, TESTBANK FOR
American Government 18th Edition Wilson
Important Notes
The file includes the complete test bank, organized chapter by chapter.
A sample of selected pages has been provided for preview.
All available appendices and Excel files (if included in the original resources) are
provided.
We continuously update our files to ensure you receive the latest and most accurate
editions.
New editions are added regularly – stay connected for updates!
Purchase Guarantee
If you believe you have purchased the wrong file, don’t worry. Contact us anytime and we
will gladly replace it with the correct version.
Contact Email:
,Name: Class: Date:
Ch01 The Study of American Government
1. What term can be defined as the activity by which an issue is agitated or settled?
a. republicanism
b. democracy
c. politics
d. political science
ANSWER: c
2. What concerns about direct democracy persist today?
a. It is not the best way to resist manipulative politicians.
b. Direct democracy has never been used before.
c. The people express support for a government similar to a monarchy.
d. People often decide large issues on the basis of fleeting passions.
ANSWER: d
3. Which of the following scenarios is an example of direct democracy?
a. Louisiana's use of the parish system
b. New England town meetings
c. voting in party primaries
d. the electoral college system
ANSWER: b
4. When is a political system non-democratic?
a. Citizens participate directly in holding office.
b. It denies equal voting rights to part of its society.
c. Citizens participate directly in making policy.
d. Leaders make decisions by winning the popular vote.
ANSWER: b
5. Which is an example of a non-democratic political system?
a. parliamentary system
b. representative system
c. constitutional system
d. authoritarian system
ANSWER: d
Copyright Cengage Learning. Powered by Cognero. Page 1
,Name: Class: Date:
Ch01 The Study of American Government
6. Which of the following perspectives holds that society is ruled by a small number of people who exercise power to
further their self-interest?
a. the creedal passion view
b. the pluralist view
c. the power elite view
d. the class view
ANSWER: c
7. If the top political jobs for political parties were filled only from an inner circle of top corporate leaders, this would be
evidence of which of the following perspectives?
a. the power elite view
b. the pluralist view
c. the class view
d. the bureaucratic view
ANSWER: a
8. To whom do most democracies give the power to make laws?
a. political parties
b. interest groups
c. elected representatives
d. common citizens
ANSWER: c
9. Which of the following terms is defined as the ability of one person to get another person to act in accordance with
the first person’s intentions?
a. politics
b. policy
c. power
d. lobbying
ANSWER: c
10. How did Aristotle define democracy?
a. as rule of the few
b. as rule of the one
c. as rule of the powerful
d. as rule of the many
ANSWER: d
Copyright Cengage Learning. Powered by Cognero. Page 2
,Name: Class: Date:
Ch01 The Study of American Government
11. The term participatory democracy applies most accurately to which of the following societies?
a. Greece in the fourth century BCE
b. the United States since 1787
c. the Soviet Union between 1917 and 1991
d. the southeastern United States before the Civil War
ANSWER: a
12. The Framers’ concerns about direct democracy are shown by what feature of the Constitution?
a. The Constitution uses the word democracy only once, in the Preamble.
b. The Constitution uses the word democracy only in reference to Congress.
c. The Constitution does not feature the word democracy at all.
d. The Constitution uses the word democratic instead of democracy.
ANSWER: c
13. Who argued that the democratic method is an institutional arrangement for arriving at political decisions?
a. Karl Marx
b. George Mason
c. Joseph Schumpeter
d. C. Wright Mills
ANSWER: c
14. Which of the following actions is a modern example of direct democracy?
a. individuals electing local boards to make decisions
b. individuals running for political office
c. individuals participating in the formulation of a program that directly affects them
d. individuals writing elected officials to express their opinions on policy
ANSWER: c
15. What is one feature of democracy in the United States that distinguishes it from many European democracies?
a. In the United States, more offices are elective.
b. In the United States, more people participate in the electoral process.
c. In the United States, the government plays a more active role in elections.
d. In the United States, the government frequently changes hands.
