Chapter 1 Self-Check Quiz
This quiz tests recall and basic application of the chapter's key concepts. Answer all questions before checking the answer key. Multiple-choice questions have one best answer; in cases where two answers are partially defensible, the answer key explains why the marked answer is preferred.
Multiple-Choice Questions
1. According to the Annenberg Public Policy Center's 2024 Constitution Day survey, approximately what percentage of Americans could correctly name all three branches of the federal government?
A. 28 percent B. 47 percent C. 65 percent D. 91 percent
2. The U.S. federal government's total spending in fiscal year 2024 was approximately:
A. $1.6 trillion B. $4.2 trillion C. $6.8 trillion D. $12.4 trillion
3. Which of the following is a function the chapter identifies as one of the six broad functions of American government?
A. Setting religious doctrine B. Operating private newspapers C. Resolving disputes through the court system D. Determining individual career choices
4. The U.S. Senate filibuster, as currently practiced, requires how many votes to invoke cloture and end debate on most legislation?
A. 51 B. 60 C. 67 D. 75
5. Citizens United v. FEC (2010) primarily addressed which of the following constitutional questions?
A. Whether states could ban corporate contributions to candidates B. Whether the federal government could limit independent campaign expenditures by corporations and unions on First Amendment grounds C. Whether the Federal Election Commission had jurisdiction over state elections D. Whether non-citizens could donate to federal campaigns
6. Approximately how many U.S. Representatives are there in the House?
A. 100 B. 270 C. 435 D. 538
7. Which of the following best describes the chapter's framing of "balance"?
A. Splitting the difference equally between left and right on every question B. Refusing to discuss any politically charged topic C. Steel-manning both sides on contested values questions while following the evidence on empirical questions D. Excluding policy debates from textbook discussion entirely
8. Approximately how many people work for U.S. governments at all levels (federal, state, and local) combined?
A. About 5 million B. About 12 million C. About 22 million D. About 45 million
9. Which of the following is one of the four "anchor examples" the chapter identifies as a recurring case across the textbook?
A. The 1968 Democratic National Convention B. The 2024 presidential election C. The Watergate scandal D. The Cuban Missile Crisis
10. The chapter argues that the primary educational benefit of the Democracy Audit comes from:
A. Selecting the most competitive congressional district in the country B. Following one specific congressional district consistently across all 40 chapters C. Memorizing the names of every member of Congress D. Predicting election outcomes correctly
11. Which of the following statements best matches the chapter's treatment of gerrymandering?
A. Only Republicans engage in gerrymandering. B. Only Democrats engage in gerrymandering. C. Both parties have produced extreme partisan maps; the empirical claim that gerrymandering reduces electoral competition is not contested among political scientists. D. Modern gerrymandering has had no measurable effect on electoral competition.
12. Approximately how many elected officials are there at all levels of American government combined (federal, state, and local)?
A. About 1,000 B. About 50,000 C. About 520,000 D. About 2 million
Short-Answer Questions
13. The chapter argues that the American political system "was designed for disagreement." In 75–100 words, explain what the Founders meant by this design choice and identify two specific constitutional features that reflect it.
14. The chapter pairs Hurricane Helene (2024) and the Afghanistan withdrawal (2021) as illustrations of "two mornings in America." In 75–100 words, explain what the pairing is intended to illustrate about American government, and identify why the chapter chose one example that reads as "the system working" and one that reads as "the system failing."
15. In 75–100 words, distinguish between an empirical political claim and a normative political claim, using one example from the chapter. (Hint: see the discussion of gerrymandering and campaign finance.)
16. The chapter previews six recurring themes that will appear throughout the book. In 100–125 words, list the six themes and briefly explain how Theme 4 ("every political question has at least two honest sides") is connected to the textbook's commitment to ideological balance.
Answer Key
1. C — 65 percent. This was the highest figure in the survey's history, but it also means roughly one-third of Americans still could not name all three branches.
2. C — $6.8 trillion. The figure includes mandatory spending (Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid), discretionary spending (defense, all other federal agencies), and net interest on the debt.
3. C — Resolving disputes through the court system. The six functions identified in the chapter are: delivering services, making rules, resolving disputes, providing for common defense, redistributing, and employing people. A and B are not government functions in the U.S. constitutional system; D mischaracterizes what governments do.
