Deck 15: Wartime Policymaking at Home

Question 1

What was the publicly stated aim of the Bush administration at the start of the 2001 war in Afghanistan?

A) to bring the 9/11 perpetrators to justice
B) to find weapons of mass destruction
C) to force regime change
D) to spread democracy

Answer 1

to bring the 9/11 perpetrators to justice

Question 2

Why might linking domestic policy to national security fail to work for all presidential administrations?

A) Presidents have never been successful using war as a tool to build coalitions with Congress.
B) As wars become more protracted and presidential power increases, public support for both the war and the president increases.
C) Wars often reduce inflationary pressures on the economy and slow economic growth.
D) The costs of war often impose budgetary restrictions on domestic policy initiatives.

Answer 2

The costs of war often impose budgetary restrictions on domestic policy initiatives.

Question 3

The Presidency: Office and Powers was written by __________.

A) Ross Baker
B) Arthur Schlesinger
C) Clinton Rossiter
D) Edward Corwin

Answer 3

Edward Corwin

Question 4

According to Corwin, during the Civil War, World War I, and World War II, presidential power was __________.

A) in rapid decline
B) constrained
C) at its apex
D) stagnant

Question 5

When did scholars do their most serious and sustained thinking about the relationship between war and presidential power?

A) immediately following the Civil War
B) right before the start of World War I
C) at the beginning of the twentieth century
D) in the mid-twentieth century

Question 6

Which situation best illustrates the principles of wartime jurisprudence?

A) The Supreme Court declined to hear a case regarding the suspension of habeas corpus.
B) Public support for Roosevelt immediately spiked following the Pearl Harbor attacks.
C) The United States was tried in the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes.
D) The Supreme Court relied on international law in ruling against a president's wartime actions.

Question 7

The effect of wartime jurisprudence on the way in which the courts evaluate presidential actions in times of war is that judicial standards __________.

A) become more relaxed
B) turn more ideological
C) become heightened
D) are completely ignored

Question 8

The term imperial presidency was first used during the __________ administration.

A) Woodrow Wilson
B) Franklin Roosevelt
C) Lyndon Johnson
D) Richard Nixon

Question 9

Which statement best characterizes presidential power under Schlesinger's analysis?

A) Each successive war adds more powers to those accrued by the president.
B) As conflicts become more acute, presidents lose power.
C) Presidents gain power during wars but lose it quickly afterward.
D) Presidents gain power in total wars but lose power in regional conflicts.

Question 10

The imperial presidency as described by Schlesinger is best illustrated by the actions of __________ during __________.

A) Nixon; the Vietnam War
B) Wilson; World War I
C) Roosevelt; World War II
D) Lincoln; the Civil War

Question 11

Which statement supports the argument that Corwin changed his thinking with respect to war and presidential power later in life?

A) He claimed that wars led to the creation of an imperial presidency virtually unchecked by other branches of government.
B) He argued that when wars occur, the president's powers swell out of proportion to his other powers.
C) He suggested that as presidents confront new crises, they benefit from the powers claimed during past ones.
D) He asserted that the courts employed a philosophy of wartime jurisprudence during times of international crisis.

Question 12

Clinton Rossiter argued that a state's ability to survive war was dependent on the three criteria of what he called a __________.

A) executive monarch
B) constitutional dictator
C) legislative dictatorship
D) military junta

Question 13

In regard to war and presidential power, Rossiter believed that presidential powers gained __________.

A) in one conflict are never applicable to a later conflict
B) during a conflict quickly faded once the conflict ended
C) as a result of war permeated other policy areas as well
D) from war also affected social policy but not economic policy

Question 14

In what way were the arguments of Corwin and Rossiter similar?

A) Both argued that wars lead to an expansion of presidential powers.
B) Both believed that presidential war powers affected other policy arenas.
C) Both suggested that war had only a marginal effect on presidential power.
D) Both agreed that presidential power during war was identical to that in times of peace.

