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. Independent organizations - but more often the political arms of corporations - labor unions - or interest groups - established to contribute to candidates or to work for general political goals.






2. This 1973 ruling gave local communities the authority to determine obscenity - established three part test for obscene material. To qualify as obscene - speech must be considered obscene by the 'average' person - depict or describe material that is a






3. The agency that provides Congress with evaluations of public policies is the






4. The separation of people by race.






5. This 1957 judgement prohibited pornography material as utterly without redeeming social significance - later reversed in Miller v. California






6. The policy established after the Second World War that America must take an active leadership role in world affairs






7. The principle of civilian control of the military - based on the clear constitutional power of the president as supreme commander of the armed forces.






8. Members of this party typically include women who support liberal policies on abortion and equal pay - Jews - Catholics - Blacks and other minorities - Blue-collar working class - urban - labor unions - and intelligensia






9. In a political campaign - the surest way of reaching the largest number of voters is usually _____________.






10. 3 person executive panel responsible for helping the President develop an economic plan for the nation.






11. In the view of W. Lance Bennett - the people who hold and express opinions are constantly changing - as are the issues and conditions to which the public responds. As a result - Bennett suggests that public opinion is______________.






12. Cabinet department responsible for managing school lunch programs and food safety. Established in 1862.






13. Responsible for assigning bills to committee in the Senate.






14. In 2002 - a federal appeals court struck down the Pledge of Allegiance on the grounds that it violated ________________.






15. To an extent - the press and the government have a relationship that is _______________ and mutually dependent.






16. A system in which national and state governments are competitors with distinct powers. This system was prominent in the US from the during the 19th century until 1937.






17. These candidates win re-election to the House 80-90% of the time.






18. Elects the President if no candidate receives 270 Electoral College votes.






19. In Johnson v. Texas (1989) - the Supreme Court ruled that burning the flag in a manner that does not pose a threat to people or property is allowed as this type of freedom of speech.






20. The state officer typically responsible for overseeing federal elections at the state level is the






21. In California v. Avecedo (1991) - The Supreme Court established that authorities may search ____________________ without a warrant providing reasonable suspicion.






22. First Executive Branch






23. Responsible for further investigation - hearings - and amendment to a bill






24. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was somewhat undermined by racist practices in the real estate market such as _____________ and ______________ - which continued illegally in many areas following passage of the Act.






25. _____________ was the Democratic Party political machine that played a major role in controlling New York City politics and helping immigrants (most notably the Irish) rise up in American politics from the 1790s to the 1960s.






26. Inherent powers of state governments to pass laws to protect health - safety - and welfare; the national government has no directly granted police powers but accomplishes the same goals through other delegated powers.






27. Cabinet department responsible for the management of public lands - wildlife - natural resources - and Native American affairs. Established in 1849






28. Established national income tax.






29. The process by which individuals screen out messages that do not conform to their own biases






30. The Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) - founded in 1932 by President Herbert Hoover to help combat the Great Depression - was the predecessor of which federal agencies?






31. 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.






32. A policy adopted by the United States after the Second World War that assumed that if enough nuclear weapons were deployed by the United States - an enemy would not attack for fear of being destroyed in retaliation.






33. The coming to power of a new coalition - replacing an old dominant coalition of the other party






34. ________ of voters identify with one political party in advance of the campaign.






35. The gap between the government's income and outlays.






36. Presides over the Senate in the absence of the Vice President. Position awarded to the longest serving Senator from the majority party. 3rd in line of succession for the Presidency.






37. A White House council created under the National Security Act of 1947 to advise the president and help coordinate American military and foreign policy.






38. Charge of misconduct brought against a government official.






39. The total amount of money that the United States owes to its creditors.






40. The Supreme Court has ruled that Congress_________________ take away a person's citizenship unless it is freely renounced.






41. Law enacted in 1939 to prohibit civil servants from taking activists roles in partisan campaigns .This act prohibited federal employees from making political contributions - working for a particualr party -or campaining for a particualr canidate






42. 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.






43. A broadly based coalition that attempts to gain control of the government by winning elections in order to exercise power and reward its members.






44. In the 1925 Gitlow case - the Supreme Court began a process of ______________ of the Bill of Rights to the states.






45. The Supremacy Clause appears in ________________ of the Constitution.






46. Programs mandated by law and not subject to annual review by Congress or the president.






47. Tax legislation must originate in this house.






48. In the 1990 case OR State Employment Division v. Smith 1990 - the Supreme court allowed the state to fire employees who use peyote during native American religious ceremonies because it is in violation of drug laws. In this case - which clause of the






49. Author of The Spirit of the Laws advocating balance of power in politics with liberty is dependant upon a separation of the judicial - legislative - and executive branches of government.






50. 6 In the view of Robert L. Lineberry - policy analysts focus on the _______________.