Multiple-Choice Questions.
To assess your knowledge and skills in government and politics answer these sample multiple-choice questions. Here are some knowledge and scenario questions. The correct answers will appear below the questions.
1. The phrase “all men are created equal and endowed by the creator with certain inalienable rights” can be found in which of the following documents?
(A) Constitution of 1787
(B) Bill of Rights
(C) Declaration of Independence
(D) Articles of Confederation
2. Which of the following is an accurate description of the “advice and consent” power in the Constitution?
(A) Is the Senate’s power to determine to convict or acquit impeached officials.
(B) Advice and consent Is the Supreme Court’s power to accept a case.
(C) The power refers to the lawmaking process; one house advises, the other consents.
(D) This power grants the Senate the power to recommend presidential appointments and to confirm or reject the same.
3. State law enforcement, or the state police, have discovered an accused criminal fugitive has departed their state and is hiding in an adjacent state. With the cooperation of the adjacent state’s police team, an arrest is made and the criminal defendant is returned to the original state for trial. Which of the following constitutional concepts allows for this process between governments?
(A) Full faith and credit
(B) Extradition
(C) Advice and consent
(D) Due process
The following multiple-choice questions are based on the provided excerpt from the Supreme Court Case United States v. Lopez (1995). Read the excerpt from the ruling and answer the multiple questions.
We do not doubt that Congress has authority under the Commerce Clause to regulate numerous commercial activities that substantially affect interstate commerce and also affect the educational process. That authority, though broad, does not include the authority to regulate each and every aspect of local school.” Majority Opinion, Chief Justice Rehnquist, United States v. Alfonso Lopez (1995)
4. In writing our “dual system of government” Chief Justice Rehnquist is referring to which constitutional principle?
A. Checks and balances
B. Bicameralism
C. Federalism
D. Separation of powers
5. What is the significance of the decision United States v. Alfonso Lopez (1995)?
A. The Supreme Court expanded the power of the federal government in the successful invocation of the Commerce Clause.
B. State governments could challenge federal government behavior using the Commerce Clause
C. Second Amendment protections were reaffirmed by the Supreme Court.
D. The Supreme Court limited the power of the federal government under the Commerce Clause.
6. Which of the following is most similar to the ruling in United States v. Alfonso Lopez?
A. Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
B. Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States (1964)
C. United States. v. Morrison (2000)
D. Wickard v. Filburn (1942)
Impeachments, Charges, and Outcome
First 100 Years of the Republic
| Year | Official | Charge | Senate Vote* | Outcome |
| 1797 | Senator Blount | Conspiring with Britain | Senate dismissed trial | No Conviction |
| 1803 | Judge Pickering | Intoxication, unlawful handling of claims | 19 to 7 | Convicted and Removed |
| 1804 | Justice Chase | Arbitrary and oppressive conduct of trials | 16 to 18 | Acquitted |
| 1830 | Judge Peck | Arbitrary use of contempt power | 21 to 22 | Acquitted
|
| 1862 | Judge Humphries | Joining Confederacy and waging war against U.S. | 37 to 0 | Convicted and Removed |
| 1868 | President Johnson | Removing Cabinet officials unlawfully | 19 to 35 | Acquitted |
| 1876 | Judge Belknap | Bribery | 25 to 35 | Resigned, Acquitted |
* The first number listed in the vote represents votes for conviction.
7. Which of the following statements best describes these impeachments?
(A) Impeachments of presidents occurred regularly in this period.
(B) Most impeachments were against judges.
(C) The Senate impeached seven officials.
(D) In all these cases, the impeached official was ousted from position.
8. Which of the following can one accurately conclude based on the information in the chart?
(A) No impeachments have occurred since 1876.
(B) When the House impeaches, the Senate usually convicts.
(C) Impeachment was common because Federalists faced off with Anti-Federalists.
(D) Impeachment and removal were rare occurrences in the nation’s first century.
Occupations of Delegates to Confederation Congress, 1777—1779
| Merchants | Lawyers | Professionals | Office-holders(1) | Land owners(2) | Planters(3) | |
| Number | 8 | 17 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 8 |
| Percent | 17 | 35 | 19 | 8 | 4 | 17 |
Source: James Henderson,
- office holder in state government
- non slave-owning farmers and landowners
- slave-owning farmers
9. Which of the following can you conclude from the information in the table?
(A) Southern plantation owners had the greatest influence in the Confederation Congress.
(B) The largest occupational group in the Confederation Congress was lawyers
(C) Statesmen back then could not hold office in both the state and federal government.
(D) The merchant delegates kept the taxes and custom duties low.
10. Which type of democracy is most reflected by the information in the table?
(A) direct democracy
(B) participatory democracy
(C) elite democracy
(D) proportional democracy
The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year . . . No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen. . . . The House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment . . .
The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote . . . No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen . . . The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments.
—Article I, Sections 2 and 3 of the U.S. Constitution
11. Which statement reflects the Framers intent with the passage above?
(A) The Framers wanted the Senate to be the upper house, more mature and experienced members.
(B) The Framers thought only older people could effectively govern.
(C) The Framers felt only natural born citizens should serve as representatives of the people.
(D) The Framers wanted Congress to be the most powerful branch.
12. Which amendment altered some provision in the above passage?
(A) First Amendment
(B) Tenth Amendment
(C) Seventeenth Amendment
(D) Twenty-seventh Amendment
13. Which constitutional concept is most reflected with the passage above?
(A) bicameralism
(B) checks and balances
(C) Federalism
(D) Full Faith and credit