SUBJECTS
|
BROWSE
|
CAREER CENTER
|
POPULAR
|
JOIN
|
LOGIN
Business Skills
|
Soft Skills
|
Basic Literacy
|
Certifications
About
|
Help
|
Privacy
|
Terms
|
Email
Search
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. Southern whites prevented blacks from ____________ through use of poll taxes - literacy tests and intimidation tactics after the Civil War.
Plain View
Voting
Reynolds v. Sims
Line-Item Veto
2. 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
Federalist
High
Unlimited
de facto
3. Head of the Supreme Court.
Plurality
Free Exercise
Amicus Curiae Brief
Chief Justice
4. Elections that reflect the basic party identification of the voters.
Death penalty
Tariff
a senior senator of the majority party
Maintaining Elections
5. Tips the balance between two leading candidates by attracting a minority of voters who otherwise might have voted for one of the leading candidates.
Spoiler Candidate
Pentagon Papers
Closed Shop
Confirmed
6. The action - or actions - taken by government to carry out a policy.
Implementation
Charismatic authority
Earl Warren
Democratic
7. Representing - characterized by - or including members from two parties or factions
Great or Connecticut Compromise
Small Business Administration (SBA)
Slander
Bipartisanship
8. Presidential staff agency that serves as a clearinghouse for budgetary requests and management improvements for government agencies.
25
The Federalist #10
Office of Management and Budget
Dissenting Opinion
9. A legal principle of fair dealing - which may provide preventive measures and legal remedies that are unavailable under existing common law and statutory law.
Unlimited
Discharge Petition
Concurring Opinion
Equity
10. Private groups that attempt to influence the government to respond to the shared attitudes of their members.
Politics
Interest Groups
Gross Domestic Product
States
11. States that states may draw reasonable distinctions between the rights of residents and non-residents (ex. In state and out of state tuition)
Bill of Attainder
Conservatism
Nationalism
Privileges and Immunities Clause
12. The expansion of cable and satellite tv has _________________ the president's power to influence public opinion.
Earl Warren
national quotas
Plurality
Increased
13. Process by which citizens propose an amendment by petition.
Selective Incorporation
Budget Resolution
Constitutional Initiative
Good Faith Exception
14. Number of years a President must reside in the US prior to taking office
2
14
Interest Groups
Class Action Suit
15. 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
Federal Courts
State Legislatures
Democratic
Bull Moose Progressives
16. The practice under which victorious politicians reward their followers with jobs.
Federal Appellate
Television and Radio
Redistributive Policy
Spoils System
17. An individual who does not join a group representing his or her interests yet receives the benefit of the group's influence.
Free Rider
Cycle of Decreasing Influence
Implied Powers
Homeland Security
18. When neither political party is dominant.
Northern and Southern
Public hearing
Party Dealignment
Whigs
19. A registered voter may vote in any party primary regardless of his own party affiliation. When voters do not register with a party before the primary - it is called a pick-a-party primary because the voter can select which party's primary he or she w
Pork Barrel Spending
14th Amendment
Open
Non-protected Speech
20. Also known as the Massachusetts ballot - groups candidates according to the office for which they are running
Writ of Mandamus
Unlimited
Charismatic authority
Office Column Ballot
21. First step in the Policy Making Cycle.
Propose an Amendment
Freedom of Information Act
Concurring Opinion
Raise Public Awareness
22. The Supreme Court has sometimes used a narrow interpretation of the Establishment Clause allowing the government to provide aid to religious groups as long as it remains ______________ and does not promote one religion at the expense of another. This
Eminent Domain
Fast Track Authority
Confederation
Impartial
23. Form of government in which the people are sovereign but their power is exercised by their elected representatives.
Senatorial Courtesy
House of Representatives
Foreign Relations and the Judiciary Committees
Republic
24. Limitations on this freedom including prohibition of defamation and obscenity - limitation on commercial speech - and restriction of inciting words that may cause immediate danger.
Freedom of Speech
Negative
Republicans
Article IV
25. The vagueness of this phrase has allowed juries to exclude specific genders or races in order to affect the outcome of the verdict.
