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






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






3. 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






4. The only amendments to be ratified through the process of 'ratifying conventions -' not a vote in the state legislatures






5. 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






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






7. Cabinet department responsible for collective bargaining and union activity. Established in 1913






8. Disapproval of a bill by a chief executive - such as the president or a governor.






9. This amendment includes the due process clause - the equal protection clause - and gave rights to former slaves.






10. Spending by the national committees of the political parties to support the election of congressional candidates is known as






11. Funds spent for or against a candidate by committees not formally connected to the candidate's campaign and without coordination with the campaign.






12. This influential English document signed by King John in 1215 limited the absolute power of the monarchy - established due process - and limited arbitrary seizure of property.






13. Urban or rural areas in which businesses are encouraged to locate because of tax breaks and other incentives.






14. When the President's own party gains power and influence - it more puts pressure on the President to conform to the will of the party - leading to________________ between the President and the party to define their public identities






15. A term coined by President Lyndon B. Johnson to describe his own view of the relationship between Washington and the states.






16. Legislative branch incorporating two houses.






17. Devolutionary system in which the national government returns tax dollars to the state and local governments primarily in the form of block grants.






18. 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.






19. 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'






20. ________________ of the Constitution governs the relationships of the states.






21. A series of 85 articles written by Alexander Hamilton - John Jay - and James Madison under the pseudonym Publius advocating the ratification of the United States Constitution.






22. A relaxation of international tensions.






23. 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).






24. The right of the Supreme Court - under the Constitution - to hear certain kinds of cases directly - such as cases involving foreign diplomats - or cases in which one of the 50 states is a party.






25. In a political campaign - the surest way of reaching the largest number of voters is usually _____________.






26. Organizations or groups - such as labor unions or fraternal - professional - or religious groups - that may influence an individual's opinion.






27. It is possible either to describe people - government - politics - and power as isolated - static elements - or to look at them as interacting elements in a_______________.






28. Wisconsin Republican who exploited public concern for political gain during the 1950's through freewheeling investigations of alleged Communists.






29. 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.






30. The Democrats control over politics during the 20th century ended with this President's unpopular handling of the Vietnam War.






31. This category of interest groups has been the strongest and most effective in lobbying Washington






32. After a bill has passed both the House and Senate - it goes to _________________ where any differences between the house bill and the senate bill are resolved before sending to the President for signature






33. A test established by Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes - Jr. - in 1919 to define the point at which speech loses the protection of the First Amendment.






34. _____ out of 9 justices must agree to hear an appellate case brought to them from a lower court.






35. Legislative opinions on a matter that do not require Presidential signature.






36. 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.






37. Decides which bills will be considered.






38. Guarantees the right to bare arms.






39. 1946 Act requiring bureaucratic agencies to appeal to the affected parties before adopting new policies. Legislative check on Bureaucracy.






40. Units of government under the president - within the executive branch - that are not part of a cabinet department.






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






42. Until the law was changed in 2002 - the term described unregulated campaign funds not subject to the limits of federal law because they went to party committees and not directly to candidates. The 2002 law banned contributions of soft money to nation






43. Cabinet department responsible for regulating and promoting trade and maintaining the census Established in 1913..






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






45. A philosophy that the Supreme Court should avoid constitutional questions when possible and uphold acts of Congress unless they clearly violate a specific section of the Constitution.






46. 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.






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






48. Grants that an accused may not be held in custody without charge - literally 'You shall have the body'.






49. Total number of Representatives apportioned to the states based on population and reapportioned with the census every 10 years






50. A method available in most states that allows voters - in effect - to 'veto' a bill passed by the legislature or to accept or reject a proposal - such as a bond issue - made by a government agency.