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. A system in which national and state government have shared or overlapping powers. FDR's New Deal legislation established this system in the US.






2. A system of voter registration in which voters must register only once in their district.






3. Theory that a government requires the consent of the governed.






4. A nation's set of fundamental beliefs about how government and politics should be conducted.






5. A primary in which any registered voter is able to vote for candidates from more than one party. A voter - for example - may vote for a Democrat for U.S. senator and for a Republican for governor. In 2000 - the Supreme Court struck down the blanket p






6. Committees appointed for investigative or crisis situations.






7. These parties often emerge as off-shoots of major parties or as single-issue parties. They typically act as critic/innovator bringing attention to issues and influencing the platforms of the major parties.






8. Charge of misconduct brought against a government official.






9. A law passed in 1966 that requires federal executive branch and regulatory agencies to make information available to journalists - scholars - and the public unless it falls into one of several confidential categories.






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






11. Prompted by the ____________________ - the 26th Amendment lowered the voting age from 21 to 18.






12. Information sent out in order to observe the reaction of an audience. Used by politicians who deliberately leak information on a policy change under consideration.






13. The principle - established by Chief Justice John Marshall in 1819 in the case of McCulloch v. Maryland - that the Constitution must be interpreted flexibly to meet changing conditions.






14. Senators have a __________ rate of re-election than Representatives primarily because of their larger constituency and lack of direct involvement with them.






15. Responsible for assigning bills to committee in the Senate.






16. A public assistance program established in 1965 to help pay hospital - doctor - and medical bills for people with low incomes.






17. The doctrine that the numerical majority of an organized group can make decisions binding on the whole group






18. Defamation by written or printed words - pictures - or in any form other than by spoken words or gestures.






19. 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






20. Number of years a Representative must reside in the US prior to taking office






21. A legislature with only one house.






22. Political party lead by Andrew Jackson from 1828 to 1856. Campaigned against strong central government and fought to end elitism.






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






24. Presides over any impeachment trial.






25. The way things should be by law






26. Included are Agriculture - Nutrition - and Forestry; Appropriations; Armed Services; Banking - Housing and Urban Affairs; Commerce - Science and Transportation; Energy and Natural Resources; Environment and Public Works; Finance; Health - Education -






27. The 1st Amendment states that government cannot issue ______________ - censoring publications before they are published.






28. 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.






29. Economists generally agree that the major responsibility for promoting prosperity and full employment falls on ________________.






30. While the voting rights act of 1965 did direct the Attorney General to investigate the constitutionality of poll taxes and prohibit literacy tests - it did not expressly prohibit _____________.






31. The response of the rest of society to actions by the authorities.






32. 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.






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






34. Form of obstruction in the Senate where an attempt is made to infinitely extend debate upon a proposal in order to delay the progress or completely prevent a vote on the proposal taking place.






35. A writ designed to protect against illegal imprisonment by requiring that a person who is detained be brought before a judge for investigation.






36. Executive check on Legislative Branch.






37. An election in which voters in a jurisdiction select candidates for a subsequent election. In other words - one means by which a political party nominate candidates for the following general election.s






38. A loose grouping of people and organizations who seek to influence policy formation.






39. 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






40. Freedoms that protect the individual from the government.






41. Individual contributions to PACs are limited to ______________ dollars per candidate per election with primaries - general and special elections counting separately.






42. A system in which the national government sets requirements that are then implemented by state and local governments.






43. Clause in the 14th Amendment that forbids any state to deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. The 5th Amendment also imposes this limitation on the national government.






44. An economic system of free enterprise with private ownership of the means of production.






45. A provision in a deed to real property prohibiting its sale to a person of a particular race or religion. Judicial enforcement is unconstitutional.






46. This 1st amendment clause prohibits the government from making any law prohibiting the exercise of any religion






47. 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.






48. After the Vietnam war - American politics entered an era of __________________ during which neither party maintained control over the government.






49. Federal aid that states and localities may use mostly as they wish.






50. This rule established by US v. Leon (1984) angered civil liberties groups by allowing exception to the Exclusionary Rule in instances where probably cause may not fully exist.