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. 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






2. 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).






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






4. Election in which voters choose party nominees.






5. 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.






6. The residents of a congressional district or state.






7. The practice of exporting U.S. jobs to lower paid employees in other nations.






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






9. 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.






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






11. 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.






12. A theory of government that holds that open - multiple - and competing groups can check the asserted power by any one group.






13. An electoral district in which voters choose one representative or official.






14. 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






15. A permanent committee established in a legislature - usually focusing on a policy area.






16. 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.






17. 30-second statements on the evening news shows. The media have been accused of simplifying complicated political issues by relying on sound bites to explain them to the public.






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






19. The distribution of individual preferences or evaluations of a given issue - candidate - or institution within a specific population.






20. 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.






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






22. Supporters of ratification of the Constitution and of a strong central government.






23. Candidate or party with the most votes cast in an election - not necessarily more than half.






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






25. An action taken by Congress to reverse the presidential veto - requiring a two-thirds majority in each chamber.






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. The power of a court to refuse to enforce a law or a government regulation that in the opinion of the judges conflicts with the U.S. Constitution or - in a state court - the state constitution.






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






29. Interpretation of the First Amendment that holds that freedom of expression is so essential to democracy that governments should not punish persons for what they say - only for what they do.






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






31. A small political party that rises and falls with a charismatic candidate or - if composed of ideologies on the right or left - usually persists over time; also called a third party.






32. The study of the characteristics of populations.






33. Aid to the poor; 'welfare.'






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






35. 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






36. A procedural practice in the Senate whereby a senator temporarily blocks the consideration of the bill or nomination.






37. Governance divided between the parties - as when one holds the presidency and the other controls one or both houses of Congress.






38. The right to renounce one's citizenship.






39. The process by which individuals screen out messages that do not conform to their own biases.






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






41. 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.






42. Essays promoting ratification of the Constitution - published anonymously by Alexander Hamilton - John Jay - and James Madison in 1787 and 1788.






43. Powers that grow out of the very existence of government.






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






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






46. A social division based on national origin - religion - language - and often race.






47. The difference between the political opinions or political behavior of men and of women.






48. 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.






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






50. A formal agreement between a U.S. president and the leaders of other nations that acquires approval by both houses of Congress.