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. These are broad state grants to states for prescribed activities—welfare - child care - education - social services - preventive health care - and health services—with only a few strings attached. States have greater flexibility in deciding how to sp






2. Essays promoting ratification of the Constitution - published anonymously by Alexander Hamilton - John Jay - and James Madison in 1787 and 1788.






3. 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.






4. An elected office that is predictably won by one party or the other - so the success of that party's candidate is almost taken for granted.






5. The reliance on diplomacy and negotiation to solve international problems.






6. 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.






7. Agreement between a prosecutor and a defendant that the defendant will plead guilty to a lesser offense to avoid having to stand trial for more serious offense.






8. A formal decision to reject the bill passed by Congress.






9. A company with a labor agreement under which union membership cannot be required as a condition of employment.






10. The number of Americans who are out of work but actively looking for a job. The number does not usually include those who are not looking.






11. Presidential refusal to allow an agency to spend funds that Congress authorized and appropriated.






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






13. The joint listing of the presidential and vice presidential candidates on the same ballot as required by the Twelfth Amendment.






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






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






16. The formal process for making regulations.






17. Usually the largest organization in government with the largest mission; also the highest rank in Federal hierarchy.






18. People who favor state or local action rather than national action.






19. Constitutional division of powers among the legislative - executive - and judicial branches - with the legislative branch making law - the executive applying and enforcing the law - and the judiciary interpreting the law.






20. Through different grant programs - slices up the marble cake into many different pieces - making it even more difficult to differentiate the functions of the levels of government.






21. A rise in the general price level (and decrease in dollar value) owing to an increase in the volume of money and credit in relation to available goods.






22. 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






23. Officer of the Senate selected by the majority party to act as chair in the absence of the vice president.






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






25. The presiding officer in the House of Representatives - formally elected by the House but actually selected by the majority party.






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






27. 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.






28. The tendency of presidents to learn more about doing their jobs over time.






29. 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.






30. The study of the characteristics of populations.






31. A national meeting of delegates elected in primaries - caucuses - or state conventions who assemble once every four years to nominate candidates for president and vice president - ratify the party platform - elect officers - and adopt rules.






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






33. A large body of people interested in a common issue - idea - or concern that is of continuing significance and who are willing to take action. Movements seek to change attitudes or institutions - not just policies.






34. The portion of the Federal budget that is spent on programs - such as Social Security - that the president and Congress are unwilling to cut.






35. A provision attached to a bill






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






37. 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.






38. System designed to reduce voter fraud by limiting voting to those who have established eligibility to vote by submitting the proper documents.






39. A technique of Congress to establish federal regulations. Federal grants may establish certain conditions that extend to all activities supported by federal funds - regardless of their source. The first and most famous of these is Title VI of the 196






40. A government agency or commission with regulatory power whose independence is protected by Congress.






41. A minor party that believes in extremely limited government. Libertarians call for a free market system - expanded individual liberties such as drug legalization - and a foreign policy of nonintervention - free trade - and open immigration.






42. Synonymous with 'collective action -' it specifically studies how government officials - politicians - and voters respond to positive and negative incentives.






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






44. 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.






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






46. The redrawing of congressional and other legislative district lines following the census - to accommodate population shifts and keep districts as equal as possible in population.






47. 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.






48. A procedural practice in the Senate whereby a senator temporarily blocks the consideration of the bill or nomination.






49. Powers that the Constitution gives to both the national and state governments - such as the power to levy taxes.






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