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. Head of the Supreme Court.






2. Most states have ___________ legislatures.






3. Important during the Revolution - these bodies organized by the local governments of the Thirteen Colonies during the American Revolution for the purposes of coordinating written communication outside of the colony.






4. A vote in the House of Representatives in which the position of each member is noted and published in the Congressional Record.






5. A procedural rule in the House of Representatives that prohibits any amendment to bills or provides that only memebers of the committee reporting the bill may offer amendments






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






7. 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






8. Guarantees the right to a speedy and public trial.






9. Cabinet department responsible for managing school lunch programs and food safety. Established in 1862.






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






11. The number of ______________ a state receives is based on the number Representatives and Senators that the state has in Congress






12. The 23rd Amendment guaranteed voting rights to whom?






13. A term coined by President Lyndon B. Johnson to describe his own view of the relationship between Washington and the states.






14. 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.






15. Defamation by oral utterance rather than by writing - pictures






16. By far - the largest amount of federal aid to state and local governments comes in the form of:






17. This term refers to the gain in the polls that a candidate often enjoys after a national convention






18. Term limit for House of Representatives.






19. The period of time after the election of FDR until the Vietnam War was dominated by the Democratic Party and know as the __________________ Era.






20. A legislature with only one house.






21. An opinion of one or more judges expressing disagreement with the majority opinion of the court which gives rise to its judgment.






22. California measure designed to deny welfare and other benefits to illegal aliens. Overwhelmingly passed the popular vote - but overturned in federal court because it extending beyond the bounds of state rights to attempt to control immigration.






23. In this essay - James Madison recognized that reconciling the competing interests of various groups was what legislation was all about






24. Legislature bills that affect only a small group of citizens.






25. Prohibits the use of cruel or unusual punishment.






26. 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






27. The vote cast by a person who does not like either candidate and so votes for the less objectionable of the two - putting a clothespin over his nose to keep out the unpleasant stench






28. In 1943 - The Supreme Court upheld the Jehovah's Witnesses right to refrain from saluting the American flag based on their right to _____________.






29. Voting based on looking back and making judgments about the way things have gone and the kind of government experienced during a political leader's time in office.






30. Literally meaning 'right of blood' - confers citizenship to a child from the parents.






31. Constitutional protection of the accused to not be tried for the same crime twice.






32. The primary purpose of _______________consolidate the nation's disability laws and provide for strong federal enforcement of a strengthened disability rights mandate






33. Cabinet department responsible for the management of public lands - wildlife - natural resources - and Native American affairs. Established in 1849






34. This powerful House committee is in charge of determining under what rule other bills will come to the floor.






35. Dayton Board of Education v. Brinkman (1979) upheld that bussing programs were an acceptable way to enforce ______________________.






36. Things government decides to do - example: taxation - crime control - national defense - education - etc.






37. How groups form and organize to pursue their goals or objectives - including how to get individuals and groups to participate and cooperate.






38. Southern whites prevented blacks from ____________ through use of poll taxes - literacy tests and intimidation tactics after the Civil War.






39. Laws must be reasonable. The Supreme Court has abandoned this concept in regards to business matters citing that it is the responsibility of Congress to regulate economic matters. The court has continued to apply this to matters of civil liberties an






40. The philosophy that government should intervene as little as possible in economic affairs.






41. The pursuit and exercise of power






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






43. Devolutionary system in which the national government returns tax dollars to the state and local governments primarily in the form of block grants.






44. Constitutional Article that establishes the Judicial Branch.






45. Repealed by the 21st Amendment - this Amendment prohibited alcohol.






46. Permitted court authorized wire-tapping and bugging by federal - state - and local authorities and use of such evidence in trial. Later reversed by the Supreme Court based on 4th Amendment rights.






47. Several Presidents have been elected without winning the popular vote. As a result - In 1970 and 1979 - Amendments were proposed to disband the ______________ - neither passed.






48. A judicial opinion agreed to by a majority of the members of a court. A majority opinion sets forth the decision of the court and an explanation of the rationale behind the court's decision.






49. 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.






50. 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