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 act of declaring party affiliation; required by some states when one registers to vote.






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






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






4. Voting by member of one party for a candidate of another party.






5. Elections in which voters elect officeholders.






6. The power of a court to refuse to enforce a law or government regulation that in the opinion of the judges conflicts with the U.S. Constitution or - in a state court - the state constitution.






7. Rebellion led by Daniel Shays of farmers in western Massachusetts in 1786-1787 - protesting mortgage foreclosures. It highlighted the need for a strong national government just as the call for the Constitutional Convention went out.

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8. The right of women to vote.

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9. An election during periods of expanded suffrage and change in the economy and society that proves to be a turning point - redefining the agenda of politics and the alignment of voters within parties.






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






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






12. Election in which voters choose party nominees.






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






14. Holding incumbents - usually the president's party - responsible for their records on issues - such as the economy or foreign policy.






15. Programs that the Federal government requires States to implement without Federal funding.






16. The drawing of election districts so as to ensure that members of a certain race are a minority in the district; ruled unconstitutional in Gomillion v. Lightfoot (1960).






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






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






19. Denial of export - import - or financial relations with the target country in an effort to change that nation's policies.






20. 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.






21. Congress appropriates funds for a specific purpose - such as school lunches or for building airports and highways. These funds are allocated by formula and are subject to detailed federal conditions - often on a matching basis; that is - the local go






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






23. The study of the characteristics of populations.






24. The Supreme Court has ruled that individuals - groups - and parties can spend unlimited amounts in campaigns for or against candidates as long as they operate independently from the candidates. When an individual - group - or party does so - they are






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






26. The right to renounce one's citizenship.






27. A government agency that operates like a business corporation - created to secure greater freedom of action and flexibility for a particular program.






28. 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.






29. Theory that opposes governmental interference in economic affairs beyond what is necessary to protect life and property.






30. Media that emphasize the news.






31. 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.






32. 30-second statements on the evening news shows. The media have been accused of simplifying complicated political issues by relying on sound bites to explain them to the public.






33. 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.






34. The cluster of presidential staff agencies that help the president carry out his responsibilities. Currently the office includes the Office of Management and Budget - the Council of Economic Advisers - and several other units.






35. The process - most notably in families and schools - by which we develop our political attitudes - values - and beliefs.






36. Court order directing an official to perform an official duty.






37. 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).






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






39. The residents of a congressional district or state.






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






41. A theory of international relations that focuses on the hope the nations will act together to solve international problems and promote peace.






42. A legal action conferring citizenship on an alien.






43. 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.






44. Theory that opposes governmental interference in economic affairs beyond what is necessary to protect life and property.






45. Formal orders issued by the president to direct action by the Federal bureaucracy.






46. Policy of erecting trade barriers to protect domestic industry.






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






48. Providing automatic increases to compensate for inflation.






49. 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.






50. A government that enforces recognized limits on those who govern and allows the voice of the people to be heard through free - fair - and relatively frequent elections.