4. B — 60. The cloture threshold has been 60 votes since 1975 (it was previously 67). Cloture is a procedural mechanism nowhere mentioned in the Constitution; the chapter notes that the Founders designed for deliberation but did not design for the modern filibuster.
5. B. The Court ruled 5–4 that the First Amendment prohibits the federal government from limiting independent expenditures by corporations and unions for political communications. Justice Kennedy wrote for the majority; Justice Stevens dissented.
6. C — 435. This number has been fixed by federal statute since 1929 (the Permanent Apportionment Act). Reapportionment redistributes the 435 seats among states every ten years following the decennial Census.
7. C. The Balance Guide articulates this as Rules 1 and 2: steel-man both sides on values questions, follow the evidence on empirical questions. Answers A, B, and D all describe what balance is not.
8. C — about 22 million. Approximately 2.3 million federal civilian, 5.4 million state, and 14.4 million local employees, plus 1.3 million active-duty military.
9. B — the 2024 presidential election. The four anchor examples are: the reader's own congressional district, the legislative history of the Affordable Care Act, Citizens United v. FEC, and the 2024 presidential election.
10. B. The chapter explicitly notes that the educational benefit comes from continuity, not from picking "the right" district. Following one district across 40 chapters lets you apply each chapter's tools to the same case, which deepens the analysis cumulatively.
11. C. The empirical finding (gerrymandering reduces electoral competition) is not contested among political scientists; both parties have produced extreme maps when given the opportunity. The chapter's footnotes cite cases involving Republican maps in NC, OH, WI, and Democratic maps in MD, IL, and (briefly) NY.
12. C — about 520,000. 545 federal elected officials (435 voting House + 100 Senate + 8 non-voting House + President + Vice President) plus roughly 519,000 state and local elected officials.
13. Sample answer: The Founders, especially James Madison in Federalist No. 10, believed that factions and disagreement were inevitable in any free society. Rather than design a government that suppressed disagreement, they designed one that required compromise. Two specific features that reflect this design choice: (a) the separation of powers across three branches, with mutual checks (legislative, executive, judicial) that force inter-branch negotiation; and (b) bicameralism in Congress — a House of Representatives based on population and a Senate based on equal state representation, requiring agreement across two differently constituted chambers. The result is a system that is intentionally hard to move quickly.
14. Sample answer: The pairing is intended to illustrate that American government is not uniformly "working" or "failing" — it produces both kinds of outcomes, sometimes in close temporal proximity. Hurricane Helene (2024) shows the federal government's capacity for rapid, coordinated, multi-agency response that delivered substantial aid quickly. The Afghanistan withdrawal (2021) shows the same federal government failing on planning, intelligence assessment, and inter-agency coordination at a strategic level. The chapter pairs them deliberately because partisan media tends to cherry-pick examples — one side's coverage emphasizes failures, the other side's coverage emphasizes successes. Honest analysis requires acknowledging both.
15. Sample answer: An empirical claim is one that can be settled by evidence — for example, "modern gerrymandering reduces electoral competition" is empirical; political scientists can measure how many districts are decided by less than 10 percentage points before and after maps change, and the data shows reduced competition. A normative claim is one about what should be done — for example, "therefore, gerrymandering is wrong and should be prohibited by federal law" is normative, because it depends on values judgments about democracy, federalism, and the appropriate level of government to address the problem. The chapter argues that empirical claims should be stated clearly when the evidence is settled, but normative conclusions should be presented with the strongest version of each side's argument.
16. Sample answer: The six themes are: (1) the American system was designed for disagreement; (2) there is a gap between how government is supposed to work and how it actually works; (3) power flows to those who show up; (4) every political question has at least two honest sides; (5) data beats anecdote in understanding politics; and (6) institutions shape behavior. Theme 4 is the most direct connection to the textbook's commitment to balance: it asserts that on contested values questions, both sides typically include serious thinkers making serious arguments. Steel-manning both sides — the Balance Guide's Rule 1 — is the methodology that puts this theme into practice. The chapter is careful to note that "two honest sides" does not mean every empirical claim is contested; on settled empirical questions, the data does the work.