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. Most modern political scientists believe there is ________________ between politics and government.






2. Executive check on Legislative Branch.






3. A legislature with only one house.






4. ____________________ define Congressional voting districts acting within constraints set down by Congress and the Supreme Court.






5. An issue on which voters distinguish rival parties by the degree to which they associate each party or candidate with conditions - goals - or symbols the electorate universally approves or disapproves of. Examples of such issues are economic prosperi






6. Government branch established in Article I of the Constitution.






7. Tax legislation must originate in this house.






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

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






10. Lead by Daniel Webster and Henry Clay. Dedicated to defending federal authority and high tariffs. Gained supports of merchants - bankers - industrialists and planters.






11. A policy that takes something away from one person and gives it to someone else -






12. The absent colony at the 2nd Continental Congress.






13. Spending determined by the number of qualified recipients and their legally determined need is called






14. Today the Senate operates with ____ standing and select committees. These select committees - however - are permanent in nature and are treated as standing committees under Senate rules.






15. The 24th amendment banned _____________ - making it harder for states to discriminate against poor and minority voters.






16. Responsible for further investigation - hearings - and amendment to a bill






17. Today the South is is a two-party battleground - in which the ______________ often have the upper hand






18. This powerful House committee is in charge of determining under what rule other bills will come to the floor.






19. Minimum number of voters per state in the Electoral College.






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






21. Presidential management model in which the Chief of Staff plays a prominent role as the head of a military style chain of command. Used successfully by Reagan and Eisenhower.






22. The structure and set of regulations in place to control activity - usually in large organizations and government. it is represented by standardized procedure (rule-following) that dictates the execution of most or all processes within the body - for






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






24. Senators are re-elected every ___ years with 1/3 of the Senate being up for election every 2 years.






25. The formal source of all authority in each major political party. It nominates the party candidates for president and vice president - writes a platform - settles disputes - writes rules - and elects the members of the national committee.






26. An annual meeting held in the spring in many New England towns - at which the townspeople come together to elect a board of selectmen and to discuss local policy questions. It has become a symbol of participatory democracy.






27. While both Asian and Hispanic immigrants experience various types of discrimination - Hispanic immigrants are more likely to experience economic discrimination. This explains why most Hispanics identify with the ____________ party - while Asians do n






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






29. In addition to overseeing the activities of one or more federal agencies - a ___________________may also serve as the authorizing committee for federal agencies' programs and operations.






30. 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






31. Which office serves as a watchdog into waste or fraud in the bureaucracy and conducts investigations at the request of congressional committees






32. 1946 Act requiring bureaucratic agencies to appeal to the affected parties before adopting new policies. Legislative check on Bureaucracy.






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






34. 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






35. Elects the President if no candidate receives 270 Electoral College votes.






36. First Roman Catholic elected President.






37. Government regulation of the economy through its control over taxes and government spending. Controlled by the Department of Treasury.






38. A form of city government under which a board of city commissioners is popularly elected (often on a nonpartisan ballot). The commissioners make policy as a city council - but they also run city departments as administrators.






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






40. The principle - established by Chief Justice John Marshall in 1819 in the case of McCulloch v. Maryland - that the Constitution must be interpreted flexibly to meet changing conditions.






41. The right to privacy is ___________ in the Constitution.






42. Powers specifically outlined in the Constitution as assigned to one branch of government.






43. Proposed by Benjamin Franklin in 1754 as an attempt to form a union of the colonies. Later used to help form the Articles of Confederation.






44. A course of action chosen by government officials






45. Agencies that were at one time semi-autonomous but that through legislation have been placed under presidential control since 1945.






46. Freedoms that protect the individual from the government.






47. According to one survey - what percentage of Americans belongs to groups that sometimes take a stand on public issues






48. Requests from people or groups for health care for the aged - loans for college students - equal opportunity for minorities - and higher subsidies for farmers are examples of:






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






50. Bills passed by Congress to pay for the spending it has authorized.