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






3. 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.






4. 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






5. 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.






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






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






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






9. Powers that grow out of the very existence of government.






10. Established by Congress in 1978 as a flexible - mobile corps of senior career executives who worked closely with presidential appointees to manage government.






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






12. 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






13. Agreement signed by the United States - Canada - and Mexico in 1992 to form the largest free trade zone in the world.






14. An economic system characterized by private property - competitive markets - economic incentives - and limited government involvement in the production - distribution - and pricing of goods and services.






15. Police targeting of racial minorities as potential suspects of criminal activities.






16. Incumbents have an advantage over challengers in election campaigns because voters are more familiar with them - and incumbents are more recognizable.






17. Presidential staff agency that serves as a clearinghouse for budgetary requests and management improvements for government agencies.






18. Committee appointed by the presiding officers of each chamber to adjust differences on a particular bill passed by each in different form.






19. The idea that a just government must derive its powers from the consent of the people it governs.






20. The current holder of the elected office.






21. A company with a labor agreement under which union membership can be a condition of employment.






22. Synonymous with 'collective action -' it specifically studies how government officials - politicians - and voters respond to positive and negative incentives.






23. Providing automatic increases to compensate for inflation.






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






25. 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






26. The distribution of individual preferences or evaluations of a given issue - candidate - or institution within a specific population.






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






28. Constitutional grant of powers that enables each of the three branches of government to check some acts of the others and therefore ensure that no branch can dominate.






29. Segregation resulting from economic or social conditions or personal choice.






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






31. 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.






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






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






34. Governance divided between the parties - as when one holds the presidency and the other controls one or both houses of Congress.






35. Trial or punishment for the same crime by the same government; forbidden by the Constitution.






36. A philosophy that encourages individual nations tacked together to solve international problems.






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






38. A meeting of local party members to choose party officials or candidates for public office and to decide the platform.






39. The right of women to vote.

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40. An informal and subjective affiliation with a political party that most people acquire in childhood.






41. A consistent pattern of beliefs about political values and the role of government.






42. 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.






43. The right to vote.






44. Elections in which voters determine party nominees.






45. A local or judicial election in which candidates are not selected or endorsed by political parties and party affiliation is not listed on ballots.






46. Powers inferred from the express powers that allow Congress to carry out its functions.






47. A committee composed of members of both the House of Representatives and the Senate; such committees oversee the Library of Congress and conduct investigations.






48. Views the national government - 50 states - and thousands of local governments as competing with each other over ways to put together packages of services and taxes. Applies the analogy of the marketplace: we have some choice about which state and ci






49. 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.






50. Voting based on what a candidate pledges to do in the future about an issue if elected.