Deck 13: The Presidency

Question 1

An executive order is

A) a rule or regulation issued unilaterally by the president that has the status of a law.
B) an emergency decree that is law only for the duration of a crisis or pending congressional approval.
C) a demand to Congress that it vote on a particular piece of legislation.
D) any act of the executive branch that does not have to be made public.
E) a decree issued by the president that requires the federal courts to hear a particular case regarding the Constitution.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The office of the presidency was established by Article ________ of the Constitution.

A) I
B) II
C) III
D) IV
E) V

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The rise of national conventions to nominate the president led to the empowerment of ________.

A) Congress
B) state party leaders
C) the voters
D) the candidates
E) interest groups

Answer 3

B

Question 4

What did the framers mean to accomplish by indirect election of the president?

A) to make a more independent and powerful chief executive
B) to bind the president to the will of the people
C) to make the president responsible to state and national legislatures
D) to create an imperial presidency to counter the power of Congress
E) to increase the strength and influence of political parties

Question 5

Richard Nixon claimed ________ when he refused to turn over secret White House tapes to congressional investigators.

A) presidential immunity
B) expressed powers
C) executive privilege
D) delegated authority
E) the Fifth Amendment

Question 6

The president's delegated powers come from ________.

A) the Constitution
B) Congress
C) the states
D) the president's party
E) the Supreme Court

Question 7

In order to get around the need for Senate approval of treaties, many contemporary presidents have made use of ________ in foreign affairs.

A) diplomacy
B) international protocols
C) executive immunity
D) executive agreements
E) bypass agreements

Question 8

In United States v. Nixon (1974), the Supreme Court justices

A) impeached Nixon.
B) allowed Nixon to withhold secret tapes from Congress.
C) required Nixon to turn over secret tapes to Congress.
D) reinstated the independent prosecutor fired by Nixon.
E) ruled that Nixon must resign from office in order to avoid criminal charges.

Question 9

The rise of the national convention was important because it

A) placed the power of selecting presidential candidates entirely in the hands of federal judges.
B) placed the power of selecting presidential candidates entirely in the hands of congressional leaders.
C) gave the presidency a mass popular base that would eventually support and demand increased presidential power.
D) took away the presidency's mass popular base and made the president a much weaker political actor.
E) eliminated the need for a presidential candidate to win the support of his party.

Question 10

________ powers are specifically established by the language of the Constitution.

A) Expressed
B) Delegated
C) Implied
D) Suspected
E) Inherent

Question 11

In the early 1800s, the system of nominating presidential candidates that left the candidates beholden to their parties' leaders in Congress was called ________.

A) the King Caucus
B) party primaries
C) congressional nominations
D) presidential gerrymandering
E) the spoils system

Question 12

What is required for Congress to override a presidential veto?

A) a majority of both houses of Congress
B) two-thirds of both houses of Congress
C) three-fourths of both houses of Congress
D) a unanimous vote of both houses of Congress
E) cannot be overridden unless it concerns the budget, in which case it requires a three-fourths vote of both houses

Question 13

The Executive Office of the President was created during the administration of ________.

A) Abraham Lincoln
B) Theodore Roosevelt
C) Woodrow Wilson
D) Franklin Roosevelt
E) Harry Truman

Question 14

When the president infers powers from the "rights, duties, and obligations" of the presidency, these are called ________ powers.

A) delegated
B) necessary and proper
C) inherent
D) war
E) expressed

Question 15

The president's expressed powers include all of the following categories EXCEPT ________.

A) military
B) partisan
C) judicial
D) diplomatic
E) executive

Question 16

Dwight Eisenhower used ________in 1957 to send troops to Little Rock, Arkansas, to help desegregate Central High School.

A) the national guard
B) presidential emergency power
C) the War Powers Act
D) expressed powers
E) the elastic clause

Question 17

Executive agreements differ from formal treaties in that they

A) have been ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court.
B) must be approved by the U.S. Supreme Court but not by Congress.
C) do not have to be approved by the Senate.
D) do not have to be approved by the House.
E) are generally formulated at meetings of the United Nations.

