1) When citizens elect representatives who make decisions on their behalf instead of voting directly, this is a/an a) monarchy b) direct democracy c) indirect democracy d) dictatorship 2) In most dictatorships, power is ______. a) inherited b) granted through fair elections c) achieved through religious beliefs d) gained by force 3) Which side of the political spectrum is associated with Democrats? a) left b) right c) up d) down 4) The "Great Compromise" at the Philadelphia Convention is important because it... a) defined the structure of the Supreme Court. b) resulted in the Liberty Bell. c) resulted in the Articles of Confederation. d) defined the structure of Congress. 5) A government based on religion is a/an ______. a) theocracy b) dictatorship c) monarchy d) democracy 6) Who holds the soveriegn power in a democracy? a) the people b) elected officials c) the legislature d) the courts 7) The absence of government is known as ______. a) democracy b) monarchy c) anarchy d) theory 8) Why is the United States considered a two party system? a) There's a party before and after the election. b) Only 2 parties have a real chance at winning. c) Only 2 parties run ads on TV. d) Only 2 parties exist. 9) How many members make up the House of Representatives? a) 100 b) 50 c) 435 d) 338 10) Which side of the political spectrum is associated with Republicans? a) left b) right c) up d) down 11) The Bill of Rights... a) protects the rights for just women and children. b) prevents the government from charging us taxes. c) is part of the Declaration of Independence. d) protects the rights of individuals. 12) Which amendment bans unreasonable searches? a) 1st b) 2nd c) 4th d) 5th 13) Which of the following make up the legislative branch? a) Senate and House of Representatives b) Senate and Supreme Court c) House of Representatives and the President d) Supreme Court and the Federal Bureacracy 14) Which of the following is a difference between the House of Representatives and the Senate? a) # of seats and term lengths b) term limits c) political parties involved d) there are no differences 15) Which branch has the power of judicial review to check the power of the other two branches? a) Executive b) Legislative c) Judicial 16) A Senator would use a filibuster to... a) speed run a bill that is uber-important. b) limit the debate time of a certain member they dislike. c) delay the passage of a bill that is supported by a majority. d) demand an immediate vote. 17) Which amendment gives us freedom of speech, religion, and assembly? a) 1st b) 2nd c) 3rd d) 10th 18) The practice of drawing electoral districts to favor one political party over another is called... a) bicameralism b) liberalism c) implied power d) gerrymandering 19) What tax is withheld from employee paychecks? a) Freedom tax b) Income tax c) Customs tax d) Shared tax 20) If there is an Electoral College tie, what happens? a) The entire election is redone. b) The winner of the popular vote takes the presidency. c) The House of Representatives breaks the tie. d) The Senate Majority Leader picks. 21) Which amendment provides us due process, the right to private property, and the right to not testify against yourself? a) 12th b) 19th c) 2nd d) 5th 22) How many representatives does Michigan send to the House? a) 13 b) 14 c) 15 d) 16 23) Voting precinct locations and voting times are determined by... a) Congress. b) state governments. c) schools. d) the Supreme Court. 24) Which court case resulted in desegration? a) Brown v Board of Education b) Marbury v Madison c) Roe v Wade d) Texas v Johnson 25) What are the two types of courts? a) Circuit and district b) Trial and appellate c) Federal and state d) Local and state 26) Which is true about the House Rules Committee? a) They decide for how long a bill will be debated. b) They are in charge of food for the delegates. c) It is usually dominated by the minority party. d) It is run by the President. 27) If the president and vice president are both killed, who takes over leadership? a) Secretary of State then Attorney General b) Speaker of the House then President pro tempore of the Senate c) Secretary of Defense and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court d) Speaker of the House then Senate Majority Leader 28) Which branch has the power to impeach to check the power of the other two branches? a) Executive b) Legislative c) Judicial 29) Which amendment says you must be 18 and a citizen to vote? a) 6th b) 14th c) 19th d) 26th 30) The idea that power is shared between the federal and state governments is known as ______. a) federalism b) gerrymandering c) Constitution d) checks and balances 31) Which court case resulted in suspects being informed of the rights upon arrest? a) Marbury v Madison b) Texas v Johnson c) Miranda v Arizona d) Roe v Wade 32) Federal judges are appointed to a life term unless they die, resign or are impeached. a) True b) False 33) Which amendment gives us the right to bear arms? a) 1st b) 2nd c) 4th d) 5th 34) How many votes are needed to win the electoral college? a) 100 b) 538 c) 435 d) 270 35) Congressional powers that are not stated in the Constitution but can be reasonable deduced from the ones that are stated are called... a) explicit powers. b) applied powers. c) implied powers. d) duh moments. 