Question 15

The actions of Harry Truman to save entire states from the ravages of storms, fires, and floods illustrate what core principle of Rossiter's analysis?

A) A president's wartime powers do not apply in times of international peace and prosperity.
B) The accrual of wartime presidential powers is diminished when presidents use those powers in other policy spheres.
C) It is the actions of Democratic presidents that have most significantly expanded the powers of the presidency.
D) The expansion of presidential power is not solely the result of the actions of great presidents in great wars.

Question 16

Wars cause a displacement of policy debates from the local to the national level because they __________.

A) create conditions under which Congress supplants all other political actors, and since Congress is national in nature, all debates become national
B) underscore the differences between Americans and thus make all policy debates national, rather than local, ones
C) bring the nation's health and security into stark relief and thereby encourage congressional members to prioritize national goals over local goals
D) always see the election of Democrats into office who as a matter of principle favor national issues over local issues

Question 17

On which principle did Corwin, Rossiter, and Schlesinger all agree?

A) The amount of power gained by a president during war depends on that conflict's severity, and thus over time the checks-and-balances system has been sustained.
B) Each successive war has added to an ever-growing pool of presidential powers that has effectively ended checks and balances.
C) Wars have catapulted presidents to the top of the federal government and out of the supposed three-way tie inherent in our system of checks and balances.
D) Every president has used powers gained from war to manipulate domestic policies and has effectively acted as a constitutional dictator.

Question 18

According to Howell and his colleagues, wars stimulate presidential power only when they __________.

A) nationalize debates about public policy
B) lead the president to act as a constitutional dictator
C) prompt the president to adopt the trappings of the imperial presidency
D) politicize domestic politics at the local level

Question 19

What is suggested by the research of Howell and his colleagues?

A) Local policy initiatives are a helpful way to understand the reach of presidential power during war.
B) The differences between proposed and enacted budgets provide a measure of presidential success that can be compared across policy domains.
C) The number of vetoes sustained by Congress during a time of war is key to assessing congressional support for the president.
D) Supporting statements issued by international organizations are an effective measure of presidential power during a time of war.

Question 20

How are appropriations a good measure of congressional support for a president during war?

A) Presidents cannot remain silent nor can congressional members abstain from comment on presidential proposals during the appropriations process.
B) The appropriations process is identical to the traditional legislative process and provides a strong reflection of partisan support for the president.
C) Because the appropriations process is exempt from presidential vetoes, it is a reasonable gauge of congressional support.
D) The appropriations process is completely within the purview of the legislative branch and clearly illustrates whether Congress supports or opposes presidential policy.

Question 21

In regard to appropriations during war, the study by Howell and colleagues revealed that federal appropriations __________.

A) went to local initiatives
B) declined dramatically
C) went to swing states
D) unsurprisingly increased

Question 22

In regard to the relationship between congressional voting and conditions of war and peace, Howell and colleagues found in their study that congressional approval rates for presidential budgets __________ during times of war and __________ when peace was restored.

A) fluctuated widely; consistently increased
B) remained constant; decreased
C) increased; decreased
D) decreased; remained constant

Question 23

Which statement best describes the findings of The Wartime President?

A) Presidents lose budgeting power to Congress during times of war and gain it when peace is restored.
B) Congressional appropriations during times of war look a lot more like what the president wants than during times of peace.
C) There is little substantive difference between the rate of congressional approval of presidential budgetary requests in times of war and that in times of peace.
D) Any budgetary power that presidents accrue during times of peace rapidly dissipates when a war begins.

Question 24

Howell and his colleagues had the greatest confidence in estimates associated with the 107^th Congress because the 9/11 terror attacks occurred __________.

A) midway through the session before Congress had cast any votes on the prior legislative agenda
B) midway through the session and the prior legislative agenda had nothing to do with the attacks
C) after the session and the legislative agenda was a mix of anti-terror and domestic policy initiatives
D) at the start of the session and dominated the entire legislative session

Question 25

Howell and his colleagues supplemented their analysis of presidential appropriations power by examining __________ during periods of both war and peace.

