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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. Germany - Switzerland - and India are examples of countries with a _______________ system of government.






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






3. A course of action chosen by government officials






4. Members of the ______________ committee of a political party work to maintain influence during non election years through congressional campaign committees.






5. The issuance of this document by a judge requires probably cause and must be worded so as to allow for the search and seizure of specific evidence.






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






7. In some cases where blicity too much publicity surrounds a trial - courts have granted _______________ to help ensure a fair trial. One example is the trial of Timothy McVeigh for the Oklahoma City Bombing.






8. The principle - established by Chief Justice John Marshall in 1819 in the case of McCulloch v. Maryland - that the Constitution must be interpreted flexibly to meet changing conditions.






9. A primary in which any registered voter is able to vote for candidates from more than one party. A voter - for example - may vote for a Democrat for U.S. senator and for a Republican for governor. In 2000 - the Supreme Court struck down the blanket p






10. As part of the negotiations concerning the Constitution - the South fought for and won an agreement forbidding the imposition of _______________.






11. The uprising of farmers angered by crushing debt and taxes that revealed the failure of the Articles of Confederation.

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12. Polls taken as people leave voting places. In the past - television networks sometimes used these polls to predict election outcomes before the polls close. In 1992 - the television networks agreed not to project the winner in a state until the major






13. This branch of government checks Bureaucracy through its control over lawsuits filed against the agency.






14. Legislative branch incorporating two houses.






15. The overall public has a ___________ view of PACS in terms of bought votes and adding to the cost of running for office






16. Legislative house whose membership was intended to represent the state.






17. The concept that all people are of equal worth - even if not of equal ability.






18. Literally - a 'friend of the court' brief - filed by an individual or organization to present arguements in addition to those presented by the immediate parties to a case






19. High School Dropouts - Blacks - Hispanics - Recent immigrants - and People under 25 or over 75 tend to have a _________ voter turnout.






20. Proposed by Benjamin Franklin in 1754 as an attempt to form a union of the colonies. Later used to help form the Articles of Confederation.






21. A powerful alliance of mutual benefit among an agency or unit of the government - an interest group - and a committee or subcommittee of Congress. Also called a triangle or a subgovernment.






22. Most house committees are limited to _____ subcommittees.






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






24. 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






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. People may vote in a party's primary only if they are registered members of that party. Independents cannot participate. Note that because some political parties name themselves independent - the term 'non-partisan' often replaces 'independent' when






27. 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.






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






29. The philosophy that government should intervene as little as possible in economic affairs.






30. The rules and regulations made and applied by federal regulatory agencies and commissions.






31. The 1896 case of Plessy v. Fergusan established the racial segregation policy of __________________.






32. The ruling in this case provided that the government must prove a threat to national security in order to impose prior restraint.






33. Literally meaning 'right of soil' - confers citizenship by place of birth.






34. First African American appointed to the Supreme Court






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






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






37. The principle of civilian control of the military - based on the clear constitutional power of the president as supreme commander of the armed forces.






38. The elected position of President pro tempore of the Senate is almost always held by






39. Special spending projects that are set aside on behalf of individual members of Congress for their constituents.






40. Government agencies that exercise quasi-judicial and quasi-legislative powers and are administratively independent of both the president and Congress (although politically independent of neither).






41. (1781-1789) The written framework for the government of the original 13 states before the Constitution was adopted. Under this - the national government was weak and dominated by the states. There was a unicameral legislature - but no national execut






42. Several Presidents have been elected without winning the popular vote. As a result - In 1970 and 1979 - Amendments were proposed to disband the ______________ - neither passed.






43. A meeting of party leaders to select candidates - elect convention delegates - etc






44. The amount of money available when the government's income is greater than what it spends in a fiscal year.






45. 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






46. The 23rd Amendment guaranteed voting rights to whom?






47. 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.






48. 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






49. An official document - published every weekday - which lists the new and proposed regulations of executive departments and regulatory agencies.






50. The executive office established in response to intelligence lapses during WWI. Oversees American foreign policy and includes the President - Vice President - Secretary of State - Secretary of Defense and is lead by the National Security Advisor.