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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. 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.






2. Federal laws (starting with the Sherman Act of 1890) that tried to prevent a monopoly from dominating an industry and restraining trade.






3. A grouping of human beings with distinctive characteristics determined by genetic inheritance.






4. Powers the Constitution specifically grants to one of the branches of the national government.






5. A convention held in September 1786 to consider problems of trade and navigation - attended by five states and important because it issued the call to Congress and the states for what became the Constitutional Convention.






6. Interest groups organized under section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code may advertise for or against candidates. If their source of funding is corporations or unions - they have some restrictions on broadcast advertising. 527 organizations were impo






7. Officer of the Senate selected by the majority party to act as chair in the absence of the vice president.






8. Powers inferred from the express powers that allow Congress to carry out its functions.






9. Presidential staff agency that serves as a clearinghouse for budgetary requests and management improvements for government agencies.






10. Democratic party primary in the old 'one-party South' that was limited to white people and essentially constituted an election; ruled unconstitutional in Smith v. Allwright (1944).






11. A characteristic of individuals that is predictive of political behavior.






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






13. Programs in which eligibility is based on prior contributions to government - usually in the form of payroll taxes.






14. Donations made to political candidates - party committees - or groups which - by law - are limited and must be declared.






15. A belief that government can and should achieve justice and equality of opportunity.






16. The first governing document of the confederated states drafted in 1777 - ratified in 1781 - and replaced by the present Constitution in 1789.






17. The candidate or party that wins more than half the votes cast in an election.






18. Interpretation of the First Amendment that would permit legislatures to forbid speech encouraging people to engage in illegal action.






19. A technique of Congress to establish federal regulations. These sanctions permit the use of federal money in one program to influence state and local policy in another. For example - a 1984 act reduced federal highway aid by up to 15 percent for any






20. Money government provides to parents to pay their children's tuition in a public or private school of their choice.






21. A tactic in which PACs collect contributions from like-minded individuals (each limited to $2000) and present them to a candidate or political party as a 'bundle -' thus increasing the PAC's influence.






22. A formal written statement from a grand jury charging an individual with an offense; also called a true bill.






23. 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.






24. Belief in the superiority of one's nation or ethnic group.






25. These are broad state grants to states for prescribed activities—welfare - child care - education - social services - preventive health care - and health services—with only a few strings attached. States have greater flexibility in deciding how to sp






26. Government by religious leaders - who claim divine guidance.






27. A monopoly that controls goods and services - often in combinations that reduce competition.






28. Clause in the Fifth Amendment limiting the power of the national government; similar clause in the Fourteenth Amendment prohibiting state governments from depriving any person of life - liberty - or property without due process of law.






29. Court order directing an official to perform an official duty.






30. The widespread belief that the United States is a land of opportunity and that individual initiative and hard work can bring economic success.






31. A government entity that is independent of the legislative - executive - and judicial branches.






32. A veto exercised by the president after Congress has adjourned; if the president takes no action for 10 days - the bill does not become law and does not return to Congress for possible override.






33. An election system in which the candidate with the most votes wins.






34. A government that enforces recognized limits on those who govern and allows the voice of the people to be heard through free - fair - and relatively frequent elections.






35. A writ issued by a magistrate that authorizes the police to search a particular place or person - specifying the place to be searched and the objects to be seized.






36. A system of public employment in which selection and promotion depend on demonstrated performance rather than political patronage.






37. The informal list of issues that Congress and the president consider most important for action.






38. Clause of the Constitution (Article 1 - Section 8 - Clause 3) setting forth the implied powers of Congress. It states that Congress - in addition to its express powers has the right to make all laws necessary and proper to carry out all powers the Co






39. An ideology that cherishes individual liberty and insists on minimal government - promoting a free market economy - a noninterventionist foreign policy - and an absence of regulation in moral - economic - and social life.






40. An opinion disagreeing with a majority in a Supreme Court ruling.






41. Economic theory based on the principles of John Maynard Keynes stating that government spending should increase during business slumps and be curbed during booms.






42. The portion of the Federal budget that is spent on programs - such as Social Security - that the president and Congress are unwilling to cut.






43. 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.






44. The head of the White House staff.






45. Powers expressly or implicitly reserved to the states.

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46. Formal accusation by the lower house of legislature against a public official - the first step in removal from office.






47. The Supreme Court has ruled that individuals - groups - and parties can spend unlimited amounts in campaigns for or against candidates as long as they operate independently from the candidates. When an individual - group - or party does so - they are






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






49. Proposal at the Constitutional Convention made by William Paterson of New Jersey for a central government with a single-house legislature in which each state would be represented equally.






50. A government agency that operates like a business corporation - created to secure greater freedom of action and flexibility for a particular program.







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