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. Censorship imposed before a speech is made or a newspaper is published; usually presumed to be unconstitutional.






2. A collection of people who share a common interest or attitude and seek to influence government for specific ends. Interest groups usually work within the framework of government and try to achieve their goals through tactics such as lobbying.






3. The current holder of the elected office.






4. An agency of Congress that analyzes presidential budget recommendations and estimates the cost of proposed legislation.






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






6. A philosophy that encourages individual nations to act on their own when facing threats from other nations.






7. 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.






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






9. The constitutional requirement (in Article II - Section 3) that presidents take care that the laws are faithfully executed - even if they disagree with the purpose of those laws.






10. The dispensing of government jobs to persons who belong to the winning political party.






11. Mutual aid and vote trading among legislators.






12. A system of government in which the legislature selects the prime minister or president.






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






14. Words that by their very nature inflict injury on those to whom they are addressed or insight them to acts of violence.






15. Something given with the expectation of receiving something in return.






16. A court order forbidding specific individuals or groups from performing certain acts (such as striking) that the court considers harmful to the rights and property of an employer or community.






17. A committee composed of members of both the House of Representatives and the Senate; such committees oversee the Library of Congress and conduct investigations.






18. Efforts by government to alter the free operation of the market to achieve social goals such as protecting workers and the environment.






19. The process by which we develop our political attitudes - values - and beliefs.






20. The principle of a two-house legislature.






21. Authority given by Congress to the Federal bureaucracy to use reasonable judgment in implementing the laws.






22. 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






23. The tendency of presidents to learn more about doing their jobs over time.






24. 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.






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






26. 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.






27. A technique of Congress to establish federal regulations. Total preemption rests on the national governments power under the supremacy and commerce clauses to preempt conflicting state and local activity. Building on this constitutional authority - f






28. Philosophy proposing that judges should interpret the Constitution to reflect current conditions and values.






29. The redrawing of congressional and other legislative district lines following the census - to accommodate population shifts and keep districts as equal as possible in population.






30. Literally - a 'friend of the court' brief - filed by an individual or organization to present arguments in addition to those presented by the immediate parties to a case.






31. 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






32. A belief that limited government insures order competitive markets and personal opportunity.






33. A tax graduated so that people with higher incomes pay larger fraction of their income than people with lower incomes.






34. The right to vote.






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






36. The clause in the Constitution (Article 1 - Section 8 - Clause 1) that gives Congress the power to regulate all business activities that cross state lines or affect more than one state or other nations.






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






38. Democratic and civic habits of discussion - compromise - and respect for differences - which grow out of participation in voluntary organizations.






39. Implies that although federalism provides 'a sharing of power and authority between the national and state governments - the state's share rests upon the permission and permissiveness of the national government.'






40. The act of declaring party affiliation; required by some states when one registers to vote.






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






42. Legislative or executive review of a particular government program or organization. Can be in response to a crisis of some kind or part of routine review.






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






45. Initial proposal at the Constitutional Convention made by the Virginia delegation for a strong central government with a bicameral legislature dominated by the big states.






46. 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.






47. 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.






48. Clause in the Constitution (Article 4 - Section 1) requiring each state to recognize the civil judgments rendered by the courts of the other states and to accept their public records and acts as valid.






49. A philosophy that encourages individual nations tacked together to solve international problems.






50. Synonymous with 'collective action -' it specifically studies how government officials - politicians - and voters respond to positive and negative incentives.