American Government 100 Part III
Patterson, pgs. 411--426
Woll, pgs. 267-272, A:AG18-11
The Presidency
True or False Questions
1. The formal powers of the president are relatively modest and so presidential power changes with political conditions and the personal capacity of the office’s occupant. True or False
2. The writers of the Constitution devised more precise language for the role of the presidency compared to the vague language they used for devising the role of the Congress. True or False
3. In each of America's most recent wars, the Korean, Vietnam, Persian Gulf, Balkans, Afghanistan, and both Iraq wars, it was the president who initiated them without an official declaration of war by the Congress. True or False
4. The Framers anticipated that Congress would define the nation's foreign policy while the president would oversee its implementation. True or False
5. Whenever the president pardons or reprieves a convicted felon, he must have the agreement of the majority members of Congress. True or False
6. The Framers expected the president to use the veto power extensively to assure that Congress did not try and introduce pernicious legislation. True or False
7. Throughout most of the nineteenth century, Congress jealously guarded its constitutional authority over national policy: True or False
8. Franklin D. Roosevelt embraced the stewardship theory of his distant cousin Theodore Roosevelt when the former advocated for the New Deal programs, signaling an end to a limited presidency. True or False
9. According to Patterson, Congress is well-suited institution for dealing with the thousands of programs and hundreds of agencies that comprise the federal government. True or False
10. As the size of government has increased, all democracies have seen a shift in power from their legislature to their executive. True or False
11. It is impossible to lose the popular vote and still win the presidency in the United States. True or False
12. In 1968 the Democratic Party’s nomination went to Vice-President Hubert Humphrey, someone who had not entered a single primary. True or False
13. Today it is open caucuses and not the voters in state primaries who play the decisive role in the selection of the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees. True or False
14. In both 2000 and 2004, George Bush rejected taking federal matching funds for his presidential campaigns. True or False
15. If Ralph Nader had not been in the presidential race on 2000, Al Gore, rather than George W. Bush, would have won the 2000 presidential election. True or False
Multiple Choice Questions
1. What were the circumstances that Obama faced in his second year as president? a) as the first African-American to hold the office, his popularity was soaring, b) though his popularity had peaked, he was still in great shape with a booming economy and an end to war, c) he avoided scandals and had won the trust of the American people with little opposition, d) he was sinking in the polls with high unemployment and a ballooning deficit.
2. The following refers to the executive office becoming so powerful that constitutional checks and balances are no longer effective in constraining it: a) sovereign executive, b) imperial presidency,
c) monarchical presidency, d) absolute presidency
3. According to Alexander Hamilton from Federalist 69, what would be the only justification for war by presidential action? a) When the president decides it is necessary, b) When a foreign nation threatens the United States, c) When there was a surprise attack on the United States, d) Hamilton argued that there was never any justification for the president to initiate a war.
4.The president negotiates treaties and the latter ratifies them: a) House approval by a majority vote, b) Senate approval by a two-thirds vote, c) Congressional approval by a majority vote, d) Congressional approval by a two thirds vote.
5. The president has acquired the power to make treaty-like arrangements with other nations as a result of the following: a) executive agreements, b) presidential commitments, c) chief executive resolutions, d) presidential initiatives.
6. In 1937 the Supreme Court ruled that executive agreements that are signed and approved by the president: a) must also be approved by the Congress before achieving the force of law, b) are limited in scope and may not displace a treaty, c) have the same legal status as treaties, d) are unconstitutional if they deal with foreign policy.
7. The two-term limit for serving as president is now institutionalized through the following amendment to the Constitution: a) Twentieth Amendment, b) Twenty-second Amendment, c) Twenty-fourth Amendment, d) Twenty-sixth Amendment.
8. In Federalist 76, Hamilton indicated that the president's real authority as chief executive was to be found in: a) administrative effectiveness, b) his close ties with congressional leaders, c) his ability to articulate the major issues of his time, d) his appointive capacity.
9. Although the powers that a contemporary president exercises are more extensive than the Framers envisioned, Patterson cited the following two features in particular for such expansion: a) political awareness and Constitutional power, b) public support and presidential flexibility, c) national election and singular authority, d) executive liabilities and political capital.
10. The first president to assert a claim to popular leadership was: a) George Washington, b) Thomas Jefferson, c) Andrew Jackson, d) Abraham Lincoln.
11. The following holds that the president is limited and essentially functions as an administrator charged with carrying out the will of Congress: a) Whig theory, b) Unitary president, c) Constrained executive, d) Limited commander.
12. The following calls for a strong, assertive presidential role that is confined only at points specifically prohibited by law, not by undefined inherent restrictions: a) executive theory, b) stewardship theory, c) administrative theory, d) imperial tradition.
13. Why did Herbert Hoover not take decisive action during the economic crash that followed the Wall Street meltdown of 1929? a) Because he believed in the social welfare state, b) Because he embraced the stewardship theory, c) Because the public was opposed to using the government to eliminate the abuses of the stock market, d) Because he felt that he lacked the constitutional authority.
