Test your basic knowledge |

CLEP American Government

Subjects : clep, civics
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. _____________ are expected to specialize in a few policy areas rather than claim expertise in the whole range of legislative concerns






2. The yearly value of goods and services produced within a country.






3. Clause in the 14th Amendment that forbids any state to deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. The 5th Amendment also imposes this limitation on the national government.






4. This category of interest groups has been the strongest and most effective in lobbying Washington






5. An immigrant who wished to become a citizen may be naturalized after living in the US for ___ years.






6. The median income of women is ___________ percent of men.






7. The 1st Amendment states that government cannot issue ______________ - censoring publications before they are published.






8. The executive office established in response to intelligence lapses during WWI. Oversees American foreign policy and includes the President - Vice President - Secretary of State - Secretary of Defense and is lead by the National Security Advisor.






9. This 1964 case established strict standards for proving slander and libel - court must prove intent of malice on the part of the publisher.






10. A legislator who automatically mirrors the will of the majority of his or her constituents.






11. A vote in the House of Representatives in which the position of each member is noted and published in the Congressional Record.






12. International agreements between the president and foreign heads of state that - unlike treaties - do not require Senate approval.






13. Decides which bills will be considered.






14. 1946 Act requiring bureaucratic agencies to appeal to the affected parties before adopting new policies. Legislative check on Bureaucracy.






15. Freedoms that protect the individual from the government.






16. Federal aid that states and localities may use mostly as they wish.






17. A law passed in 1966 that requires federal executive branch and regulatory agencies to make information available to journalists - scholars - and the public unless it falls into one of several confidential categories.






18. 'lame duck' amendment






19. Bills that benefit legislators' home districts - or powerful corporate contributors - with sometimes wasteful or unnecessary public works or other projects.






20. Government regulation of the economy through its control over the supply of money and the cost and availability of credit. Controlled by the Federal Reserve Board.






21. Clause of the Constitution (Article 1 - Section 10) intended to prohibit state governments from modifying contracts made between individuals; interpreted as prohibiting state governments from taking actions that adversely affect property rights.






22. The main mechanism used by modern political parties to nominate their candidate for President.






23. _____ out of 9 justices must agree to hear an appellate case brought to them from a lower court.






24. The elected position of President pro tempore of the Senate is almost always held by






25. Plan that proposed unicameral legislature with each state having one vote.






26. A legal principle of fair dealing - which may provide preventive measures and legal remedies that are unavailable under existing common law and statutory law.






27. Programs of government - universities - and businesses designed to favor minorities and remedy past discrimination.






28. Requires that a suspect in a federal case be arraigned without unnecessary delay.






29. In lieu of an indictment - the state prosecutor may file a _______________ charging the person with a crime.






30. _______________ indicates a citizens' faith and trust in government and their own belief that they can understand and influence political affairs






31. Electoral college system and other campaign practices make it exceedingly difficult for even popular ______________ candidates to successfully run for the presidency.






32. This act prohibited Discrimination because of race - color - sex - religion - or national origin by employers or labor unions; The adoption by voting registrars of different standards for black and white applicants; and Racial or religious discrimina






33. 1963 ruling prohibiting prayer in public schools.






34. Puerto Rico has ____________ status.






35. Federal categorical grants in which the granting agency has much discretion over how the recipient spends the money.






36. Between 1909 and 2002 - the number of daily newspapers in the United States______________.






37. This 1957 judgement prohibited pornography material as utterly without redeeming social significance - later reversed in Miller v. California






38. The fundamental rights of a free society that are protected by the Bill of Rights against the power of the government - such as freedom of speech - religion - press - and assembly.






39. In 1872 - Susan B Anthony was arrested in Rochester - New York for






40. The 15th Amendment - also know as _________________ - was intended to help recently freed blacks from unconstitutional state laws designed to circumvent federal laws.






41. Signed the executive order banning segregation in the armed forces.






42. Important during the Revolution - these bodies organized by the local governments of the Thirteen Colonies during the American Revolution for the purposes of coordinating written communication outside of the colony.






43. 1925 Supreme Court case overturned Baron v. Baltimore and applied the Bill of Rights to states.






44. In Reynolds v. US (1879) - the Supreme Court denied this right to Reynolds because his religion's practice of polygamy violated federal law.






45. Wisconsin Republican who exploited public concern for political gain during the 1950's through freewheeling investigations of alleged Communists.






46. In some cases where blicity too much publicity surrounds a trial - courts have granted _______________ to help ensure a fair trial. One example is the trial of Timothy McVeigh for the Oklahoma City Bombing.






47. The foreign policy of the United States during the period after the Second World War - designed to contain the expansion of Soviet power.






48. The right to renounce one's citizenship.






49. This branch of government checks Bureaucracy through its control over lawsuits filed against the agency.






50. Laws must be reasonable. The Supreme Court has abandoned this concept in regards to business matters citing that it is the responsibility of Congress to regulate economic matters. The court has continued to apply this to matters of civil liberties an