Test your basic knowledge |

CLEP American Government

Subjects : clep, civics
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. This powerful House committee is in charge of determining under what rule other bills will come to the floor.






2. After hearings are complete - a congressional subcommittee will usually determine a bill's future in final deliberations known as






3. When the President's own party gains power and influence - it more puts pressure on the President to conform to the will of the party - leading to________________ between the President and the party to define their public identities






4. Units of government under the president - within the executive branch - that are not part of a cabinet department.






5. German sociologist theorized that the engine of government needs bureaucracies to provide expertise in a way that short-term elected or appointed official cannot.






6. In this 1972 case - the Supreme Court established four guidelines for determining if a trial was appropriately speedy and fair: cause of delay - length of delay - affect on the outcome - and the defendant's claim to a speedy trial.






7. Cabinet department responsible for collective bargaining and union activity. Established in 1913






8. Ruling by the Supreme Court in 1954 that racial segregation in public schools violates the Fourteenth Amendment's requirement of equal protection of the laws for all persons.






9. A system of voter registration in which voters must register only once in their district.






10. Guarantees that an accused in innocent until proven guilty.






11. Type of interest group represented in Washington by another individual or organization. (Ex. Ford Motor Company pays a lobbyist in Washington to represent them.)






12. As part of the negotiations concerning the Constitution - the South fought for and won an agreement forbidding the imposition of _______________.






13. ____________________ define Congressional voting districts acting within constraints set down by Congress and the Supreme Court.






14. The only court specifically outlined in the Constitution.






15. 14th Amendment is often used to support the right to ____________.






16. The possible tendency of some voters or convention delegates to support the candidate who is leading in the polls and seems likely to win.






17. The period of time after the election of FDR until the Vietnam War was dominated by the Democratic Party and know as the __________________ Era.






18. A system in which the national government provides grants-in-aid to states using conditions to elicit control.






19. Today the Senate operates with ____ standing and select committees. These select committees - however - are permanent in nature and are treated as standing committees under Senate rules.






20. The total group from which poll-takers may select a random sample in order to measure public opinion.






21. Plan that proposed unicameral legislature with each state having one vote.






22. This category of interest groups has been the strongest and most effective in lobbying Washington






23. Which powers of the national government flow from its enumerated powers and from the 'elastic clause' of the Constitution?






24. This 1972 Supreme Court case struck down all state laws allowing the death penalty stating that they allowed for too much discretion on the part of the judge and jury resulting in lack of consistent administration of the penalty.






25. The Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments provide for _____________.






26. Minimum number of voters per state in the Electoral College.






27. The Articles of Confederation established a ________________ legislature.






28. Responsible for determining which bills will be considered on the House floor - and when they will be considered.






29. A tax on voting abolished by the Twenty-fourth Amendment in 1964 - long used by southern states to keep blacks (and - in some cases - poor whites) from participating in elections.






30. A small group of voters chosen by a political campaign for their demographic similarities who are brought together to gauge how the group they represent feels about the candidate.






31. Most house committees are limited to _____ subcommittees.






32. In the last 30 years - voter turnout among American 18- to 24-year-olds has been






33. A method of amending state constitutions under which proposed constitutional amendments can be placed on the ballot if enough signatures are obtained on a petition. Almost half the states also employ the initiative on the ballot to allow voters to en






34. President requires their approval to appoint judges - ambassadors and other high officials.






35. Minor criminal offenses - such as speeding.






36. Most likely to board a foreign ship suspected of drug trafficking at a U.S. port






37. ________________ of the Constitution governs the relationships of the states.






38. Compromise between the large states and small states that established the bicameral Legislature consisting of a Senate and House of Representatives. Also included 3/5 compromise on the status of slaves in representation.






39. Federal and State Courts function in a _____________manner so that federal courts may receive appeals from state courts.






40. Polls taken as people leave voting places. In the past - television networks sometimes used these polls to predict election outcomes before the polls close. In 1992 - the television networks agreed not to project the winner in a state until the major






41. At one time - the press generally refrained from publishing personal information that would be damaging. FDR - Eisenhower - and JFK all benefited from this reluctance to engage in _____________________. However - the American publics appetite for sen






42. This author was highly influential on Thomas Jefferson - rejecting divine right - proposing that government is a social contract requiring the consent of the govern and establishing the concept of self-evident rights of life - liberty - and property.






43. A broad concept that may be defined in many ways - but the term is generally used to refer to the basic protection and defense of the nation.






44. In addition to overseeing the activities of one or more federal agencies - a ___________________may also serve as the authorizing committee for federal agencies' programs and operations.






45. The right of the Supreme Court - under the Constitution - to hear certain kinds of cases directly - such as cases involving foreign diplomats - or cases in which one of the 50 states is a party.






46. Literally - a 'friend of the court' brief - filed by an individual or organization to present arguements in addition to those presented by the immediate parties to a case






47. Presidential management model requiring the President to have strong leadership skills and a keen eye for detail. FDR and JFK were well known for this style of leadership.






48. The view advocated by Supreme Court Justices Hugo Black and William O. Douglas that there are provisions of the Bill of Rights that cannot be diluted by judicial decisions.






49. In 1992 - the television networks agreed not to release these until a majority of polling places had closed in each state






50. Once the Supreme Court justices have agreed to hear an appeal - they issue a _________________.