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 assigning by Congress of congressional seats after each census. State legislatures reapportion state legislative districts.






2. 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.






3. Usually the largest organization in government with the largest mission; also the highest rank in Federal hierarchy.






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






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






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






7. A secret ballot printed by the state.






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






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






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






11. An imbalance in international trade in which the value of imports exceeds the value of exports.






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






13. A dispute growing out of an actual case or controversy and that is capable of settlement by legal methods.






14. 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.






15. Clause of the Constitution (Article I - Section 10) originally intended to prohibit state governments from modifying contracts made between individuals; for a while interpreted as prohibiting state governments from taking actions that adversely affec






16. A philosophy that encourages individual nations to act on their own when facing threats from other nations.






17. 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.






18. Presidential power to strike - or remove - specific items from a spending bill without vetoing the entire package; declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.






19. The head of the White House staff.






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






21. A technique of Congress to establish federal regulations. Federal grants may establish certain conditions that extend to all activities supported by federal funds - regardless of their source. The first and most famous of these is Title VI of the 196






22. Words that by their very nature inflict injury on those to whom they are addressed or insight them to acts of violence.






23. A law that governs relationships between individuals and defines their legal rights.






24. Exemption from prosecution for a particular crime in return for testimony pertaining to the case.






25. During the Great Society - the marble cake approach of intergovernmental relations.






26. Unlimited amounts of money that political parties previously could raise for party-building purposes. Now largely illegal except for limited contributions to state and local parties for voter registration and get-out-the-vote efforts.






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






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






29. An economic and governmental system based on public ownership of the means of production and exchange.






30. The tendency of presidents to learn more about doing their jobs over time.






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






32. A writ issued by a magistrate that authorizes the police to search a particular place or person - specifying the place to be searched and the objects to be seized.






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






34. Loss of tax revenue due to Federal laws that provide special tax incentives or benefits to individuals or businesses.






35. Directive issued by a president or governor that has the force of law.






36. The dispensing of government jobs to persons who belong to the winning political party.






37. 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.






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






39. An opinion that agrees with the majority in a Supreme Court ruling but differs on the reasoning.






40. The power to keep executive communications confidential - especially if they relate to national security.






41. Citizenship in more than one nation.






42. 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






43. An election system in which each party running receives the proportion of legislative seats corresponding to its proportion of the vote.






44. Constitutional arrangement in which sovereign nations or states - by compact - create a central government but carefully limit its power and do not give it direct authority over individuals.






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






46. 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.






47. Interpretation of the First Amendment that holds that the government cannot interfere with speech unless the speech presents a clear and present danger that it will lead to evil or illegal acts.






48. Election system in which the candidate with the most votes wins.






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






50. The right to renounce one's citizenship.