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






2. The number of Americans who are out of work but actively looking for a job. The number does not usually include those who are not looking.






3. Political contributions given to a party - candidate - or interest group that are limited in amounts and fully disclosed. Raising such limited funds is harder than raising unlimited funds - hence the term 'hard money.'






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






5. The rights of an individual to own - use - rent - invest in - buy - and sell property.






6. The set of arrangements - including checks and balances - federalism - separation of powers - rule of law - due process - and a bill of rights - that requires our leaders to listen - think - bargain - and explain before they act or make laws. We then






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






8. 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.






9. Primary election in which only persons registered in the party holding the primary may vote.






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






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






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






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






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






15. A person who is employed by and acts for an organized interest group or corporation to try to influence policy decisions and positions in the executive and legislative branches.






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






17. 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.






18. An organization that seeks political power by electing people to office so that its positions and philosophy become public policy.






19. 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.






20. 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.






21. An election system in which the candidate with the most votes wins.






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






23. An agreement among two or more states. Congress must approve most such agreements.






24. Programs such as Medicaid and welfare under which applicants must meet eligibility requirements based on need.






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






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






27. The principle of a two-house legislature.






28. A government agency or commission with regulatory power whose independence is protected by Congress.






29. A system of public employment based on rewarding party loyalists and friends.






30. The total output of all economic activity in the nation - including goods and services.






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






32. Implies that although federalism provides 'a sharing of power and authority between the national and state governments - the state's share rests upon the permission and permissiveness of the national government.'






33. A type of policy that takes benefits (usually through taxes) from one group of Americans and gives them to another (usually through spending).






34. 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.






35. The act of declaring party affiliation; required by some states when one registers to vote.






36. Constitutional arrangement that concentrates power in a central government.






37. System designed to reduce voter fraud by limiting voting to those who have established eligibility to vote by submitting the proper documents.






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






39. A theory of international relations that focuses on the hope the nations will act together to solve international problems and promote peace.






40. The legislative leader selected by the minority party as spokesperson for the opposition.






41. 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.






42. 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






43. 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.






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






45. 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.






46. A meeting of party delegates to vote on matters of policy and in some cases to select party candidates for public office.






47. A technique of Congress to establish federal regulations. Direct orders must be complied with under threat of criminal or civil sanction. An example is the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 - barring job discrimination by state and local gover






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






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






50. Legal process whereby an alleged criminal offender is surrendered by the officials of one states to officials of the state in which the crime is alleged to have been committed.