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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. Article I of the Constitution establishes the ___________________ branch.
Legislative
House of Representatives
Substantive Due Process
2/3
2. Also known as the Indiana ballot - lists the candidates of each party in a row or column - beside or under the party emblem. In most cases - the voter can make one mark at the top of the column - or pull one lever - and thus vote for all the party's
30
Party Column Ballot
Press Secretary
Retrospective Voting
3. German sociologist theorized that the engine of government needs bureaucracies to provide expertise in a way that short-term elected or appointed official cannot.
Coast Guard
presidential line-item veto
Monroe Doctrine
Max Weber
4. This clause of the 1st amendment establishes a 'wall of separation' between church and state.
Department of Treasury
Establishment Clause
Open Meeting Law
Ratification
5. According to this nineteenth-century British peer and historian - 'power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.'
435
Incumbents
Lord Acton
Authorizations
6. These voters tend to have a high voter turnout because of their strong since of civic duty due to growing up during an era of political and civil unrest.
Procedural Due Process
Unitary System
Baby Boomers
Regulatory Federalism
7. According to one survey - what percentage of Americans belongs to groups that sometimes take a stand on public issues
31
4
Cold War
Distribution
8. Literally meaning 'right of soil' - confers citizenship by place of birth.
Judicial
Low
Senate
Jus Soli
9. The number of ______________ a state receives is based on the number Representatives and Senators that the state has in Congress
Civilian Supremacy
8th Amendment
may not
Electoral Votes
10. Which form of registration prevails in all but a few states?
Permanent Registration
Affirmative Action
National Debt
Muckrakers
11. The only instance in which the government can prohibit religious activities
Violation of Law
legislative and executive
Legislative
AARP
12. ____________________ define Congressional voting districts acting within constraints set down by Congress and the Supreme Court.
District of Columbia
Proportional Representation
Isolationism
State Legislatures
13. Love of country and a desire for independence; it can also mean an excessive form of patriotism exploited by political leaders.
Nationalism
Charismatic authority
Collective Action
Criminal Cases
14. Most modern political scientists believe there is ________________ between politics and government.
Bill of Rights
Interstate Compact
Unlimited
Little Difference
15. Age Requirement for House of Representatives.
District of Columbia
Exit Polls
Republicans
25
16. 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.
Shay's Rebellion
Caucus
2
Referendum
17. A jury of 6 to 12 persons who determine guilt or innocence in a civil or criminal action
Petit Jury
Judicial Review
Pass the fundraising threshold
8 Million
18. Senators are re-elected every ___ years with 1/3 of the Senate being up for election every 2 years.
Appealed
Freedom of Religion
6
Petit Jury
19. The ___________ aspects of Federalism include: diversity/diffusion of power - more access points for political participation - fostering of experimentation and innovation - and allowing local governments to manage local problems effectively
Original Jurisdiction
Positive
Reserved Powers
Jurisdiction
20. The name commonly given to a private group - regardless of size - organized to elect political candidates. An organization becomes one by receiving contributions or making expenditures in excess of $1 -000 for the purpose of influencing a federal ele
Original Jurisdiction
Change of Venue
Enterprise Zones
Political Action Committee
21. Presides over the Senate in the absence of the Vice President. Position awarded to the longest serving Senator from the majority party. 3rd in line of succession for the Presidency.
Local
Globalization
President Pro Tempore
Cycle of Decreasing Influence
22. This 1964 case established strict standards for proving slander and libel - court must prove intent of malice on the part of the publisher.
Political Action Committees
NY Times v. Sullivan
State Auditor
Negative Advertising
23. 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.
27th Amendment
Transportation
Legislative
Propose an Amendment
24. Established the Federal Reserve Bank - responsible for conducting the nation's monetary policy - maintaining the stability of the financial system - supervising and regulating banking institutions - and protecting the credit rights of consumers - and
President
Civil War Amendments
Woodrow Wilson
Original Jurisdiction
25. A coherent set of beliefs about politics - public policy - and public purpose. It helps give meaning to political event - personalities - and policies.
Issue Networks
Electoral College
Majority Rule
Political ideology
26. 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.
Horse race
Furman v. Georgia
Original
Natural Rights
27. A legislature with only one house.
Rhode Island
Low
Writ of Mandamus
Unicameral
28. The practice under which victorious politicians reward their followers with jobs.
Detente
New Jersey Plan
Spoils System
Soft Money
29. 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
14th Amendment
Safe seat
Take Care Clause
Speaker of the House
30. When the population's overall feeling of political efficacy is low - voter turnout is _______.
Internal Efficacy
Low
Welfare State
Implied Powers
31. A method of polling - considered less reliable than a random sample - in which interviewers are instructed to question members of a particular group in proportion to their percentage in the population as a whole.
14
Negative Advertising
Quota Sampling
Low
32. In lieu of an indictment - the state prosecutor may file a _______________ charging the person with a crime.
Enacted
Redistributive Policy
Hyperpluralism
Criminal Information
33. The 1892 platform of the Populist party repudiating laissez-faire and demanding economic and political reform
Caucus
Writ of Mandamus
CORE
Omaha platform
34. Between 1909 and 2002 - the number of daily newspapers in the United States______________.
Decreased
Selective Incorporation
Independent Regulatory Agencies
Blacks
35. The issue of slavery split the Democratic Party into what two factions?
Northern and Southern
Bill of Rights
77
Regulatory Agencies
36. Laws passed by state legislatures that are designed to protect reporters from being forced to reveal their news sources.
Shield Laws
Rhode Island
Felonies
19th Amendment
37. Prohibits the use of cruel or unusual punishment.
John Locke
Furman v. Georgia
8th Amendment
Supports
38. The oldest House committee still in existence.
Caucus
Ways and Means Committee
Closed rule
12
39. This controversial clause of the 9th Amendment has allowed government to expand rights to suit its needs.
High
Elastic Clause
Pentagon Papers
Committees of Correspondence
40. The house armed services and foreign affairs committees each have ___ subcommittees.
Balance of Trade
7
Elastic Clause
Electoral Connection
41. Law intended to promote free competition in the market place by outlawing monopolies
Democracy
Antitrust Legislation
Great Compromise
Political Action Committees
42. 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
Entitlement Programs
11th Amendment
Fast Track Authority
Increased competition
43. Germany - Switzerland - and India are examples of countries with a _______________ system of government.
20th
Federal
Enterprise Zones
Muckrakers
44. Polls taken as people leave voting places. In the past - television networks sometimes used these polls to predict election outcomes before the polls close. In 1992 - the television networks agreed not to project the winner in a state until the major
Outputs
Eminent Domain
Exit Polls
Federal Courts
45. Wisconsin Republican who exploited public concern for political gain during the 1950's through freewheeling investigations of alleged Communists.
Interior
Royal Colonies
General Purpose Grants
Joseph McCarthy
46. The federal department that administers programs that provide services to farmers (including research and soil conservation and efforts to stabilize the farming economy)
Agriculture
Article VI
Social Security
Raise Public Awareness
47. Puerto Rico has ____________ status.
Interventionism
Catholics
Commonwealth
Poll Tax
48. Presidential staff agency that serves as a clearinghouse for budgetary requests and management improvements for government agencies.
Conglomerates
Quota Sampling
Articles of Confederation
Office of Management and Budget
49. A philosophy that Supreme Court justices and other judges should boldly apply the Constitution to social and political questions.
Presidential Veto
Judicial Activism
Commonwealth
Decreased
50. 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
14th
Office of Management and Budget
89
Scandal Mongering