36) How can Congress prevent a president from becoming too powerful? a) It can override a veto with a 2/3 vote. b) It can veto executive agreements. c) It can declare presidential actions as unconstitutional. d) It can decline a president's re-election. 37) Who nominates a justice to the Supreme Court when someone retires? a) Congress b) The people c) The Chief Justice on the court d) The President 38) Which court case established judicial review? a) Marbury v Madison b) Miranda v Arizona c) Texas v Johnson d) Brown v Board of Education 39) Which amendment guarantees you a speedy trial and the right to a lawyer (even if you can't afford one)? a) 5th b) 6th c) 8th d) 19th 40) ___________ is the official redistribution of representation in a ruling body, such as Congress. a) Gerrymandering b) Politics c) Reapportionment d) Federalism 41) What does the Senate Majority leader do? a) Hoots and hollers when debates go wrong b) Bangs the gavel to keep debate in check c) Serves as a direct advisor to the Supreme Court d) Serves as the spokesperson for the majority party 42) Literacy tests and poll taxes were enacted mostly to... a) stop immigrants from voting. b) prevent African Americans from voting. c) encourage people to learn to read. d) eliminate corruption in elections. 43) How many electoral college votes does Michigan have? a) 13 b) 14 c) 15 d) 16 44) Why do some people disgaree with the electoral college system? a) It discourages true candidates from running. b) The winner of the popular vote gets the job anyhow. c) The number of votes is too arbitrary. d) The winner of the popular vote might not become president. 45) Which of the following is true about off-year and midterm elections? a) There's usually a higher voter turnout. b) There's usually lower voter turnout. c) Congress leads all the polls. d) The media usually does not cover them. 46) Which of the following people would be qualified to be President of the United States? a) Alandra is 54 years old, born in Paris, France, to French parents and received her U.S. citizenship 14 years ago. She has lived in New York for 5 years. b) Bernard is 29 years old born in Seattle, Washington. He has American parents and has lived in the U.S. his whole life. c) Gwen is 32 years old and was born to American parents in Tokyo, Japan. She has lived in the U.S. for 12 years. d) Matthew is 43 years old and born in Houston, Texas. He has Mexican parents and has lived in the U.S. for his entire life. 47) What is the role of the Department of Defense? a) Runs Social Security and Medicare b) Responsible for the U.S. armed forces c) Operates embassies throughout the world d) Combats terrorism 48) What is the role of the Department of State? a) Runs Social Security and Medicare b) Responsible for the U.S. armed forces c) Operates embassies throughout the world d) Combats terrorism 49) What is the role of the Department of Homeland Security? a) Runs Social Security and Medicare b) Responsible for the U.S. armed forces c) Operates embassies throughout the world d) Combats terrorism 50) What is the role of the Department of Health and Human Services? a) Runs Social Security and Medicare b) Responsible for the U.S. armed forces c) Operates embassies throughout the world d) Combats terrorism 51) What is a democracy? a) Rule by people b) Rule by king c) Rule by few d) Rule by one 52) Who wrote the U.S. Constitution? a) Thomas Jefferson b) James Madison c) George Washington d) John Adams 53) What is the main role of Congress? a) Interpret laws b) Enforce laws c) Make laws d) Veto laws 54) What is the Bill of Rights? a) First 10 amendments b) Declaration of Independence c) Preamble d) Articles of Confederation 55) What is the purpose of taxes? a) Fund government b) Reduce inflation c) Increase savings d) Control population 56) Who can veto a bill? a) President b) Senate c) Supreme Court d) House Speaker 57) What is a republic? a) Rule by representatives b) Rule by monarch c) Rule by military d) Rule by elite 58) What is the Electoral College? a) Elects President b) Elects Congress c) Elects Governors d) Elects Mayors 59) What is federalism? a) Shared power b) Centralized power c) Local power d) No government 60) Who collects federal taxes? a) IRS b) FBI c) CIA d) NSA

High School Government Quiz

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