Practice Quiz

AP Government / Civics / FSOT Questions - Question List

Select how would you like to study

Study Mode Free Daily Question Test Mode
41.

We have a constitutional system that so fragments and divides power that it's impossible to give this country effective, long-run leadership . . . . The system has led to an inability to plan and get on top of problems ahead of time. Even at best, this country has always been twenty to sixty years behind other industrial democracies in dealing with tough problems.

-James MacGregor Burns, 1988

Which aspect of United States government might Burns cite to support his argument?

  1. The use of the electoral college in presidential elections
  2. The President's power as commander in chief
  3. The division of policy-making power among national, state, and local governments
  4. The role of political parties in congressional decision making
See answer
42.

We have a constitutional system that so fragments and divides power that it's impossible to give this country effective, long-run leadership . . . . The system has led to an inability to plan and get on top of problems ahead of time. Even at best, this country has always been twenty to sixty years behind other industrial democracies in dealing with tough problems.

-James MacGregor Burns, 1988

Parliamentary systems might not show the same fragmentation that Burns finds in the American system because in parliamentary systems

  1. more real power is given to local governments
  2. power is not divided among three branches of government
  3. governments do not try to play an active role in the economy
  4. political parties do not differ over important issues
See answer
43.

On May 17, 1954, in Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court ruled that laws mandating racially segregated public school systems were unconstitutional. The Supreme Court later argued that federal courts should take steps to bring about the integration of segregated school systems "with all deliberate speed." In 1957, Governor Orval Faubus of Arkansas called on the National Guard to turn away nine African American students as they attempted to enter Central High School in Little Rock. President Eisenhower, who did not support the Brown decision, called out federal troops to protect the rights of the African American students to attend the school.

President Eisenhower called out federal troops because he:

  1. had a long career in the military
  2. believed that the governor needed his assistance
  3. was required by the Constitution to enforce the rule of law
  4. wanted to show that the federal government would protect the rights of protesters
See answer
44.

On May 17, 1954, in Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court ruled that laws mandating racially segregated public school systems were unconstitutional. The Supreme Court later argued that federal courts should take steps to bring about the integration of segregated school systems "with all deliberate speed." In 1957, Governor Orval Faubus of Arkansas called on the National Guard to turn away nine African American students as they attempted to enter Central High School in Little Rock. President Eisenhower, who did not support the Brown decision, called out federal troops to protect the rights of the African American students to attend the school.

The events described in the passage suggest that early attempts at school integration:

  1. led to a power struggle between state governments and the federal government
  2. were opposed by many in the South but were widely popular in other parts of the country
  3. proceeded without incident after the Little Rock standoff
  4. were supported by elected officials but opposed by the courts
See answer
45. In the area of United States foreign policy, Congress shares power with the
  1. President
  2. Supreme Court
  3. state governments
  4. United Nations
See answer

Select how would you like to study

Study Mode Free Daily Question Test Mode