning power to give unconditional
amnesty to 10,000 men who had avoided the draft during the Vietnam War. 294
a. George W. Bush
b. Richard Nixon
c. Jimmy Carter
d. Bill Clinton
e. Ronald Reagan
22. _____ Which of the following best describes Abraham Lincoln’s approach during
the Civil War? 293
a. he ignored technical requirements of the Constitution in order to ensure
the continued survival of the United States
b. he got approval from Congress at every conceivable juncture, as a
president’s authority depends on support from Congress and the people
c. he believed that the Constitution was “an albatross around the neck of
democracy. The quicker the union abandons its stipulations, the quicker
we shall win this godforsaken war.”
d. Abraham Lincoln followed the letter and the spirit of the Constitution
e. Abraham Lincoln followed the letter of the Constitution, but not the spirit
of the Constitution
23. _____ For several decades, the trend has been for the president to play a more
important decision-making role. This trend began in earnest with 297
a. Herbert Hoover
b. Franklin Roosevelt
c. Bill Clinton
d. Dwight Eishenhower
e. Ronald Reagan
24. _____ All of the following have demonstrated support for the principle of
presidential prerogative EXCEPT 297
a. Franklin Roosevelt
b. George W. Bush
c. John Locke
d. Abraham Lincoln
e. Bill Clinton
25. _____ Franklin Roosevelt’s legacy includes all of the following EXCEPT 298
a. an anemic military and diminished national morale
b. a nationalized executive office
c. a leading role for the president in domestic policy
d. a new relationship between the people and the president that is heavily
dependent on new technologies
e. a rapidly expanding federal bureaucracy
26. _____ How did Dick Cheney balance out George W. Bush’s ticket in 2000? 299
a. Bush is from the South; Cheney is from the Northeast
b. Bush is a secular Christian; Cheney is a born-again Christian
c. Bush lacked national government experience; Cheney had an important
resume
d. Bush is a moderate Republican; Cheney is a conservative Republican
e. Bush had a rough-and-tumble demeanor; Cheney had a smooth and
political demeanor
27. _____ Who was the most powerful vice president? 299
a. Al Gore
b. Walter Mondale
c. Nelson Rockefeller
d. Dick Cheney
e. Spiro Agnew
28. _____ The membership of the Cabinet is determined by 299
a. the Secretary of State
b. seniority within each executive department
c. the Constitution
d. the Congress
e. the president
29. _____ As first lady, which of the following issues did Laura Bush advocate for?
301
a. keeping children off drugs
b. literacy
c. health care
d. highway beautification
e. elimination of poverty
30. _____ The Executive Office of the President was established in 1939 to 301
a. formulate the informal structure of the Cabinet
b. act as a liaison with the legislative branch
c. aid in the war effort
d. help the president manage the bureaucracy
e. respond to increasing amounts of mail addressed to the White House
31. _____ In 1947, the _______ was established to advise the president on military
affairs and foreign policy. 301
a. National Security Council
b. Military Tribunal
c. Council on Foreign Relations
d. Executive Office of the President
e. Central Intelligence Agency
32. _____ How did George W. Bush change the Executive Office of President when
he became president? 302
a. he dismantled the entire Executive Office of President, preferring instead
to rely on the assistance of loyal staff members such as Karl Rove and
Karen Hughes
b. he dismantled the Council of Economic Advisers
c. he created the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives
d. he merged the Office of Management and Budget with the Council of
Economic Advisers
e. he made the National Labor Relations Board accountable to the Small
Business Administration
33. _____ The first president to claim the leadership role for the executive branch in
law-making was 302
a. Abraham Lincoln
b. Gerald Ford
c. Woodrow Wilson
d. Franklin Roosevelt
e. George Washington
34. _____ When are presidents most likely to get their policies through Congress
successfully? 304
a. when they are advocating for a bill that lacks public support
b. early in the president’s first year
c. just before a midterm election
d. when they are advocating for a bill proposed by someone else
e. just before a presidential election
35. _____ Jobs, grants or other special favors that a president can give as rewards
to political supporters are known as 304
a. bling
b. perks
c. spittoons
d. national security letters
e. patronage
36. _____ The Office of Management and Budget 305
a. prepares the president’s budget proposal
b. has tremendous authority over domestic oil production
c. prepares the president’s State of the Union proposal
d. rewards young entrepreneurs
e. handles the president’s personal finances
37. _____ An executive order of the president 305
a. is not enforceable
b. serves as a recommendation of legislation for Congress to consider
c. has the effect of law
d. can only be modified by an act of Congress
e. is used to ensure order and civility in the Executive Office of the President
38. _____ George W. Bush signed an executive order that 305
a. desegregated the military
b. limited federal funding for stem cell research
c. prohibited military tribunals from trying foreigners
d. established that the records of presidents can be accessed by any
interested party
e. provided federal funding for groups that provide abortion counseling
39. _____ When a president “goes public,” 308
a. he’s adopting the policy preference of the public to increase his popularity
b. he’s trying to persuade the public hoping the public will persuade
Congress
c. he’s establishing rapport with the journalists who cover the president
d. he’s preventing Congress from convening
e. he’s trying to persuade Congress hoping Congress will persuade the public
40. _____ As chief executive of North Korea, which of the following best describes
Kim Jong Il’s authority? 309
a. his authority is very similar to Bill Clinton’s authority
b. he exercises very weak authority over the executive branch
c. his authority is very similar to George W. Bush’s authority
d. North Korea has a plural executive in which the authority to govern is split
between about a dozen executive branch officials
e. he has absolute authority over nearly every aspect of North Korean
government and society
True/False
41. _____ The Framers envisioned a weaker presidency than the U.S. currently has.
280
42. _____ The president must be a natural-born citizen of the United States. 280
43. _____ A president can serve for a maximum of eight years. 282
44. _____ The House of Representatives has the power to impeach a president.
Impeachment trials occur in the Senate. 283
45. _____ In U.S. v. Nixon, the Supreme Court ruled that the president has nearly
unlimited executive privilege. 284
46. _____ If the vice-presidency is vacant, the president appoints a new vice
president, subject to the approval of two-thirds of the Senate. 285
47. _____ Presidents can have a long-range influence on American government
through their federal court appointments. 286
48. _____ The president has the power to convene Congress on “extraordinary
Occasions.” 287
49. _____ Treaties are more commonly used than executive agreements. 288
50. _____ Most presidential vetoes are overridden by Congress. 289
51. _____ As a check on the judicial branch, the president has the authority to
pardon those accused or convicted of a federal crime. 292
52. _____ Crises have often triggered expansions of presidential power. 294
53. _____ Jefferson used the concept of inherent presidential powers to justify the
Louisiana Purchase. 295
54. _____ During the first few presidential administrations, the president tended to
be much stronger than Congress. 295
55. _____ The Cabinet is a constitutionally mandated group of presidential advisers.
299
56. _____ While previous presidents had been content with Congress taking the lead
in making policies, Franklin Roosevelt took on a strong policymaking role. 302
57. _____ The 1994 Contract with America was an attempt by congressional
Republicans to play a more dominant policymaking role. 303
58. _____ George W. Bush issued an executive order restricting the release of past
presidents’ official papers. 305
59. _____ The public expects the president to serve as a moral leader for the nation.
307
60. _____ Kim Jong Il presided over a very weak executive branch in North Korea.
309
ESSAY
61. How can the vice president, the Cabinet, the first lady, the Executive Office of
the President, and the White House staff assist the president in exercising his
duties and achieving his goals?