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. A method of polling - considered less reliable than a random sample - in which interviewers are instructed to question members of a particular group in proportion to their percentage in the population as a whole.






2. Executive check on Legislative Branch.






3. The concentration of economic power in the hands of a relatively few large companies.






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






5. These voters tend to have a high voter turnout because of their strong since of civic duty due to growing up during an era of political and civil unrest.






6. This 1964 case established strict standards for proving slander and libel - court must prove intent of malice on the part of the publisher.






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






8. During the period from 1976 to 1824 - This party was lead by Alexander Hamilton and James Madison. They wanted a stronger national government that would rectify the pitfalls of the Articles of Confederation. Their supporters held a stronghold in New






9. Laws that were designed to segregate black and white Americans and give legal recognition to discrimination.






10. 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






11. The European political philosophers whose writings influenced the concepts of liberty and government contained in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution belonged to the intellectual and cultural movement known as






12. The name commonly given to a private group - regardless of size - organized to elect political candidates. An organization becomes one by receiving contributions or making expenditures in excess of $1 -000 for the purpose of influencing a federal ele






13. 1946 Act requiring bureaucratic agencies to appeal to the affected parties before adopting new policies. Legislative check on Bureaucracy.






14. First Executive Branch






15. A form of city government under which a board of city commissioners is popularly elected (often on a nonpartisan ballot). The commissioners make policy as a city council - but they also run city departments as administrators.






16. Federal categorical grants in which the granting agency has less discretion over how the recipient spends the money.






17. Number of Electoral College votes required to win the Presidency.






18. According to the Constitution - the electors in the Electoral College shall be appointed in a manner to be determined by the






19. Presidential management model in which corporate CEO tactics are used employing committees - task forces - and special advisors. Successfully utilized by Clinton and G W Bush.






20. Raise Public Awareness - Create Policy Agenda - Prioritize Agenda - Enact Policy - Public Evaluation






21. The number of ______________ a state receives is based on the number Representatives and Senators that the state has in Congress






22. A legislator who automatically mirrors the will of the majority of his or her constituents.






23. 1944 case established that as as long as a person accepted their beliefs in good faith that it is not the government's authority to determine whether those beliefs are valid.






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






25. 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.






26. Makes sure that funds are used safely and wisely. They oversee the state's financial records






27. An economic system of free enterprise with private ownership of the means of production.






28. 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.






29. An election in which voters in a jurisdiction select candidates for a subsequent election. In other words - one means by which a political party nominate candidates for the following general election.s






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






31. 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?






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






33. The primary purpose of _______________consolidate the nation's disability laws and provide for strong federal enforcement of a strengthened disability rights mandate






34. An elected office that is predictably won by one party or the other - so the success of that party's candidate is almost taken for granted






35. 1966 Act allowing citizens to inspect all government records with the exception of classified military or intelligence documents - trade secrets or private personnel files.






36. If 10 days do not remain in session and the president does not sign an act of Congress - the bill __________.






37. Bills passed by Congress to pay for the spending it has authorized.






38. Individual contributions to PACs are limited to ______________ dollars per candidate per election with primaries - general and special elections counting separately.






39. The principle - established by Chief Justice John Marshall in 1819 in the case of McCulloch v. Maryland - that the Constitution must be interpreted flexibly to meet changing conditions.






40. The Supreme Court practice of applying most of the provisions of the Bill of Rights to the states under the 14th Amendment.






41. Laws passed by state legislatures that are designed to protect reporters from being forced to reveal their news sources.






42. Signed the executive order banning segregation in the armed forces.






43. In this essay - James Madison recognized that reconciling the competing interests of various groups was what legislation was all about






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






45. Money spent by individuals or gorups not asociated with candidates to elect or defeat candidates for office






46. The tendency of presidents to lose support over time.






47. A series of 85 articles written by Alexander Hamilton - John Jay - and James Madison under the pseudonym Publius advocating the ratification of the United States Constitution.






48. A pluralist theory by C. Wright Mills where a small number of wealthy elite wield most of the power. Fundamental to all governments around the world - the elite rule while they make the lower classes feel like they are involved in democracy. The elit






49. The 24th amendment banned _____________ - making it harder for states to discriminate against poor and minority voters.






50. In a 1943 case - the Supreme Court upheld the right to refuse to salute the American flag on the basis of the constitutional guarantee of _________________.