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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 executive office established in response to intelligence lapses during WWI. Oversees American foreign policy and includes the President - Vice President - Secretary of State - Secretary of Defense and is lead by the National Security Advisor.






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






3. A centralized system of government - such as that of France - where most of the important policy decisions are made by a central government.






4. This called for three-fifths of all slaves in a state were counted for purposes of apportioning representation in the House of Representatives.






5. A procedural rule in the House of Representatives that prohibits any amendment to bills or provides that only memebers of the committee reporting the bill may offer amendments






6. An extraordinary writ commanding an official to perform a ministerial act that the law recognizes as an absolute duty and not a matter for the official's discretion






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






8. During the 1800's and early 1900's - some state and local party committees became ________________ dominating party activities. Committee members would promise new recruits money - jobs - and other benefits for joining and voting the straight party t






9. Political leaders typically try to both lead and follow ____________.






10. President Hoover's laissez-faire approach to the economy during the Great Depression left many poor voters disenfranchised by the Republican Party. They left to join the _______________ Party.






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






12. A law passed in 1966 that requires federal executive branch and regulatory agencies to make information available to journalists - scholars - and the public unless it falls into one of several confidential categories.






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






14. Devolutionary system in which the national government returns tax dollars to the state and local governments primarily in the form of block grants.






15. 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.






16. The issue of slavery split the Democratic Party into what two factions?






17. 6 In the view of Robert L. Lineberry - policy analysts focus on the _______________.






18. State legislation designed to outlaw the union shop - passed by 21 states acting under Section 14B of the federal Taft-Hartley Act.






19. Federal aid that states and localities may use mostly as they wish.






20. Which form of registration prevails in all but a few states?






21. The ___________ aspects of Federalism include: diversity/diffusion of power - more access points for political participation - fostering of experimentation and innovation - and allowing local governments to manage local problems effectively






22. Legislative house responsible for impeachment trials.






23. American politics is dominated by a small ___________ who is responsible for most of the important policy decisions






24. The concept that all people are of equal worth - even if not of equal ability.






25. Puerto Rico has ____________ status.






26. Agencies that were at one time semi-autonomous but that through legislation have been placed under presidential control since 1945.






27. States that arrestees must be informed of their right to remain silent - that anything they say can be held against them in a court - that they have a right to an attorney and that an attorney will be appointed to them if they cannot afford one.






28. A system in which the national government sets requirements that are then implemented by state and local governments.






29. Proponents of limited government - unregulated free markets - national self-reliance - and conventional social values are best describes as






30. Tax legislation must originate in this house.






31. Until the law was changed in 2002 - the term described unregulated campaign funds not subject to the limits of federal law because they went to party committees and not directly to candidates. The 2002 law banned contributions of soft money to nation






32. Constitutional protection of the accused to not be tried for the same crime twice.






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






34. The attitudes and actions of people that sustain and buttress the political system at all levels and allows the political system to continue to work.






35. Southern whites prevented blacks from ____________ through use of poll taxes - literacy tests and intimidation tactics after the Civil War.






36. Powers of government that are specifically granted to the three branches of the federal government under the Constitution.






37. The way things actually are.






38. The yearly value of goods and services produced within a country.






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






40. The Supreme Court holds _____________ jurisdiction in cases against the US - ambassadors - public ministers - and consuls.






41. In Tinker v. Des Moines School District (1969) - the Supreme Court established precedents for ___________________ in schools and government institutions.






42. Law intended to promote free competition in the market place by outlawing monopolies






43. Powers not specifically granted to the federal government or denied to the states belong to the states and the people






44. Cabinet department that includes the Coast Guard - Border Patrol - FEMA - Transportation Security Administration - INS and the Secret Service. Established in 2001 in response to 9/11.






45. The 1803 case in which the Supreme Court - by declaring a portion of an act of Congress unconstitutional - first firmly set forth and established the power of judicial review.






46. An economy in which most economic decisions result from the interaction of buyers and sellers in markets - but in which the government plays a significant role in the allocation of resources.






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. Dissenting Democrats focused on foreign affairs. Aligned with the US Communist Party.

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






50. The absent colony at the 2nd Continental Congress.







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