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






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






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






4. People who favor national action over action at the state and local levels.






5. 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.






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






7. Voting based on what a candidate pledges to do in the future about an issue if elected.






8. 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.






9. 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.






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






11. A formal - public agreement between the United States and one or more nations that must be approved by two thirds of the Senate.






12. The cluster of presidential staff agencies that help the president carry out his responsibilities. Currently the office includes the Office of Management and Budget - the Council of Economic Advisers - and several other units.






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






14. A nonprofit association or group operating outside of government that advocates and pursues policy objectives.






15. A procedural rule in the House of Representatives that prohibits any amendments to bills or provides that only members of the committee reporting the bill may offer amendments.






16. 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.






17. Programs in which eligibility is based on prior contributions to government - usually in the form of payroll taxes.






18. 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.






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






20. A government entity that is independent of the legislative - executive - and judicial branches.






21. Consumer tax on a specific kind of merchandise - such as tobacco.






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






23. Procedure whereby a certain number of voters may - by petition - propose a law or constitutional amendment and have it submitted to the voters.






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






25. 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.


26. 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.






27. A minor party founded by Ross Perot in 1995. It focuses on national government reform - fiscal responsibility - and political accountability. It has recently struggled with internal strife and criticism that it lacks an identity.






28. Views the Constitution as giving a limited list of powers—primarily foreign policy and national defense—to the national government - leaving the rest to the sovereign states. Each level of government is dominant within its own sphere. The Supreme Cou






29. A formal decision to reject the bill passed by Congress.






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






31. The principle of a two-house legislature.






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






33. The powers expressly given to Congress in the Constitution.






34. Remedial action designed to overcome the effects of discrimination against minorities and women.






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






36. 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.






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






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






39. Conservative Christians who (as a group) have become more active in politics in the last two decades and were especially influential in the 2000 presidential election.






40. The current holder of the elected office.






41. Police targeting of racial minorities as potential suspects of criminal activities.






42. 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.






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






44. The Federal government's primary intelligence officer - responsible for overseeing all national intelligence agencies and providing advice to the President on terrorist threats.






45. Providing automatic increases to compensate for inflation.






46. Compromise agreement by states at the Constitutional Convention for a bicameral legislature with a lower house in which representation would be based on population and an upper house in which each state would have two senators.






47. Electoral system used in electing the president and vice president - in which voters vote for electors pledged to cast their ballots for particular party's candidates.






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






49. Established by Congress in 1978 as a flexible - mobile corps of senior career executives who worked closely with presidential appointees to manage government.






50. 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