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






2. Clause in the Fifth Amendment limiting the power of the national government; similar clause in the Fourteenth Amendment prohibiting state governments from depriving any person of life - liberty - or property without due process of law.






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






4. 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.






5. Compromise between northern and southern states at the Constitutional Convention that three-fifths of the slave population would be counted for determining direct taxation and representation in the House of Representatives.






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






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






8. 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.






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






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






11. Widespread agreement on fundamental principles of democratic governance and the values that undergird them.






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






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






14. 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.






15. 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.






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






17. The inclination to focus on national issues - rather than local issues - in an election campaign. The impact of the national tide can be reduced by the nature of the candidates on the ballot who might have differentiated themselves from their party o






18. A system of public employment in which selection and promotion depend on demonstrated performance rather than political patronage.






19. Clause of the Constitution (Article 1 - Section 8 - Clause 3) setting forth the implied powers of Congress. It states that Congress - in addition to its express powers has the right to make all laws necessary and proper to carry out all powers the Co






20. Powers expressly or implicitly reserved to the states.

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21. 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.






22. Authority given by Congress to the Federal bureaucracy to use reasonable judgment in implementing the laws.






23. Democratic party primary in the old 'one-party South' that was limited to white people and essentially constituted an election; ruled unconstitutional in Smith v. Allwright (1944).






24. The principle of a two-house legislature.






25. A policy-making alliance that involves a very strong ties among a congressional committee - an interest group - and a Federal Department or agency.






26. A term the founders used to refer to political parties and special interests or interest groups.






27. Petition that - if signed by majority of the House of Representatives' members - will pry a bill from committee and bring it to the floor for consideration.






28. A national meeting of delegates elected in 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.






29. Programs such as unemployment insurance - disability relief - or disability payments that provide benefits to all eligible citizens.






30. Providing automatic increases to compensate for inflation.






31. 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






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






33. 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.






34. Government policy that attempts to manage the economy by controlling taxing and spending.






35. Congress appropriates funds for a specific purpose - such as school lunches or for building airports and highways. These funds are allocated by formula and are subject to detailed federal conditions - often on a matching basis; that is - the local go






36. A procedural practice in the Senate whereby a senator refuses to relinquish the floor and thereby delays proceedings and prevents a vote on a controversial issue.






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






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






39. 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.






40. 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.






41. A small political party that rises and falls with a charismatic candidate or - if composed of ideologies on the right or left - usually persists over time; also called a third party.






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






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






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






45. A judicial system in which the court of law is a neutral arena where two parties argue their differences.






46. A company with a labor agreement under which union membership can be a condition of employment.






47. The process - most notably in families and schools - by which we develop our political attitudes - values - and beliefs.






48. Elections held in years when the president is on the ballot.






49. 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.






50. A procedural rule in the House of Representatives that prohibits any amendments to bills or provides that only members of the committee reporting the bill may offer amendments.