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 order to win support for ratification of the Constitution - the Federalists had to promise that the first order of business under a new government would be to _______________.






2. Court cases that concern crimes committed against the public order.






3. A system in which the national government sets requirements that are then implemented by state and local governments.






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






5. The class of independent voters who do not vote according to party affiliation - but who typically have a broader range of concerns than single-issue voters - are known colloquially as






6. This 1973 ruling gave local communities the authority to determine obscenity - established three part test for obscene material. To qualify as obscene - speech must be considered obscene by the 'average' person - depict or describe material that is a






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






8. Approximately 33% of American voters identify themselves as _______________ party.






9. This influential English document refuted divine right of monarchy and made monarchs subject to laws and responsible for crimes






10. Which historical figure described democracy as 'the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time?'






11. This Supreme Court case infamously decided that a slave was not a citizen but property to be 'used in subservience to the interests - the convenience - or the will of his owner'






12. Type of interest group represented in Washington by another individual or organization. (Ex. Ford Motor Company pays a lobbyist in Washington to represent them.)






13. Committees of Congress composed of both representatives and senators.






14. A method of polling - considered less reliable than a random sample - in which interviewers are instructed to question members of a particular group in proportion to their percentage in the population as a whole.






15. ________________ of the Constitution governs the relationships of the states.






16. A policy adopted by the United States after the Second World War that assumed that if enough nuclear weapons were deployed by the United States - an enemy would not attack for fear of being destroyed in retaliation.






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






18. 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 ______________)






19. Article I of the Constitution establishes the ___________________ branch.






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






21. The net balance or relationship between total income and total expenditures by the nation in its dealings with the rest of the world - including trade - loans - and investments.






22. Political strategists believe that presidential elections will normally be won or lost in _______________states.






23. Dissenting Democrats focused on foreign affairs. Aligned with the US Communist Party.

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






25. Head of the Supreme Court.






26. Defamation by written or printed words - pictures - or in any form other than by spoken words or gestures.






27. Representing - characterized by - or including members from two parties or factions






28. Established in 1947 as a combined Department of War and Navy.






29. Popular until the early 20th century when they lost favor to primaries due to corruption - now used in only 12 states.






30. Cabinet positions must be ____________ by the Senate






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






32. Members of this party typically include women who support liberal policies on abortion and equal pay - Jews - Catholics - Blacks and other minorities - Blue-collar working class - urban - labor unions - and intelligensia






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






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






35. 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.






36. The Jacksonian Era marked an important change in the process used to nominate Presidential candidates with the emergence of party _________________ - eliminating caucuses.






37. 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.






38. 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.






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






40. A term popularized by sociologist Floyd Hunter to describe the community leaders who he said determined policy in Atlanta - Georgia. More broadly - the term is used to describe 'power elites' generally.






41. 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






42. The vote cast by a person who does not like either candidate and so votes for the less objectionable of the two - putting a clothespin over his nose to keep out the unpleasant stench






43. A procedural rule in the House of Representatives that permits floor amendments within the overall time allocated to the bill.






44. 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.






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






46. A course of action chosen by government officials






47. Which of the following factors is likely to be the weakest indicator of an individual's political beliefs and opinions? Age - Race - Intelligence - or Religion






48. Cabinet department responsible for the management of public lands - wildlife - natural resources - and Native American affairs. Established in 1849






49. A written opinion by some of the judges of a court which agrees with the majority of the court but might arrive there in a different manner.






50. Freedoms that protect the individual from the government.