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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. A group of independent states or nations that come together for a common purpose and whose central authority is usually limited to defense and foreign relations.
Agriculture
Confederation
Party Activists
5
2. Lead by Theodore Roosevelt - this party platform focused on women's suffrage - social reform - fair business practices - and direct election of senators. The won 25% of the popular vote in 1911 - splitting the Republican vote and allowing Democrat Wo
Bull Moose Progressives
Albany Plan
President
Open rule
3. Congress' first step towards allocating funds
Iron Triangle
Proportional Representation
Authorizations
Free Exercise of Religion
4. A jury of 6 to 12 persons who determine guilt or innocence in a civil or criminal action
Lose
Petit Jury
may not
Low
5. A close contest; by extension - any contest in which the focus is on who is ahead and how much rather than on substantive differences between the candidates.
Libertarianism
Horse race
Take Care Clause
Exit Polls
6. Provisions tacked on to a piece of legislation that are not relevant to the bill.
Nuclear Proliferation
Equal Protection Clause
Riders
State of the Union
7. Includes expressive conduct/assembly/actions and symbolic behavior (ex. Picketing or burning the flag) Based on our country history of symbolic acts such as the Boston Tea Party - courts almost always uphold symbolic acts of speech unless they are cr
Speech Plus
Scandal Mongering
Discharge Petition
High
8. Cabinet department oversees nuclear reactors.Established in 1973 in response to the Energy Crisis.
Energy
Political Culture
Self-Incrimination
Good Faith Exception
9. Population migration patterns since the second World War have increased the power of _____________.
2
John Locke
Suburbia
Party Realignment
10. This branch of government checks Bureaucracy through its control over the creation and elimination of agencies as well as its control over budget appropriations.
Union Shop
Legislative
Attorney General
Slander
11. 1974 Act mandating that all government files about private citizens be kept confidential.
Probable Cause
Straight Ticket Voting
Petit Jury
Privacy Act
12. A relaxation of international tensions.
Precedent
Detente
Free Exercise Clause
Procedural Due Process
13. A course of action decided upon by a government
Poll Tax
Policy
The Enlightenment
Democratic
14. 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.
Albany Plan
1776
Gross Domestic Product
Majority Opinion
15. Guarantees that citizens cannot be compelled by the government to act in a way that is contrary to their religious beliefs. (ex. Conscientious objection to military service required by the draft is the execution of ______________)
Free Exercise Clause
Attorney General
Majority Opinion
Blanket Primary
16. A legislative leader of each party who is responsible for rounding up party members for important votes.
14th Amendment
1964 Civil Rights Act
Outputs
Whip
17. A coherent set of beliefs about politics - public policy - and public purpose. It helps give meaning to political event - personalities - and policies.
Committees of Correspondence
Thurgood Marshall
Pocket Veto
Political ideology
18. In Schenck v. US (1919) - The Supreme Court ruled that government may prohibit speech that creates an immediate threat of criminal action. Essentially established different standards for speech during wartime than in peacetime. Thus - establishing th
Gerrymandering
Categorical Grant
Clear and Present Danger
Class Action Suit
19. Infamous 1735 English case established the precedent for Freedom of the Press in the US.
Supreme Court
Private Bills
Collective Action
Zenger
20. The permanent committees of a legislature that consider bills and conduct hearings and investigations.
Standing Committees
Electoral Votes
Earmarks
Spoils System
21. The house armed services and foreign affairs committees each have ___ subcommittees.
7
imprisoned
Public Opinion
New Jersey Plan
22. German sociologist theorized that the engine of government needs bureaucracies to provide expertise in a way that short-term elected or appointed official cannot.
Automobiles
Max Weber
Dred Scott
Suburbia
23. A nation's set of fundamental beliefs about how government and politics should be conducted.
Enterprise Zones
Political Culture
Judicial
Recommit the Bill to Committee
24. The chair and the heads of the three armed services - and - when Marine Corps matters are under consideration - the commandant of the marines. By law - they advise the president and the secretary of defense and are the chiefs of their respective mili
Joint Chiefs of Staff
Slander
W.E.B. DuBoise
Catholics
25. Which two British Acts - passed in 1764 - caused American colonists for the first time to organize protests against the injustices of British rule - and sparked the rallying cry 'no taxation without representation'?
