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. An official document - published every weekday - which lists the new and proposed regulations of executive departments and regulatory agencies.






2. Relationships among interest groups - congressional committees and subcommittees - and the government agencies that share a common policy concern.






3. Advisory council for the president consisting of the heads of the executive departments - the vice president - and a few other officials selected by the president.






4. The Federal government's primary intelligence officer - responsible for overseeing all national intelligence agencies and providing advice to the President on terrorist threats.






5. A company in which new employees must join a union within a stated time period.






6. An election during periods of expanded suffrage and change in the economy and society that proves to be a turning point - redefining the agenda of politics and the alignment of voters within parties.






7. Stresses federalism as a system of intergovernmental relations in delivering governmental goods and services to the people and calls for cooperation among various levels of government.






8. Election in which voters choose party nominees.






9. The reliance on diplomacy and negotiation to solve international problems.






10. 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.






11. Interpretation of the First Amendment that would permit legislatures to forbid speech encouraging people to engage in illegal action.






12. Interpretation of the First Amendment that holds that the government cannot interfere with speech unless the speech presents a clear and present danger that it will lead to evil or illegal acts.






13. Money raised in unlimited amounts by political parties for party-building purposes. Now largely illegal except for limited contributions to state or local parties for voter registration and get-out-the-vote efforts.






14. Government in which citizens vote on laws and select officials directly.






15. The formal instructions that government issues for implementing laws.






16. Weakening of partisan preferences that points to a rejection of both major parties and a rise in the number of independents.






17. A court order forbidding specific individuals or groups from performing certain acts (such as striking) that the court considers harmful to the rights and property of an employer or community.






18. 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.






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






20. The portion of the Federal budget that is spent on programs - such as Social Security - that the president and Congress are unwilling to cut.






21. 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






22. Government policy that attempts to manage the economy by controlling the money supply and thus interest rates.






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






24. A system of government in which the legislature selects the prime minister or president.






25. The means by which individuals can express preferences regarding the development of public policy.






26. Holding incumbents - usually the president's party - responsible for their records on issues - such as the economy or foreign policy.






27. God's or nature's law that defines right from wrong and is higher than human law.






28. Interpretation of the First Amendment that holds that freedom of expression is so essential to democracy that governments should not punish persons for what they say - only for what they do.






29. Democratic party primary in the old 'one-party South' that was limited to white people and essentially constituted an election; ruled unconstitutional in Smith v. Allwright (1944).






30. A theory of government that holds that open - multiple - and competing groups can check the asserted power by any one group.






31. Promoting a particular position or an issue paid for by interest groups or individuals but not candidates. Much issue advocacy is often electioneering for or against a candidate - and until 2004 had not been subject to any regulation.






32. Proposal at the Constitutional Convention made by William Paterson of New Jersey for a central government with a single-house legislature in which each state would be represented equally.






33. Domination of an industry by a single company that fixes prices and discourages competition; also - the company that dominates the industry by these means.






34. Federal statute barring Federal employees from active participation in certain kinds of politics and protecting them from being fired on partisan grounds.






35. The Supreme Court has ruled that individuals - groups - and parties can spend unlimited amounts in campaigns for or against candidates as long as they operate independently from the candidates. When an individual - group - or party does so - they are






36. The act of declaring party affiliation; required by some states when one registers to vote.






37. Literacy requirements some states imposed as a condition of voting - generally used to disqualify black voters in the South; now illegal.






38. 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.'






39. The principle of a two-house legislature.






40. An election system in which the candidate with the most votes wins.






41. The rights of all people to dignity and worth; also called human rights.






42. Divisions within society that reinforce one another - making groups more homogenous or similar.






43. Domination of an industry by a single company; also the company that dominates the industry.






44. System designed to reduce voter fraud by limiting voting to those who have established eligibility to vote by submitting the proper documents.






45. Legislative act inflicting punishment - including deprivation of property - without a trial - on named individuals or members of a specific group.






46. Retroactive criminal law that works to the disadvantage of a person.






47. A permanent committee established in a legislature - usually focusing on a policy area.






48. The right to keep executive communications confidential - especially if they relate to National Security.






49. A technique of Congress to establish federal regulations. Federal grants may establish certain conditions that extend to all activities supported by federal funds - regardless of their source. The first and most famous of these is Title VI of the 196






50. The number of Americans who are out of work but actively looking for a job. The number does not usually include those who are not looking.