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 belief that ultimate power resides in the people.






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






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






4. The idea that the rights of the nation are supreme over the rights of the individuals who make up the nation.






5. Power of a government to take private property for public use; the U.S. Constitution gives national and state governments this power and requires them to provide just compensation for property so taken.






6. The informal list of issues that Congress and the president consider most important for action.






7. Championed by Ronald Reagan - presumes that the power of the federal government is limited in favor of the broad powers reserved to the states.

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8. 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.'






9. The reliance on diplomacy and negotiation to solve international problems.






10. 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.






11. 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






12. The formal process for making regulations.






13. Clause in the First Amendment that states that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion. The Supreme Court has interpreted this to forbid governmental support to any or all religions.






14. 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






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






16. 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.






17. The rule of precedent - whereby a rule or law contained in a judicial decision is commonly viewed as binding on judges whenever the same question is presented.






18. Federal statute barring Federal employees from active participation in certain kinds of politics and protecting them from being fired on partisan grounds.






19. Constitutional division of powers among the legislative - executive - and judicial branches - with the legislative branch making law - the executive applying and enforcing the law - and the judiciary interpreting the law.






20. Programs that the Federal government requires States to implement without Federal funding.






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






22. A characteristic of individuals that is predictive of political behavior.






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






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






25. The process by which individuals perceive what they want to in media messages.






26. The joint listing of the presidential and vice presidential candidates on the same ballot as required by the Twelfth Amendment.






27. Constitutional grant of powers that enables each of the three branches of government to check some acts of the others and therefore ensure that no branch can dominate.






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






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






30. Theory that opposes governmental interference in economic affairs beyond what is necessary to protect life and property.






31. Belief in the superiority of one's nation or ethnic group.






32. 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.






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






34. A formal writ used to bring a case before the Supreme Court.






35. A jury of 6 to 12 persons that determines guilt or innocence in a civil or criminal action.






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






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






38. National Health Insurance program for the elderly and disabled.






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






40. The boost that candidates may get in an election because of the popularity of candidates above them on the ballot - especially the president.






41. How voters feel about a candidate's background - personality - leadership ability - and other personal qualities.






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






43. A company with a labor agreement under which union membership is a condition of employment.






44. In this type of sample - every individual has unknown and random chance of being selected.






45. 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.






46. A policy that emphasizes a united front and cooperation between the major political parties - especially on sensitive foreign policy issues.






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






48. Engaging in activities aimed at influencing public officials - especially legislators - and the policies they enact.






49. Elections in which voters determine party nominees.






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