Civics Trivia Questions for Students

Two related cases that focused on the right to privacy for all American citizens were

• AGriswold v. Connecticut and Roe v. Wade.
• BThornhill v. Alabama and Cox v. New Hampshire
• CNear v. Minnesota and New York Times v. Sullivan
• DTexas v. Johnson and Morse v. Frederick

Which of the following statements about voting populations is most accurate?

• AAffluent individuals are less likely to vote than impoverished individuals.
• BAn individual with a graduate degree is more likely to vote than an individual who has only a high school diploma.
• CIndividuals are less likely to vote in a closely contested race.
• DVoters are more likely to vote at age 18 than they are at age 65.

Which of the following is true of congressional redistricting?

• AIt occurs every 10 years to reflect changes in population according to the census.
• BThe responsibility for redrawing congressional districts belongs to congressional committees.
• CIt is a noncontroversial process because it has few political ramifications.
• DThe Supreme Court has ruled that legislators may not consider racial demographics when redrawing districts.

Which of the following is not a special position held by a member of Congress?

• ACongressional Management Foundation Chair
• BSpeaker of the House
• CMinority Whip
• DPresident pro tempore

Federal judges are subject to which of the following disciplinary actions?

• AImpeachment, conviction, and removal from office by Congress
• BRemoval from office by the appointing president
• CRecall elections by citizens residing in the district over which the judge has jurisdiction
• DRemoval from office by the president-elect

A writ of certiorari from the Supreme Court indicates that the Court

• Ahas rendered a decision on a case
• Bhas decided not to hear an appeal
• Cwill review a lower court decision
• Dwill recess until the end of the calendar year

The term "budget deficit" refers to the

• Aamount of interest on the national debt
• Bannual increase in federal spending on the military
• Cdifference between the initial budget proposals made by the president and Congress
• Damount the government spends in excess of its revenues

Which of the following is true of appellate courts?

• AAppellate judges review decisions of lower courts.
• BAppellate trials are usually jury trials.
• CAppellate judges usually decide the facts of a case.
• DAppellate judges never use the stare decisis principle.

An inherent power of the president is the power to

• Aveto a bill passed by the U.S. Congress
• Bnegotiate a treaty with another country
• Cappoint a nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court
• Ddeclare a state of emergency following a natural disaster

Which of the following is the primary purpose of "motor voter" laws?

• ATo establish voter identification laws
• BTo increase turnout on election days
• CTo make it easier for citizens to register to vote
• DTo require that all voters know how to drive

Which of the following generally results when the Senate and House of Representatives pass different versions of the same bill?

• AThe bill goes back to each house's committee and restarts the legislative process.
• BThe president signs the version he prefers.
• CThe two legislative bodies form a conference committee.
• DAll amendments to the bill are invalidated, and the original version of the bill is sent to the president to sign.

Each of the two main political parties of the United States is organized

• Aas a single party with a presence at the national level only
• Binto a federal structure in which state and local parties have no power
• Cas a relatively independent organization that exists at all levels of government
• Din a top-down fashion, so that instructions are dispersed from the national level to the state and local levels

Under the Articles of Confederation, the national government had the power to

• Aenforce its laws
• Bcollect taxes
• Cestablish a federal judiciary
• Dnegotiate treaties

Which of the following is true of the House Committee on Ways and Means?

• AIts primary role is to appropriate spending for infrastructure projects.
• BIt is the primary author of congressional banking reform legislation.
• CIts jurisdiction includes the tax system.
• DIt allocates funding for canals and waterways.

The boundary lines of congressional districts must be redrawn every 10 years to

• Aguarantee the turnover of the majority of congressional seats
• Bdetermine which party's leader will be named Speaker of the House
• Creflect population shifts indicated by the national census
• Dmake sure each state's congressional delegation exactly mirrors its residents' party affiliations

The term "iron triangle" refers to the interrelationship of the

• Apresident, Congress, and the Supreme Court
• Belectorate, Congress, and political action committees
• Cfederal bureaucracy, congressional committees, and lobbyists
• Dlocal, state, and federal governments

The No Child Left Behind Act, which established educational standards that states must meet to receive federal educational funding, is an example of which of the following?

