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 total amount of money the Federal government has borrowed to finance deficit spending over the years.






2. 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.






3. Legislative act inflicting punishment - including deprivation of property - without a trial - on named individuals or members of a specific group.






4. Those citizens who follow public affairs closely.






5. Interest groups organized under section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code may advertise for or against candidates. If their source of funding is corporations or unions - they have some restrictions on broadcast advertising. 527 organizations were impo






6. 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).






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






8. Presidential refusal to allow an agency to spend funds that Congress authorized and appropriated.






9. 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.






10. 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.






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






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






13. A commission created by the 1974 amendments to the Federal Election Campaign Act to administer election reform laws. It consists of six commissioners appointed by president and confirmed by the Senate. Its duties include overseeing disclosure of camp






14. Relationships among interest groups - congressional committees and subcommittees - and the government agencies that share a common policy concern.






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






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






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






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






19. 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.






20. Established rules and regulations that restrain government officials.






21. A government that enforces recognized limits on those who govern and allows the voice of the people to be heard through free - fair - and relatively frequent elections.






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






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






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






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






26. A formal agreement between the U.S. president and the leaders of other nations that does not require Senate approval.






27. 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.






28. Government in which citizens vote on laws and select officials directly.






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






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






31. 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.






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






33. A tax on increased value of the product at each stage of production and distribution rather than just at the point of sale.






34. Employment cycle in which individuals who work for governmental agencies that regulate interests eventually end up working for interest groups or businesses with the same policy concern.






35. Advisory council for the president consisting of the heads of the executive departments - the vice president - and a few other officials selected by the president.






36. A veto exercised by the president after Congress has adjourned; if the president takes no action for 10 days - the bill does not become law and does not return to Congress for possible override.






37. A policy promoting cutbacks in the amount of Federal regulation in specific areas of economic activity.






38. Donations made to political candidates - party committees - or groups which - by law - are limited and must be declared.






39. An opinion disagreeing with a majority in a Supreme Court ruling.






40. Presidential custom of submitting the names of perspective appointees for approval to senators from the states in which the appointees are to work.






41. A policy adopted by the Bush administration in 2001 that asserts America's right to attack any nation that has weapons of mass destruction that might be used against U.S. interests at home or abroad.






42. Requirement that evidence unconstitutionally or illegally obtained be excluded from a criminal trial.






43. 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






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






45. Procedure for submitting to popular vote measures passed by the legislature or proposed amendments to a state constitution.






46. 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.

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47. A career government employee.






48. A meeting of local party members to choose party officials or candidates for public office and to decide the platform.






49. An official document - published every weekday - which lists the new and proposed regulations of executive departments and regulatory agencies.






50. 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.