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 overall public has a ___________ view of PACS in terms of bought votes and adding to the cost of running for office






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






3. The only instance in which the government can prohibit religious activities






4. Number of current cabinet positions under GW Bush.






5. Which two British Acts - passed in 1764 - caused American colonists for the first time to organize protests against the injustices of British rule - and sparked the rallying cry 'no taxation without representation'?






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






7. In 1992 - the television networks agreed not to release these until a majority of polling places had closed in each state






8. While both Asian and Hispanic immigrants experience various types of discrimination - Hispanic immigrants are more likely to experience economic discrimination. This explains why most Hispanics identify with the ____________ party - while Asians do n






9. The practice under which victorious politicians reward their followers with jobs.






10. Beginning with the election of Abraham Lincoln - the period between 1860 and the Great Depression was dominated by this political party.






11. Also known as the Massachusetts ballot - groups candidates according to the office for which they are running






12. Private groups that attempt to influence the government to respond to the shared attitudes of their members.






13. Article II of the Constitution establishes the ______________ branch.






14. Included are Agriculture - Nutrition - and Forestry; Appropriations; Armed Services; Banking - Housing and Urban Affairs; Commerce - Science and Transportation; Energy and Natural Resources; Environment and Public Works; Finance; Health - Education -






15. Prompted by FDR's 4th election to the Presidency - the 22nd Amendment limited the number of Presidential terms to _____ terms.






16. These candidates win re-election to the House 80-90% of the time.






17. Funds spent for or against a candidate by committees not formally connected to the candidate's campaign and without coordination with the campaign.






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






19. 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.






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






21. The total group from which poll-takers may select a random sample in order to measure public opinion.






22. 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.






23. A legislative leader of each party who is responsible for rounding up party members for important votes.






24. This branch of government checks Bureaucracy through its control over the creation and elimination of agencies as well as its control over budget appropriations.






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






26. The strongest factor contributing to an individual's political socialization tends to be






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






28. Organizations or groups - such as labor unions or fraternal - professional - or religious groups - that may influence an individual's opinion.






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






30. In 1998 - the Supreme Court struck down the________________ law - declaring it unconstitutional - because Congress did not have the constitutional authority to hand that power to the President.






31. This group of voters historically supported Republicans - a party founded on an anti-slavery platform. During the 1930's they began supporting the New Deal policies of the Democratic party.






32. Article VI - Paragraph 2 - of the Constitution - which declares that the Constitution - and the laws and treaties of the United States made under it - are 'the supreme Law of the Land' and prevail over any conflicting state constitutions or laws.






33. German sociologist theorized that the engine of government needs bureaucracies to provide expertise in a way that short-term elected or appointed official cannot.






34. This clause of the 1st amendment establishes a 'wall of separation' between church and state.






35. In the Federalist Papers - James Madison proposed that the states under the new Constitution would retain ____________ sovereignty.






36. The fundamental rights of a free society that are protected by the Bill of Rights against the power of the government - such as freedom of speech - religion - press - and assembly.






37. The body composed of electors from the 50 states who formally have the power to elect the president and vice president of the United States. Each state has a number of electors and electoral votes equal to its number of senators and representatives i






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






39. 14th Amendment is often used to support the right to ____________.






40. 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.






41. Largest interest group in the US.






42. An economic system in which the factors of production are owned by the publicand operate for the welfare of all.






43. The ______________________ were formed to unite the colonists against Britain.






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






45. A procedure that in certain circumstances permits voters to remove elected state or local officials from office before their terms have expired.






46. 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?






47. A legal principle of fair dealing - which may provide preventive measures and legal remedies that are unavailable under existing common law and statutory law.






48. 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.






49. A group of high-level administrators and managers at the top of the government bureaucracy. SES members have less job tenure but are eligible for substantial cash bonuses for merit.






50. A place of work in which only union members may be hired.