ANSWER: a
Copyright Cengage Learning. Powered by Cognero. Page 3
,Name: Class: Date:
Ch01 The Study of American Government
16. In the United States, no government at any level would be considered legitimate if, in some sense, it could not be
described as:
a. democratic.
b. humanitarian.
c. elitist.
d. aristocratic.
ANSWER: a
17. Which group had the right to vote in ancient Athens?
a. all adult citizens
b. city elders
c. all males
d. males with property
ANSWER: d
18. In the U.S. political system, which of these choices most closely approximates Aristotle’s ideal of direct democracy?
a. the U.S. House of Representatives
b. a New England town meeting
c. the Constitutional Convention
d. the Southeastern United States before the Civil War
ANSWER: b
19. What does the political agenda consist of?
a. concerns that the government decides to ignore
b. issues that people believe require governmental action
c. topics that political parties choose to avoid
d. interests that only affect business owners and corporations
ANSWER: b
20. In 1935, what percentage of American families paid no federal income tax?
a. one percent
b. four percent
c. eighty percent
d. ninety-six percent
ANSWER: d
Copyright Cengage Learning. Powered by Cognero. Page 4
,Name: Class: Date:
Ch01 The Study of American Government
21. Before the 1960s, the plans of liberal presidents faced heavy resistance from which group in the Senate?
a. conservative Southern Democrats
b. conservative Southern Republicans
c. liberal Northern Democrats
d. liberal Northern Republicans
ANSWER: a
22. The issues that people believe require governmental action are called:
a. client politics.
b. majoritarian politics.
c. direct democracy.
d. the political agenda.
ANSWER: d
23. How does interest group politics contribute to decisions that the public may be uninformed about?
ANSWER: Students’ answers may vary.
24. What did the Framers of the Constitution believe about democracy?
a. It was the ideal form of government.
b. It was not an ideal form of government, but it was better than any alternative.
c. It was likely to lead to bad decisions.
d. It was likely to lead to decisions based on sound reasoning and logic.
ANSWER: c
25. Those who disapprove of representative democracy would characterize it as:
a. progressive.
b. Marxist.
c. authoritarian.
d. elitist.
ANSWER: d
26. According to the class view of power distribution, which of the following groups wields the most power in the United
States?
a. unions and laborers
b. interest groups
c. the people
d. leaders of multinational corporations
ANSWER: d
Copyright Cengage Learning. Powered by Cognero. Page 5
,Name: Class: Date:
Ch01 The Study of American Government
27. According to the power elite view, which of these groups would not have any control of politics?
a. top military officials
b. mass media executives
c. the heads of special interest groups
d. the economically disadvantaged
ANSWER: d
28. Which view about power distribution in the United States attributes the majority of political power to elected
politicians?
a. the class view
b. the power elite view
c. the bureaucratic view
d. the pluralist view
ANSWER: d
29. Karl Marx believed governments were dominated by:
a. business owners.
b. elected officials.
c. interest groups.
d. religious leaders.
ANSWER: a
30. Which sociologist argued that American democracy is dominated by a small “power elite"?
a. C. Wright Mills
b. Karl Marx
c. Max Weber
d. Samuel P. Huntington
ANSWER: a
31. With whom is the bureaucratic view of political elites associated, which argues that appointed officials dominate the
government?
a. Karl Marx
b. C. Wright Mills
c. Max Weber
d. David B. Truman
ANSWER: c
Copyright Cengage Learning. Powered by Cognero. Page 6
,Name: Class: Date:
Ch01 The Study of American Government
32. In Samuel P. Huntington’s view, which of the following examples illustrates an event in which morally impassioned
elites made significant changes?
a. the Framers developing the party system
b. the party bosses in smoke-filled rooms
c. the progressive reformers of the early twentieth century
d. legislative reorganization during the 1940s
ANSWER: c
33. Which type of politics has distributed benefits and costs?
a. majoritarian politics
b. interest group politics
c. client politics
d. entrepreneurial politics
ANSWER: a
34. Policies aimed at lessening income inequality and addressing the disproportionate power held by individuals with
wealth are based on which theory of power?
