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 provisions of the Constitution that divide power among three constitutionally equal and independent branches of government






2. Puerto Rico has ____________ status.






3. In the area of foreign affairs - _______________ often have the advantage because






4. The responsibility of the President to appoint federal judges when vacancies occur on the bench is referred to as






5. Under this governing document - national government lacked authority to set up tariffs - regulate commerce - levy taxes - control international relations - establish common currency






6. A plan to provide billions of dollars of American aid to Western Europe to speed its economic and social recovery after the Second World War.






7. 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






8. According to this nineteenth-century British peer and historian - 'power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.'






9. Voters tendency to identify with a party that shares their views on important issues ignoring the party's stance on issues they deem less important. to be life-long unless there is a major change in the party's platform. 2. Influenced by ra






10. The constitutional requirement (in article II - sec 3) that presidents take care that the laws are faithfully executed - even if they disagree with the purpose of those laws






11. This author of Leviathon posited that government is necessary because people are generally in a state of conflict.






12. First Roman Catholic elected President.






13. 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.






14. In lieu of an indictment - the state prosecutor may file a _______________ charging the person with a crime.






15. A court decision in an earlier case with facts and legal issues similar to a dispute currently before a court.






16. The 15th Amendment - also know as _________________ - was intended to help recently freed blacks from unconstitutional state laws designed to circumvent federal laws.






17. The Articles of Confederation established a ________________ legislature.






18. 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.






19. A procedural rule in the House of Representatives that permits floor amendments within the overall time allocated to the bill.






20. Cabinet department responsible for managing school lunch programs and food safety. Established in 1862.






21. 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:






22. Proponents of limited government - unregulated free markets - national self-reliance - and conventional social values are best describes as






23. Protects against unreasonable search and seizure.






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






25. Court cases that involve relations between individuals and organizations - such as a divorce action - or a suit for damages arising from an automobile accident or for violation of a business contract.






26. Powers specifically given to the federal government by the US Constitution - for example - the authority to print money.






27. Libel - obscenity - fighting words - and commercial speech - which are not entitled to constitutional protection in all circumstances.






28. 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.






29. By far - the largest amount of federal aid to state and local governments comes in the form of:






30. Capital punishment is also known as the _________________.






31. 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






32. As part of the negotiations concerning the Constitution - the South fought for and won an agreement forbidding the imposition of _______________.






33. Passed in 1883 - it created a federal civil service so that hiring and promotion would be based on merit rather than patronage.






34. Laws passed by state legislatures that are designed to protect reporters from being forced to reveal their news sources.






35. The belief that all people possess certain basic rights that may not be abridged by government.






36. Overall spending targets set by the Congress.






37. During Presidential election years or when the nation is divided on policy agenda - particularly regarding salient issues - voter turnout is _____________






38. Elects the President if no candidate receives 270 Electoral College votes.






39. Federal and State Courts function in a _____________manner so that federal courts may receive appeals from state courts.






40. Legislative house whose members were intended to represent the people.






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






42. Presidential refusal to allow an agency to spend funds that Congress authorized and appropriated.






43. 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






44. Theory of democracy in which competition among common interest groups promote ideas to influence politics






45. The ruling in this case provided that the government must prove a threat to national security in order to impose prior restraint.






46. 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.






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






48. First Executive Branch






49. During the period from 1976 to 1824 - This party was lead by Alexander Hamilton and James Madison. They wanted a stronger national government that would rectify the pitfalls of the Articles of Confederation. Their supporters held a stronghold in New






50. An issue on which voters distinguish rival parties by the degree to which they associate each party or candidate with conditions - goals - or symbols the electorate universally approves or disapproves of. Examples of such issues are economic prosperi