A) congressional voting records on a variety of policies
B) Supreme Court decisions on objections to presidential policies
C) public opinion polls on the president's policies
D) the content of editorial columns about the president

Question 26

To assess congressional voting trends in times of war and peace in an ideal research environment, Howell and his colleagues would have needed __________ immediately before and immediately after the outbreak of war, with all other factors constant.

A) identical members of Congress voting on identical bills
B) similar members of Congress voting on different bills
C) different members of Congress voting on similar bills
D) different members of Congress voting on identical bills

Question 27

By virtually all accounts, congressional voting behavior over time is __________.

A) incredibly erratic
B) notoriously uninformed
C) remarkably stable
D) consistently bipartisan

Question 28

According to __________, the best way to understand congressional voting is "once a liberal or moderate or conservative, always a liberal or moderate or conservative."

A) Clinton Rossiter
B) Edward Corwin
C) Arthur Schlesinger
D) Keith Poole

Question 29

If Schlesinger, Corwin, and Rossiter are right, what would you expect Congress to do in times of war?

A) reject every presidential budget proposal until peace is restored
B) shift their voting patterns in the general ideological direction of the president
C) ceremonially switch their political affiliation to match that of the president
D) shift their voting patterns in a direction ideologically opposite of the president

Question 30

The data from Howell and colleagues' research found __________.

A) broad support for the conclusion that a war always leads to an ideological shift in favor of the president's ideological leanings
B) no evidence that war had any effect on the ideological tendencies of congressional votes
C) limited evidence that congressional votes better reflected the president's ideological leanings during the Korean War
D) clear evidence that congressional votes were more ideological during the post-9/11 conflicts than in any other

Question 31

What seems to happen with respect to congressional voting patterns at the conclusion of a war?

A) They become erratic and unpredictable.
B) They mirror an increased sense of bipartisanship.
C) They reflect the president's ideological leanings.
D) They shift away from the policy preferences of the president.

Question 32

What was an empirical challenge researchers faced when trying to compare the congressional voting records of the 107^th Congress to estimated ideal points in World War II and the Korean War?

A) There were too few data points among the cases to compare.
B) They were unable to interview enough members of Congress.
C) They could not replicate the exact technique used in their study of the 107^th Congress.
D) They could not use statistical probabilities in the comparison.

Question 33

In the study of the 107^th Congress by Howell and colleagues, how did ideological movement in the House compare to ideological movement in the Senate?

A) Movement in the Senate was concentrated among Republicans while in the House both parties shifted to the left.
B) Movement in the House was concentrated among Republicans while in the Senate both parties shifted to the right.
C) Movement in the both houses was concentrated among Democrats and both parties shifted to the right.
D) Movement in the House was concentrated among Democrats who shifted left while in the Senate Republicans shifted to the right.

Question 34

Who wrote "[I]n the course of World War II, the Presidency of the United States became the most powerful and distinguished constitutional office the world has ever known."

A) Arthur Schlesinger
B) Clinton Rossiter
C) David Kennedy
D) Edward Corwin

Question 35

During his presidency, Franklin Roosevelt preferred to __________.

A) act, adjust when necessary, and then act again
B) act and then resist any changes to strategy
C) act quickly to gain power and then use it only selectively
D) act on his grand strategy and defer when Congress resisted

Question 36

Who set the precedent for FDR's forays into the domestic economy in a time of war?

A) Herbert Hoover
B) Woodrow Wilson
C) Abraham Lincoln
D) Andrew Jackson

Question 37

What was a consequence of Roosevelt's actions during World War II?

A) The legitimacy of the presidency was diminished in the public mind.
B) There was rapid increase in congressional resistance to presidential action.
C) The line between public and private spheres of life disappeared.
D) The balance of power between the executive and legislative branch was restored.

Question 38

A goal of the propaganda campaign begun by the Roosevelt administration during World War II was to __________.

