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. A formal decision to reject a bill passed by Congress after it adjourns






2. Deliberate refusal to obey law or comply with orders of public officials as a means of expressing opposition.






3. The rights of all people to dignity and worth; also called human rights.






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






5. The rights of all people to dignity and worth; also called human rights.






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






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






8. A career government employee.






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






10. Opponents of ratification of the Constitution and of a strong central government - generally.






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






12. Policy of erecting trade barriers to protect domestic industry.






13. 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.






14. State laws formerly pervasive throughout the South requiring public facilities and accommodations to be segregated by race; ruled unconstitutional.






15. Constitutional requirement that governments act reasonably and that the substance of the laws themselves be fair and reasonable; limits what the government may do.






16. 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






17. A combination of entitlement programs - paid for by employer and employee taxes - that includes retirement benefits - health insurance - and support for disabled workers and the children of deceased or disabled workers.






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






19. 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.






20. 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






21. 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.






22. Theory based on the principles of John Maynard Keynes - stating that government spending should increase during business slumps and the curve during booms.






23. The right to keep executive communications confidential - especially if they relate to National Security.






24. Denial of export - import - or financial relations with the target country in an effort to change that nation's policies.






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






26. 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.






27. 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.






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






29. A court order requiring explanation to a judge why a prisoner is being held in custody.






30. A company in which new employees must join a union within a stated time period.






31. The principle of a two-house legislature.






32. Constitutional division of powers among the legislative - executive - and judicial branches - with the legislative branch making law - the executive applying and enforcing the law - and the judiciary interpreting the law.






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






34. 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.






35. An international trade organization with more than 130 members - including the United States and the People's Republic of China - that seeks to encourage free trade by lowering tariffs and other trade restrictions.






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






37. Powers that the Constitution gives to both the national and state governments - such as the power to levy taxes.






38. The drawing of legislative district boundaries to benefit a party - group - or incumbent.






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






40. A requirement the federal government imposes as a condition for receiving federal funds.






41. Tax required to vote; prohibited for national elections by the Twenty-Fourth Amendment (1964) and ruled unconstitutional for all elections in Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections (1966).






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






43. 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.






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






46. An explanation of the decision of the Supreme Court or any other appellate court.






47. A judicial system in which the court of law is a neutral arena where two parties argue their differences.






48. Quality or state of a work that taken as a whole appeals to a prurient interest in sex by depicting sexual conduct in a patently offensive way and that lacks serious literary - artistic - political - or scientific value.






49. Stresses federalism as a system of intergovernmental relations in delivering governmental goods and services to the people and calls for cooperation among various levels of government.






50. 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.