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. German sociologist theorized that the engine of government needs bureaucracies to provide expertise in a way that short-term elected or appointed official cannot.






2. Leader of the House of Representatives - elected by the majority party. 2nd in line of succession for the Presidency.






3. The agency that provides Congress with evaluations of public policies is the






4. Limitations on this freedom including prohibition of defamation and obscenity - limitation on commercial speech - and restriction of inciting words that may cause immediate danger.






5. A group of people who try to influence policy agendas and whose ultimate goal is to run the government by getting their favorite candidates elected.






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






7. Infamous 1735 English case established the precedent for Freedom of the Press in the US.






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






9. An individual who does not join a group representing his or her interests yet receives the benefit of the group's influence.






10. The way things actually are.






11. The Immigration Act of 1965 abolished the practice of _______________ allowing more diversity among immigrants.






12. Included are Ways and Means - Veteran's Affairs - Transportation and Infrastructure - Standards of Official Conduct - Small Business - Science - Judiciary - Rules - Resources - Oversight of Government Reform - House Administration - Homeland Security






13. The practice of victorious politicians to reward their followers with jobs. Also known as the spoils system.






14. Powers of government that the national government may exercise simply because it exists as a government - such as the right to conduct foreign relations.






15. Author of The Spirit of the Laws advocating balance of power in politics with liberty is dependant upon a separation of the judicial - legislative - and executive branches of government.






16. Special spending projects that are set aside on behalf of individual members of Congress for their constituents.






17. Year of the 2nd Continental Congress.






18. The uprising of farmers angered by crushing debt and taxes that revealed the failure of the Articles of Confederation.

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19. 1798 Act that criminalized speech that was derisive to the government. Later ruled unconstitutional - Andrew Jackson issued blanket pardon in 1801






20. Bills passed by Congress to pay for the spending it has authorized.






21. Redefined Presidential succession and disability.






22. The responsibility of the President to appoint federal judges when vacancies occur on the bench is referred to as






23. The structure and set of regulations in place to control activity - usually in large organizations and government. it is represented by standardized procedure (rule-following) that dictates the execution of most or all processes within the body - for






24. Urban or rural areas in which businesses are encouraged to locate because of tax breaks and other incentives.






25. 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.






26. 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






27. An act of legislature declaring a person or group of persons guilty of some crime and punishing them without benefit of a trial. Constitutionally prohibited.






28. States that arrestees must be informed of their right to remain silent - that anything they say can be held against them in a court - that they have a right to an attorney and that an attorney will be appointed to them if they cannot afford one.






29. An unwritten custom by which individual senators who belong to the same political party as the president exercise an informal veto power over presidential appointments in their states.






30. The claim by presidents of an inherent right to withhold information from Congress and the judiciary.






31. A federal law passed by Congress in 1939 to restrict political activities by federal workers. The law prevents federal employees while on duty from taking an active part in party politics or campaigns and also bars federal employees from running for






32. Dissenting Democrats focused on foreign affairs. Aligned with the US Communist Party.

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






34. The state officer typically responsible for overseeing federal elections at the state level is the






35. Compromise between the large states and small states that established the bicameral Legislature consisting of a Senate and House of Representatives. Also included 3/5 compromise on the status of slaves in representation.






36. The framers of the Constitution created the Senate to function as a check on the ________________.






37. Inherent powers of state governments to pass laws to protect health - safety - and welfare; the national government has no directly granted police powers but accomplishes the same goals through other delegated powers.






38. Prohibits the use of cruel or unusual punishment.






39. President Hoover's laissez-faire approach to the economy during the Great Depression left many poor voters disenfranchised by the Republican Party. They left to join the _______________ Party.






40. In the Federalist Papers - James Madison proposed that the states under the new Constitution would retain ____________ sovereignty.






41. Laws that were designed to segregate black and white Americans and give legal recognition to discrimination.






42. This 1932 case established that a case can be too speedy and under-counseled - providing defendants in a capital case the right to a reasonable amount of time to establish a defense.






43. Groups named for the section of the Internal Revenue Service code under which they must report their expenditures. The tax-exempt groups were created to exploit a loophole in the law regulating campaign finance.






44. Approximately 33% of American voters identify themselves as _______________ party.






45. Makes sure that funds are used safely and wisely. They oversee the state's financial records






46. 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






47. The 1896 case of Plessy v. Fergusan established the racial segregation policy of __________________.






48. Members of this party typically include women who support liberal policies on abortion and equal pay - Jews - Catholics - Blacks and other minorities - Blue-collar working class - urban - labor unions - and intelligensia






49. Formed as a third party on the issue of slavery by many former Whigs in the 1850's. Anti-slavery platform. Supported by farmers - laborers - and newly-freed blacks.






50. First governing document of the Plymouth Colony establishing freedom of religion.