Question 18

Which of the following attributes did the framers intend for the office of the president to possess?

A) popularity
B) energy
C) extensive flexibility
D) unrestrained power
E) high level of formal education

Question 19

The turning point in American politics toward a president-centered government came about during the administration of ________.

A) Andrew Jackson
B) Abraham Lincoln
C) Franklin Roosevelt
D) Dwight Eisenhower
E) Lyndon Johnson

Question 20

The State of the Union address is

A) required by a law passed by Congress in 1802 and renewed ever since.
B) requested by the president, and comity demands that his or her request is always accepted.
C) based on tradition but was discontinued during the Great Depression and World War II.
D) mandated by the Constitution.
E) requested by the media and nearly always agreed to by the president and Congress.

Question 21

Congress's tendency in recent years to give executive agencies fewer clear guidelines for implementing laws is the result of

A) the greater scope and complexity of the tasks that American government has undertaken.
B) the reduced scope and complexity of the tasks that American government has undertaken.
C) frequent requests made by state governments to transfer more power to the executive branch.
D) numerous initiatives passed by voters that require less legislative specificity.
E) a series of Supreme Court decisions that ruled executive mandates were unconstitutional.

Question 22

Which of the following statements about Congress and the executive branch is most accurate?

A) The Constitution explicitly prohibits Congress from providing specific guidelines to executive agencies for implementing laws.
B) Starting around the time of the New Deal, Congress has tended to draft legislation that offers very specific guidelines for implementation by the executive.
C) Congress has never given executive agencies broad mandates and has always drafted legislation that offers very specific guidelines for implementation by the executive.
D) Starting around the time of the New Deal, Congress has tended to give executive agencies broad mandates and to draft legislation that offers few clear guidelines for implementation by the executive.
E) Throughout all of American history, Congress has tended to give executive agencies broad mandates and to draft legislation that offers few clear guidelines for implementation by the executive.

Question 23

Which of the following is NOT an expressed power of the president under Article II of the U.S. Constitution?

A) to serve as commander in chief of the armed forces
B) to declare war
C) to grant pardons for federal crimes
D) to faithfully execute the laws
E) the power to veto legislation

Question 24

Which executive agency has the least discretion, as a result of very detailed congressional legislation?

A) the Consumer Product Safety Commission
B) the Environmental Protection Agency
C) the Internal Revenue Service
D) the Department of Homeland Security
E) the White House staff

Question 25

Which of the following statements about the presidential veto is most accurate?

A) Presidents have used the veto only twice in American history.
B) Use of the veto has remained constant across presidential administrations, and vetoes are frequently overridden.
C) Use of the veto varies considerably across presidential administrations, and vetoes are seldom overridden.
D) The line item veto and pocket vetoes are theoretical and never used.
E) Use of the veto has remained constant across presidential administrations, and vetoes are seldom overridden.

Question 26

The Environmental Protection Agency

A) was created by President Richard Nixon's executive order in 1970.
B) was created in pursuance of congressional legislation designed to improve air and water quality in the United States.
C) is responsible for establishing and enforcing air and water quality standards.
D) is an agency of the executive bureaucracy.
E) all of the above

Question 27

Which of the following statements is true?

A) Public administrators have a great deal of discretion in the modern world.
B) In the modern era, political power has shifted away from the presidency and to Congress.
C) In the modern era, political power has shifted away from Congress and to the presidency.
D) both a and c
E) The Supreme Court is more powerful than Congress and the presidency.

Question 28

Why is the president's State of the Union address important?

A) It is often the only time that members of Congress get to question the president directly.
B) It is an opportunity for the president to set the legislative agenda by initiating proposals and directing public attention to the president's goals.
C) It is an opportunity for the president to highlight the positive actions of the previous year.
D) It is the only time the president is constitutionally allowed to address Congress.
E) It determines the exact budget for the upcoming year.

Question 29

The president's power to set the debate concerning public policy in Congress is called a(n) ________.

A) executive mandate
B) executive privilege
C) legislative initiative
D) executive order
E) presidential prerogative

Question 30

The Environmental Protection Agency was created in 1970 directly by ________.

