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. It is possible either to describe people - government - politics - and power as isolated - static elements - or to look at them as interacting elements in a_______________.






2. 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.






3. A system of voter registration in which voters must register every year or at other stated intervals.






4. This type of government suits a large country with a diverse population






5. In _______________ cases such as Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978) - the Supreme Court has upheld that while Affirmative action policies are legal - race and gender cannot be the only determining factors.






6. Department established in 1988 by President G.H. Bush.

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7. The practice of victorious politicians to reward their followers with jobs. Also known as the spoils system.






8. The Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 restructured the number of ______________ in both the House and Senate.






9. The most important committees - always assembled and delegated with the responsibility of handling all bills under their concern. Includes the Ways and Means - Appropriations - Budget - Rules and Agriculture Committees.






10. This 1963 case extended the right to counsel to all felony cases.






11. Political theorist proposed the separation of church and state.






12. If significant amendments are made to a bill during committee - the bill is sometimes given a new number as a _______________.






13. Lobbyists for special interest groups have found ____________________ to be the most direct and effective method to secure their objectives in Congress.






14. He United States Constitution was opposed by which group?






15. A system of _______________ - as in Italy - encourages the existence of many parties by allotting seats to competing candidates according to the percentage of votes they win.






16. 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.






17. Charge of misconduct brought against a government official.






18. _____________ are expected to specialize in a few policy areas rather than claim expertise in the whole range of legislative concerns






19. First civil rights organization to use non-violent tactics to promote racial equality and desegregation






20. The view advocated by Supreme Court Justices Hugo Black and William O. Douglas that there are provisions of the Bill of Rights that cannot be diluted by judicial decisions.






21. Disapproval of a bill by a chief executive - such as the president or a governor.






22. Colonies in which freely elected legislatures chose the governor and the king could not veto laws.






23. An act of legislature declaring a person or group of persons guilty of some crime and punishing them without benefit of a trial. Constitutionally prohibited.






24. This rule established by US v. Leon (1984) angered civil liberties groups by allowing exception to the Exclusionary Rule in instances where probably cause may not fully exist.






25. Urban or rural areas in which businesses are encouraged to locate because of tax breaks and other incentives.






26. The 1803 case in which the Supreme Court - by declaring a portion of an act of Congress unconstitutional - first firmly set forth and established the power of judicial review.






27. An economy in which most economic decisions result from the interaction of buyers and sellers in markets - but in which the government plays a significant role in the allocation of resources.






28. This group of voters historically supported Republicans - a party founded on an anti-slavery platform. During the 1930's they began supporting the New Deal policies of the Democratic party.






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






30. Laws - rules - and government programs designed to protect individual rights and specific groups - as well as to benefit society as a whole in such areas as health - worker safety - consumer protection - and the environment.






31. An ideology that cherishes individual liberty and insists on a sharply limited government - promoting a free market economy - a non-interventionist foreign policy - and an absence of regulation in the moral and social spheres.






32. A group of writers - journalists - and critics who exposed corporate malfeasance and political corruption in the first decade of the 20th century.






33. The agency that provides Congress with evaluations of public policies is the






34. These parties often emerge as off-shoots of major parties or as single-issue parties. They typically act as critic/innovator bringing attention to issues and influencing the platforms of the major parties.






35. A centralized system of government - such as that of France - where most of the important policy decisions are made by a central government.






36. Most likely to board a foreign ship suspected of drug trafficking at a U.S. port






37. Courts of original jurisdiction in federal crimes - civil suits under federal law - civil suits between citizens of different states where the amount in question exceeds $50 -000 - bankruptcy proceedings - cases involving some federal administrative






38. Practice by which voters of one party crossing over and voting in the primary of another party - effectively allowing a party to help choose its opposition's candidate.






39. Compromise between the large states and small states that established the bicameral Legislature consisting of a Senate and House of Representatives. Also included 3/5 compromise on the status of slaves in representation.






40. People may vote in a party's primary only if they are registered members of that party. Independents cannot participate. Note that because some political parties name themselves independent - the term 'non-partisan' often replaces 'independent' when






41. Presides over the Senate in the absence of the Vice President. Position awarded to the longest serving Senator from the majority party. 3rd in line of succession for the Presidency.






42. ___________ vote in both the House and Senate may override a Presidential veto of legislation.






43. In Woodson v. North Carolina - the Supreme Court struck down mandatory sentencing of capital punishment as ______________________ because it does not allow for any discretion.






44. A term coined by President Lyndon B. Johnson to describe his own view of the relationship between Washington and the states.






45. The philosophy that government should intervene as little as possible in economic affairs.






46. In this essay - James Madison recognized that reconciling the competing interests of various groups was what legislation was all about






47. The expansion of cable and satellite tv has _________________ the president's power to influence public opinion.






48. Units of government under the president - within the executive branch - that are not part of a cabinet department.






49. Repealed by the 21st Amendment - this Amendment prohibited alcohol.






50. Private groups that attempt to influence the government to respond to the shared attitudes of their members.