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. The 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act banned contributions of soft money to______________.






2. The Supremacy Clause appears in ________________ of the Constitution.






3. According to V. O. Key - Jr. - the Populist Party of the 1890s is an example of a ____________________.






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






5. The way things actually are.






6. Colonies in which the proprietors (who had obtained their patents from the king) named the governors - subject to the king's approval.






7. In which case did the Supreme Court rule that the concept of privacy included the right to a legal abortion?






8. Term limit for House of Representatives.






9. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was somewhat undermined by racist practices in the real estate market such as _____________ and ______________ - which continued illegally in many areas following passage of the Act.






10. ______________ refers to the differences in political attitudes and voting behavior between men and women






11. A registered voter may vote in any party primary regardless of his own party affiliation. When voters do not register with a party before the primary - it is called a pick-a-party primary because the voter can select which party's primary he or she w






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






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






14. These two Senate standing committees have existed - largely unchanged - since 1816.






15. The name commonly given to a private group - regardless of size - organized to elect political candidates. An organization becomes one by receiving contributions or making expenditures in excess of $1 -000 for the purpose of influencing a federal ele






16. The Supreme Court is the only judicial body that may hear disputes between _________________.






17. The constitutional requirement (in article II - sec 3) that presidents take care that the laws are faithfully executed - even if they disagree with the purpose of those laws






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






19. A system in which national and state government have shared or overlapping powers. FDR's New Deal legislation established this system in the US.






20. The only amendments to be ratified through the process of 'ratifying conventions -' not a vote in the state legislatures






21. The Supreme Court has ruled that Congress_________________ take away a person's citizenship unless it is freely renounced.






22. Age requirement for President






23. Agenda that includes issues that affect the daily lives of the people.






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






25. Decides which bills will be considered.






26. In a political campaign - the surest way of reaching the largest number of voters is usually _____________.






27. 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.






28. A term often used to describe the economic and political ties between the military establishment and the defense-aerospace industry.






29. Voting based on looking back and making judgments about the way things have gone and the kind of government experienced during a political leader's time in office.






30. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 required states in the covered jurisdiction to attain _________________ from the Attorney General before making changes to voting standards - practice - or procedure






31. First proposed in 1789 - this amendment passed in 1992 prohibits Congress from raising their own pay. Pay raises may not take affect until the beginning of the next term.






32. Tests of a voter's ability to read and write - which were often used to keep recent immigrants and blacks from voting.






33. Guarantees that citizens cannot be compelled by the government to act in a way that is contrary to their religious beliefs. (ex. Conscientious objection to military service required by the draft is the execution of ______________)






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






35. While the verbiage of the 4th Amendment is vague as to what constitutes 'reasonable'. Police departments must rely on _____________; they cannot act on unfounded suspicion.






36. James Madison proposed to deal with the threat of political factions by ______________________.






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






38. 1798 Act that criminalized speech that was derisive to the government. Later ruled unconstitutional - Andrew Jackson issued blanket pardon in 1801






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






40. 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.






41. In 1998 - the Supreme Court struck down the________________ law - declaring it unconstitutional - because Congress did not have the constitutional authority to hand that power to the President.






42. Programs are designed to give preferential access to education - employment - health care - or social welfare to groups of people - especially minorities and women - who have historically been discriminated against.






43. At one time - the press generally refrained from publishing personal information that would be damaging. FDR - Eisenhower - and JFK all benefited from this reluctance to engage in _____________________. However - the American publics appetite for sen






44. Presides over the Senate without voting privileges except in the case of a tie.






45. Executive Check on the Legislative Branch.






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






47. A jury of 6 to 12 persons who determine guilt or innocence in a civil or criminal action






48. In addition to the doctrine of implied powers - Chief Justice Marshall - in his decision in the Supreme Court case of McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) - established the key concept of:






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






50. The House appropriations committee has ___ subcommittees.