Deck 13: Law and Politics

Question 1

Which of the following best describes populism?

A) a form of government in which representatives are elected to govern and make laws
B) belief in the wisdom and equality of the people
C) belief in the wisdom of a select group that should rule over the many
D) a form of government based on pop culture

Answer 1

B
Explanation: The populist believes that the governed are not only the source of the legitimacy of government but are also (at least taken together) best able to rule. Elitists, by contrast, believe that only a small set of people are fit for rule. The elitists may still hold that even the small group of rulers can only have legitimacy if their rule is consented to by the masses.

Question 2

Which of the following is NOT one of Thoreau's criteria for civil disobedience?

A) Act publicly.
B) Accept the consequences of the act.
C) Act morally and nonviolently.
D) Obey all laws.

Answer 2

D
Explanation: The very essence of civil disobedience is breaking laws believed to be unjust. According to Thoreau, these laws must be broken in a nonviolent and public way. Further, the person breaking these laws must accept any consequences that ensue from doing this. The point is to draw attention to the injustice of the laws.

Question 3

Which of the following best describes the rule of law?

A) a condition in which government authority is exercised only in accordance with written laws
B) a condition in which government authority is exercised only insofar as the people approve of each such exercise
C) a condition in which the ruling classes can act as they want in any individual case
D) a condition in which the ruling classes can only act as international law permits

Answer 3

A
Explanation: The rule of law is one of the most important checks on the power of any government. The rule of law is respected only as long as government power is exercised in accordance with written laws that are publicly known. The rule of law prevents the arbitrary use of government power.

Question 4

Which of the following best describes civil disobedience?

A) active, nonviolent refusal to obey a law believed unjust
B) actively being rude to other citizens in order to make a moral point
C) working to increase the enforcement of civil rights
D) None of these answers is correct.

Question 5

Which of the following is a member of the judicial branch?

A) the police
B) the courts
C) the cabinet
D) the vice president

Question 6

Which of the following is a check on the power of the executive branch?

A) the ability of Congress to impeach the president
B) the restriction of the ability to declare war to Congress
C) the judicial branch's ability to limit or overturn executive branch decisions
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 7

Which of the following described life in the state of nature as "poor,nasty,brutish and short…a constant war of every man with every man"?

A) John Locke
B) David Bell
C) Thomas Hobbes
D) Plato

Question 8

Which of the following is the power of the judicial system to overturn laws it believes conflict with the Constitution?

A) judicial review
B) veto power
C) rules of evidence
D) checks and balances

Question 9

In a democracy,where does the authority of legitimate government come from?

A) the people
B) the government
C) registered voters
D) those who pay taxes

Question 10

Which of the following is the position that the government should place no restrictions on the actions of its citizens except that they not harm each other?

A) liberalism
B) libertarianism
C) direct democracy
D) communism

Question 11

Which of the following is true?

A) Judges may overrule the decisions of juries.
B) Judges may make laws.
C) Judges may overturn a law on the grounds that the law is not a good one.
D) None of these answers is correct.

Question 12

Which of the following is the set of legal precedents set by previous court decisions?

A) common law
B) referenda
C) rules of evidence
D) case briefs

Question 13

Which of the following is a member of the executive branch?

A) Congress
B) the Supreme Court
C) the Department of Education
D) None of these answers is correct.

Question 14

Which of the following best describes lobbying?

A) standing in the lobby of Congress
B) advocacy that seeks to influence government for someone's benefit
C) seeking restitution from harms suffered by unjust laws
D) asking other nations to pressure your own nation into fairly enforcing its laws and respecting the rights of its citizens

Question 15

Which of the following is a form of government in which the citizens make laws?

A) monarchy
B) parliamentary democracy
C) representative democracy
D) direct democracy

Question 16

Which of the following best describes the state of nature?

A) a condition in which people live without government
B) a condition in which government can only enforce laws approved by the people
C) a condition in which government is a part of the natural order
D) a state with strict environmental laws to protect nature

Question 17

Which of the following is a check on the power of the American government built into its Constitution?

A) The government is completely centralized.
B) The federal government is divided into three distinct branches with various powers over each other.
C) The president has the power to make laws directly.
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 18

Which of the following best describes a liberal democracy?

A) a monarchy
B) a democracy in which only Democrats are elected to office
C) a democracy in which the Democratic party holds the majority in Congress
D) a democracy that protects the liberties of the individual

Question 19

According to John Locke,what is the chief function of government?

A) to prevent a war of all against all
B) to force people to help each other
C) to protect the natural rights of its citizens
D) to ensure that all citizens are safe by forcing them to act morally

Question 20

Which of the following is a potential law proposed by citizens?

A) article
B) referenda
C) amendment
D) initiative

Question 21

The rule of men is an essential component of healthy democratic governance.

Question 22

The state of nature is an agreement among citizens to obey the laws of a selected government.

Question 23

Moral rules carry legally sanctioned punishments for their violation.

Question 24

Impeachment is the power of the Supreme Court to remove the president from office.

Question 25

A "tyranny of the majority" is a situation in which a majority of a population in a democracy imposes policies and laws that are detrimental to minority groups,treating them poorly or violating their rights.

Question 26

International laws are not created by the legislatures of individual countries.

Question 27

All laws are just.

Question 28

Sovereignty is the power of government to make and enforce laws.

Question 29

Ralph Waldo Emerson was imprisoned in 1846 for violating laws he believed to be unjust.

Question 30

Judges often are given lifetime appointments to their positions.

Question 31

Applying precedents is a form of inductive reasoning.

Question 32

Congress is a part of the judicial branch of government.

Question 33

Thoreau claims that civil disobedience should be preceded by attempts to change the law that stay within legal limits.

Question 34

The president has the ability to declare laws unconstitutional.

Question 35

The separation of powers is designed to make the judicial branch superior to the other two branches.

Question 36

Draft dodgers that fled the country during the Vietnam War draft followed all of Thoreau's criteria for civil disobedience.

Question 37

The legislative branch has the power to interpret laws.

Question 38

Tacit consent is consent given by living in and abiding by the laws of a country.

Question 39

Some laws have nothing to do with morality or justice.

Question 40

The vast majority of Americans vote.