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Test your basic knowledge |
CLEP American Government
Start Test
Study First
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. _____________ are expected to specialize in a few policy areas rather than claim expertise in the whole range of legislative concerns
Members of Congress
Flexible Construction
Poll Tax
House Standing Committees
2. Form of government in which the people are sovereign but their power is exercised by their elected representatives.
Clothespin vote
2
Republic
Political System
3. First governing document of the Plymouth Colony establishing freedom of religion.
Mayflower Compact
Political Efficacy
14th Amendment
Feedback
4. An immigrant who wished to become a citizen may be naturalized after living in the US for ___ years.
Interior
2/3
5
Export Taxes
5. The foreign policy of the United States during the period after the Second World War - designed to contain the expansion of Soviet power.
Recorded Vote
Party Purists
Containment
Balance of Payments
6. Requests from people or groups for health care for the aged - loans for college students - equal opportunity for minorities - and higher subsidies for farmers are examples of:
Civil War Amendments
Private Bills
14th Amendment
Demands
7. This group of voters historically supported Republicans - a party founded on an anti-slavery platform. During the 1930's they began supporting the New Deal policies of the Democratic party.
Senatorial Courtesy
Blacks
Omaha platform
Riders
8. The gap between the government's income and outlays.
Executive Agreements
Deficit
Due Process of Law
Legislative Veto
9. The claim by presidents of an inherent right to withhold information from Congress and the judiciary.
Hatch Act
Political ideology
Dred Scott Decision
Executive Privilege
10. Overturning unjust laws is the responsibility of _________________.
Negative
Homeland Security
Commonwealth
Supreme Court
11. A provision of law in which Congress asserts the power to nullify actions of the executive branch. In 1983 the Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional - but Congress continued to pass laws containing such provisions.
3
Open rule
Legislative Veto
Recommit the Bill to Committee
12. 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.
Unlimited
Civil Liberties
Mallory Rule
Patriot Act
13. This influential English document refuted divine right of monarchy and made monarchs subject to laws and responsible for crimes
Elastic Clause
Bandwagon
Petition of Right
Thomas Hobbes
14. The principle of civilian control of the military - based on the clear constitutional power of the president as supreme commander of the armed forces.
Initiative
Establishment Clause
US v. Ballard
Civilian Supremacy
15. The principle that the government - as provided in the Fifth Amendment - can take property for 'public use' with 'just compensation' to the owners.
Eminent Domain
Republicans
National Committee
Cabinet
16. 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
Scandal Mongering
Federal Courts
National Security Council
Writ of Certiorari
17. Capital punishment is also known as the _________________.
Mayflower Compact
Death penalty
Federal Appellate
Elastic Clause
18. Guarantees the right to a civil trial by jury.
Gideon v. Wainwright
7th Amendment
Majority and Minority Leader
School Desegregation
19. Charge of misconduct brought against a government official.
27th Amendment
Low
30
Impeachment
20. Guarantees that any rights not explicitly outlined heretofore are reserved for the states.
Natural Rights
10th Amendment
2/3
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
21. Which form of registration prevails in all but a few states?
Secretary of State
Article VI
Permanent Registration
State Government
22. Which committee assignments would confer the most power and influence on members of the Senate?
State of the Union
Appropriations
Lafolette's Progressive s
Quota Sampling
23. The Supremacy Clause appears in ________________ of the Constitution.
Article VI
Office of Management and Budget
14th Amendment
Swing Voters in the Democratic Party
24. A federal tax on imports.
Tariff
Closed
Bill of Attainder
14th
25. The response of the rest of society to actions by the authorities.
Affirmative Action
Valence issue
Republicans
Feedback
26. Senators have a __________ rate of re-election than Representatives primarily because of their larger constituency and lack of direct involvement with them.
may not
Constitutional Initiative
Senatorial Courtesy
Lower
27. What occurs when government adopts a public policy that provides - or distributes - benefits to people or groups.
Secretary of State
Cold War
Distribution
Members of Congress
28. International agreements between the president and foreign heads of state that - unlike treaties - do not require Senate approval.
Democratic
14th
Executive Agreements
Pluralist
29. A form of city government under which a board of city commissioners is popularly elected (often on a nonpartisan ballot). The commissioners make policy as a city council - but they also run city departments as administrators.
Creative Federalism
Party Identification
Commission Plan
Divided Government
30. Members of the ______________ committee of a political party work to maintain influence during non election years through congressional campaign committees.
National
Caucus
Zenger
Cabinet
31. In the 1964 case of ____________ - the Supreme Court: established 'one person - one vote' -
Reynolds v. Sims
Power Structure
Demands
Restrictive Covenant
32. Law intended to promote free competition in the market place by outlawing monopolies
Antitrust Legislation
Judicial Review
Shield Laws
Home Rule
33. Concept of government by the people in which everyone is free to vote - but normally whoever gets the most votes wins the election and represents all the people - including those who voted for the losing candidate.
Majority Rule
Third Parties
2nd Amendment
Civil Liberties
34. Gave authority over atomic energy from military to civilians.
Retrospective Voting
Atomic Energy Act of 1946
unlimited
25th Amendment
35. 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
Safe seat
Enumerated Powers
Supports
Bicameral
36. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is an example of an
Horse race
General Purpose Grants
Interstate Compact
Federal Courts
37. The pursuit and exercise of power.
Politics
Amicus Curiae Brief
Nuclear Proliferation
8th Amendment
38. Formed as a third party on the issue of slavery by many former Whigs in the 1850's. Anti-slavery platform. Supported by farmers - laborers - and newly-freed blacks.
Concurring Opinion
Joint Chiefs of Staff
14th Amendment
Republicans
39. The spread of nuclear weapons to new nations
12
Nuclear Proliferation
Miller v. California
Increased
40. The permanent committees of a legislature that consider bills and conduct hearings and investigations.
14th Amendment
Standing Committees
Writ of Certiorari
Plurality
41. This body of government has final authority on the meaning of the Constitution.
Felonies
Federalist Papers
Electoral Votes
Supreme Court
42. The strongest factor contributing to an individual's political socialization tends to be
Export Taxes
Right to Work Laws
Supply Side Economics
Family
43. Information sent out in order to observe the reaction of an audience. Used by politicians who deliberately leak information on a policy change under consideration.
Conference Committee
Adversarial
Trial Balloon
Take Care Clause
44. A nation's set of fundamental beliefs about how government and politics should be conducted.
Federal
Political Culture
Cooperative / Marble Cake Federalism
Republican
45. A procedural rule in the House of Representatives that permits floor amendments within the overall time allocated to the bill.
Open rule
Random Sample
Resolutions
Salient Agenda
46. Number of justices of the Supreme Court.
Hold
Republican
Grant Clemency
9
47. 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
Ways and Means Committee
Federal Register
Creative Federalism
Jim Crow Laws
48. Decides which bills will be considered.
Deficit
Committees
Republicans
Third Parties
49. Things government decides to do - example: taxation - crime control - national defense - education - etc.
Double Jeopardy
Caucuses
Public Policies
Hatch Act
50. Federal grants in which the recipient has a lot of discretion over how the money is spent. These grants are issued in support of general government functions such as education and law enforcement.
Article III
Public Administration
Sub-government
Block Grant