a. the power elite view
b. the bureaucratic view
c. the creedal passion view
d. the class view
ANSWER: d
35. Which theory of power is illustrated when policies like the Affordable Care Act delegate decisions, such as whether
birth control should be covered in all insurance plans, to executive agencies like Health and Human Services?
a. the power elite view
b. the bureaucratic view
c. the creedal passion view
d. the class view
ANSWER: b
36. The civil rights movement of the mid-twentieth century is an example of which theory of power?
a. the power elite view
b. the bureaucratic view
c. the creedal passion view
d. the class view
ANSWER: c
Copyright Cengage Learning. Powered by Cognero. Page 7
, Name: Class: Date:
Ch01 The Study of American Government
37. Which type of politics has distributed benefits and concentrated costs?
a. majoritarian politics
b. interest group politics
c. pork-barrel politics
d. entrepreneurial politics
ANSWER: d
38. Which type of legislation provides tangible benefits to constituents in several states or districts in hopes of winning
their votes in the future?
a. log-rolling legislation
b. pork-barrel legislation
c. commemorative legislation
d. majoritarian legislation
ANSWER: b
39. An estate tax that imposes a tax on inherited money in excess of $4.49 million is an example of which type of policy?
a. majoritarian policy
b. interest group policy
c. entrepreneurial policy
d. moralistic policy
ANSWER: c
40. What method is used by members of Congress to build a winning coalition for their policies?
a. log-rolling
b. back-scratching
c. structured rules
d. cloture
ANSWER: a
41. Which term is used to describe activists inside or outside of the government who pull together political majorities on
behalf of unorganized interests?
a. progressives
b. agitators
c. policy entrepreneurs
d. political action committees
ANSWER: c
Copyright Cengage Learning. Powered by Cognero. Page 8
American Government 18th Edition Wilson
Important Notes
The file includes the complete test bank, organized chapter by chapter.
A sample of selected pages has been provided for preview.
All available appendices and Excel files (if included in the original resources) are
provided.
We continuously update our files to ensure you receive the latest and most accurate
editions.
New editions are added regularly – stay connected for updates!
Purchase Guarantee
If you believe you have purchased the wrong file, don’t worry. Contact us anytime and we
will gladly replace it with the correct version.
Contact Email:
,Name: Class: Date:
Ch01 The Study of American Government
1. What term can be defined as the activity by which an issue is agitated or settled?
a. republicanism
b. democracy
c. politics
d. political science
ANSWER: c
2. What concerns about direct democracy persist today?
a. It is not the best way to resist manipulative politicians.
b. Direct democracy has never been used before.
c. The people express support for a government similar to a monarchy.
d. People often decide large issues on the basis of fleeting passions.
ANSWER: d
3. Which of the following scenarios is an example of direct democracy?
a. Louisiana's use of the parish system
b. New England town meetings
c. voting in party primaries
d. the electoral college system
ANSWER: b
4. When is a political system non-democratic?
a. Citizens participate directly in holding office.
b. It denies equal voting rights to part of its society.
c. Citizens participate directly in making policy.
d. Leaders make decisions by winning the popular vote.
ANSWER: b
5. Which is an example of a non-democratic political system?
a. parliamentary system
b. representative system
c. constitutional system
d. authoritarian system
ANSWER: d
Copyright Cengage Learning. Powered by Cognero. Page 1
,Name: Class: Date:
Ch01 The Study of American Government
6. Which of the following perspectives holds that society is ruled by a small number of people who exercise power to
further their self-interest?
a. the creedal passion view
b. the pluralist view
c. the power elite view
d. the class view
ANSWER: c
7. If the top political jobs for political parties were filled only from an inner circle of top corporate leaders, this would be
evidence of which of the following perspectives?