A) an executive order
B) congressional legislation
C) a treaty with Canada and Mexico
D) executive privilege
E) a Supreme Court decision

Question 31

Which of the following statements about presidential pardons is FALSE?

A) George Washington declared amnesty to all Americans who fought for the British during the War for Independence.
B) Andrew Johnson declared amnesty to all Confederate soldiers.
C) Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon for crimes he may have committed.
D) Jimmy Carter declared amnesty for all draft evaders during the Vietnam War.
E) The presidential power to grant pardons involves power over all individuals who may be threats to the security of the United States.

Question 32

The power to receive ambassadors is an example of ________.

A) an expressed power
B) a delegated power
C) executive privilege
D) an executive agreement
E) an executive order

Question 33

In undertaking the campaign against the Taliban in 2001, George W. Bush

A) sought and received a declaration of war from Congress.
B) sought but failed to receive a declaration of war from Congress.
C) sought and received congressional authorization for the bombing but not a declaration of war.
D) took action without approval from Congress.
E) launched military operations only after Congress passed a formal declaration of war that legally required the president to attack Afghanistan.

Question 34

When North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950,

A) Congress declared war before President Truman could formally request it.
B) President Truman asked for a declaration of war from Congress and received one.
C) President Truman asked for a declaration of war and was rebuffed by Congress.
D) President Truman sent American troops to Korea without asking for a declaration of war.
E) President Truman did not immediately send American troops to Korea because the Supreme Court justices ruled that it would be an unconstitutional use of presidential power.

Question 35

Which statement concerning executive agreements between the president and foreign nations is INCORRECT?

A) During the 1960s, Congress discovered that several presidents had made agreements with foreign nations without informing Congress.
B) The courts have held that executive agreements have the force of law.
C) Congress passed a law requiring the White House to provide a list of every executive agreement signed by the president.
D) Presidents have always fully complied with Congress's reporting requirement.
E) One way for presidents to avoid complying with Congress's reporting requirement is to call executive agreements alternative names, such as "national security memorandum."

Question 36

The ________ asserted that the president could send American troops into action abroad only in the event of a declaration of war or other statutory authorization by Congress, or if American troops were attacked or directly endangered.

A) War Powers Resolution of 1973
B) National Security Act of 1947
C) Neutrality Act of 1937
D) Boland Amendment of 1982
E) Arms Control Export Act of 1976

Question 37

Why was George Washington's reception of Edmond Genet as ambassador of France during the French Revolution so significant?

A) It demonstrated that the United States could use diplomacy to stay out of European conflicts.
B) It reflected the authority of the president to officially recognize specific regimes as the sovereign power of a nation when there is doubt as to who rules.
C) It was the first time any nation had recognized the United States as independent.
D) It prevented the economic embargo of American goods by the king of France.
E) It ensured that France would be America's ally in any foreign conflict.

Question 38

Federal executive agencies do each of the following in implementing legislation EXCEPT

A) follow specific guidelines and standards established by Congress.
B) interpret the intent of Congress.
C) promulgate rules based on the legislation.
D) seek advisory opinions from the federal courts as to the constitutionality of the rules.
E) issue orders to groups and individuals designed to impel conformity with the law.

Question 39

When Dwight Eisenhower sent federal troops into Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957, it demonstrated that the

A) president may make unilateral use of the emergency powers to protect states against domestic disorder.
B) president requires the federal court's approval before using troops in domestic disturbances.
C) use of the president's emergency powers against domestic disorder necessitates a request by the governor of the state in question.
D) president needs congressional authorization to use troops in both domestic and international situations.
E) president can only use troops in domestic situations when the health and safety of children under the age of 18 is threatened.

Question 40

Which of the following has caused an increase in the president's delegated powers?

