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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 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






2. Economists generally agree that the major responsibility for promoting prosperity and full employment falls on ________________.






3. Executive office responsible for helping the President write the federal budget and monitoring federal spending.






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






5. An interest group organization that represents a specific group of people (Ex. NAACP - AARP)






6. 1917 Reincarnation of the Sedition Act during WWI






7. 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






8. A philosophy that Supreme Court justices and other judges should boldly apply the Constitution to social and political questions.






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






10. How groups form and organize to pursue their goals or objectives - including how to get individuals and groups to participate and cooperate.






11. The view of the majority of the Supreme Court that First Amendment rights must be weighed against the competing needs of the community to preserve order.






12. California measure designed to deny welfare and other benefits to illegal aliens. Overwhelmingly passed the popular vote - but overturned in federal court because it extending beyond the bounds of state rights to attempt to control immigration.






13. The spread of nuclear weapons to more nations.






14. Powers specifically given to the federal government by the US Constitution - for example - the authority to print money.






15. Grants that an accused may not be held in custody without charge - literally 'You shall have the body'.






16. Colonies in which freely elected legislatures chose the governor and the king could not veto laws.






17. Love of country and a desire for independence; it can also mean an excessive form of patriotism exploited by political leaders.






18. This contraversial 2001 law allows anti-terrorism authorities to monitor e-mail and Internet traffic in order to prevent terrorist attacks. The government argues that cyberspace is public domain and that no warrants should be needed to access informa






19. Special spending projects that are set aside on behalf of individual members of Congress for their constituents.






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






21. Courts of original jurisdiction in federal crimes - civil suits under federal law - civil suits between citizens of different states where the amount in question exceeds $50 -000 - bankruptcy proceedings - cases involving some federal administrative






22. 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.






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






24. A relaxation of international tensions.






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






26. The claim by presidents of an inherent right to withhold information from Congress and the judiciary.






27. The response of the rest of society to actions by the authorities.






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






29. Philosopher John Locke - in his 1690 work Civil Government (second treatise) - advised separation of government power between






30. Laws must be administered in a fair manner.






31. Requires reporting of financial information by companies with publicly traded securities






32. ______________________is responsible for the management of the federal debt and the printing of currency. It is the major fiscal policy agency.






33. Committees created by Congress to conduct special investigations. Although normally temporary - some become - in effect - permanent.






34. The term 'Reagan Democrats' has become a generic term for






35. The estimated number of illegal aliens living in the US.






36. An unwritten custom by which individual senators who belong to the same political party as the president exercise an informal veto power over presidential appointments in their states.






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






38. Largest interest group in the US.






39. 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.






40. Repealed by the 21st Amendment - this Amendment prohibited alcohol.






41. A vote in the House of Representatives in which the position of each member is noted and published in the Congressional Record.






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






43. Theory of democracy in which competition among common interest groups promote ideas to influence politics






44. This 1967 Supreme Court case prohibited illegal eavesdropping and extending the zone of privacy to include the home - office - person - and immediate public arena.






45. Prohibits conviction of a crime that occurred before the act became illegal






46. 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.






47. Powerful standing committee that puts bills on the legislative calendar and establishes the processes by which the bill will be discussed on the floor.






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






49. To negotiate a complex and politically sensitive trade treaty - a President will often






50. These courts only hear appeals on cases from lower courts.






Can you answer 50 questions in 15 minutes?



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