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






2. 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.






3. A policy adopted by the Bush administration in 2001 that asserts America's right to attack any nation that has weapons of mass destruction that might be used against U.S. interests at home or abroad.






4. General tax on sales transactions - sometimes exempting food and drugs.






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. 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.






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






8. Party leader who is the liaison between the leadership and the rank-and-file in the legislature.






9. 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).






10. 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.






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






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






13. The clause in the Constitution (Article 1 - Section 8 - Clause 1) that gives Congress the power to regulate all business activities that cross state lines or affect more than one state or other nations.






14. Programs in which eligibility is based on prior contributions to government - usually in the form of payroll taxes.






15. 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






16. 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






17. A law that defines crimes against the public order.






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






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






20. Legislative or executive review of a particular government program or organization. Can be in response to a crisis of some kind or part of routine review.






21. 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






22. 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.






23. The study of the characteristics of populations.






24. Belief in the superiority of one's nation or ethnic group.






25. A technique of Congress to establish federal regulations. Total preemption rests on the national governments power under the supremacy and commerce clauses to preempt conflicting state and local activity. Building on this constitutional authority - f






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






27. The process of putting a law into practice through bureaucratic rules or spending.






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






29. Political contributions given to a party - candidate - or interest group that are limited in amounts and fully disclosed. Raising such limited funds is harder than raising unlimited funds - hence the term 'hard money.'






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






31. The difference between the revenues raised annually from sources of income other than borrowing and the expenditures of government - including paying the interest on past borrowing.






32. The dispensing of government jobs to persons who belong to the winning political party.






33. Powers that the Constitution gives to both the national and state governments - such as the power to levy taxes.






34. A tax on increased value of the product at each stage of production and distribution rather than just at the point of sale.






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






36. 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.






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






38. Constitutional division of powers among the legislative - executive - and judicial branches - with the legislative branch making law - the executive applying and enforcing the law - and the judiciary interpreting the law.






39. The current holder of the elected office.






40. A formal decision to reject the bill passed by Congress.






41. Lawsuit brought by an individual or group of people on behalf of all those similarly situated.






42. The principle of a two-house legislature.






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






44. A widely shared and consciously held view - like support for homeland security.






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






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






47. International organization derived from the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) that promotes it free trade around the world.






48. Federal program that provides medical benefits for low-income persons.






49. 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.






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