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 written statement from a grand jury charging an individual with an offense; also called a true bill.






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






3. Trade status granted as part of an international trade policy that gives a nation the same favorable trade concessions and tariffs that the best trading partners receive.






4. The system created by Congress in 1913 to establish banking practices and regulate currency in circulation and the amount of credit available. It consists of 12 regional banks supervised by the Board of Governors. Often called simply the Fed.






5. The drawing of election districts so as to ensure that members of a certain race are a minority in the district; ruled unconstitutional in Gomillion v. Lightfoot (1960).






6. A legislative practice that assigns the chair of the committee or subcommittee to the member of the majority party with the longest continuous service on the committee.






7. An individual who does not to join a group representing his or her interests yet receives the benefit of the group's influence.






8. A philosophy that encourages individual nations tacked together to solve international problems.






9. 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






10. The tendency in elections to focus on the personal attributes of a candidate - such as his/her strengths - weaknesses - background - experience - and visibility.






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






12. Mutual aid and vote trading among legislators.






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






14. Legislative or executive review of a particular government program or organization. Can be in response to a crisis of some kind or part of routine review.






15. Views the national government - 50 states - and thousands of local governments as competing with each other over ways to put together packages of services and taxes. Applies the analogy of the marketplace: we have some choice about which state and ci






16. A type of policy that provides benefits to all Americans.






17. A theory of international relations that focuses on the tendency of nations to operate from self-interest.






18. 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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19. Procedure for submitting to popular vote the removal of officials from office before the end of their term.






20. 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






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






22. Formal accusation by the lower house of legislature against a public official - the first step in removal from office.






23. Clause in the Constitution (Article 4 - Section 1) requiring each state to recognize the civil judgments rendered by the courts of the other states and to accept their public records and acts as valid.






24. A notion held by a nineteenth-century Americans that the United States was destined to rule the continent - from the Atlantic the Pacific.






25. Elections in which voters determine party nominees.






26. A national meeting of delegates elected at primaries - caucuses - or state conventions who assemble once every four years to nominate candidates for president and vice president - ratify the party platform - elect officers - and adopt rules.






27. Promoting a particular position or an issue by interest groups or individuals but not candidates. Much issue advocacy is often electioneering for or against a candidate and - until 2004 had not been subject to regulation.






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






29. The president's annual statement to Congress and the nation.






30. God's or nature's law that defines right from wrong and is higher than human law.






31. Government by religious leaders - who claim divine guidance.






32. 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.






33. 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.






34. 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.






35. The widespread belief that the United States is a land of opportunity and that individual initiative and hard work can bring economic success.






36. The tendency of presidents to lose support over time.






37. Opponents of ratification of the Constitution and of a strong central government - generally.






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






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






40. 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.






41. 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.






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






43. Biological - chemical - or nuclear weapons that can cause a massive number of deaths in a single use.






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






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






46. The formal process for making regulations.






47. Statement required by Federal law from all agencies for any project using Federal funds to assess the potential affect of the new construction or development on the environment.






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






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






50. Philosophy proposing that judges should interpret the Constitution to reflect current conditions and values.