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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. First proposed in 1789 - this amendment passed in 1992 prohibits Congress from raising their own pay. Pay raises may not take affect until the beginning of the next term.






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






3. Federal categorical grants in which the granting agency has much discretion over how the recipient spends the money.






4. Presidential management model in which the Chief of Staff plays a prominent role as the head of a military style chain of command. Used successfully by Reagan and Eisenhower.






5. The concept that political power rests with the people who can create - alter - and abolish government. People express themselves through voting and free participation in government






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






7. 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.






8. The Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 restructured the number of ______________ in both the House and Senate.






9. Voting based on looking back and making judgments about the way things have gone and the kind of government experienced during a political leader's time in office.






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






11. Clause of the Constitution (Article 1 - Section 10) intended to prohibit state governments from modifying contracts made between individuals; interpreted as prohibiting state governments from taking actions that adversely affect property rights.






12. 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'






13. A system - until modified and reformed in the 1970s - that automatically resulted in the selection as committee chair of those members of the majority party in Congress who had the longest continuous service on a committee.






14. A procedural rule in the House of Representatives that prohibits any amendment to bills or provides that only memebers of the committee reporting the bill may offer amendments






15. A term often used to describe the economic and political ties between the military establishment and the defense-aerospace industry.






16. 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.






17. A political candidate who is thought to have only an outside chance of gaining the nomination.






18. (1945-1991) The period after the Second World War marked by rivalry and tension between the two nuclear superpowers - the United States and the communist government of the Soviet Union. The Cold War ended when the Soviet government collapsed in 1991.






19. The state officer typically responsible for overseeing federal elections at the state level is the






20. The Supreme Court holds _____________ jurisdiction in cases against the US - ambassadors - public ministers - and consuls.






21. 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






22. If 10 days remain in session and the president does not sign an act of Congress - the law is ___________.






23. In the 1962 case of Robinson v. California - the Supreme Court ruled that incarcerating a drug addict is ______________________ because drug addiction is an illness.






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






25. 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.






26. This article of the Constitution establishes the Executive Branch.






27. 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.






28. The practice under which victorious politicians reward their followers with jobs.






29. In Congress - _____________ are informal organizations of individual congressional representatives with like interests or constituencies. Members work together to promote the interests of the groups they represent through legislation - policy - and p






30. A course of action decided upon by a government






31. Guarantees that any rights not explicitly outlined heretofore are reserved for the states.






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






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






34. Responsibilities include: Coordinating the nation's intelligence activities and Evaluating and disseminating intelligence that affects national security






35. The concentration of economic power in the hands of a relatively few large companies.






36. Walter DeVries and Lance Tarrance have concluded that in many elections the outcome is determined by ______________.






37. 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.






38. A broadly based coalition that attempts to gain control of the government by winning elections in order to exercise power and reward its members.






39. A political group organized under section 527 of the IRS code that may accept and spend unlimited amounts of money on election activities so long as they are not spent on broadcast ads run in the last 30 days before a primary or 60 days before a gene






40. ____________ often influence political appointments in an effort to influence bureaucracy.






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






42. Population migration patterns since the second World War have increased the power of _____________.






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






44. 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






45. Corporations formed by the government to act as a business to produce a product or service. Often monopolies with varying degrees of independence.






46. Law enacted in 1939 to prohibit civil servants from taking activists roles in partisan campaigns .This act prohibited federal employees from making political contributions - working for a particualr party -or campaining for a particualr canidate






47. Laws must be reasonable. The Supreme Court has abandoned this concept in regards to business matters citing that it is the responsibility of Congress to regulate economic matters. The court has continued to apply this to matters of civil liberties an






48. Literally meaning 'right of blood' - confers citizenship to a child from the parents.






49. Overturning unjust laws is the responsibility of _________________.






50. Senators are re-elected every ___ years with 1/3 of the Senate being up for election every 2 years.






Can you answer 50 questions in 15 minutes?



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