• AA federal mandate
• BAffirmative action
• CA constitutional amendment
• DTort reform

The Constitution, as originally ratified, addressed all of the following weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation EXCEPT the

• Anational government's inability to levy taxes effectively
• Bomission of a universal suffrage clause
• Cabsence of a central authority to regulate interstate trade
• Dlack of a chief executive office

The Commerce Clause of the Constitution has been used to

• Aincrease the power of the national government
• Bveto legislative bills of attainder
• Cmaintain the navy
• Drelease detainees from prison following unlawful arrest

Which of the following is a significant difference between the Senate and the House of Representatives?

• AOnly the House has the power to issue subpoenas.
• BOnly the Senate may introduce revenue bills.
• CStates are equally represented in the House, while representation in the Senate is proportional to population.
• DThe Senate allows unlimited debate, while the House does not.

All of the following can be considered true about the impact of a higher level of education on voting habits EXCEPT

• Avoters are less likely to support restrictions on abortion rights
• Bvoters are more likely to support public prayer in schools
• Cvoters are more likely to support government-enforced affirmative action programs
• Dvoters are more likely to support environmental protection efforts

Which of the following is a direct result of an electoral system that features single-member districts?

• AEach political party tends to focus its campaign on a single issue.
• BNational campaigns can be conducted without incurring great expense.
• COnly two major parties can successfully be supported.
• DThird parties can be as successful as the two major political parties can.

Which committee in the House of Representatives determines the procedure by which bills are debated and amended?

• AWays and Means
• BJudiciary
• CRules
• DEthics

The swift adoption of the Bill of Rights in the years following ratification of the Constitution demonstrates the

• AFramers' unqualified commitment to individual rights
• BNorthern states' support for abolitionism
• Csmall states' determination to receive equal representation in the legislature
• Dstates' fears of an overpowerful national government

Given the structure of the electoral college system, presidential candidates tend to

• Acampaign extensively in states that heavily favor one party over the other
• Bavoid battleground states and focus their campaigns on "safe" states
• Ccampaign more heavily in states with large populations
• Dspend more television advertising money in the Plains States

The relative stability of American public policy is achieved largely through

• Athe constitutional fragmentation of power
• Bjudicial activism
• Caffirmative action programs
• Dcooperation between the two major political parties

The right of American citizens to petition the government for a redress of grievances is protected under the

• AEighth Amendment
• BThird Amendment
• CFirst Amendment
• DSecond Amendment

Politicians and political reporters are natural adversaries; the adversarial nature of their relationship, however, is tempered by the fact that

• Avery few media outlets will cover a story that is embarrassing to a political leader
• Beach group is dependent on the other to perform its job effectively
• Cyounger politicians who are more comfortable with the media are gradually displacing older politicians
• Dgovernment regulations on interaction between the two groups are very strict

In the majority of cases, federal programs are implemented by

• Astate and local governments, by means of federal funding
• Bthe federal courts, by means of criminal prosecutions
• CCongress, through the local offices of its elected representatives
• Dprivate businesses working as subcontractors to the government

The absence of a political party solely dedicated to labor and working class issues in the United States

• Ademonstrates that, in the United States, most political issues regarding workers have been decided in the workers' favor
• Bis the result of government restrictions placed on the political activities of labor unions
• Cproves U.S. politicians are not concerned about serving working-class constituencies
• Dreflects the difficulty of unifying a party around a single issue in a "winner-take-all" format

Which of the following is LEAST likely to explain low voter turnout for an election?

• ALow levels of political efficacy among registered voters
• BThe frequency with which state and local elections occur
• CThe preclearance provision of the Voting Rights Act
• DRegulations that require voters to show identification

Which of the following cases established the precedent that a defendant must be informed of the right to remain silent, the right to a lawyer, and protection from self-incrimination?

• AWeeks v. United States
• BMiranda v. Arizona
• CBetts v. Brady
• DMapp v. Ohio

The attorney general is the head of which of the following entities?

• AThe Department of Justice
• BThe Department of State
• CThe Judge Advocate General's Corps
• DThe Senate Judiciary Committee

All of the following statements about Congress are true EXCEPT:

• AOnly Congress can pass laws.
• BCongressional power over the bureaucracy is less than that of the president.
• CCongress can override a presidential veto if two-thirds of the House and Senate agree to do so.
• DA proposed amendment must be approved by two-thirds of the delegates in both houses of Congress.

