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Test your basic knowledge |
AP Government
Start Test
Study First
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 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.
Commerce clause
Treaty
Chief of staff
Proportional representation
2. A tactic in which PACs collect contributions from like-minded individuals (each limited to $2000) and present them to a candidate or political party as a 'bundle -' thus increasing the PAC's influence.
Bundling
Unemployment
Impoundment
Judicial review
3. A procedural rule in the House of Representatives that permits floor amendments within the overall time allocated to the bill.
Statism
Take care clause
Open rule
Whip
4. Philosophy proposing that judges should interpret the Constitution to reflect what the framers intended and what its words literally say.
Whip
Natural law
Judicial restraint
Issue network
5. A court order requiring explanation to a judge why a prisoner is being held in custody.
Bundling
Quid pro quo
Writ of habeas corpus
Chief of staff
6. Government by the people - both directly or indirectly - with free and frequent elections.
Democracy
Closed rule
Pluralism
Sound bites
7. Agreement signed by the United States - Canada - and Mexico in 1992 to form the largest free trade zone in the world.
Direct democracy
Ethnicity
Majority rule
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
8. A policy that emphasizes a united front and cooperation between the major political parties - especially on sensitive foreign policy issues.
Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
Means-tested entitlements
Bipartisanship
Popular sovereignty
9. The distribution of individual preferences or evaluations of a given issue - candidate - or institution within a specific population.
Public opinion
Iron triangle
Democratic consensus
Precedent
10. A social division based on national origin - religion - language - and often race.
Ethnicity
Closed primary
Categorical-formula grants
Joint committee
11. 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.
Political socialization
Constitutional democracy
Cloture
Immunity
12. 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.
Revolving door
Clear and present danger test
Plurality
Policy agenda
13. A tax whereby people with lower incomes pay a higher fraction of their income than people with higher incomes.
Pluralism
Regressive tax
Interstate compact
Constituents
14. Election system in which each party running receives the proportion of legislative seats corresponding to its proportion of the vote.
Permissive federalism
Court of appeals
Proportional representation
Sedition
15. The widespread belief that the United States is a land of opportunity and that individual initiative and hard work can bring economic success.
American dream
Libel
Marble cake federalism
Immunity
16. Formal accusation by the lower house of legislature against a public official - the first step in removal from office.
Isolationism
Medicaid
Reform party
Impeachment
17. 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.
Capitalism
Linkage institutions
Judicial activism
Lobbyist
18. Legal process whereby an alleged criminal offender is surrendered by the officials of one states to officials of the state in which the crime is alleged to have been committed.
Delegate
Extradition
Federalism
Mandate
19. A belief that ultimate power resides in the people.
Restrictive covenant
Popular sovereignty
Realism
Coattail effect
20. 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
Whip
Crossover sanctions
National debt
Leadership PAC
21. Constitutional arrangement that concentrates power in a central government.
Affirmative action
Unitary system
Constituents
Social Security
22. The inclination to focus on national issues - rather than local issues - in an election campaign. The impact of the national tide can be reduced by the nature of the candidates on the ballot who might have differentiated themselves from their party o
Bicameralism
National tide
Express powers
Single-member district
23. 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.
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
Delegate
Monetarism
Establishment clause
24. A commission created by the 1974 amendments to the Federal Election Campaign Act to administer election reform laws. It consists of six commissioners appointed by president and confirmed by the Senate. Its duties include overseeing disclosure of camp
Inflation
Constitutional democracy
Federal Election Commission (FEC)
Jim Crow laws
25. The idea that the rights of the nation are supreme over the rights of the individuals who make up the nation.
Social insurance
Political socialization
Statism
Cooperative federalism
26. The process - most notably in families and schools - by which we develop our political attitudes - values - and beliefs.
Health maintenance organization (HMO)
Federalists
Bush Doctrine
Political socialization
27. A formal - public agreement between the United States and one or more nations that must be approved by two thirds of the Senate.
Prior restraint
Treaty
Redistributive policy
Search warrant
28. Election in which voters choose party nominees.
Direct primary
Demographics
Double jeopardy
Constitutional Convention
29. A jury of 6 to 12 persons that determines guilt or innocence in a civil or criminal action.
Selected perception
Commercial speech
Judicial review
Petit jury
30. 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.'
Hard money
Express powers
Vouchers
Executive agreement
31. The right to vote.
'Necessary and proper' clause
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA)
Suffrage
Civil law
32. The boost that candidates may get in an election because of the popularity of candidates above them on the ballot - especially the president.
Central clearance
Senatorial courtesy
Restrictive covenant
Coattail effect
33. A company with a labor agreement under which union membership can be a condition of employment.
Closed shop
Regressive tax
Judicial review
Discharge petition
34. A convention held in September 1786 to consider problems of trade and navigation - attended by five states and important because it issued the call to Congress and the states for what became the Constitutional Convention.
Honeymoon
Annapolis Convention
Hard money
Caucus
35. An official who is expected to vote independently based on his or her judgment of the circumstances; one interpretation of the role of the legislator.
Trustee
Commerce clause
Nonprotected speech
Minor party
36. The rule of precedent - whereby a rule or law contained in a judicial decision is commonly viewed as binding on judges whenever the same question is presented.
Impeachment
Trustee
Stare decisis
Party convention
37. A procedural rule in the House of Representatives that prohibits any amendments to bills or provides that only members of the committee reporting the bill may offer amendments.
Treaty
Closed rule
Antitrust legislation
Cycle of decreasing influence
38. Governance divided between the parties - especially when one holds the presidency and the other controls one or both houses of Congress.
Hard power
Divided government
Impoundment
Labor injunction
39. The total output of all economic activity in the nation - including goods and services.
Gross domestic product (GDP)
Regulatory taking
Soft money
Linkage institutions
40. Legislative act inflicting punishment - including deprivation of property - without a trial - on named individuals or members of a specific group.
State of the Union Address
Political socialization
Ethnocentrism
Bill of attainder
41. 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.
Open shop
Regulatory taking
Issue advocacy
Deficit
42. The rights of all people to dignity and worth; also called human rights.
Natural rights
Recall
Regulatory taking
Rider
43. Interest groups organized under section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code may advertise for or against candidates. If their source of funding is corporations or unions - they have some restrictions on broadcast advertising. 527 organizations were impo
Candidate appeal
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
527 organizations
Sales tax
44. A congressional district created to include a majority of minority voters; ruled constitutional so long as race is not the main factor in redistricting.
Line item veto
Majority-minority district
Divided government
Monopoly
45. Clause in the Fifth Amendment limiting the power of the national government; similar clause in the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits the state governments from depriving any person of life - liberty - or property without due process of law.
Popular sovereignty
Cycle of increasing effectiveness
Pocket veto
Due process clause
46. The formal instructions that government issues for implementing laws.
Manifest opinion
Amicus curiae brief
Regulations
Safe seat
47. The practice of exporting U.S. jobs to lower paid employees in other nations.
Capitalism
Offshoring
Double jeopardy
Constitutional Convention
48. Lawsuit brought by an individual or group of people on behalf of all those similarly situated.
Nongovernmental organization (NGO)
Plea bargain
Class action suit
Minor party
49. Governance according to the expressed preferences of the majority.
Redistricting
Entitlement programs
Majority rule
Veto
50. Words that by their very nature inflict injury on those to whom they are addressed or insight them to acts of violence.
Fighting words
Nonprotected speech
Cross-cutting requirements
Ethnicity