A) recent constitutional amendments broadening the president's powers
B) the increasing scope and complexity of legislation
C) the War Powers Resolution
D) the shift toward a more bipartisan political environment in Congress
E) a series of Supreme Court decisions that have reinterpreted Article II of the Constitution

Question 41

The goal of the War Powers Resolution was to

A) compel a congressional declaration of war for every large-scale military operation.
B) limit the ability of Congress to cut off funding for troops when the president sends them overseas without congressional approval.
C) limit the power of the president to commit American troops to military action without authorization from Congress.
D) end the Vietnam War.
E) give the president more freedom in determining when and where to deploy American military forces.

Question 42

The formal group of presidential foreign policy advisers, established in 1947, is called the ________.

A) State Department
B) National Security Council
C) Joint Chiefs of Staff
D) Council on Foreign Relations
E) War Council

Question 43

What is the primary constitutional task of the vice president, besides succeeding the president in case of death, resignation, or incapacitation?

A) to serve as Speaker of the House of Representatives
B) to cast tie-breaking votes in the Senate
C) to act as a chief admiral of the U.S. Navy
D) to represent the president overseas
E) to run the day-to-day operations of the Executive Office of the President

Question 44

Which one of the following presidents is considered "weak" by presidential historians?

A) Abraham Lincoln
B) Franklin Roosevelt
C) Ronald Reagan
D) Lyndon Johnson
E) James Buchanan

Question 45

________ was the first first lady to seek public office on her own.

A) Dolley Madison
B) Eleanor Roosevelt
C) Betty Ford
D) Hillary Clinton
E) Laura Bush

Question 46

Which of the following tactics did Franklin Roosevelt NOT use to forge a link between the executive office and the public?

A) going on speaking trips around the nation
B) fireside chats on the radio
C) holding biweekly press conferences with reporters
D) designating the first White House press secretary
E) running extensive national television advertising campaigns

Question 47

Which statement about the Cabinet is INCORRECT?

A) The Cabinet has no legal status under the Constitution.
B) The Cabinet does not make decisions collectively.
C) The Cabinet does not meet as a group, except during the State of the Union address.
D) The Senate must approve the president's choice of cabinet secretaries.
E) Cabinet members are not responsible to the Senate or Congress at large.

Question 48

An informal group of advisers to the president is often called the ________.

A) kitchen cabinet
B) plumbers
C) round table
D) colloquium
E) good ole boys (despite the fact that many women have entered these ranks)

Question 49

When members of Congress delegate power to the executive branch, it

A) substantially reduces the power of the federal government compared to state governments.
B) has no impact on the importance of the presidency at all.
C) violates the Constitution by violating the separation of powers.
D) substantially reduces the importance of the presidency.
E) substantially enhances the importance of the presidency.

Question 50

Presidential spouses are an important resource for the president in order to carry out the duty of ________.

A) head of government
B) head of state
C) commander in chief
D) legislative initiator
E) chief diplomat

Question 51

The main political value of the vice president is to

A) bring the president votes in the election from a group or region that would not otherwise be a likely source of support.
B) draw negative attention away from the president during times of crisis.
C) give the president an institutional link to Congress.
D) act as the political party's chief fund-raiser.
E) promote bipartisanship with members of the opposing political party.

Question 52

The president's group of advisers and analysts is collectively called the ________.

A) Cabinet
B) kitchen cabinet
C) White House staff
D) Executive Council of Advisers
E) Department of State

Question 53

After the president and vice president, which office is next in the line of succession?

A) Speaker of the House
B) Senate majority leader
C) chief justice of the Supreme Court
D) secretary of state
E) attorney general

Question 54

As a means of managing the gigantic executive branch, presidents have increasingly come to rely upon the ________.

A) Cabinet
B) Executive Office of the President
C) kitchen cabinet
D) White House staff
E) the Speaker of the House

Question 55

The Office of Management and Budget and the Council of Economic Advisers are both parts of the ________.

A) Cabinet
B) White House staff
C) Office of the Vice President
D) Executive Office of the President
E) Department of the Interior

Question 56

The National Security Council is composed of all of the following EXCEPT the ________.

A) vice president
B) Speaker of the House
C) secretary of defense
D) president
E) secretary of state

Question 57

The president has the power to appoint which of the following positions?