A) convince citizens to endorse the emergency powers seized by the executive branch
B) call on citizens to dedicate themselves to the service of the larger public good
C) encourage men to volunteer for military service in the war with the Axis
D) separate in the minds of citizens their private activities from the war effort

Question 39

In what way were the actions of Roosevelt and Wilson in the exercise of war powers at home similar?

A) They both declared martial law and claimed the title of constitutional dictator.
B) They both exercised powers that were solely confined to those expressed under Article II of the Constitution.
C) They both relied on a battalion of wartime administrative agencies to realize their domestic agenda.
D) They both worked to keep their domestic policy agenda separate and distinct from any war policies.

Question 40

Which of the following would illustrate a blurring of the public and private spheres of life during war?

A) Roosevelt's propaganda campaign
B) Wilson's support for the draft
C) Nixon's endorsement of covert military actions
D) Lincoln's suspension of habeas corpus

Question 41

Which of the following illustrates an effect of World War II military spending on the domestic economy?

A) reduction in the standard of living
B) increase in the demand for consumer goods
C) stark reduction in the minimum wage
D) sharp reduction in the consumption patterns of citizens

Question 42

The presidential orders of Roosevelt during World War II had an incredibly negative effect on __________.

A) African Americans in the South
B) Latinos in the Southwest
C) German Americans in the Midwest
D) Japanese Americans on the West Coast

Question 43

How did World War II affect the status of African Americans in the United States?

A) It vastly improved their status.
B) It allowed for small advances.
C) It slowed progress on racial issues.
D) It reversed existing gains.

Question 44

How many landmark achievements were passed under the Johnson administration?

A) 10
B) 45
C) 60
D) 100

Question 45

In the mind of President Johnson what would showing weakness in Southeast Asia imperil?

A) New Deal programs
B) Civil Rights Act
C) Executive Order 8802
D) Great Experiment programs

Question 46

Which statement best supports the belief that there is a connection between wartime policymaking and domestic politics?

A) Johnson was more worried about how the war would be presented to the American public than about how it would be conducted.
B) Johnson made success in the war a critical condition of his Great Society programs.
C) Johnson chose to announce the escalation of the Vietnam War during a prime-time address.
D) Johnson fired General Earle Wheeler, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Question 47

Johnson understated his Vietnam War strategy in his July 28, 1965, press conference because he __________.

A) did not want to imperil his Great Society programs
B) did not have accurate information due to bureaucratic slack
C) did not want to threaten the Soviet Union
D) did not want to upset key Southern Democratic senators

Question 48

The __________ was the most wide-reaching antiterrorism bill passed by Congress in decades.

A) Immigration and Nationality Act
B) Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
C) USA PATRIOT Act
D) Electronic Communications Privacy Act

Question 49

The blending of domestic policy with war policy is best illustrated by congressional __________.

A) support for George Bush's immigration reform initiatives
B) resistance to Theodore Roosevelt's New Nationalism
C) support for Johnson's Great Society programs
D) resistance to Roosevelt's New Deal initiatives

Question 50

The recent spate of terror attacks will have the likely effect of __________.

A) diminishing citizen expectations of what the president can accomplish
B) mobilizing Congress to rebalance power between the branches of government
C) decreasing the amount of influence the United States exercises globally
D) increasing the leverage that war gives to a president in domestic policy

Question 51

What differentiates the arguments of Arthur Schlesinger from those of Edward Corwin and Clinton Rossitier?

Question 52

What did Rossiter mean when he maintained that a state's ability to survive a war depended on a constitutional dictator? Use examples from the text to support your claim.

Question 53

How does the recent scholarship of Howell and his colleagues contribute to our understanding of how wars augment presidential power?

Question 54

What do the data revealed in the research of Howell and his colleagues tell us about the voting patterns of Congress during war and presidential policy preferences?

Question 55

What is the permanence of war and how has it shaped presidential power? Use examples from the text to support your claim.