Test your basic knowledge |

AP Government

Subjects : civics, ap
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. Government in which citizens vote on laws and select officials directly.






2. The idea that the rights of the nation are supreme over the rights of the individuals who make up the nation.






3. A system of public employment based on rewarding party loyalists and friends.






4. Remedial action designed to overcome the effects of discrimination against minorities and women.






5. Programs such as unemployment insurance - disability relief - or disability payments that provide benefits to all eligible citizens.






6. Police targeting of racial minorities as potential suspects of criminal activities.






7. Clause in the Constitution that states that 'Congress should have the power to make all laws necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers. . . .' This clause is also known as the elastic clause as is a major and significant p

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8. An official who is expected to represent the views of his or her constituents even when personally holding different views; one interpretation of the role of legislator.






9. The widely shared beliefs - values - and norms about how citizens relate to governments and to one another.






10. Rebellion led by Daniel Shays of farmers in western Massachusetts in 1786-1787 - protesting mortgage foreclosures. It highlighted the need for a strong national government just as the call for the Constitutional Convention went out.

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11. The inclination to focus on national issues - rather than local issues - in an election campaign. The impact of the national tide can be reduced by the nature of the candidates on the ballot who might have differentiated themselves from their party o






12. A legislative practice that assigns the chair of the committee or subcommittee to the member of the majority party with the longest continuous service on the committee.






13. A jury of 12 to 23 persons who - in private - hear evidence presented by the government to determine whether persons shall be required to stand trial. If the jury believes there is sufficient evidence that a crime was committed - it issues an indictm






14. Views the national government - 50 states - and thousands of local governments as competing with each other over ways to put together packages of services and taxes. Applies the analogy of the marketplace: we have some choice about which state and ci






15. Electoral system used in electing the president and vice president - in which voters vote for electors pledged to cast their ballots for particular party's candidates.






16. A decision made by a higher court such as a circuit court of appeals or the Supreme Court that is binding on all other federal courts.






17. Arrangement whereby public officials are hired to provide legal assistance to people accused of crimes who are unable to hire their own attorneys.






18. The power of a court to refuse to enforce a law or government regulation that in the opinion of the judges conflicts with the U.S. Constitution or - in a state court - the state constitution.






19. Incumbents have an advantage over challengers in election campaigns because voters are more familiar with them - and incumbents are more recognizable.






20. The current holder of the elected office.






21. A widely shared and consciously held view - like support for homeland security.






22. A law that defines crimes against the public order.






23. A commission created by the 1974 amendments to the Federal Election Campaign Act to administer election reform laws. It consists of six commissioners appointed by president and confirmed by the Senate. Its duties include overseeing disclosure of camp






24. The total amount of money the Federal government has borrowed to finance deficit spending over the years.






25. National Health Insurance program for the elderly and disabled.






26. An informal and subjective affiliation with a political party that most people acquire in childhood.






27. A meeting of local party members to choose party officials or candidates for public office and to decide the platform.






28. Government regulation of property so extensive that government is deemed to have taken the property by the power of eminent domain - for which it must compensate the property owners.






29. Government policy that attempts to manage the economy by controlling the money supply and thus interest rates.






30. The powers expressly given to Congress in the Constitution.






31. Promoting a particular position or an issue paid for by interest groups or individuals but not candidates. Much issue advocacy is often electioneering for or against a candidate - and until 2004 had not been subject to any regulation.






32. An election system in which each party running receives the proportion of legislative seats corresponding to its proportion of the vote.






33. Government by the people - both directly or indirectly - with free and frequent elections.






34. Segregation imposed by law.






35. Congress appropriates funds for a specific purpose - such as school lunches or for building airports and highways. These funds are allocated by formula and are subject to detailed federal conditions - often on a matching basis; that is - the local go






36. General tax on sales transactions - sometimes exempting food and drugs.






37. The powers of the national government in foreign affairs that the Supreme Court has declared do not depend on constitutional grants but rather grow out of the very existence of the national government.






38. A small political party that rises and falls with a charismatic candidate or - if composed of ideologies on the right or left - usually persists over time; also called a third party.






39. Trade status granted as part of an international trade policy that gives a nation the same favorable trade concessions and tariffs that the best trading partners receive.






40. Constitutional arrangement in which power is distributed between a central government and subdivisional governments - called states in the United States. The national and the subdivisional governments both exercise direct authority over individuals.






41. Financial contributions by individuals or groups in the hope of influencing the outcome of the election and subsequently influencing policy.






42. The right of women to vote.

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43. The assigning by Congress of congressional seats after each census. State legislatures reapportion state legislative districts.






44. The system created by Congress in 1913 to establish banking practices and regulate currency in circulation and the amount of credit available. It consists of 12 regional banks supervised by the Board of Governors. Often called simply the Fed.






45. A meeting of local party members to choose party officials or candidates for public office and to decide the platform.






46. Segregation resulting from economic or social conditions or personal choice.






47. An elected office that is predictably won by one party or the other - so the success of that party's candidate is almost taken for granted.






48. The convention in Philadelphia - May 25 to September 17 - 1787 - that debated and agreed upon the Constitution of the United States.






49. The residents of a congressional district or state.






50. Procedure for submitting to popular vote the removal of officials from office before the end of their term.