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. Powers specifically outlined in the Constitution as assigned to one branch of government.






2. Tax legislation must originate in this house.






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






4. 19th century case establishing that the Bill of Rights applied only to the federal government - upheld until the 20th century. Ruling allowed stated to engage in activities such as establishing state churches and denying public office to people of ce






5. Number of years a Representative must reside in the US prior to taking office






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






7. The kinds of cases that a court has the authority to decide.






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






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






10. The principle that the government - as provided in the Fifth Amendment - can take property for 'public use' with 'just compensation' to the owners.






11. These party members are highly involved in the electoral process. Donate funds to party and candidates - demand a voice in state party agendas and tend to have a strong belief in their party's ideology.






12. Political commercials that strongly attack a rival candidate.






13. The process through which an individual acquires a set of political attitudes and forms opinions about political and social issues.






14. A system of _______________ - as in Italy - encourages the existence of many parties by allotting seats to competing candidates according to the percentage of votes they win.






15. Appointed by Eisenhower - this Supreme court justice who played an important role in the court's stance on the advancement of civil rights.






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






17. This contraversial legal technicality intended to protect civil liberties has allowed criminals to remain free when the courts refuse to admit evidence that may have been obtained illegally.






18. Cabinet department that includes the FAA and the National Hwy Traffic Safety Administration. Established in 1966.






19. Between conventions - the governing body of a major political party. Members of this group are chosen in the states and formally elected by the party






20. The Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments provide for _____________.






21. The oldest House committee still in existence.






22. 'lame duck' amendment






23. 1798 Act that criminalized speech that was derisive to the government. Later ruled unconstitutional - Andrew Jackson issued blanket pardon in 1801






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






25. ______________________is responsible for the management of the federal debt and the printing of currency. It is the major fiscal policy agency.






26. Tips the balance between two leading candidates by attracting a minority of voters who otherwise might have voted for one of the leading candidates.






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






28. 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.






29. Voter turnout is usually ____________ when there is a binding referendum on the ballot.






30. Dayton Board of Education v. Brinkman (1979) upheld that bussing programs were an acceptable way to enforce ______________________.






31. 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






32. According to this nineteenth-century British peer and historian - 'power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.'






33. Powers specifically given to the federal government by the US Constitution - for example - the authority to print money.






34. _______________ indicates a citizens' faith and trust in government and their own belief that they can understand and influence political affairs






35. This was amended in 1985 to prohibit vote dilution without requiring the proof of discriminatory purpose demanded by the original Act.






36. Congress defined the steps for the creation and admission of new states. It forbade slavery while the region remained a territory although citizens could legalize it. First congress would appoint a territorial governor and judges. Second as soon as 5






37. 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






38. 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






39. Powers not specifically granted to the federal government or denied to the states belong to the states and the people






40. This house committee is responsible for Supervising the authority of the federal government to borrow money - Raising the revenue required to finance the federal government by levying taxes - Overseeing Social Security and other social insurance prog






41. Includes the 13th - 14th - and 15th Amendments. Abolished slavery and guaranteed due process and equal protection to all citizens.






42. It is possible either to describe people - government - politics - and power as isolated - static elements - or to look at them as interacting elements in a_______________.






43. In his classic study of community power in New Haven - Connecticut - political scientist Robert A. Dahl concluded that the city was a __________ system dominated by many different sets of leaders






44. Representatives serve ____ year terms






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






46. Independent agencies governed by an appointed and confirmed commission. Examples include the Food and Drug Administration - Environmental Protection Agency - and the Securities and Exchange Commission.






47. Which committee assignments would confer the most power and influence on members of the Senate?






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






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






50. California measure designed to deny welfare and other benefits to illegal aliens. Overwhelmingly passed the popular vote - but overturned in federal court because it extending beyond the bounds of state rights to attempt to control immigration.