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. Formal approval or consent given to a constitution - constitutional amendment - or treaty before it goes into effect.






2. A coherent set of beliefs about politics - public policy - and public purpose. It helps give meaning to political event - personalities - and policies.






3. Communication with legislators or other government officials to try to influence their decisions.






4. 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.






5. Age Requirement for House of Representatives.






6. 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.






7. Each Senate committee may have ________ subcommittees.






8. In presidential campaigns - federal matching funds are provided to candidates who ______________.






9. President Hoover's laissez-faire approach to the economy during the Great Depression left many poor voters disenfranchised by the Republican Party. They left to join the _______________ Party.






10. 1798 Act that criminalized speech that was derisive to the government. Later ruled unconstitutional - Andrew Jackson issued blanket pardon in 1801






11. Define US Citizenship as any person born or naturalized in the United States.






12. Smith v. Allwight (1994) was the first vase in which the Supreme Court upheld the voting rights of _____________ in state primary elections.






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






14. An annual meeting held in the spring in many New England towns - at which the townspeople come together to elect a board of selectmen and to discuss local policy questions. It has become a symbol of participatory democracy.






15. Constitutional Article that establishes the Judicial Branch.






16. In the last 30 years - voter turnout among American 18- to 24-year-olds has been






17. The view of the majority of the Supreme Court that First Amendment rights must be weighed against the competing needs of the community to preserve order.






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






19. Groups whose views serve as guidelines to an individual's opinion. See also primary groups and secondary groups.






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






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






22. 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.






23. The most important committees - always assembled and delegated with the responsibility of handling all bills under their concern. Includes the Ways and Means - Appropriations - Budget - Rules and Agriculture Committees.






24. An economic philosophy that advocates both tax and budget cuts to increase incentives to produce in order to expand the total supply of the nation's goods and services.






25. Makes sure that funds are used safely and wisely. They oversee the state's financial records






26. 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.






27. 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.






28. Redefined Presidential succession and disability.






29. This contraversial 2001 law allows anti-terrorism authorities to monitor e-mail and Internet traffic in order to prevent terrorist attacks. The government argues that cyberspace is public domain and that no warrants should be needed to access informa






30. 1966 Act allowing citizens to inspect all government records with the exception of classified military or intelligence documents - trade secrets or private personnel files.






31. Colonies controlled by the British king through governors appointed by him and through the king's veto power over colonial laws.






32. 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.






33. The federal department that administers programs that provide services to farmers (including research and soil conservation and efforts to stabilize the farming economy)






34. This 1964 case established strict standards for proving slander and libel - court must prove intent of malice on the part of the publisher.






35. Powers of government that are specifically granted to the three branches of the federal government under the Constitution.






36. Lobbyists for special interest groups have found ____________________ to be the most direct and effective method to secure their objectives in Congress.






37. The view advocated by Supreme Court Justices Hugo Black and William O. Douglas that there are provisions of the Bill of Rights that cannot be diluted by judicial decisions.






38. Because there is no Senate Rules Committee - Senators can debate a bill for an _________________ time.






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






40. Programs are designed to give preferential access to education - employment - health care - or social welfare to groups of people - especially minorities and women - who have historically been discriminated against.






41. First African American appointed to the Supreme Court






42. Freedoms that protect the individual from the government.






43. ____________________ define Congressional voting districts acting within constraints set down by Congress and the Supreme Court.






44. 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.






45. 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:






46. In 2002 - a federal appeals court struck down the Pledge of Allegiance on the grounds that it violated ________________.






47. 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






48. Guarantees the right to a speedy and public trial.






49. Provisions tacked on to a piece of legislation that are not relevant to the bill.






50. Cabinet department oversees nuclear reactors.Established in 1973 in response to the Energy Crisis.