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. Voters in a political district - or supporters of an elected official; or interest groups or client groups that are either directly regulated by the bureaucracy or vitally affected by its decisions.






2. 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






3. In this case - a gay man from Georgia charged with committing sodomy in his own home with a consenting adult. The court ruled that the Constitution does not explicitly grant the right for homosexuals to practice their lifestyle and that laws against






4. The right of the Supreme Court - under the Constitution - to hear certain kinds of cases directly - such as cases involving foreign diplomats - or cases in which one of the 50 states is a party.






5. Presidential refusal to allow an agency to spend funds that Congress authorized and appropriated.






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






7. This house committee is responsible for Supervising the authority of the federal government to borrow money - Raising the revenue required to finance the federal government by levying taxes - Overseeing Social Security and other social insurance prog






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






9. 1976 Law requiring all governmental agency meetings to be open to the public unless classified information will be discussed.






10. This term refers to the gain in the polls that a candidate often enjoys after a national convention






11. Judicial Check on Legislative Branch. Not specifically outlined in the Constitution - but established in the case of Marbury v. Madison through the application of the Supremacy Clause in Article VI.






12. The practice of victorious politicians to reward their followers with jobs. Also known as the spoils system.






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






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






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






16. The practice that allows senators to delay or even kill floor action on legislation - a nomination - or other matters by asking their party leaders not to schedule them.






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






18. This 1973 ruling gave local communities the authority to determine obscenity - established three part test for obscene material. To qualify as obscene - speech must be considered obscene by the 'average' person - depict or describe material that is a






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






20. Control of a market by a single company.






21. 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






22. The party-column ballot - or Indiana ballot - encourages _______________.






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






24. 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.






25. Members of this party typically include women who support liberal policies on abortion and equal pay - Jews - Catholics - Blacks and other minorities - Blue-collar working class - urban - labor unions - and intelligensia






26. Laws must be reasonable. The Supreme Court has abandoned this concept in regards to business matters citing that it is the responsibility of Congress to regulate economic matters. The court has continued to apply this to matters of civil liberties an






27. The process through which an individual acquires a set of political attitudes and forms opinions about political and social issues.






28. Presidential management model in which the Chief of Staff plays a prominent role as the head of a military style chain of command. Used successfully by Reagan and Eisenhower.






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






30. 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.






31. The Constitution requires that state governments - like the federal government - must be _____________ in form - with final authority resting with the people.






32. The Medicaid and Food Stamp programs are examples of two very large






33. 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






34. The individuals - institutions - and processes that make the rules for society and possess the power to enforce them.






35. The reason that electors are chosen in each state by popular vote is ____________.






36. The 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act banned contributions of soft money to______________.






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






38. The coming to power of a new coalition - replacing an old dominant coalition of the other party






39. In addition to the doctrine of implied powers - Chief Justice Marshall - in his decision in the Supreme Court case of McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) - established the key concept of:






40. Number of original cabinet positions under George Washington.






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






42. A course of action decided upon by a government






43. Defamation by oral utterance rather than by writing - pictures






44. 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.






45. Federal grants in which the recipient has little discretion over how the money is spent. The national government sets narrowly defined rules for use of funds and often requires the states or local governments to provide matching funds. These grants a






46. The drawing of the lines of congressional districts - or of any other political district - in order to favor one political party or group over another.






47. The 1892 platform of the Populist party repudiating laissez-faire and demanding economic and political reform






48. According to V. O. Key - Jr. - the Populist Party of the 1890s is an example of a ____________________.






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






50. The Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 restructured the number of ______________ in both the House and Senate.