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. In the 1925 Gitlow case - the Supreme Court began a process of ______________ of the Bill of Rights to the states.






2. Funds spent for or against a candidate by committees not formally connected to the candidate's campaign and without coordination with the campaign.






3. Voters in a political district - or supporters of an elected official; or interest groups or client groups that are either directly regulated by the bureaucracy or vitally affected by its decisions.






4. Elections in which the majority party (according to party identification) is defeated in a temporary reversal.






5. Cabinet positions must be ____________ by the Senate






6. This branch of government checks Bureaucracy through its control over budget and appointments of leadership.






7. 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.






8. Puerto Rico has ____________ status.






9. Cabinet department that includes the Coast Guard - Border Patrol - FEMA - Transportation Security Administration - INS and the Secret Service. Established in 2001 in response to 9/11.






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






11. 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:






12. In his historic decision in the case of McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) - Chief Justice Marshall established the principle of _____________.






13. A method of amending state constitutions under which proposed constitutional amendments can be placed on the ballot if enough signatures are obtained on a petition. Almost half the states also employ the initiative on the ballot to allow voters to en






14. Legislative house whose members were intended to represent the people.






15. In Schenck v. US (1919) - The Supreme Court ruled that government may prohibit speech that creates an immediate threat of criminal action. Essentially established different standards for speech during wartime than in peacetime. Thus - establishing th






16. To an extent - the press and the government have a relationship that is _______________ and mutually dependent.






17. The way things should be by law






18. The power to tax is an example of _______________ powers.






19. If 10 days do not remain in session and the president does not sign an act of Congress - the bill __________.






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






21. This author was highly influential on Thomas Jefferson - rejecting divine right - proposing that government is a social contract requiring the consent of the govern and establishing the concept of self-evident rights of life - liberty - and property.






22. Loose - competitive relationships among policy experts - interest groups - congressional committees - and federal agencies. Many observers argue that these have replaced iron triangles.






23. If 10 days remain in session and the president does not sign an act of Congress - the law is ___________.






24. Elections that may lead to a basic shift in the party identification of the electorate.






25. What principle - contained in the Fourth Amendment - protects a citizen from unwarranted search and seizure?






26. Executive check on Legislative Branch.






27. The belief that one can understand politics and therefore participate in politics






28. Economists generally agree that the major responsibility for promoting prosperity and full employment falls on ________________.






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






30. Number of years a President must reside in the US prior to taking office






31. Programs mandated by law and not subject to annual review by Congress or the president.






32. The ___________ aspects of Federalism include: diversity/diffusion of power - more access points for political participation - fostering of experimentation and innovation - and allowing local governments to manage local problems effectively






33. Members of the ______________ committee of a political party work to maintain influence during non election years through congressional campaign committees.






34. A judicial opinion agreed to by a majority of the members of a court. A majority opinion sets forth the decision of the court and an explanation of the rationale behind the court's decision.






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






36. The total group from which poll-takers may select a random sample in order to measure public opinion.






37. After a bill has passed both the House and Senate - it goes to _________________ where any differences between the house bill and the senate bill are resolved before sending to the President for signature






38. A series of 85 articles written by Alexander Hamilton - John Jay - and James Madison under the pseudonym Publius advocating the ratification of the United States Constitution.






39. Also known as the Massachusetts ballot - groups candidates according to the office for which they are running






40. Requires the Electoral College to vote for President and Vice President separately.






41. Presidential management model requiring the President to have strong leadership skills and a keen eye for detail. FDR and JFK were well known for this style of leadership.






42. A group of people who try to influence policy agendas and whose ultimate goal is to run the government by getting their favorite candidates elected.






43. The president - the vice president - the heads of the major executive departments of the government - and certain other senior officials who may hold 'cabinet rank.'






44. 1940 Act Prohibiting any person from advocating overthrowing the government through violence or force.






45. Form of obstruction in the Senate where an attempt is made to infinitely extend debate upon a proposal in order to delay the progress or completely prevent a vote on the proposal taking place.






46. Formerly known as the Anti-Federalist - this party lead by Thomas Jefferson advocated states rights pressing the causes of the common people and agrarian interest. Dominated the political arena until the Civil War.






47. Formal approval or consent given to a constitution - constitutional amendment - or treaty before it goes into effect.






48. A 1972 treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union limiting the number of defensive missiles each country could build. In 2001 President George W. Bush withdrew the United States from the treaty.






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






50. A public policy that takes something away from one person or group and gives it to another person or group.