a. the power elite view
b. the pluralist view
c. the class view
d. the bureaucratic view
ANSWER: a
8. To whom do most democracies give the power to make laws?
a. political parties
b. interest groups
c. elected representatives
d. common citizens
ANSWER: c
9. Which of the following terms is defined as the ability of one person to get another person to act in accordance with
the first person’s intentions?
a. politics
b. policy
c. power
d. lobbying
ANSWER: c
10. How did Aristotle define democracy?
a. as rule of the few
b. as rule of the one
c. as rule of the powerful
d. as rule of the many
ANSWER: d
Copyright Cengage Learning. Powered by Cognero. Page 2
,Name: Class: Date:
Ch01 The Study of American Government
11. The term participatory democracy applies most accurately to which of the following societies?
a. Greece in the fourth century BCE
b. the United States since 1787
c. the Soviet Union between 1917 and 1991
d. the southeastern United States before the Civil War
ANSWER: a
12. The Framers’ concerns about direct democracy are shown by what feature of the Constitution?
a. The Constitution uses the word democracy only once, in the Preamble.
b. The Constitution uses the word democracy only in reference to Congress.
c. The Constitution does not feature the word democracy at all.
d. The Constitution uses the word democratic instead of democracy.
ANSWER: c
13. Who argued that the democratic method is an institutional arrangement for arriving at political decisions?
a. Karl Marx
b. George Mason
c. Joseph Schumpeter
d. C. Wright Mills
ANSWER: c
14. Which of the following actions is a modern example of direct democracy?
a. individuals electing local boards to make decisions
b. individuals running for political office
c. individuals participating in the formulation of a program that directly affects them
d. individuals writing elected officials to express their opinions on policy
ANSWER: c
15. What is one feature of democracy in the United States that distinguishes it from many European democracies?
a. In the United States, more offices are elective.
b. In the United States, more people participate in the electoral process.
c. In the United States, the government plays a more active role in elections.
d. In the United States, the government frequently changes hands.
ANSWER: a
Copyright Cengage Learning. Powered by Cognero. Page 3
,Name: Class: Date:
Ch01 The Study of American Government
16. In the United States, no government at any level would be considered legitimate if, in some sense, it could not be
described as:
a. democratic.
b. humanitarian.
c. elitist.
d. aristocratic.
ANSWER: a
17. Which group had the right to vote in ancient Athens?
a. all adult citizens
b. city elders
c. all males
d. males with property
ANSWER: d
18. In the U.S. political system, which of these choices most closely approximates Aristotle’s ideal of direct democracy?
a. the U.S. House of Representatives
b. a New England town meeting
c. the Constitutional Convention
d. the Southeastern United States before the Civil War
ANSWER: b
19. What does the political agenda consist of?
a. concerns that the government decides to ignore
b. issues that people believe require governmental action
c. topics that political parties choose to avoid
d. interests that only affect business owners and corporations
ANSWER: b
20. In 1935, what percentage of American families paid no federal income tax?
a. one percent
b. four percent
c. eighty percent
d. ninety-six percent
ANSWER: d
Copyright Cengage Learning. Powered by Cognero. Page 4
,Name: Class: Date:
Ch01 The Study of American Government
21. Before the 1960s, the plans of liberal presidents faced heavy resistance from which group in the Senate?
a. conservative Southern Democrats
b. conservative Southern Republicans
c. liberal Northern Democrats
d. liberal Northern Republicans
ANSWER: a
22. The issues that people believe require governmental action are called:
a. client politics.
b. majoritarian politics.
c. direct democracy.
d. the political agenda.
ANSWER: d
23. How does interest group politics contribute to decisions that the public may be uninformed about?
ANSWER: Students’ answers may vary.
24. What did the Framers of the Constitution believe about democracy?
a. It was the ideal form of government.
b. It was not an ideal form of government, but it was better than any alternative.
c. It was likely to lead to bad decisions.
d. It was likely to lead to decisions based on sound reasoning and logic.
