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. The authority of a court to review decisions made by lower courts.






2. Contributions to a state or local party for party-building purposes.






3. The tendency of presidents to lose support over time.






4. People who favor state or local action rather than national action.






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






6. Widespread agreement on fundamental principles of democratic governance and the values that undergird them.






7. The means by which individuals can express preferences regarding the development of public policy.






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






9. Presidential power to strike - or remove - specific items from a spending bill without vetoing the entire package; declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.






10. Period at the beginning of the new president's term during which the president enjoys generally positive relations with the press and Congress - usually lasting about six months.






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






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






13. The principle of a two-house legislature.






14. The right of a federal law or a regulation to preclude enforcement of a state or local law or regulation.






15. Formal accusation against a president or other public official - the first step in removal from office.






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






17. Agreement between a prosecutor and a defendant that the defendant will plead guilty to a lesser offense to avoid having to stand trial for a more serious offense.






18. 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.






19. Tax levied on imports to help protect the nation's industries - labor - or farmers from foreign competition. It can also be used to raise additional revenue.






20. Conceives of federalism as a marble cake in which all levels of government are involved in a variety of issues and programs - rather than a layer cake - or dual federalism - with fixed divisions between layers or levels of government.






21. An economic system characterized by private property - competitive markets - economic incentives - and limited government involvement in the production - distribution - and pricing of goods and services.






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






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






24. Elections held midway between presidential elections.






25. A president's claim of broad public support.






26. 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.






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






28. The drawing of election districts so as to ensure that members of a certain race are a minority in the district; ruled unconstitutional in Gomillion v. Lightfoot (1960).






29. Clause in the First Amendment that states that Congress shall make no law prohibiting the free exercise of religion.






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






31. Formal orders issued by the president to direct action by the Federal bureaucracy.






32. A procedural rule in the House of Representatives that permits floor amendments within the overall time allocated to the bill.






33. Money raised in unlimited amounts by political parties for party-building purposes. Now largely illegal except for limited contributions to state or local parties for voter registration and get-out-the-vote efforts.






34. Inherent powers of state governments to pass laws to protect the public health - safety - and welfare; the national government has no directly granted police powers but accomplishes the same goals through other delegated powers.






35. The process by which provisions of the bill of rights are brought within the scope of the Fourteenth Amendment and so applied to state and local governments.






36. A consistent pattern of beliefs about political values and the role of government.






37. A law that governs relationships between individuals and defines their legal rights.






38. How voters feel about a candidate's background - personality - leadership ability - and other personal qualities.






39. A rising public approval of the president that follows a crisis as Americans 'rally 'round the flag' and the chief executive.






40. The formal instructions that government issues for implementing laws.






41. Holding incumbents - usually the president's party - responsible for their records on issues - such as the economy or foreign policy.






42. Election system in which each party running receives the proportion of legislative seats corresponding to its proportion of the vote.






43. Petition that - if signed by majority of the House of Representatives' members - will pry a bill from committee and bring it to the floor for consideration.






44. Championed by Ronald Reagan - presumes that the power of the federal government is limited in favor of the broad powers reserved to the states.

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45. The desire to avoid international entanglement altogether.






46. 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.






47. The legislative leader selected by the majority party who helps plan party strategy - confers with other party leaders - and tries to keep members of the party in line.






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






49. A rise in the general price level (and decrease in dollar value) owing to an increase in the volume of money and credit in relation to available goods.






50. Trial or punishment for the same crime by the same government; forbidden by the Constitution.