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 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






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






3. 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






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






5. Stresses federalism as a system of intergovernmental relations in delivering governmental goods and services to the people and calls for cooperation among various levels of government.






6. Libel - obscenity - fighting words - and commercial speech - which are not entitled to constitutional protection in all circumstances.






7. 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.






8. Clause in the Fifth Amendment limiting the power of the national government; similar clause in the Fourteenth Amendment prohibiting state governments from depriving any person of life - liberty - or property without due process of law.






9. Theory based on the principles of John Maynard Keynes - stating that government spending should increase during business slumps and the curve during booms.






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






11. Powers expressly or implicitly reserved to the states.

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






13. Conservative Christians who (as a group) have become more active in politics in the last two decades and were especially influential in the 2000 presidential election.






14. Review of all executive branch testimony - reports - and draft legislation by the Office of Management and Budget to ensure that each communication to Congress is in accordance with the president's program.






15. Loss of tax revenue due to Federal laws that provide special tax incentives or benefits to individuals or businesses.






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






17. Words that by their very nature inflict injury on those to whom they are addressed or insight them to acts of violence.






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






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






20. Employment cycle in which individuals who work for governmental agencies that regulate interests eventually end up working for interest groups or businesses with the same policy concern.






21. Government in which the people elect those who govern and pass laws; also called a republic.






22. A technique of Congress to establish federal regulations. Direct orders must be complied with under threat of criminal or civil sanction. An example is the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 - barring job discrimination by state and local gover






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






24. A writ issued by a magistrate that authorizes the police to search a particular place or person - specifying the place to be searched and the objects to be seized.






25. Governance according to the expressed preferences of the majority.






26. A collection of people who share a common interest or attitude and seek to influence government for specific ends. Interest groups usually work within the framework of government and try to achieve their goals through tactics such as lobbying.






27. 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.






28. Domination of an industry by a single company; also the company that dominates the industry.






29. Philosophy proposing that judges should interpret the Constitution to reflect current conditions and values.






30. Method whereby representatives of the union and employer determine wages - hours - and other conditions of employment through direct negotiation.






31. The powers of the national government in foreign affairs that the Supreme Court has declared do not depend on constitutional grants but rather grow out of the very existence of the national government.






32. A dispute growing out of an actual case or controversy and that is capable of settlement by legal methods.






33. Literacy requirements some states imposed as a condition of voting - generally used to disqualify black voters in the South; now illegal.






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






35. Engaging in activities aimed at influencing public officials - especially legislators - and the policies they enact.






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






37. Formal accusation by the lower house of legislature against a public official - the first step in removal from office.






38. 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.






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






40. Those citizens who follow public affairs carefully.






41. Biological - chemical - or nuclear weapons that can cause a massive number of deaths in a single use.






42. Domination of an industry by a single company that fixes prices and discourages competition; also - the company that dominates the industry by these means.






43. 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.






44. An international trade organization with more than 130 members - including the United States and the People's Republic of China - that seeks to encourage free trade by lowering tariffs and other trade restrictions.






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






46. A theory that is based on creating enough military strength to convince other nations not to attack first.






47. The right of women to vote.

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48. A social division based on national origin - religion - language - and often race.






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






50. A person who is employed by and acts for an organized interest group or corporation to try to influence policy decisions and positions in the executive and legislative branches.