ANSWER: c
25. Those who disapprove of representative democracy would characterize it as:
a. progressive.
b. Marxist.
c. authoritarian.
d. elitist.
ANSWER: d
26. According to the class view of power distribution, which of the following groups wields the most power in the United
States?
a. unions and laborers
b. interest groups
c. the people
d. leaders of multinational corporations
ANSWER: d
Copyright Cengage Learning. Powered by Cognero. Page 5
,Name: Class: Date:
Ch01 The Study of American Government
27. According to the power elite view, which of these groups would not have any control of politics?
a. top military officials
b. mass media executives
c. the heads of special interest groups
d. the economically disadvantaged
ANSWER: d
28. Which view about power distribution in the United States attributes the majority of political power to elected
politicians?
a. the class view
b. the power elite view
c. the bureaucratic view
d. the pluralist view
ANSWER: d
29. Karl Marx believed governments were dominated by:
a. business owners.
b. elected officials.
c. interest groups.
d. religious leaders.
ANSWER: a
30. Which sociologist argued that American democracy is dominated by a small “power elite"?
a. C. Wright Mills
b. Karl Marx
c. Max Weber
d. Samuel P. Huntington
ANSWER: a
31. With whom is the bureaucratic view of political elites associated, which argues that appointed officials dominate the
government?
a. Karl Marx
b. C. Wright Mills
c. Max Weber
d. David B. Truman
ANSWER: c
Copyright Cengage Learning. Powered by Cognero. Page 6
,Name: Class: Date:
Ch01 The Study of American Government
32. In Samuel P. Huntington’s view, which of the following examples illustrates an event in which morally impassioned
elites made significant changes?
a. the Framers developing the party system
b. the party bosses in smoke-filled rooms
c. the progressive reformers of the early twentieth century
d. legislative reorganization during the 1940s
ANSWER: c
33. Which type of politics has distributed benefits and costs?
a. majoritarian politics
b. interest group politics
c. client politics
d. entrepreneurial politics
ANSWER: a
34. Policies aimed at lessening income inequality and addressing the disproportionate power held by individuals with
wealth are based on which theory of power?
a. the power elite view
b. the bureaucratic view
c. the creedal passion view
d. the class view
ANSWER: d
35. Which theory of power is illustrated when policies like the Affordable Care Act delegate decisions, such as whether
birth control should be covered in all insurance plans, to executive agencies like Health and Human Services?
a. the power elite view
b. the bureaucratic view
c. the creedal passion view
d. the class view
ANSWER: b
36. The civil rights movement of the mid-twentieth century is an example of which theory of power?
a. the power elite view
b. the bureaucratic view
c. the creedal passion view
d. the class view
ANSWER: c
Copyright Cengage Learning. Powered by Cognero. Page 7
, Name: Class: Date:
Ch01 The Study of American Government
37. Which type of politics has distributed benefits and concentrated costs?
a. majoritarian politics
b. interest group politics
c. pork-barrel politics
d. entrepreneurial politics
ANSWER: d
38. Which type of legislation provides tangible benefits to constituents in several states or districts in hopes of winning
their votes in the future?
a. log-rolling legislation
b. pork-barrel legislation
c. commemorative legislation
d. majoritarian legislation
ANSWER: b
39. An estate tax that imposes a tax on inherited money in excess of $4.49 million is an example of which type of policy?
a. majoritarian policy
b. interest group policy
c. entrepreneurial policy
d. moralistic policy
ANSWER: c
40. What method is used by members of Congress to build a winning coalition for their policies?
a. log-rolling
b. back-scratching
c. structured rules
d. cloture
ANSWER: a
41. Which term is used to describe activists inside or outside of the government who pull together political majorities on
behalf of unorganized interests?
a. progressives
b. agitators
c. policy entrepreneurs
d. political action committees
ANSWER: c
Copyright Cengage Learning. Powered by Cognero. Page 8
