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






2. Process by which citizens propose an amendment by petition.






3. Popular until the early 20th century when they lost favor to primaries due to corruption - now used in only 12 states.






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






5. Literally meaning 'right of soil' - confers citizenship by place of birth.






6. Judges in Legislative Courts serve _______ terms and do not require impeachment.






7. Inherent powers of state governments to pass laws to protect health - safety - and welfare; the national government has no directly granted police powers but accomplishes the same goals through other delegated powers.






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






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






10. Cabinet positions must be ____________ by the Senate






11. The House appropriations committee has ___ subcommittees.






12. Tax legislation must originate in this house.






13. This branch of government checks Bureaucracy through its control over budget and appointments of leadership.






14. First Executive Branch






15. A federal tax on imports.






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






17. 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.






18. 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






19. 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.






20. 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.






21. A compulsory national insurance program - financed by taxes on employers and employees. The insurance falls into four categories: old-age and survivors insurance - disability insurance - Medicare - and unemployment insurance.






22. _____________ are expected to specialize in a few policy areas rather than claim expertise in the whole range of legislative concerns






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






24. Laws on Schools - Marriage - and owning property;Licensee Lawyers - Doctors - and Teachers.






25. A provision in a deed to real property prohibiting its sale to a person of a particular race or religion. Judicial enforcement is unconstitutional.






26. In the area of foreign affairs - _______________ often have the advantage because






27. Today the Senate operates with ____ standing and select committees. These select committees - however - are permanent in nature and are treated as standing committees under Senate rules.






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






29. A legislature with only one house.






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






31. Voters tendency to identify with a party that shares their views on important issues ignoring the party's stance on issues they deem less important. to be life-long unless there is a major change in the party's platform. 2. Influenced by ra






32. Amendment that delegated the election of Senators to popular vote.






33. Government employees who publicly expose evidence of official waste or corruption that they have learned about in the course of their duties.






34. In charge of all state funds. Supervises the collection of taxes and payment of state's bill






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






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. Legislature bills that affect all citizens.






38. A tax on voting abolished by the Twenty-fourth Amendment in 1964 - long used by southern states to keep blacks (and - in some cases - poor whites) from participating in elections.






39. A group of independent states or nations that come together for a common purpose and whose central authority is usually limited to defense and foreign relations.






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






41. 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






42. The Supremacy Clause appears in ________________ of the Constitution.






43. The framers of the Constitution created the Senate to function as a check on the ________________.






44. An ideology that advocates limits on government power to address economic and social problems - relying instead on economic markets and individual initiative to address problems like health care and education - while promoting government involvement






45. People may vote in a party's primary only if they are registered members of that party. Independents cannot participate. Note that because some political parties name themselves independent - the term 'non-partisan' often replaces 'independent' when






46. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 required states in the covered jurisdiction to attain _________________ from the Attorney General before making changes to voting standards - practice - or procedure






47. Loose - competitive relationships among policy experts - interest groups - congressional committees - and federal agencies. Many observers argue that these have replaced iron triangles.






48. After a bill is assigned to a committee - the next step is typically a ______________.






49. When the minority party becomes stronger than the majority party - usually the result of winning a critical election.






50. Number of years a President must reside in the US prior to taking office