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 1970 Occupational Safety and Health Act - the 1965 Highway Beautification Act and the 1964 Civil Rights Act are all examples of ____________________.






2. Devolutionary system in which the national government returns tax dollars to the state and local governments primarily in the form of block grants.






3. A controversial law overwhelmingly passed by Congress in October 2001 - after the terrorist attacks of September 11 on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. It greatly expanded the power of federal law enforcement authorities to move against suspe






4. The power of some municipalities to modify their charters and run their affairs without approval by the state legislature.






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






6. The concentration of economic power in the hands of a relatively few large companies.






7. 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.






8. The permanent committees of a legislature that consider bills and conduct hearings and investigations.






9. A centralized system of government - such as that of France - where most of the important policy decisions are made by a central government.






10. Freedoms that protect the individual from the government.






11. Guarantees that any rights not explicitly outlined heretofore are reserved for the states.






12. This 1932 case established that a case can be too speedy and under-counseled - providing defendants in a capital case the right to a reasonable amount of time to establish a defense.






13. A written opinion by some of the judges of a court which agrees with the majority of the court but might arrive there in a different manner.






14. The only amendments to be ratified through the process of 'ratifying conventions -' not a vote in the state legislatures






15. A system in which the national government sets requirements that are then implemented by state and local governments.






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






17. Number of current cabinet positions under GW Bush.






18. The chair and the heads of the three armed services - and - when Marine Corps matters are under consideration - the commandant of the marines. By law - they advise the president and the secretary of defense and are the chiefs of their respective mili






19. Provisions tacked on to a piece of legislation that are not relevant to the bill.






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






21. The introductory statement of the U.S. Constitution - setting forth the general principles of American government and beginning with the words - 'We the people of the United States - in order to form a more perfect union. ...'






22. A federal tax on imports.






23. Federal laws limit the amount of ___________ that can be donated directly to campaign coffers.






24. 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






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






26. 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






27. A system - until modified and reformed in the 1970s - that automatically resulted in the selection as committee chair of those members of the majority party in Congress who had the longest continuous service on a committee.






28. A system of voter registration in which voters must register only once in their district.






29. An elected office that is predictably won by one party or the other - so the success of that party's candidate is almost taken for granted






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






31. Legislative house responsible for impeachment trials.






32. The kinds of cases that a court has the authority to decide.






33. Laws must be administered in a fair manner.






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






35. 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






36. New Jersey v. TLO (1985) established that school authorities may search students without _____________ as long as they are reasonable.






37. This branch of government checks Bureaucracy through its control over lawsuits filed against the agency.






38. While the verbiage of the 4th Amendment is vague as to what constitutes 'reasonable'. Police departments must rely on _____________; they cannot act on unfounded suspicion.






39. A government that undertakes responsibility for the welfare of its citizens through programs in public health and public housing and pensions and unemployment compensation etc.






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






41. A political candidate who is thought to have only an outside chance of gaining the nomination.






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






43. The period of time after the election of FDR until the Vietnam War was dominated by the Democratic Party and know as the __________________ Era.






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






45. 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.






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






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






48. Each Senate committee may have ________ subcommittees.






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






50. Law enacted in 1939 to prohibit civil servants from taking activists roles in partisan campaigns .This act prohibited federal employees from making political contributions - working for a particualr party -or campaining for a particualr canidate