The Framers of the Constitution sought to insulate the Senate from public opinion by

• Arestricting Senate membership to those who previously served in the House of Representatives
• Bdelegating the responsibility for electing senators to the state legislatures
• Cempowering the Senate to provide advice and consent to the executive branch
• Drequiring all spending bills to originate in the House of Representatives

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 has had which of the following effects?

• AVoting participation for racial minority voters has increased.
• BVoters must now pass literacy tests before voting.
• CStates have been prohibited from establishing voter identification requirements.
• DThe voting age was lowered from 21 to 18.

The Supreme Court has used the practice of selective incorporation to

• Aextend voting rights to racial minorities and women
• Blimit the number of appeals filed by defendants in state courts
• Capply most Bill of Rights protections to state law
• Dhasten the integration of public schools

An example of a categorical grant would be

• Amoney loaned by the federal government to cities to fund school maintenance
• Bmoney given by the federal government to states without conditions
• Cmoney given by the federal government to states to fund Head Start early education programs
• Dmoney loaned by the federal government to a private company to prevent it from failing

Federalism is a principle of government in which

• Aindividual liberties are guaranteed by a Bill of Rights
• Blegislative, executive, and judicial powers are separated
• Cstates have equal representation in the national government
• Dpower is shared between the national government and state governments

Congress has attempted to protect independent regulatory agencies from political influence by requiring that each agency

• Areapply for funding at the end of each fiscal year
• Bplan policy cooperatively with the appropriate congressional committees
• Cbe led by a group of commissioners representing both major political parties
• Dsubmit all planned policy changes to the president for approval

Interest groups are barred from taking part in which of the following activities?

• AStaging protests and boycotts
• BGiving tangible gifts to lawmakers
• CSending lawmakers to educational seminars
• DProviding research to government officials

All of the following are specifically mentioned in the Constitution EXCEPT

• Arules of impeachment
• Bthe State of the Union address
• Cjudicial review
• Dthe national census

The idea that the Bill of Rights applies to both federal and state governments by means of the Fourteenth Amendment is called

• Astrict constructionism
• Bhabeas corpus
• Cthe doctrine of incorporation
• Dmandamus

Which of the following is true of the Supreme Court?

• AThe court helps set the public agenda by deciding which appeals to hear.
• BEvery case appealed to the Supreme Court is ruled upon by the court.
• CThe court hears all cases when two or more justices agree that the case has merit.
• DIn deciding cases, the chief justice's vote counts as two votes.

In "Federalist No. 10," James Madison argues that a federal system of government reduces the danger of political factions by

• Arequiring equal representation of all factions within the government
• Brestricting factional political activity to the state level only
• Cmaking it difficult for one faction to gain the power necessary to govern
• Dcreating insurmountable obstacles to the founding of factions

Which of the following best states an argument made by James Madison in The Federalist number 10?

• AFree elections are the people's best defense against factionalism.
• BFactions are more likely to occur in large republics than in small ones.
• CThe negative effects of factionalism can be reduced by a republican government.
• DHonest politicians can prevent factions from developing.

The media play a major role in establishing the public agenda by

• Areviewing the accuracy of candidates' campaign advertisements
• Brefusing to publicize the opinions of any pundit deemed "too political"
• Creporting political news from foreign nations
• Ddeciding how prominently to cover issue-related news stories

Voters who rely exclusively on television network news coverage of national elections are most likely to be aware of

• Acandidates' positions on domestic issues
• Bcandidates' positions on international issues
• Cthe relative strength of each candidate's support, as indicated by public opinion polls
• Dwhich special interest groups have endorsed which candidates

Which of the following statements about voting patterns is NOT true?

• ALow-income Americans are more likely to vote Democratic than are upper-income Americans.
• BNon-whites are more likely to vote Democratic than are whites.
• CWomen are more likely to vote Democratic than are men.
• DEvangelical Christians are more likely to vote Democratic than are non-religious Americans.

A "motion for cloture" is used to

• Aamend an appropriations bill in the House
• Bend a filibuster and force a vote on a bill in the Senate
• Coverride a presidential veto in the House
• Dsend a bill back to the House