14. Why is Congress poorly suited to assume the dominant role in the area of foreign policy? a) Because the Constitution forbids it, b) Because it is a large and unwieldy body, c) Because it lacks the funds necessary for an expanded role, d) Because members of Congress are unconcerned with foreign policy issues.
15. Why did the delegates to the 1787 constitutional convention establish an Electoral College for selecting the president? a) They feared the power of the privileged elites of the time, b) They feared that a popularly elected president would become too powerful, c) They believed that only through the true voice of the people can any sitting president behave respectfully, d) They knew that Congress had to be restrained from the corruption that power provided and the president could neutralize it.
16. They were responsible for introducing the primary elections as a way of wresting control over presidential nominations from party bosses: a) Republicans, b) American Independents, c) Democrats, d) Progressives.
17. Meetings that are open to any registered party voter who wants to attend: a) open primary, b) free-blanket caucuses, c) open party caucuses, d) free-love primaries.
18. A key to success in the nominating campaign for president is a solid showing in the early contests that leads to a buildup of public support in subsequent ones: a) momentum, b) name recognition, c) money, d) party affiliation.
19. Observers estimate it takes how much money to run a strong nominating campaign for beginning a presidential run? a) $15 million b) $23 million, c) $32 million, d) $50 million.
20. Barack Obama easily raised in excess of $300 million for his nominating campaign, an amount that is how many times more than the legal limit had he accepted federal matching funds? a) 2 times more, b) 3 times more, c) 4 times more, d) 8 times more.
21. What is the primary purpose of having public funding of presidential campaigns? a) to free candidates from obligations to special interests, b) to give the underdog hope of winning a campaign, c) to limit wealthy people from running, d) to assure that the system remain corrupt-free.
22. By tradition, the choice of the vice presidential nominee rests with the who? a) the majority of delegates at the convention, b) It is different for both parties. The Republicans leave it up to the party caucus presidential nominee. The Democrats the most recently retired president to select the nominee. c) A coin is flipped to select the from a pool of candidates who lost in the presidential campaign, d) The presidential nominee decides who will be the running mate.
23. All the states except Maine and Nebraska grant all their electoral votes to the candidate who wins the state's popular vote: a) unit rule, b) conditional vote, c) unanimous incorporation, d) plurality.
24. In what 2 states are electoral votes for president distributed on the basis of the percentage of popular votes received and not winner-takes-all? a) Oklahoma and Vermont, b) New Hampshire and New York, c) Maine and Nebraska, d) Delaware and North Dakota.
25. Why do candidates for president spend most of their time in battleground states with the largest populations? a) Because they want to assure a mandate from the people, b) Because if they can win the support of their constituents, then they can claim greater legitimacy in running the nation, c) Because most of the money can be generated in the larger states, d) Because most of the electoral votes are located there.
Fill-in Questions
1. The ability of presidents accomplishing their goals depends on a number of conditions which include:
a) their personal capacity for ______,
b) ______and international conditions,
c) the ______of their presidency,
d) partisan composition of ______, and
e) whether the issue is ______or domestic.
2. Based on the Constitution, what are some of the powers assigned to the president?
a) Article II, Section 2: “The President shall be ______of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several states.”
b) Chief ______: Article II, Section 2: “He may require the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the executive departments, upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices,
c) Chief ______: Article II, Section 2: “He shall have power, and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties,…
d) Chief ______officer: Article II, Section 3: “He shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.
3. The Electoral College has:
a) a total of ____ electoral votes,
b) including ______from the District of Columbia even though it has ______representative in Congress.
c) To win a candidate must receive at least ____ votes, electoral majority.
The Presidency--Focus of Leadership: Clinton Rossiter
Woll, pgs. 267-272
True/False Questions
1. According to the Constitution, the president can pick and choose those laws he wishes to enforce. True or False
2. In time of war, argues Rossiter, the president has the authority over all major decisions of strategy and tactics. True or False
Multiple Choice Questions
1. When the president assumes the role of ceremonial leader of the country, he is functioning as: a) chief administrative officer, b) party leader, c) commander-in-chief, d) chief of state.
Fill-In Questions
1. The president is the leader of:
a) the ______,
b) the ______,
c) his ______,
d) the ______,
e) foreign affairs
Answers
Patterson, pgs. 411-426
True or False Quiestions
1. True
3. True
5. False
7. True
9. False
11. False
13. False
15. True
Multiple Choice Questions
1. d
3. c
5. a
7. b
9. c
11. a
13. d
15. b
17. c
19. d
21. a
23. a
25. d
Fill-in Questions
1. a) leadership, b) national, c) stage, d) Congress, e) foreign
3. a) 538, b) three, no voting, c) 270
Woll, pgs. 262-267
True or False Questions
1. False
Multiple Choice Questions
1. d
Fill-In Questions
1. a) bureaucracy, b) armed forces, c) party, d) congress
A:AG18-11
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