A) state governors who resign before their terms have expired
B) all state Supreme Court justices
C) cabinet secretaries
D) members of the House of Representatives who resign before their terms have expired
E) the Speaker of the House

Question 58

The Office of Management and Budget is important because

A) it has the power to veto any legislation passed by Congress that negatively impacts the federal budget.
B) the Constitution requires that the president receive its approval for every administrative rule change he or she proposes and for every tax increase he or she suggests.
C) it is granted the authority under the Constitution to pass the federal budget.
D) its personnel are an integral part of virtually every conceivable presidential responsibility, such as overseeing regulatory proposals, reporting on agency activities, and preparing the national budget.
E) its staff constantly analyzes the economy and economic trends in order to give the president the ability to anticipate events rather than react to them.

Question 59

The ________ is the informal designation for the heads of the major federal government departments.

A) White House staff
B) committee of staff
C) Presidential Advisory Committee
D) Cabinet
E) Executive Office of the President

Question 60

Which of the following statements is most accurate?

A) The War Powers Act has been fully observed by every president who has deployed the military overseas since Gerald Ford.
B) Recent presidents have refrained from asking Congress to declare war and have instead frequently deployed the military without congressional authorization.
C) Recent presidents have asked Congress to declare war many times and have never deployed the military without congressional authorization.
D) Congress passed the War Powers Resolution in order to give the president more control over the military.
E) As a result of the War Powers Resolution, Congress now has more control over the military than the president does.

Question 61

After the Civil War, why was it considered inappropriate for President Andrew Johnson to make a series of speeches seeking public support for his policies?

A) President Johnson traveled with his own press secretary, the first time a president had used public relations officials.
B) During the nineteenth century, it was perceived to be undignified for a president to campaign on his own behalf.
C) President Johnson did not speak to the general public but instead spoke only to handpicked audiences where he knew he would be favorably received.
D) President Johnson's speeches were delivered only in the former Confederate states and ignored the North, where he most needed support.
E) President Johnson's speeches were the first to encourage women and African Americans to become active in politics.

Question 62

In Youngstown Co. v. Sawyer (1952), the Supreme Court justices determined that

A) segregation in the public schools was unconstitutional.
B) in the emergency powers granted to the president, it is legal for them to take control of private industry under extreme circumstances.
C) the phrase "under God" could be legally added to the Pledge of Allegiance.
D) President Truman could not nationalize the steel mills in America.
E) none of the above

Question 63

Which of the following derives its greatest source of influence from the support of civil society?

A) the president
B) Congress
C) the judiciary
D) the bureaucracy
E) state governments

Question 64

What is the general tendency of a president's popularity?

A) Presidents usually begin with moderate ratings that move drastically up or down, depending on their success.
B) Presidents usually start out popular and decline over the next four years.
C) Presidents usually maintain the public approval ratings they had when entering office, unless there is an economic recession or international crisis.
D) Presidents usually begin very unpopular and increase their popularity significantly as their terms in office continue.
E) No pattern has been discerned in presidential approval ratings.

Question 65

Which of the following statements about signing statements is FALSE?

A) Presidents have made signing statements throughout American history.
B) Ronald Reagan's attorney general, Edwin Meese, is credited with transforming the signing statement into a routine tool of presidential direct action.
C) George W. Bush issued more than 150 signing statements during his time in office.
D) Ever since Thomas Jefferson's presidency, all presidential signing statements have been recorded and added to the official legislative record.
E) Recent presidents have used signing statements in an attempt to negate congressional actions to which they objected.

Question 66

When are the president's partisan ties most important?

A) in winning support from public opinion
B) in raising campaign funds
C) in dealing with Congress on legislative matters
D) in making executive appointments
E) in negotiating treaties and executive agreements

Question 67

Which statement concerning the White House Communications Office is INCORRECT?

A) It was an innovation by Bill Clinton.
B) It has become an important institution within the Executive Office of the President.
C) It allows the president to avoid giving information to the public.
D) It is designed to deflect criticism of the president.
E) It develops and implements a coordinated communications strategy.

