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






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






3. A secret ballot printed by the state.






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






5. Exemption from prosecution for a particular crime in return for testimony pertaining to the case.






6. Means of communication that are reaching the public - including newspapers and magazines - radio - television (broadcast - cable - and satellite) - films - recordings - books - and electronic communication.






7. Federal statute barring Federal employees from active participation in certain kinds of politics and protecting them from being fired on partisan grounds.






8. Those citizens who follow public affairs closely.






9. The powers expressly given to Congress in the Constitution.






10. 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.






11. Clause in the Constitution that states that 'Congress should have the power to make all laws necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers. . . .' This clause is also known as the elastic clause as is a major and significant p

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12. Compromise between northern and southern states at the Constitutional Convention that three-fifths of the slave population would be counted for determining direct taxation and representation in the House of Representatives.






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






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






15. The process by which individuals perceive what they want to in media messages.






16. Money raised in unlimited amounts by political parties for party-building purposes. Now largely illegal except for limited contributions to state or local parties for voter registration and get-out-the-vote efforts.






17. Constitutional arrangement that concentrates power in a central government.






18. Financial contributions by individuals or groups in the hope of influencing the outcome of the election and subsequently influencing policy.






19. A consistent pattern of beliefs about political values and the role of government.






20. A judicial system in which the court of law is a neutral arena where two parties argue their differences.






21. The idea that the rights of the nation are supreme over the rights of the individuals who make up the nation.






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






23. The rights of all people to dignity and worth; also called human rights.






24. Implies that although federalism provides 'a sharing of power and authority between the national and state governments - the state's share rests upon the permission and permissiveness of the national government.'






25. Constitutional requirement that governments act reasonably and that the substance of the laws themselves be fair and reasonable; limits what the government may do.






26. The reliance on economic and military strength to solve international problems.






27. An electoral district in which voters choose one representative or official.






28. Weakening of partisan preferences that points to a rejection of both major parties and a rise in the number of independents.






29. 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.






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






31. A meeting of the members of a party in a legislative chamber to select party leaders and to develop party policy. Called a conference by the Republicans.






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






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






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






35. Special spending projects that are set aside on behalf of individual members of Congress for their constituents.






36. A tax whereby people with lower incomes pay a higher fraction of their income than people with higher incomes.






37. Clause in the First Amendment that states that Congress shall make no law prohibiting the free exercise of religion.






38. Quality or state of a work that taken as a whole appeals to a prurient interest in sex by depicting sexual conduct in a patently offensive way and that lacks serious literary - artistic - political - or scientific value.






39. Government by the people - both directly or indirectly - with free and frequent elections.






40. Unlimited and undisclosed spending by an individual or group on communications that do not use words like 'vote for' or 'vote against -' although much of this activity is actually about electing or defeating candidates.






41. The formal instructions that government issues for implementing laws.






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






43. 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.






44. A system of government in which the legislature selects the prime minister or president.






45. The first governing document of the confederated states drafted in 1777 - ratified in 1781 - and replaced by the present Constitution in 1789.






46. The principle of a two-house legislature.






47. An organization that seeks political power by electing people to office so that its positions and philosophy become public policy.






48. Proposal at the Constitutional Convention made by William Paterson of New Jersey for a central government with a single-house legislature in which each state would be represented equally.






49. Procedure for submitting to popular vote measures passed by the legislature or proposed amendments to a state constitution.






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