Jury of Peers
Judicial Restraint
Judicial Activism
Dred Scott Decision
26. Individual contributions to PACs are limited to ______________ dollars per candidate per election with primaries - general and special elections counting separately.
5 -000
Pass the fundraising threshold
Legislative Courts
Cooperative / Marble Cake Federalism
27. Colonies controlled by the British king through governors appointed by him and through the king's veto power over colonial laws.
Party Identification
Federalism
Royal Colonies
Ways and Mean Committee
28. 1963 ruling prohibiting prayer in public schools.
Murray v. Curlett
Globalization
may not
Third Party
29. Year of the 2nd Continental Congress.
New Jersey Plan
Common Sense
Home Rule
1776
30. In 1998 - the Supreme Court struck down the________________ law - declaring it unconstitutional - because Congress did not have the constitutional authority to hand that power to the President.
presidential line-item veto
Scandal Mongering
Open
Patriot Act
31. The overall public has a ___________ view of PACS in terms of bought votes and adding to the cost of running for office
Court of Appeals
Negative
Civil Liberties
Mayor-Council Plan
32. High School Dropouts - Blacks - Hispanics - Recent immigrants - and People under 25 or over 75 tend to have a _________ voter turnout.
Freedom of Religion
Judicial
Low
Seniority System
33. The yearly value of goods and services produced within a country.
Exit Polls
Authorizations
Shay's Rebellion
Gross Domestic Product
34. According to this nineteenth-century British peer and historian - 'power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.'
Contract Clause
Select Committee
Whistle-blowers
Lord Acton
35. Elections that may lead to a basic shift in the party identification of the electorate.
Democrats
Laissez-Faire
Realigning Elections
Roe v. Wade
36. The period of time after the election of FDR until the Vietnam War was dominated by the Democratic Party and know as the __________________ Era.
Low
New Deal Era
Rhode Island
Amicus Curiae Brief
37. Laws passed by state legislatures that are designed to protect reporters from being forced to reveal their news sources.
Shield Laws
9
Baron de Montesquieu
Retrospective Voting
38. Number of justices of the Supreme Court.
Grant Clemency
Coordinated Spending
Interstate Compact
9
39. After the Vietnam war - American politics entered an era of __________________ during which neither party maintained control over the government.
District of Columbia
Divided Government
10th Amendment
Woodrow Wilson
40. Makes sure that funds are used safely and wisely. They oversee the state's financial records
Marbury v. Madison
Containment
State Auditor
Civil Liberties
41. 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.
Party Column Ballot
Television
Good Faith Exception
Appealed
42. In his classic study of community power in New Haven - Connecticut - political scientist Robert A. Dahl concluded that the city was a __________ system dominated by many different sets of leaders
Speaker of the House
Pluralist
Unlimited
National Committee
43. Legislative house whose membership was intended to represent the state.
Seniority System
Senate
Low
Pre-clearance
44. In the 1990 case OR State Employment Division v. Smith 1990 - the Supreme court allowed the state to fire employees who use peyote during native American religious ceremonies because it is in violation of drug laws. In this case - which clause of the
Random Sample
Veto
Raise Public Awareness
Free Exercise Clause
45. Department established in 1988 by President G.H. Bush.
46. 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
Cooperative / Marble Cake Federalism
Strategic Deterrence
Party Identification
Restrictive Covenant
47. The fundamental flaw in plural theory contends that pluralism weakens the backbone of democracy with too many common interest groups attempt to wield power - often leading to standstill because of unwillingness to compromise.
Veto
Categorical Grant
Hyperpluralism
Probable Cause
48. The Supreme Court has ruled that Congress_________________ take away a person's citizenship unless it is freely renounced.
Ways and Means Committee
may not
Budget Resolution
Attorney General
49. Authority based on an individual's outstanding traits - which attract followers
Plain View
Deviating Elections
Charismatic authority
Appropriation Bills
50. 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.
Trustee
Free Exercise Clause
Inputs
27th Amendment