Question 68

What happened when President Harry Truman seized control of industry during the Korean War?

A) His action was upheld by the Supreme Court justices as a constitutional exercise of war powers.
B) Congress passed a bill shortly afterward that retroactively approved the steel mill seizures.
C) The Supreme Court justices declared that his actions were without basis in law or the Constitution.
D) The steel mills quickly capitulated to Truman's wartime demands, and the issue passed without further resolution.
E) Congress immediately passed a bill that legally prohibited the president from seizing the mills, and President Truman quickly rescinded his executive order.

Question 69

The technique of popular mobilization dates back to the ________ presidency.

A) Thomas Jefferson's
B) Ulysses Grant's
C) Theodore Roosevelt's
D) Franklin Roosevelt's
E) Ronald Reagan's

Question 70

Which of the following statements about signing statements is most accurate?

A) The Constitution requires that the president explain his or her interpretation of every law he or she signs by issuing a signing statement.
B) Although signing statements were commonly used prior to 1900, no modern president has issued them when signing a piece of legislation into law.
C) Signing statements never instruct executive agencies whether to implement sections of a new law and never interpret ambiguous provisions of the law.
D) While presidents have made signing statements throughout American history, they have only recently been recorded and made part of the official legislative record.
E) Signing statements were invented during the Reagan administration as a way for the president to circumvent the federal court system.

Question 71

Which of the following actions was NOT the result of an executive order?

A) the Louisiana Purchase
B) the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II
C) U.S. entrance into the United Nations
D) the annexation of Texas
E) the desegregation of the military

Question 72

According to separation of powers expert Louis Fisher, the powers of Congress have declined dramatically in which of the following areas?

A) national defense and the federal budget
B) the federal budget and intelligence management
C) law enforcement and oversight
D) national defense and environmental protection
E) health care and education

Question 73

A signing statement is a(n)

A) announcement the president makes about his or her interpretation of a congressional enactment he or she is signing into law.
B) announcement made by a presidential candidate when formally accepting his or her party's nomination.
C) announcement made by the president and the leader of a foreign country immediately following an executive agreement.
D) announcement the president is required to make any time he or she issues an executive order.
E) decree issued by Congress that demands the president sign a congressional enactment into law immediately.

Question 74

________ occurs when the president directs administrative agencies to promulgate specific rules and regulations.

A) Regulatory review
B) Administrative oversight
C) Delegation
D) An executive agreement
E) A mandate

Question 75

The expansion of the Executive Office of the President, the development of regulatory review, and the use of executive orders have been important because they

A) are deeply unpopular with the public and have led to the declining trust in American government.
B) make it very difficult for challengers to defeat incumbent presidents in elections.
C) have given presidents substantial capacity to achieve significant policy results despite congressional opposition to their legislative agendas.
D) have dramatically limited the power of the president and made it easier for Congress to dominate the American political system.
E) have rendered the judiciary essentially irrelevant in the American political system.

Question 76

According to political scientist Terry Moe, why does Congress suffer from a collective action problem in the face of presidential power?

A) Individual members of Congress are more concerned with the substantive impact of presidential action on their constituents rather than the general implications of presidential powers.
B) The House and the Senate must work in tandem but constantly find any unity impossible.
C) The Constitution gives the president the ability to resist any congressional oversight not supported by two-thirds of its members.
D) Members of Congress are often uninformed about the actions of the president.
E) The size and diversity of Congress make cooperation difficult.

Question 77

During the nineteenth century, ________ was America's dominant institution of government.

A) the presidency
B) the Supreme Court
C) the executive bureaucracy
D) Congress
E) the kitchen cabinet

Question 78

President ________ began the era of greater presidential control over the budgetary process.

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

Question 79

The last time Congress exercised its constitutional power to declare war was during ________.

A) World War II
B) the Korean War
C) the Vietnam War
D) the Afghanistan War
E) the Iraq War

Question 80

The framers of the Constitution believed that Congress's greatest prerogative would be its ________.

A) war powers
B) power of the purse
C) oversight of the other two branches
D) impeachment powers
E) power of advice and consent