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






2. A rising public approval of the president that follows a crisis as Americans 'rally 'round the flag' and the chief executive.






3. Period at the beginning of the new president's term during which the president enjoys generally positive relations with the press and Congress - usually lasting about six months.






4. Providing automatic increases to compensate for inflation.






5. Clause in the Fifth Amendment limiting the power of the national government; similar clause in the Fourteenth Amendment prohibiting state governments from depriving any person of life - liberty - or property without due process of law.






6. A formal written statement from a grand jury charging an individual with an offense; also called a true bill.






7. A congressional district created to include a majority of minority voters; ruled constitutional so long as race is not the main factor in redistricting.






8. The belief that nations must engage in international problem solving.






9. A technique of Congress to establish federal regulations. These sanctions permit the use of federal money in one program to influence state and local policy in another. For example - a 1984 act reduced federal highway aid by up to 15 percent for any






10. Agency that administers civil service laws - rules - and regulations.






11. The total amount of money the Federal government has borrowed to finance deficit spending over the years.






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






13. During the Great Society - the marble cake approach of intergovernmental relations.






14. A procedural practice in the Senate whereby a senator refuses to relinquish the floor and thereby delays proceedings and prevents a vote on a controversial issue.






15. A type of policy that provides benefits to all Americans.






16. A procedure for terminating debate - especially filibusters - in the Senate.






17. Constitutional requirement that governments proceed by proper methods; limits how government may exercise power.






18. 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.






19. 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.






20. How voters feel about a candidate's background - personality - leadership ability - and other personal qualities.






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






22. Deliberate refusal to obey law or comply with orders of public officials as a means of expressing opposition.






23. Promoting a particular position or an issue 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 regulation.






24. 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.






25. Initial proposal at the Constitutional Convention made by the Virginia delegation for a strong central government with a bicameral legislature dominated by the big states.






26. A provision attached to a bill






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






28. Widespread agreement on fundamental principles of democratic governance and the values that undergird them.






29. The process by which we develop our political attitudes - values - and beliefs.






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






31. A national meeting of delegates elected at primaries - caucuses - or state conventions who assemble once every four years to nominate candidates for president and vice president - ratify the party platform - elect officers - and adopt rules.






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






33. A tax whereby people with lower incomes pay a higher fraction of their income than people with higher incomes.






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






35. 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.






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






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






38. Money spent by individuals or groups not associated with candidates to elect or defeat candidates for office.






39. Statement required by Federal law from all agencies for any project using Federal funds to assess the potential affect of the new construction or development on the environment.






40. A system of public employment in which selection and promotion depend on demonstrated performance rather than political patronage.






41. Opponents of ratification of the Constitution and of a strong central government - generally.






42. Attempting to overthrow the government by force or use violence to interrupt its activities.






43. A philosophy that encourages individual nations to act on their own when facing threats from other nations.






44. A tax graduated so that people with higher incomes pay larger fraction of their income than people with lower incomes.






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






46. A policy-making alliance that involves a very strong ties among a congressional committee - an interest group - and a Federal Department or agency.






47. Written defamation of another person. For public officials and public figures - the constitutional tests designed to restrict libel actions are especially rigid.






48. Literally - a 'friend of the court' brief - filed by an individual or organization to present arguments in addition to those presented by the immediate parties to a case.






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






50. A procedural rule in the House of Representatives that permits floor amendments within the overall time allocated to the bill.