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. Proponents of limited government - unregulated free markets - national self-reliance - and conventional social values are best describes as






2. 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.






3. ___________ vote in both the House and Senate may override a Presidential veto of legislation.






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






5. 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






6. 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.






7. An elected office that is predictably won by one party or the other - so the success of that party's candidate is almost taken for granted






8. The President's role in the armed forces which during the 20th century has allowed Presidents to circumvent Congress' refusal to declare war.






9. The number of ______________ a state receives is based on the number Representatives and Senators that the state has in Congress






10. A decision of the Supreme Court cannot be ___________.






11. Cabinet department responsible for managing school lunch programs and food safety. Established in 1862.






12. Lawsuit brought by an individual or group of people on behalf of all those similarly situated






13. President requires their approval to appoint judges - ambassadors and other high officials.






14. Under this governing document - national government lacked authority to set up tariffs - regulate commerce - levy taxes - control international relations - establish common currency






15. The right to renounce one's citizenship.






16. A legislature with only one house.






17. The fundamental rights of a free society that are protected by the Bill of Rights against the power of the government - such as freedom of speech - religion - press - and assembly.






18. Amendment that delegated the election of Senators to popular vote.






19. Contacts - coalitions - and interactions across national boundaries






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






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






22. A relaxation of international tensions.






23. A legislator who automatically mirrors the will of the majority of his or her constituents.






24. A federal tax on imports.






25. During the 1800's and early 1900's - some state and local party committees became ________________ dominating party activities. Committee members would promise new recruits money - jobs - and other benefits for joining and voting the straight party t






26. Laws must be administered in a fair manner.






27. The 1776 pamphlet by Thomas Paine that prompted King George III's Prohibitory Act and the sending of mercenaries to the colonies.






28. A form of city government under which a council - usually elected on a nonpartisan ticket - hires a professional city manager - who runs the city government and has power to hire and fire officials.






29. This 1963 case extended the right to counsel to all felony cases.






30. The power of some municipalities to modify their charters and run their affairs without approval by the state legislature.






31. 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.






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






33. A declaration by the President in 1823 that warned European powers to keep out of the Western Hemisphere and pledged that the United States would not intervene in the internal affairs of Europe.






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






35. Between 1909 and 2002 - the number of daily newspapers in the United States______________.






36. A tax on voting abolished by the Twenty-fourth Amendment in 1964 - long used by southern states to keep blacks (and - in some cases - poor whites) from participating in elections.






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






38. 6 In the view of Robert L. Lineberry - policy analysts focus on the _______________.






39. A compulsory national insurance program - financed by taxes on employers and employees. The insurance falls into four categories: old-age and survivors insurance - disability insurance - Medicare - and unemployment insurance.






40. An offical who is expected to represent the views of his or her constituents even when personally holding different views; one interpretation of the role of the legislator






41. Units of government under the president - within the executive branch - that are not part of a cabinet department.






42. Elections that reflect the basic party identification of the voters.






43. Federal aid that states and localities may use mostly as they wish.






44. _____ out of 9 justices must agree to hear an appellate case brought to them from a lower court.






45. Most likely to board a foreign ship suspected of drug trafficking at a U.S. port






46. States that states may draw reasonable distinctions between the rights of residents and non-residents (ex. In state and out of state tuition)






47. In the Federalist Papers - James Madison proposed that the states under the new Constitution would retain ____________ sovereignty.






48. The claim by presidents of an inherent right to withhold information from Congress and the judiciary.






49. Law intended to promote free competition in the market place by outlawing monopolies






50. Overall spending targets set by the Congress.