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






2. The right to renounce one's citizenship.






3. 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






4. The rule of precedent - whereby a rule or law contained in a judicial decision is commonly viewed as binding on judges whenever the same question is presented.






5. A company with a labor agreement under which union membership is a condition of employment.






6. A congressional district created to include a majority of minority voters; ruled constitutional so long as race is not the main factor in redistricting.






7. Method whereby representatives of the union and employer determine wages - hours - and other conditions of employment through direct negotiation.






8. The current holder of the elected office.






9. Money spent by individuals or groups not associated with candidates to elect or defeat candidates for office.






10. The right to vote.






11. Citizenship in more than one nation.






12. A large body of people interested in a common issue - idea - or concern that is of continuing significance and who are willing to take action. Movements seek to change attitudes or institutions - not just policies.






13. A form of organization that operates through impersonal - uniform rules and procedures.






14. A procedure for terminating debate - especially filibusters - in the Senate.






15. The idea that a just government must derive its powers from the consent of the people it governs.






16. The reliance on economic and military strength to solve international problems.






17. The difference between the revenues raised annually from sources of income other than borrowing and the expenditures of government - including paying the interest on past borrowing.






18. Clause in the First Amendment that states that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion. The Supreme Court has interpreted this to forbid governmental support to any or all religions.






19. Theory that opposes governmental interference in economic affairs beyond what is necessary to protect life and property.






20. A decision by the president not to spend money appropriated by Congress - now prohibited under Federal law.






21. Elections held in years when the president is on the ballot.






22. Special spending projects that are set aside on behalf of individual members of Congress for their constituents.






23. The boost that candidates may get in an election because of the popularity of candidates above them on the ballot - especially the president.






24. 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.






25. 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.






26. Power of a government to take private property for public use; the U.S. Constitution gives national and state governments this power and requires them to provide just compensation for property so taken.






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






28. A legal action conferring citizenship on an alien.






29. An official who is expected to vote independently based on his or her judgment of the circumstances; one interpretation of the role of the legislator.






30. The reliance on diplomacy and negotiation to solve international problems.






31. Constitutional doctrine that whenever conflict occurs between the constitutionally authorized actions of the national government and those of a state or local government - the actions of the federal government will prevail.






32. A specific course of action taken by government to achieve a public goal.






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






34. Governance according to the expressed preferences of the majority.






35. The presiding officer in the House of Representatives - formally elected by the House but actually selected by the majority party.






36. Party leader who is the liaison between the leadership and the rank-and-file in the legislature.






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






38. Programs that the Federal government requires States to implement without Federal funding.






39. A belief that ultimate power resides in the people.






40. Federal statute barring Federal employees from active participation in certain kinds of politics and protecting them from being fired on partisan grounds.






41. The desire to avoid international entanglement altogether.






42. An election during periods of expanded suffrage and change in the economy and society that proves to be a turning point - redefining the agenda of politics and the alignment of voters within parties.






43. 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






44. Photo opportunities set up by the candidates. The media have been accused of simplifying complicated political issues by relying on photo ops to explain them to the public.






45. A minor party dedicated to the environment - social justice - nonviolence - and the foreign policy of nonintervention. Ralph Nader ran as the Green party's nominee in 2000.






46. 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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47. Governance divided between the parties - especially when one holds the presidency and the other controls one or both houses of Congress.






48. God's or nature's law that defines right from wrong and is higher than human law.






49. A close contest; by extension - any contest in which the focus is on who is ahead and by how much rather than on substantive differences between the candidates.






50. Advisory council for the president consisting of the heads of the executive departments - the vice president - and a few other officials selected by the president.