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. Process by which citizens propose an amendment by petition.






2. Decides which bills will be considered.






3. In which case did the Supreme Court rule that the concept of privacy included the right to a legal abortion?






4. Representatives serve ____ year terms






5. The body composed of electors from the 50 states who formally have the power to elect the president and vice president of the United States. Each state has a number of electors and electoral votes equal to its number of senators and representatives i






6. The process through which an individual acquires a set of political attitudes and forms opinions about political and social issues.






7. A tactic in which PACs collect contributions from like-minded individuals and present them to a candidate or political party as a 'bundle -' thus increasing the PAC's influence.






8. Capital punishment is also known as the _________________.






9. Test whereby the Supreme Court established criteria by which state may provide aid to religious groups.






10. In order to win support for ratification of the Constitution - the Federalists had to promise that the first order of business under a new government would be to _______________.






11. Cabinet department responsible for regulating and promoting trade and maintaining the census Established in 1913..






12. This author of Leviathon posited that government is necessary because people are generally in a state of conflict.






13. A judicial opinion agreed to by a majority of the members of a court. A majority opinion sets forth the decision of the court and an explanation of the rationale behind the court's decision.






14. The Immigration Act of 1965 abolished the practice of _______________ allowing more diversity among immigrants.






15. 1946 Act requiring bureaucratic agencies to appeal to the affected parties before adopting new policies. Legislative check on Bureaucracy.






16. He United States Constitution was opposed by which group?






17. Prompted by FDR's 4th election to the Presidency - the 22nd Amendment limited the number of Presidential terms to _____ terms.






18. Legislative house responsible for impeachment trials.






19. The issuance of this document by a judge requires probably cause and must be worded so as to allow for the search and seizure of specific evidence.






20. This influential English document refuted divine right of monarchy and made monarchs subject to laws and responsible for crimes






21. A political candidate who is thought to have only an outside chance of gaining the nomination.






22. Article I of the Constitution establishes the ___________________ branch.






23. Federal grants in which the recipient has a lot of discretion over how the money is spent. These grants are issued in support of general government functions such as education and law enforcement.






24. A term often used to describe the economic and political ties between the military establishment and the defense-aerospace industry.






25. Each Senate committee may have ________ subcommittees.






26. Clause of the Constitution (Article 1 - Section 10) intended to prohibit state governments from modifying contracts made between individuals; interpreted as prohibiting state governments from taking actions that adversely affect property rights.






27. In the year 2000 - the Supreme Court ruled that the Boy Scouts of America had a constitutional right to ban _____________ members.






28. Overturning unjust laws is the responsibility of _________________.






29. Because there is no Senate Rules Committee - Senators can debate a bill for an _________________ time.






30. Prohibits the use of cruel or unusual punishment.






31. The 15th Amendment - also know as _________________ - was intended to help recently freed blacks from unconstitutional state laws designed to circumvent federal laws.






32. The Jacksonian Era marked an important change in the process used to nominate Presidential candidates with the emergence of party _________________ - eliminating caucuses.






33. Federal laws limit the amount of ___________ that can be donated directly to campaign coffers.






34. A federal law passed by Congress in 1939 to restrict political activities by federal workers. The law prevents federal employees while on duty from taking an active part in party politics or campaigns and also bars federal employees from running for






35. Spending by the national committees of the political parties to support the election of congressional candidates is known as






36. Appointed by Eisenhower - this Supreme court justice who played an important role in the court's stance on the advancement of civil rights.






37. 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.






38. The Supreme Court has sometimes used a narrow interpretation of the Establishment Clause allowing the government to provide aid to religious groups as long as it remains ______________ and does not promote one religion at the expense of another. This






39. Bills that benefit legislators' home districts - or powerful corporate contributors - with sometimes wasteful or unnecessary public works or other projects.






40. The foreign policy of the United States during the period after the Second World War - designed to contain the expansion of Soviet power.






41. Number of years a Representative must reside in the US prior to taking office






42. A technique polling organizations use in which several people from the same neighborhood are interviewed.






43. Minor criminal offenses - such as speeding.






44. 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






45. This branch of government checks Bureaucracy through its control over lawsuits filed against the agency.






46. Age Requirement for the Senate






47. An act of legislature declaring a person or group of persons guilty of some crime and punishing them without benefit of a trial. Constitutionally prohibited.






48. Article II of the Constitution establishes the ______________ branch.






49. Most modern political scientists believe there is ________________ between politics and government.






50. Between 1909 and 2002 - the number of daily newspapers in the United States______________.