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






2. In the last 30 years - voter turnout among American 18- to 24-year-olds has been






3. Presides over the Senate without voting privileges except in the case of a tie.






4. The 1896 case of Plessy v. Fergusan established the racial segregation policy of __________________.






5. 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.






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






7. 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.






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






9. Responsibilities include: Coordinating the nation's intelligence activities and Evaluating and disseminating intelligence that affects national security






10. A form of city government under which power is divided between a mayor and an elected city council.






11. Ruling by the Supreme Court in 1954 that racial segregation in public schools violates the Fourteenth Amendment's requirement of equal protection of the laws for all persons.






12. _____________ are expected to specialize in a few policy areas rather than claim expertise in the whole range of legislative concerns






13. 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






14. 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






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






16. In his classic study of community power in New Haven - Connecticut - political scientist Robert A. Dahl concluded that the city was a __________ system dominated by many different sets of leaders






17. Federal grants in which the recipient has a lot of discretion over how the money is spent. These grants are issued in support of general government functions such as education and law enforcement.






18. Amendment that delegated the election of Senators to popular vote.






19. This powerful House committee is in charge of determining under what rule other bills will come to the floor.






20. The median income of women is ___________ percent of men.






21. Important during the Revolution - these bodies organized by the local governments of the Thirteen Colonies during the American Revolution for the purposes of coordinating written communication outside of the colony.






22. The proceeding before a judge in which the formal charges of an indictment or information are read to an accused person - who may plead guilty or not guilty.






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






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






25. Guarantees that citizens cannot be compelled by the government to act in a way that is contrary to their religious beliefs. (ex. Conscientious objection to military service required by the draft is the execution of ______________)






26. Included are Ways and Means - Veteran's Affairs - Transportation and Infrastructure - Standards of Official Conduct - Small Business - Science - Judiciary - Rules - Resources - Oversight of Government Reform - House Administration - Homeland Security






27. 1946 Act requiring bureaucratic agencies to appeal to the affected parties before adopting new policies. Legislative check on Bureaucracy.






28. Number of current cabinet positions under GW Bush.






29. By far - the largest amount of federal aid to state and local governments comes in the form of:






30. 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.






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






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






33. Age Requirement for House of Representatives.






34. Committees created by Congress to conduct special investigations. Although normally temporary - some become - in effect - permanent.






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






36. A provision of law in which Congress asserts the power to nullify actions of the executive branch. In 1983 the Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional - but Congress continued to pass laws containing such provisions.






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






38. 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.






39. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was somewhat undermined by racist practices in the real estate market such as _____________ and ______________ - which continued illegally in many areas following passage of the Act.






40. Constitutionally required address by the President typically given in a joint session of Congress.






41. Form of obstruction in the Senate where an attempt is made to infinitely extend debate upon a proposal in order to delay the progress or completely prevent a vote on the proposal taking place.






42. A federal law passed by Congress in 1939 to restrict political activities by federal workers. The law prevents federal employees while on duty from taking an active part in party politics or campaigns and also bars federal employees from running for






43. A philosophy that the Supreme Court should avoid constitutional questions when possible and uphold acts of Congress unless they clearly violate a specific section of the Constitution.






44. In order to win support for ratification of the Constitution - the Federalists had to promise that the first order of business under a new government would be to _______________.






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






46. _____________ was the Democratic Party political machine that played a major role in controlling New York City politics and helping immigrants (most notably the Irish) rise up in American politics from the 1790s to the 1960s.






47. 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.






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






49. 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.






50. Powers of government that the national government may exercise simply because it exists as a government - such as the right to conduct foreign relations.