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. Although camera are allowed in most trial courts - they are banned from ______________.






2. Also known as the Indiana ballot - lists the candidates of each party in a row or column - beside or under the party emblem. In most cases - the voter can make one mark at the top of the column - or pull one lever - and thus vote for all the party's






3. A philosophy that Supreme Court justices and other judges should boldly apply the Constitution to social and political questions.






4. Guarantees the right to bare arms.






5. 1966 Act allowing citizens to inspect all government records with the exception of classified military or intelligence documents - trade secrets or private personnel files.






6. Eisenhower's philosophy of being liberal in all things human and being conservative with all things fiscal. Appealed to both Republicans and Democrats.






7. The head of a national political party






8. The European political philosophers whose writings influenced the concepts of liberty and government contained in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution belonged to the intellectual and cultural movement known as






9. A ruling by the Supreme Court in 1857






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






11. Executive office responsible for helping the President write the federal budget and monitoring federal spending.






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






13. The right of the Supreme Court - under the Constitution - to hear certain kinds of cases directly - such as cases involving foreign diplomats - or cases in which one of the 50 states is a party.






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






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






16. The belief that all people possess certain basic rights that may not be abridged by government.






17. Author of The Spirit of the Laws advocating balance of power in politics with liberty is dependant upon a separation of the judicial - legislative - and executive branches of government.






18. The term most political scientists prefer to describe the bureaucratic process






19. 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.'






20. The action - or actions - taken by government to carry out a policy.






21. Presidential refusal to allow an agency to spend funds that Congress authorized and appropriated.






22. In states using primaries - the most common form of primary election is the ___________ primary.






23. In Argersinger v. Hamlin (1972) - the Supreme Court extended the right to counsel to those accused of misdemeanors if the defendant is _____________.






24. The term 'Reagan Democrats' has become a generic term for






25. Limitations on this freedom including prohibition of defamation and obscenity - limitation on commercial speech - and restriction of inciting words that may cause immediate danger.






26. 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.






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






28. The sum of the goals - decisions - and actions that govern a nation's relations with the rest of the world.






29. Impact elections by siphoning off votes from major parties spoiling a party's chance in a close race.






30. According to the Constitution - the electors in the Electoral College shall be appointed in a manner to be determined by the






31. Process by which citizens propose an amendment by petition.






32. The House appropriations committee has ___ subcommittees.






33. Infamous 1735 English case established the precedent for Freedom of the Press in the US.






34. A course of action decided upon by a government






35. A close contest; by extension - any contest in which the focus is on who is ahead and how much rather than on substantive differences between the candidates.






36. ________________ of the Constitution dictates how the Constitution shall be amended.






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






38. Requires reporting of financial information by companies with publicly traded securities






39. 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:






40. The vagueness of this phrase has allowed juries to exclude specific genders or races in order to affect the outcome of the verdict.






41. 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:






42. The way things should be by law






43. A provision of law in which Congress asserts the power to nullify actions of the executive branch. In 1983 the Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional - but Congress continued to pass laws containing such provisions.






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






45. 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.






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






47. The fundamental flaw in plural theory contends that pluralism weakens the backbone of democracy with too many common interest groups attempt to wield power - often leading to standstill because of unwillingness to compromise.






48. Number of original cabinet positions under George Washington.






49. The gap between the government's income and outlays.






50. Included are Ways and Means - Veteran's Affairs - Transportation and Infrastructure - Standards of Official Conduct - Small Business - Science - Judiciary - Rules - Resources - Oversight of Government Reform - House Administration - Homeland Security