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 Democrats control over politics during the 20th century ended with this President's unpopular handling of the Vietnam War.






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






3. The House appropriations committee has ___ subcommittees.






4. Cabinet department responsible for managing school lunch programs and food safety. Established in 1862.






5. Guarantees the right to a speedy and public trial.






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






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






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






9. The Supreme Court has ruled that Congress_________________ take away a person's citizenship unless it is freely renounced.






10. A place of work in which any person may be hired provided that he or she joins the union within a specified time.






11. The issuance of this document by a judge requires probably cause and must be worded so as to allow for the search and seizure of specific evidence.






12. 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.






13. The responsibility of the President to appoint federal judges when vacancies occur on the bench is referred to as






14. Approximately 33% of American voters identify themselves as _______________ party.






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 Repealed by the 21st Amendment - this Amendment prohibited alcohol.






16. Includes the 13th - 14th - and 15th Amendments. Abolished slavery and guaranteed due process and equal protection to all citizens.






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






18. Powers of government exercised independently by both the federal and state governments - such as the power to tax.






19. A powerful alliance of mutual benefit among an agency or unit of the government - an interest group - and a committee or subcommittee of Congress. Also called a triangle or iron triangle.






20. A small group of voters chosen by a political campaign for their demographic similarities who are brought together to gauge how the group they represent feels about the candidate.






21. 1974 Act mandating that all government files about private citizens be kept confidential.






22. While these voters have traditionally supported the Democrats - some have begun to support Republicans in light of the Democrats liberal policies on abortion.






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






24. 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.






25. The formal source of all authority in each major political party. It nominates the party candidates for president and vice president - writes a platform - settles disputes - writes rules - and elects the members of the national committee.






26. In WV State BOE v Barnette (1943) - the Supreme Court ruled that compelling citizens to salute the flag violates the principles of a free society - upholding which 1st Amendment rights?






27. The provisions of the Constitution that divide power among three constitutionally equal and independent branches of government






28. Infamous 1735 English case established the precedent for Freedom of the Press in the US.






29. Which historical figure described democracy as 'the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time?'






30. 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.






31. 1940 Act Prohibiting any person from advocating overthrowing the government through violence or force.






32. Legislative house whose membership was intended to represent the state.






33. What principle - contained in the Fourth Amendment - protects a citizen from unwarranted search and seizure?






34. Groups named for the section of the Internal Revenue Service code under which they must report their expenditures. The tax-exempt groups were created to exploit a loophole in the law regulating campaign finance.






35. 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.






36. The view advocated by Supreme Court Justices Hugo Black and William O. Douglas that there are provisions of the Bill of Rights that cannot be diluted by judicial decisions.






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






38. A system in which national and state government have shared or overlapping powers. FDR's New Deal legislation established this system in the US.






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






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






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






42. Also known as the Indiana ballot - lists the candidates of each party in a row or column - beside or under the party emblem. In most cases - the voter can make one mark at the top of the column - or pull one lever - and thus vote for all the party's






43. 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.






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






45. Powers of the national government that flow from its enumerated powers and the 'elastic clause' of the Constitution.






46. A course of action chosen by government officials






47. Impact elections by siphoning off votes from major parties spoiling a party's chance in a close race.






48. The rules and regulations made and applied by federal regulatory agencies and commissions.






49. Finding that enough evidence exists to warrant a criminal trial.






50. Cabinet department oversees nuclear reactors.Established in 1973 in response to the Energy Crisis.