The Sugar Act and the Currency Act
Politics
Closed
House of Representatives
26. Wisconsin Republican who exploited public concern for political gain during the 1950's through freewheeling investigations of alleged Communists.
Majority and Minority Leader
Blacks
Joseph McCarthy
Executive Privilege
27. According to this nineteenth-century British peer and historian - 'power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.'
John Locke
Lord Acton
4
Securities and Exchange Commission or Securities Act of 1933
28. Smith v. Allwight (1994) was the first vase in which the Supreme Court upheld the voting rights of _____________ in state primary elections.
Enumerated Powers
Federalism
Closed
Blacks
29. During Presidential election years or when the nation is divided on policy agenda - particularly regarding salient issues - voter turnout is _____________
Politics
Committees
Self-Incrimination
High
30. The average voter turnout between 1960 and 2004 was __________ percent
Blacks
Government
55
14th Amendment
31. The party-column ballot - or Indiana ballot - encourages _______________.
Straight Ticket Voting
Marshall Plan
100
Great Compromise
32. After the Vietnam war - American politics entered an era of __________________ during which neither party maintained control over the government.
Wallace's Progressives
Supply Side Economics
Articles of Confederation
Divided Government
33. ________________ of the Constitution governs the relationships of the states.
Containment
20
Dred Scott Decision
Article IV
34. Courts of original jurisdiction in federal crimes - civil suits under federal law - civil suits between citizens of different states where the amount in question exceeds $50 -000 - bankruptcy proceedings - cases involving some federal administrative
Federal District
Equal Time
Patriot Act
unlimited
35. Elects the President if no candidate receives 270 Electoral College votes.
Lemon Test
House of Representatives
General Purpose Grants
Commission Plan
36. Guarantees the right to bare arms.
Focus Groups
2nd Amendment
Furman v. Georgia
Dred Scott Decision
37. Which committee assignments would confer the most power and influence on members of the Senate?
Legislative
Appropriations
Select Committee
Free Exercise of Religion
38. Broadly worded warrants used by British soldiers during colonial America to search for contraband and prevent smuggling.
Trial Balloon
7
Writ of Assistance
8 Million
39. A term coined by President Lyndon B. Johnson to describe his own view of the relationship between Washington and the states.
Permanent Registration
Creative Federalism
Majority Rule
Good Faith Exception
40. Minor criminal offenses - such as speeding.
Gideon v. Wainwright
Due Process of Law
Misdemeanors
Bill of Attainder
41. Raise Public Awareness - Create Policy Agenda - Prioritize Agenda - Enact Policy - Public Evaluation
blockbusting and redlining
Policy Making Cycle
Gross Domestic Product
Council-Manager Plan
42. When the minority party becomes stronger than the majority party - usually the result of winning a critical election.
External Efficacy
Flexible Construction
Party Realignment
Jus Soli
43. Number of original cabinet positions under George Washington.
3
congressional oversight committee
Chief Justice
Public Policies
44. A vote in the House of Representatives in which the position of each member is noted and published in the Congressional Record.
Caucuses
Gay
Recorded Vote
Referendum
45. The responsibility of the President to appoint federal judges when vacancies occur on the bench is referred to as
Clear and Present Danger
Foreign Policy
Judicial Selection
Detente
46. A joint committee of Congress established to help negotiate discrepancies and gain consensus between legislation passed in each house before sending the bill to the President.
Executive
Conference Committee
Valence issue
Delegated Powers
47. This powerful House committee is in charge of determining under what rule other bills will come to the floor.
2/3
Executive
Public Policies
Rules Committee
48. The reason that electors are chosen in each state by popular vote is ____________.
Absolute Position
Elastic Clause
Custom
Ex Post Facto
49. The Supreme Court holds _____________ jurisdiction in cases against the US - ambassadors - public ministers - and consuls.
Free Exercise of Religion
Implied Powers
Original
Party Regulars
50. The ruling in this case provided that the government must prove a threat to national security in order to impose prior restraint.
imprisoned
Rules Committee
Pentagon Papers
Pre-clearance