1: American Government: Roots, Context, and Culture

Question 1

Why did the earliest European settlers come to Virginia?

Answer 1

for economic gain

Question 2

Which was founded as a Catholic colony?

Answer 2

Maryland

Question 3

Which of the following accurately describes the indigenous peoples who lived in the United States prior to the arrival of the first colonists?

Answer 3

They had varied political systems.

Question 4

Which of the following best describes Pennsylvania settlers?

Answer 4

a diverse lot of persecuted Europeans

Question 5

Which of the following is the source of power in the American system?

Answer 5

the people

Question 6

Which document entitles people in the United States to a trial by jury?

Answer 6

the Bill of Rights

Question 7

Which of the following is an example of how the government ensures domestic tranquility?

Answer 7

police departments

Question 8

Which of the following is an example of how the government promotes the general welfare?

Answer 8

health care

Question 9

What is the relationship between a democracy and a republic?

Answer 9

A republic is a type of democracy that relies on elected representatives.

Question 10

What is the fastest growing racial or ethnic group in the United States?

Answer 10

Asian Americans

Question 11

Which of the following is true about the views much of the South holds about government in the United States?

Answer 11

Power should be returned to the states.

Question 12

Early colonial settlers mostly considered themselves to be ______.

Answer 12

Christian

Question 13

Where is the Republican Party most likely to have support?

Answer 13

Rural areas

Question 14

Since World War II, the size of American families has declined considerably. The major factors to explain this decline are?

Answer 14

ageing American population and declining marriage rates

Question 15

Which is often defined as the study of who gets what, when, and how?

Answer 15

politics

Question 16

Which of the following is the ideal of a happy and successful life?

Answer 16

the American dream

Question 17

Why do many Americans fail to credit the government for things it does well?

Answer 17

Many Americans lack faith in U.S. political institutions.

Question 18

Which best describes government in the first 150 years of the history of the U.S.?

Answer 18

Federal government’s responsibilities were small; states’ government responsibilities were powerful.

Question 19

Which of the following best describes the U.S. political system as envisioned by the Framers?

Answer 19

republic

Question 20

What is the second most common ethnic or racial group in the United States?

Answer 20

Hispanics

Question 21

Which of the following policies are younger voters more likely to support than older voters?

Answer 21

new schools

Question 22

Which of the following is true about American families today as compared to the 1950s?

Answer 22

Americans are having fewer children.

Question 23

Which of the following is true about how the national government has changed over the course of our nation’s history?

Answer 23

It has taken on more responsibilities.

Question 24

Which of these factors contributes to citizens feeling far removed from the national government and their elected representatives?

Answer 24

population growth

Question 25

How have changes in the composition of the family affected American government?

Answer 25

They have changed the kinds of demands people place on their government.

Question 26

Which of the following is a negative consequence of Americans’ lack of faith in their political institutions?

Answer 26

Americans blame the government for society’s woes.

Question 27

Why were many Americans uncomfortable with the term “democracy” when the Constitution was being written?

Answer 27

It conjured up images of mob rule.

Question 28

How did the Puritans’ settlement in Massachusetts differ from those of the previous colonists?

Answer 28

The Puritans viewed their settlement as an example of righteousness dictated by religious principles.

Question 29

According to the textbook, which of the following is a key function of government as set forth by the Framers in the Constitution?

Answer 29

promoting the general welfare

Question 30

Which best describes the way that freedom and personal liberty has changed since the founding of the United States?

Answer 30

The concept of freedom is now a freedom to rather than a freedom from.

Question 31

Why are American families smaller today than they were at the founding?

Answer 31

the advent of birth control and a decline in the need to have children to work for the survival of the family

Question 32

William Penn launched the so-called “holy experiment.” It emphasized _____.

Answer 32

attracting persecuted Europeans, including German Mennonites and Lutherans and French Huguenots

Question 33

In order to establish justice in the newly formed country, the Constitution authorizes Congress to _____.

Answer 33

establish a court system authorized to dispense justice based on the rule of law

Question 34

Seventeenth century political leader and thinker who supported religious liberty.

Answer 34

Anne Hutchinson

Question 35

The ship carrying Pilgrim settlers from England whose arrival in Massachusetts in 1620 is considered a founding moment for the nation.

Answer 35

Mayflower

Question 36

A system of government that gives power to the people, whether directly or through elected representatives.

Answer 36

democracy

Question 37

The study of who gets what, when, and how—or how policy decisions are made.

Answer 37

politics

Question 38

An American ideal of a happy, successful life, which often assumes wealth, a house, and a better life for one’s children.

Answer 38

American Dream

Question 39

The formal vehicle through which policies are made and affairs of state are conducted.

Answer 39

government

Question 40

A government rooted in the consent of the governed; a representative or indirect democracy.

Answer 40

republic

Question 41

Seventeenth century religious and political leader who was expelled by Puritans in Massachusetts and then established the colony of Providence Plantations that later became Rhode Island.

Answer 41

Roger Williams

Question 42

Quaker leader and supporter of religious tolerance who founded Pennsylvania.

Answer 42

William Penn

Question 43

Colonial-era politician who supported expanded voting rights.

Answer 43

Thomas Hooker

Question 44

A philosophical movement in eighteenth-century Europe; its adherents advocated liberty and tolerance of individual differences, decried religious and political abuses, and rejected the notion of an absolute monarch.

Answer 44

Enlightenment

Question 45

The forty-fifth president, a Republican, elected in 2016; first president elected without prior political or military experience; an experienced businessman.

Answer 45

Donald J. Trump