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Test Time:
5:00pm-8:00pm----NO tests distributed after 7:00 pm
THREE of the
questions listed for each exam will appear on that examination. If your
question requests a “brief explanation,” you need to compose a
short paragraph (at least three cogent sentences) that describe and explain
the most important aspect or element of the topic. It is better to write a
little more than a little less.
Exam 1
- Briefly describe the Virginia Plan and the New
Jersey Plan. How were they combined by the Constitutional convention
into the Great or Connecticut Compromise?
- Describe and explain the principles of
federalism and the separation of powers.
- Describe the significance of James Madison
regarding the Constitution and briefly describe the 20 th century historian
Charles Beard’s interpretation of the motivations of the writers
of the United State Constitution.
- What were the chief weaknesses of the Articles
of Confederation? Describe how the present U. S. Constitution resolved
these weaknesses.
- Describe the basic differences between a
unitary and a federal system of government. How does Article VI
supremacy clause relate to this description?
- Describe enumerated, implied, inherent,
concurrent powers and reserve powers. Describe the nature and
significance of the U. S. Supreme Court case of McCulloch v. Maryland.
- Define the term public opinion. Briefly
explain why public opinion was important to the presidencies of George
Bush Senior and Bill Clinton.
Exam 2
- Briefly describe the basic function of
political interest groups. Describe at least five techniques interest
groups use. List and briefly describe three interest groups.
- Describe the nature of political parties and
contrast their basic function with that of interest groups. Identify
three major functions that political parties perform for a democratic
society.
- Compare some of the typical characteristics
that we tend to associate with Democrats and Republicans. Briefly
compare the philosophies of the two major political parties.
- Describe some of the characteristics of a
“voter” and a “non-voter.” Discuss how five
different sociological factors influence how an individual may vote.
- Describe how the Electoral College operates.
What are some of the problems that can arise during the operations of
the Electoral College?
- List some of the arguments for and against
interest group reform. Explain the possible effects these reforms might
have on the politics process in the U.S.
Exam 3
- Discuss
the steps a bill must take in the House and in the Senate to become a
law. Be sure to discuss the role of standing committees in your
discussion...
- Briefly explain the following terms:
pork-barrel legislation; senatorial courtesy; filibuster; seniority
system.
- Describe the roles and positions of leadership
in the U.S. House and Senate.
- Discuss five roles of the president and give
at least one example of each.
- Briefly describe four of the following terms:
civilian supremacy; military-industrial complex; treaties; executive
agreements; executive privilege.
- Briefly describe four of the following terms:
public administration; iron triangle; Office of Management and Budget;
Hatch Act; ombudsman; whistle-blower.
- Briefly describe four of the following terms: globalization; cold
war; Monroe Doctrine; Marshall Plan; containment; 1973 War Powers
Resolution.
- Briefly describe four of the following terms:
Employment Act 1946; capitalism; laissez-faire; mixed or modified
economic system; Keynesian economics; fiscal policy; monetary policy.
Exam 4
Three questions from
all the potential essay questions for the three previous tests will appear on
the fourth test. Therefore, the following questions on section four are for
study purposes only.
1. Briefly describe four of the following:
a. English common law
b. Principle of stare decisis
c. Judicial review
d. Judicial activism
e. Judicial restraint
f. Roosevelt’s
court-packing plan
g. Strict, narrow or literal constructionists
h. Loose or broad constructionists
- What are the “clear and present
danger” and “bad tendency” tests? What issue is the
Court attempting to define and apply?
- Discuss the doctrine that the Supreme Court
has adopted in attempts to define obscenity.
- Briefly describe; First Amendment
establishment clause; First Amendment free exercise clause; Fourth
Amendment exclusionary rule; selective incorporation of the Bill of
Rights.
- What did the Supreme Court determine when it
decided the case of Roe v. Wade? How have federal legislation and
subsequent Supreme Court decisions impacted that decision? Identify the
legislation and the Court decision in your response.
- How did the Dred Scott Case, Plessy v. Ferguson, and Brown v. Board of Education ofTopeka affect the legal rights of
African Americans in the United
States?
- Compare and contrast the methods that were
used and/or advocated by the National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People (NAACP), Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian
Leadership Conference (SCLC), Stokely
Carmichael, and the Black Panthers to achieve what each group or
individual considered to be social and economic justice for African
Americans.
- Which argument is used to support affirmative
action laws? Which Supreme Court case was an attempt to define their
constitutionality? What did the Court determine in that case?
San
Antonio College |Political
Science| Alamo Community College District
San Antonio
College does not
discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex,
age, or disability with respect to access, employment programs, or services.
Inquiries or complaints concerning these matters should be brought to the
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Please email jalfaro@accd.edu for
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Updated 02-06-2007
Copyright 2007
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