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. The rules and regulations made and applied by federal regulatory agencies and commissions.






2. Age Requirement for House of Representatives.






3. Prohibits citizens of one state or foreign country from suing another state.






4. Finding that enough evidence exists to warrant a criminal trial.






5. The fundamental flaw in plural theory contends that pluralism weakens the backbone of democracy with too many common interest groups attempt to wield power - often leading to standstill because of unwillingness to compromise.






6. Included are Ways and Means - Veteran's Affairs - Transportation and Infrastructure - Standards of Official Conduct - Small Business - Science - Judiciary - Rules - Resources - Oversight of Government Reform - House Administration - Homeland Security






7. The belief that all people possess certain basic rights that may not be abridged by government.






8. Laws must be reasonable. The Supreme Court has abandoned this concept in regards to business matters citing that it is the responsibility of Congress to regulate economic matters. The court has continued to apply this to matters of civil liberties an






9. (1945-1991) The period after the Second World War marked by rivalry and tension between the two nuclear superpowers - the United States and the communist government of the Soviet Union. The Cold War ended when the Soviet government collapsed in 1991.






10. The House appropriations committee has ___ subcommittees.






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






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






13. The expansion of cable and satellite tv has _________________ the president's power to influence public opinion.






14. Colonies in which the proprietors (who had obtained their patents from the king) named the governors - subject to the king's approval.






15. Tips the balance between two leading candidates by attracting a minority of voters who otherwise might have voted for one of the leading candidates.






16. Members of this party typically include Conservative Christian groups - higher socio-economic classes - middle-class white collar - and suburban voters.






17. Requires that a suspect in a federal case be arraigned without unnecessary delay.






18. The proceeding before a judge in which the formal charges of an indictment or information are read to an accused person - who may plead guilty or not guilty.






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






20. Elections that may lead to a basic shift in the party identification of the electorate.






21. Impact elections by siphoning off votes from major parties spoiling a party's chance in a close race.






22. In addition to the doctrine of implied powers - Chief Justice Marshall - in his decision in the Supreme Court case of McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) - established the key concept of:






23. Committees of Congress composed of both representatives and senators.






24. The Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments provide for _____________.






25. Multi-interest and often multinational corporations that - under one corporate roof - may manufacture a wide variety of products.






26. Which of the following factors is likely to be the weakest indicator of an individual's political beliefs and opinions? Age - Race - Intelligence - or Religion






27. Most states have ___________ legislatures.






28. Special courts assigned to deal with specific legislative issues such as taxes - military appeals - and international trade.






29. Assistants to the Majority and Minority Leaders of both the House and Senate.






30. High School Dropouts - Blacks - Hispanics - Recent immigrants - and People under 25 or over 75 tend to have a _________ voter turnout.






31. The Democrats control over politics during the 20th century ended with this President's unpopular handling of the Vietnam War.






32. It is possible either to describe people - government - politics - and power as isolated - static elements - or to look at them as interacting elements in a_______________.






33. Communication with legislators or other government officials to try to influence their decisions.






34. 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.






35. Article I - Section 8 - of the Constitution - which allows Congress to make all laws that are 'necessary and proper' to carry out the powers of the Constitution.






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






37. Smith v. Allwight (1994) was the first vase in which the Supreme Court upheld the voting rights of _____________ in state primary elections.






38. The ruling in this case provided that the government must prove a threat to national security in order to impose prior restraint.






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






40. Which historical figure described democracy as 'the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time?'






41. Assigns bills to the appropriate House committee.






42. A system of _______________ - as in Italy - encourages the existence of many parties by allotting seats to competing candidates according to the percentage of votes they win.






43. This article of the Constitution establishes the Executive Branch.






44. In his classic study of community power in New Haven - Connecticut - political scientist Robert A. Dahl concluded that the city was a __________ system dominated by many different sets of leaders






45. Requires the Electoral College to vote for President and Vice President separately.






46. Colonies controlled by the British king through governors appointed by him and through the king's veto power over colonial laws.






47. 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.






48. Legislative house whose members were intended to represent the people.






49. This powerful House committee is in charge of determining under what rule other bills will come to the floor.






50. Today the South is is a two-party battleground - in which the ______________ often have the upper hand