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. Primary election in which any voter - regardless of party - may vote.






2. A congressional committee created for a specific purpose - sometimes to conduct an investigation.






3. Federal laws (starting with the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890) that try to prevent a monopoly from dominating an industry and restraining trade.






4. 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.






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






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






7. Powers that grow out of the very existence of government.






8. 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.






9. The widespread belief that the United States is a land of opportunity and that individual initiative and hard work can bring economic success.






10. Media that emphasize the news.






11. A belief that limited government insures order competitive markets and personal opportunity.






12. 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.






13. An action taken by Congress to reverse the presidential veto - requiring a two-thirds majority in each chamber.






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






15. Powers the Constitution specifically grants to one of the branches of the national government.






16. 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.






17. A notion held by a nineteenth-century Americans that the United States was destined to rule the continent - from the Atlantic the Pacific.






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






19. A division of population based on occupation - income - and education.






20. A company with a labor agreement under which union membership can be a condition of employment.






21. Congress appropriates a certain sum - which is allocated to state and local units and sometimes to nongovernmental agencies - based on applications from those who wish to participate. Examples are grants by the National Science Foundation to universi






22. A grouping of human beings with distinctive characteristics determined by genetic inheritance.






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






24. Promoting a particular position or an issue paid for 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 any regulation.






25. 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.






26. The assigning by Congress of congressional seats after each census. State legislatures reapportion state legislative districts.






27. Period at the beginning of the new president's term during which the president enjoys generally positive relations with the press and Congress - usually lasting about six months.






28. A jury of 12 to 23 persons who - in private - hear evidence presented by the government to determine whether persons shall be required to stand trial. If the jury believes there is sufficient evidence that a crime was committed - it issues an indictm






29. 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.


30. 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.






31. The precise legal definition of how government will implement a policy.






32. A meeting of party delegates to vote on matters of policy and in some cases to select party candidates for public office.






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






34. A system of public employment based on rewarding party loyalists and friends.






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






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






37. A belief that ultimate power resides in the people.






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






39. 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.






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






41. The right of women to vote.


42. National Health Insurance program for the elderly and disabled.






43. An imbalance in international trade in which the value of imports exceeds the value of exports.






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






45. The principle of a two-house legislature.






46. 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.






47. The authority of a court to review decisions made by lower courts.






48. 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.






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






50. 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.