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






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






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






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






5. 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.






6. Election system in which the candidate with the most votes wins.






7. A provision attached to a bill






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






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






10. 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.






11. An economic and governmental system based on public ownership of the means of production and exchange.






12. Clause in the Constitution (Article 4 - Section 1) requiring each state to recognize the civil judgments rendered by the courts of the other states and to accept their public records and acts as valid.






13. 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).






14. A characteristic of individuals that is predictive of political behavior.






15. A national meeting of delegates elected in 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.






16. A company with a labor agreement under which union membership cannot be required as a condition of employment.






17. The system created by Congress in 1913 to establish banking practices and regulate currency in circulation and the amount of credit available. It consists of 12 regional banks supervised by the Board of Governors. Often called simply the Fed.






18. A small political party that rises and falls with a charismatic candidate or - if composed of ideologies on the right or left - usually persists over time; also called a third party.






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






20. 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.






21. A formal writ used to bring a case before the Supreme Court.






22. A formal agreement between a U.S. president and the leaders of other nations that acquires approval by both houses of Congress.






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






24. The tendency of presidents to lose support over time.






25. The idea that the rights of the nation are supreme over the rights of the individuals who make up the nation.






26. Government policy that attempts to manage the economy by controlling taxing and spending.






27. 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.






28. Largely banned party soft money - restored a long-standing prohibition on corporations and labor unions for using general treasury funds for electoral purposes - and narrowed the definition of issue advocacy.






29. Media that emphasize the news.






30. 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.






31. 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.






32. Contributions to a state or local party for party-building purposes.






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






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






35. A type of policy that takes benefits (usually through taxes) from one group of Americans and gives them to another (usually through spending).






36. Elections held in years when the president is on the ballot.






37. A monopoly that controls goods and services - often in combinations that reduce competition.






38. Remedial action designed to overcome the effects of discrimination against minorities and women.






39. The right of women to vote.

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40. 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






41. An organization that seeks political power by electing people to office so that its positions and philosophy become public policy.






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






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






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






45. Electoral system used in electing the president and vice president - in which voters vote for electors pledged to cast their ballots for particular party's candidates.






46. Those citizens who follow public affairs carefully.






47. The process by which provisions of the bill of rights are brought within the scope of the Fourteenth Amendment and so applied to state and local governments.






48. Photo opportunities set up by the candidates. The media have been accused of simplifying complicated political issues by relying on photo ops to explain them to the public.






49. Constitutional requirement that governments act reasonably and that the substance of the laws themselves be fair and reasonable; limits what the government may do.






50. The widely shared beliefs - values - and norms about how citizens relate to governments and to one another.