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






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






3. A specific course of action taken by government to achieve a public goal.






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






5. A court order requiring explanation to a judge why a prisoner is being held in custody.






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






7. Elections held midway between presidential elections.






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






9. 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






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






11. Constitutional arrangement in which power is distributed between a central government and subdivisional governments - called states in the United States. The national and the subdivisional governments both exercise direct authority over individuals.






12. The assigning by Congress of congressional seats after each census. State legislatures reapportion state legislative districts.






13. Economic theory based on the principles of John Maynard Keynes stating that government spending should increase during business slumps and be curbed during booms.






14. The right of women to vote.

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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. Elections in which voters elect officeholders.






17. Words that by their very nature inflict injury on those to whom they are addressed or insight them to acts of violence.






18. 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.






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






20. A formal decision to reject a bill passed by Congress after it adjourns






21. 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.






22. Clause of the Constitution (Article 1 - Section 8 - Clause 3) setting forth the implied powers of Congress. It states that Congress - in addition to its express powers has the right to make all laws necessary and proper to carry out all powers the Co






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






24. Conservative Christians who (as a group) have become more active in politics in the last two decades and were especially influential in the 2000 presidential election.






25. A form of organization that operates through impersonal - uniform rules and procedures.






26. Procedure for submitting to popular vote the removal of officials from office before the end of their term.






27. A formal agreement between the U.S. president and the leaders of other nations that does not require Senate approval.






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






29. A president's claim of broad public support.






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






31. 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.






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






33. National Health Insurance program for the elderly and disabled.






34. 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.






35. 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.






36. Method whereby representatives of the union and employer determine wages - hours - and other conditions of employment through direct negotiation.






37. 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.






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






39. Means of communication that are reaching the public - including newspapers and magazines - radio - television (broadcast - cable - and satellite) - films - recordings - books - and electronic communication.






40. The clause of the Constitution (Article I - Section 8 - Clause 3) that gives Congress the power to regulate all business activities that cross state lines or affect more than one state or other nations.






41. 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.






42. 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.






43. Agreement between a prosecutor and a defendant that the defendant will plead guilty to a lesser offense to avoid having to stand trial for more serious offense.






44. An agency of Congress that analyzes presidential budget recommendations and estimates the cost of proposed legislation.






45. A close contest; by extension - any contest in which the focus is on who is ahead and by how much rather than on substantive differences between the candidates.






46. The presiding officer in the House of Representatives - formally elected by the House but actually selected by the majority party.






47. A government agency or commission with regulatory power whose independence is protected by Congress.






48. Governance according to the expressed preferences of the majority.






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






50. A minor party founded by Ross Perot in 1995. It focuses on national government reform - fiscal responsibility - and political accountability. It has recently struggled with internal strife and criticism that it lacks an identity.