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 of _______________ - as in Italy - encourages the existence of many parties by allotting seats to competing candidates according to the percentage of votes they win.






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






3. A system in which the national government provides grants-in-aid to states using conditions to elicit control.






4. Since 1960 - there has been a general trend of ______________ participation in elections.






5. Presidential management model in which corporate CEO tactics are used employing committees - task forces - and special advisors. Successfully utilized by Clinton and G W Bush.






6. The principle of civilian control of the military - based on the clear constitutional power of the president as supreme commander of the armed forces.






7. Members of the ______________ committee of a political party work to maintain influence during non election years through congressional campaign committees.






8. Tips the balance between two leading candidates by attracting a minority of voters who otherwise might have voted for one of the leading candidates.






9. 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.






10. While the verbiage of the 4th Amendment is vague as to what constitutes 'reasonable'. Police departments must rely on _____________; they cannot act on unfounded suspicion.






11. Programs are designed to give preferential access to education - employment - health care - or social welfare to groups of people - especially minorities and women - who have historically been discriminated against.






12. Philosopher John Locke - in his 1690 work Civil Government (second treatise) - advised separation of government power between






13. Loose - competitive relationships among policy experts - interest groups - congressional committees - and federal agencies. Many observers argue that these have replaced iron triangles.






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






15. The Supreme Court holds _____________ jurisdiction in cases against the US - ambassadors - public ministers - and consuls.






16. The ______________________ were formed to unite the colonists against Britain.






17. The Supreme Court practice of applying most of the provisions of the Bill of Rights to the states under the 14th Amendment.






18. The Medicaid and Food Stamp programs are examples of two very large






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






20. Belief in the value of strong government to provide economic secruity and protection for civil rights - combined with a belief in personal freedom from government intervention in social conduct






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






22. 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.






23. The only instance in which the government can prohibit religious activities






24. The concentration of economic power in the hands of a relatively few large companies.






25. A technique polling organizations use in which several people from the same neighborhood are interviewed.






26. Serious crimes - such as murder - arson - or rape.






27. In addition to overseeing the activities of one or more federal agencies - a ___________________may also serve as the authorizing committee for federal agencies' programs and operations.






28. The only court specifically outlined in the Constitution.






29. Which powers of the national government flow from its enumerated powers and from the 'elastic clause' of the Constitution?






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






31. Early civil rights leader established the Niagara Movement and helped to establish the NAACP.






32. A strand of American foreign policy that was visible by the end of the 19th century; it included 'gunboat diplomacy' and other forms of military involvement by the United States in various parts of the world.






33. The 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act banned contributions of soft money to______________.






34. After hearings are complete - a congressional subcommittee will usually determine a bill's future in final deliberations known as






35. Includes expressive conduct/assembly/actions and symbolic behavior (ex. Picketing or burning the flag) Based on our country history of symbolic acts such as the Boston Tea Party - courts almost always uphold symbolic acts of speech unless they are cr






36. 1946 Act requiring bureaucratic agencies to appeal to the affected parties before adopting new policies. Legislative check on Bureaucracy.






37. A system of voter registration in which voters must register every year or at other stated intervals.






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






39. Provisions tacked on to a piece of legislation that are not relevant to the bill.






40. This 1689 English Document made the monarch






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






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






43. A decision of the Supreme Court cannot be ___________.






44. These courts only hear appeals on cases from lower courts.






45. An extraordinary writ commanding an official to perform a ministerial act that the law recognizes as an absolute duty and not a matter for the official's discretion






46. Test whereby the Supreme Court established criteria by which state may provide aid to religious groups.






47. Cabinet department that includes the FAA and the National Hwy Traffic Safety Administration. Established in 1966.






48. 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.






49. 1798 Act that criminalized speech that was derisive to the government. Later ruled unconstitutional - Andrew Jackson issued blanket pardon in 1801






50. An ideology that advocates limits on government power to address economic and social problems - relying instead on economic markets and individual initiative to address problems like health care and education - while promoting government involvement