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. Which historical figure described democracy as 'the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time?'






2. A coherent set of beliefs about politics - public policy - and public purpose. It helps give meaning to political event - personalities - and policies.






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






4. Powers specifically outlined in the Constitution as assigned to one branch of government.






5. Congress' first step towards allocating funds






6. Which committee assignments would confer the most power and influence on members of the Senate?






7. A powerful alliance of mutual benefit among an agency or unit of the government - an interest group - and a committee or subcommittee of Congress. Also called a triangle or a subgovernment.






8. Members of this party typically include Conservative Christian groups - higher socio-economic classes - middle-class white collar - and suburban voters.






9. ______________ refers to the differences in political attitudes and voting behavior between men and women






10. An annual meeting held in the spring in many New England towns - at which the townspeople come together to elect a board of selectmen and to discuss local policy questions. It has become a symbol of participatory democracy.






11. The Supreme Court's broad interpretation of this clause has denied direct aid from the government for religious groups - but does allow religious groups to make use of government services such as police and fire.






12. This amendment applied the Bill of Rights to states.






13. The amount of money available when the government's income is greater than what it spends in a fiscal year.






14. Charge of misconduct brought against a government official.






15. David R. Mayhew has suggested that this influences congressional behavior. The ________________ is the relationship between members of Congress and their constituents.






16. Government branch established in Article I of the Constitution.






17. This clause of the 1st amendment establishes a 'wall of separation' between church and state.






18. 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.






19. Law intended to promote free competition in the market place by outlawing monopolies






20. Procedure typically requiring 3/5 vote of the entire Senate to end a filibuster.






21. Article II of the Constitution establishes the ______________ branch.






22. Lawsuit brought by an individual or group of people on behalf of all those similarly situated






23. After a bill is assigned to a committee - the next step is typically a ______________.






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






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






26. Tax legislation must originate in this house.






27. A federal program established in 1965 to provide hospital and medical services to older people through the Social Security system.






28. Love of country and a desire for independence; it can also mean an excessive form of patriotism exploited by political leaders.






29. The average voter turnout between 1960 and 2004 was __________ percent






30. Constitutionally required address by the President typically given in a joint session of Congress.






31. This 1964 case established strict standards for proving slander and libel - court must prove intent of malice on the part of the publisher.






32. Petition that - if signed by a majority of the members of the House of Representatives - will pry a bill from committee and bring it to the floor for consideration






33. A term popularized by sociologist Floyd Hunter to describe the community leaders who he said determined policy in Atlanta - Georgia. More broadly - the term is used to describe 'power elites' generally.






34. Age Requirement for the Senate






35. This influential English document refuted divine right of monarchy and made monarchs subject to laws and responsible for crimes






36. An ideology that cherishes individual liberty and insists on a sharply limited government - promoting a free market economy - a non-interventionist foreign policy - and an absence of regulation in the moral and social spheres.






37. Committees of Congress composed of both representatives and senators.






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






39. A philosophy that Supreme Court justices and other judges should boldly apply the Constitution to social and political questions.






40. First civil rights organization to use non-violent tactics to promote racial equality and desegregation






41. Freedoms that protect the individual from the government.






42. If 10 days remain in session and the president does not sign an act of Congress - the law is ___________.






43. 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.






44. Overall spending targets set by the Congress.






45. The Equal Rights Amendment was defeated in 1982 because ____________________________.






46. The concept that all people are of equal worth - even if not of equal ability.






47. Population migration patterns since the second World War have increased the power of _____________.






48. 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






49. This House committee is responsible for all taxes - tariffs - and other revenue raising measures in addition to social security - child support - Medicare - foster care - and unemployment.






50. Number of years a Senator must reside in the US prior to taking office