Test your basic knowledge |

AP Government

Subjects : civics, ap
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. Constitutional requirement that governments act reasonably and that the substance of the laws themselves be fair and reasonable; limits what the government may do.






2. Trade status granted as part of an international trade policy that gives a nation the same favorable trade concessions and tariffs that the best trading partners receive.






3. The process of putting a law into practice through bureaucratic rules or spending.






4. The tendency in elections to focus on the personal attributes of a candidate - such as his/her strengths - weaknesses - background - experience - and visibility.






5. Democratic and civic habits of discussion - compromise - and respect for differences - which grow out of participation in voluntary organizations.






6. Presidential custom of submitting the names of prospective appointees for approval to senators from the states in which the appointees are to work.






7. The precise legal definition of how government will implement a policy.






8. A decision by the president not to spend money appropriated by Congress - now prohibited under Federal law.






9. The process by which individuals screen out messages that do not conform to their own biases.






10. Procedure whereby a certain number of voters may - by petition - propose a law or constitutional amendment and have it submitted to the voters.






11. A combination of entitlement programs - paid for by employer and employee taxes - that includes retirement benefits - health insurance - and support for disabled workers and the children of deceased or disabled workers.






12. Presidential power to strike - or remove - specific items from a spending bill without vetoing the entire package; declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.






13. Interest groups organized under section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code may advertise for or against candidates. If their source of funding is corporations or unions - they have some restrictions on broadcast advertising. 527 organizations were impo






14. The redrawing of congressional and other legislative district lines following the census - to accommodate population shifts and keep districts as equal as possible in population.






15. Clause in the First Amendment that states that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion. The Supreme Court has interpreted this to forbid governmental support to any or all religions.






16. The practice of exporting U.S. jobs to lower paid employees in other nations.






17. A dispute growing out of an actual case or controversy and that is capable of settlement by legal methods.






18. Philosophy proposing that judges should interpret the Constitution to reflect what the framers intended and what its words literally say.






19. The rule of precedent - whereby a rule or law contained in a judicial decision is commonly viewed as binding on judges whenever the same question is presented.






20. The constitutional requirement (in Article II - Section 3) that presidents take care that the laws are faithfully executed - even if they disagree with the purpose of those laws.






21. The reliance on economic and military strength to solve international problems.






22. Implies that although federalism provides 'a sharing of power and authority between the national and state governments - the state's share rests upon the permission and permissiveness of the national government.'






23. Programs such as unemployment insurance - disability relief - or disability payments that provide benefits to all eligible citizens.






24. A jury of 12 to 23 persons who - in private - hear evidence presented by the government to determine whether persons shall be required to stand trial. If the jury believes there is sufficient evidence that a crime was committed - it issues an indictm






25. A collection of people who share a common interest or attitude and seek to influence government for specific ends. Interest groups usually work within the framework of government and try to achieve their goals through tactics such as lobbying.






26. An ideology that cherishes individual liberty and insists on minimal government - promoting a free market economy - a noninterventionist foreign policy - and an absence of regulation in moral - economic - and social life.






27. Arrangement whereby public officials are hired to provide legal assistance to people accused of crimes who are unable to hire their own attorneys.






28. Media that emphasize the news.






29. The informal list of issues that Congress and the president consider most important for action.






30. A minor party dedicated to the environment - social justice - nonviolence - and the foreign policy of nonintervention. Ralph Nader ran as the Green party's nominee in 2000.






31. An official who is expected to represent the views of his or her constituents even when personally holding different views; one interpretation of the role of legislator.






32. Formal accusation against a president or other public official - the first step in removal from office.






33. The head of the White House staff.






34. Election system in which each party running receives the proportion of legislative seats corresponding to its proportion of the vote.






35. Clause of the Constitution (Article I - Section 10) originally intended to prohibit state governments from modifying contracts made between individuals; for a while interpreted as prohibiting state governments from taking actions that adversely affec






36. Compromise between northern and southern states at the Constitutional Convention that three-fifths of the slave population would be counted for determining direct taxation and representation in the House of Representatives.






37. Elected office that is predictably won by one party or the other - so the success of the party's candidate is almost taken for granted.






38. The set of arrangements - including checks and balances - federalism - separation of powers - rule of law - due process - and a bill of rights - that requires our leaders to listen - think - bargain - and explain before they act or make laws. We then






39. Views the Constitution as giving a limited list of powers—primarily foreign policy and national defense—to the national government - leaving the rest to the sovereign states. Each level of government is dominant within its own sphere. The Supreme Cou






40. Requirement that evidence unconstitutionally or illegally obtained be excluded from a criminal trial.






41. A policy adopted by the Bush administration in 2001 that asserts America's right to attack any nation that has weapons of mass destruction that might be used against U.S. interests at home or abroad.






42. The effort to slow the growth of the federal government by returning many functions to the states.






43. Election in which voters choose party nominees.






44. Belief in the superiority of one's nation or ethnic group.






45. Programs such as Medicaid and welfare under which applicants must meet eligibility requirements based on need.






46. The convention in Philadelphia - May 25 to September 17 - 1787 - that debated and agreed upon the Constitution of the United States.






47. Rebellion led by Daniel Shays of farmers in western Massachusetts in 1786-1787 - protesting mortgage foreclosures. It highlighted the need for a strong national government just as the call for the Constitutional Convention went out.

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48. Unlimited amounts of money that political parties previously could raise for party-building purposes. Now largely illegal except for limited contributions to state and local parties for voter registration and get-out-the-vote efforts.






49. Advertisements and commercials for products and services; they receive less First Amendment protection - primarily to discourage false and misleading ads.






50. The legislative leader selected by the majority party who helps plan party strategy - confers with other party leaders - and tries to keep members of the party in line.