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A detailed illustration depicting elements of California's political history, including the state capitol, diverse communities, and iconic symbols like the bear flag and the Golden Gate Bridge.

California Politics and History Quiz

Test your knowledge about California's political landscape and historical events through this engaging quiz. With 50 carefully crafted questions, you'll explore important topics ranging from political parties to public opinion.

Key Features:

50 multiple-choice questions
In-depth coverage of California's history and politics
Challenge yourself and track your learning progress

50 Questions12 MinutesCreated by EngagingLearn197

The oppressive mission system in California was officially disbanded by the Mexican government with the:

1833 Secularization Act

1824 Constitution

1841 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

1810 Grito de Dolores

An Issue Network, such as the one that stopped development of Jesse Morrow Mountains (aka Wahallish) off Hwy 180, differs from an Iron Triangle because it includes grass-roots interest and ordinary citizens.

False

True

A political party other than the two major political parties is known as a/an ________party:

Third

Irrelevant

Obsolete

Leftover

A voter or candidate that does not identify with a political party is called a/an:

Independent

Outcast

Non-vote

Foreign interest

Foreign interest The “public interest” reflects the best interest of the overall community, rather than the narrow interest of a particular group.

True

False

A social movement represents the demands of a large segment of the public for political economic, or social change

True

False

An individual who attempts to influence to the passage, defeat, or content of legislation and government’s administrative decisions is called a:

Lobbyist

Congressman

Spoiler

Communist

A situation in which one major political party controls the presidency and the other controls the Congress is known as:

The practice of rewarding faithful party workers and followers with government employment and contracts is called:

The typical role of third parties is to:

Be a spoiler for one of the major parties in the election

Propose new policy ideas and alternatives

Both a and b

None of these, third parties aren’t relevant

A large-scale lasting change in the type of voters who support each of the major political parties which often results in changes in mahorities is called a partisan ________.

The past 20 years has seen an increase in the number of women who run for office, not only at the state level but for the US congress as well.

True

False

The regulatory agency tasked with enforcing federal election campaign laws is the:

Political Action Committee (PAC)

Federal Election Commission (FEC)

Securities and Exchange Commissions (SEC)

Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB)

The Supreme Court ruling that equated campaign spending with free speech rights was:

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Trump v. Cruz (2016)

Buckley v. Valeo (1976)

New York Times v. US (1971)

The best indication of a public opinion poll’s accuracy is:

A random sample of at least 1000

A margin of error of +/3%

Neutrally worded questions

All of these

The relatively small number of individuals who are interviewed for the purpose of estimating the opinions of an entire populations are known as:

Elites

Partisan ideologues

A random sample

Organized interest

Public opinion is the aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs shared by some portion of the adult population:

True

False

What is the difference between race and ethnicity?

Ethnicity is based on culture, race is based on genetics

Ethnicity is based on genetics, race is based on culture

There is no difference, they are used synonymously

One is tracked by the Census Bureau and the other is not

A brief, memorable comment that can easily fit into news broadcast is called a:

Gaffle

Sound bite

Reality show

An interpretation of political events that is favorable to a candidate or officer holder is called “spin.”

True

False

The process whereby people acquire their basic political beliefs and patterns of citizenship is known as:

Ideological cramming

Political socialization

Deprogramming

Political orientation

The California state legislature is comprised of a ____ and ____.

100 members Senate, 435 member House

40 member Senate, 100 members House

40 member Senate, 80 member Assembly

80 members Senate, 40 member Assembly

60 member Senate, 40 member Assembly

The financial wing of an interest group is called a PAC, which stands for:

Public activities commission

Political action committee

Public annuities corporation

Public access cable

The main goal of political parties is to:

Win elections

Represent coalitions of interests groups

Advance social policy agendas

Adhere to strict ideologies

Which group of voters has a higher level of political efficacy (interest and participation)?

Older Americans

Middle-aged people

Younger Americans

The poor

What is the main purpose of elections?

To fool people into thinking we have democracy

To choose the best and brightest people to hold office

To socialise people into the two main parties

Legitimacy and popular consent

The original inhabitants of California were comprised of:

Spanish missionaries and conquistadors

People from one of those Alabama-type places

People from the 135+ Indeigenous nations

German mercenaries known as “hassians”

Yankees

Politicians and campaign consultants prefer that voters make their voting decisions based on:

Cognition and rationality

Affect

Ignorance

Studying the issues

The rise of independent voting over the past 40 years has resulted in:

Voters who are ideologically moderate not having political party

More open primaries

Nonpartisan voters often deciding election outcomes

A weakening of the political parties, with both being taken over by ideological extremes

All of these

The process where the majority party becomes the minority party when key voting groups shifts from one party to the other over a series of elections is known as:

Moving

The motor voter law

Realignment

Regionality

The interest group with the largest membership in the US is the:

National Rifle Association (NRA)

American Automobile Association (AAA)

American Federation of Labor (AFL)

American Association of Retired People (AARP)

California Teachers Association (CTA)

The largest voting bloc in recent US election has been ________, which includes nearly 54% of all voters:

The non-Hispanic white population ceased to be the majority in 2000, making Califonia a majority-minority state.

True

False

The supreme court ruling that lifted virtually all bans on campaign spending made on behalf of candidates, including much of the 2002 McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Act was:

The practice of the Spanish when they invaded California was to establish:

Missions, with indigeniys slave labor

Presidios (military bases)

Publes (towns) near the missions and presidios

All of the above (a, b, and c)

None of these, they opened casinos

Differences between how women vote versus how men vote are known as the:

Which of the following is true about the California Supreme Court?

Justices serve 12-year terms

Once their teams are over the justices must be retained by the voters

Many justices retire or move on before the end of their terms

All of these

A plurality is when the number of votes cast for a candidate is greater than the amount of votes for any other candidate, not nor necessarily a majorty.

True

False

Ticket splitting is when voters choose candidates of different political parties for different offices, and can lead to divided government.

True

False

The “plural executive” branch in California refers to the notion that:

The governor and lieutenant governor share authority

The governor shares power with other elected official in the executive branch

The governor and his appointed officials share power

The legislature has more power than the governor

An Iron Triangle includes:

Political parties, the president, and the Supreme Court

Celebrities, politicians, and wealthy campaign donors

Lobbyists , legislative committees, and bureaucratic agencies

Campaign consultants, lobbyist, and PAC’s

Fraternities and sororities or other service organizations are considered to be_______ kinds of interest groups.

Solidary

Material

Purposive

None of these

Interest groups, political parties and social movement are illustrative of Madison’s “factions.”

True

False

Much of the social policy sanctioned by the Califonia state goverment in the late 19th Century was discriminatory towards Indigenous and nonpwhite immigrants from Asia and Lation America.

True

False

Since World War II, California’ economy has largely been based on:

Article 19 of the 1879 revisions to the state constitution institutionalized the “yellow peril” by outlawing the hiring of Chinese immigrants by corporation

True

False

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