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. 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






2. After analyzing 1 -795 platform pledges over a 10-year period - Gerald M. Pomper concluded that almost ____________ of these promises were fulfilled






3. Washington v. Chrisman (1982) established the _________________ - allowing police officers to seize evidence without a warrant if the evidence is in obvious sight.






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






5. Elections that may lead to a basic shift in the party identification of the electorate.






6. Early civil rights leader established the Niagara Movement and helped to establish the NAACP.






7. Includes expressive conduct/assembly/actions and symbolic behavior (ex. Picketing or burning the flag) Based on our country history of symbolic acts such as the Boston Tea Party - courts almost always uphold symbolic acts of speech unless they are cr






8. A term coined by President Lyndon B. Johnson to describe his own view of the relationship between Washington and the states.






9. Author of The Spirit of the Laws advocating balance of power in politics with liberty is dependant upon a separation of the judicial - legislative - and executive branches of government.






10. Responsible for further investigation - hearings - and amendment to a bill






11. Concept of the British statesman Edmund Burke that legislators should act according to their own consciences.






12. The foreign policy of the United States during the period after the Second World War - designed to contain the expansion of Soviet power.






13. Powers not specifically granted to the federal government or denied to the states belong to the states and the people






14. Independent organizations - but more often the political arms of corporations - labor unions - or interest groups - established to contribute to candidates or to work for general political goals.






15. 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.






16. Responsible for determining which bills will be considered on the House floor - and when they will be considered.






17. 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.






18. Which office serves as a watchdog into waste or fraud in the bureaucracy and conducts investigations at the request of congressional committees






19. The right to renounce one's citizenship.






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






21. The way things actually are.






22. Plan that proposed bicameral legislature where states were to have representation based on size in both houses.






23. 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.






24. A form of city government under which a council - usually elected on a nonpartisan ticket - hires a professional city manager - who runs the city government and has power to hire and fire officials.






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






26. 6 In the view of Robert L. Lineberry - policy analysts focus on the _______________.






27. _____ out of 9 justices must agree to hear an appellate case brought to them from a lower court.






28. While the voting rights act of 1965 did direct the Attorney General to investigate the constitutionality of poll taxes and prohibit literacy tests - it did not expressly prohibit _____________.






29. 1925 Supreme Court case overturned Baron v. Baltimore and applied the Bill of Rights to states.






30. After the Vietnam war - American politics entered an era of __________________ during which neither party maintained control over the government.






31. There is an _____________ relationship between Presidential approval ratings and unemployment.






32. A group of people - chosen by poll-takers - that is representative of the universe that is being polled.






33. Programs mandated by law and not subject to annual review by Congress or the president.






34. A group of people who try to influence policy agendas and whose ultimate goal is to run the government by getting their favorite candidates elected.






35. A primary in which any registered voter is able to vote for candidates from more than one party. A voter - for example - may vote for a Democrat for U.S. senator and for a Republican for governor. In 2000 - the Supreme Court struck down the blanket p






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






37. Decides which bills will be considered.






38. The relationship between the total cost of foreign goods imported to this country and sales of U.S. products overseas.






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






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






41. A legislator who automatically mirrors the will of the majority of his or her constituents.






42. A meeting of party leaders to select candidates - elect convention delegates - etc






43. Powers of government that are specifically granted to the three branches of the federal government under the Constitution.






44. The Equal Rights Amendment was defeated in 1982 because ____________________________.






45. Defamation by written or printed words - pictures - or in any form other than by spoken words or gestures.






46. According to the Speedy Trial Act of 1974 - federal trials must commence within _______ days of arrest with the exception of delay for mental health testing of the defendant and illness of the defendant or key witness.






47. 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






48. Electoral college system and other campaign practices make it exceedingly difficult for even popular ______________ candidates to successfully run for the presidency.






49. The fundamental flaw in plural theory contends that pluralism weakens the backbone of democracy with too many common interest groups attempt to wield power - often leading to standstill because of unwillingness to compromise.






50. Most modern political scientists believe there is ________________ between politics and government.