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. In states using primaries - the most common form of primary election is the ___________ primary.






2. When neither political party is dominant.






3. A declaration by the President in 1823 that warned European powers to keep out of the Western Hemisphere and pledged that the United States would not intervene in the internal affairs of Europe.






4. The state officer typically responsible for overseeing federal elections at the state level is the






5. Minor criminal offenses - such as speeding.






6. The Supremacy Clause appears in ________________ of the Constitution.






7. Number of Federal District courts across 50 states - DC and Puerto Rico.






8. States that arrestees must be informed of their right to remain silent - that anything they say can be held against them in a court - that they have a right to an attorney and that an attorney will be appointed to them if they cannot afford one.






9. Year of the 2nd Continental Congress.






10. In a 1943 case - the Supreme Court upheld the right to refuse to salute the American flag on the basis of the constitutional guarantee of _________________.






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






12. In lieu of an indictment - the state prosecutor may file a _______________ charging the person with a crime.






13. In this 1972 case - the Supreme Court established four guidelines for determining if a trial was appropriately speedy and fair: cause of delay - length of delay - affect on the outcome - and the defendant's claim to a speedy trial.






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






15. 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 ______________)






16. Elects the President if no candidate receives 270 Electoral College votes.






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






18. The total amount of money that the United States owes to its creditors.






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






20. In Woodson v. North Carolina - the Supreme Court struck down mandatory sentencing of capital punishment as ______________________ because it does not allow for any discretion.






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






22. Unwritten law based on custom and tradition.






23. In _______________ cases such as Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978) - the Supreme Court has upheld that while Affirmative action policies are legal - race and gender cannot be the only determining factors.






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






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






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






27. It is possible either to describe people - government - politics - and power as isolated - static elements - or to look at them as interacting elements in a_______________.






28. A decision of the Supreme Court cannot be ___________.






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






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






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






32. Special courts assigned to deal with specific legislative issues such as taxes - military appeals - and international trade.






33. In which case did the Supreme Court rule that the concept of privacy included the right to a legal abortion?






34. Congress defined the steps for the creation and admission of new states. It forbade slavery while the region remained a territory although citizens could legalize it. First congress would appoint a territorial governor and judges. Second as soon as 5






35. The 1st Amendment states that government cannot issue ______________ - censoring publications before they are published.






36. Theory of democracy in which competition among common interest groups promote ideas to influence politics






37. A group of writers - journalists - and critics who exposed corporate malfeasance and political corruption in the first decade of the 20th century.






38. 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






39. California measure designed to deny welfare and other benefits to illegal aliens. Overwhelmingly passed the popular vote - but overturned in federal court because it extending beyond the bounds of state rights to attempt to control immigration.






40. An opinion of one or more judges expressing disagreement with the majority opinion of the court which gives rise to its judgment.






41. 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.






42. Private groups that attempt to influence the government to respond to the shared attitudes of their members.






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






44. Minimum number of voters per state in the Electoral College.






45. The estimated number of illegal aliens living in the US.






46. Freedoms that protect the individual from the government.






47. A court decision in an earlier case with facts and legal issues similar to a dispute currently before a court.






48. In 1998 - the Supreme Court struck down the________________ law - declaring it unconstitutional - because Congress did not have the constitutional authority to hand that power to the President.






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






50. A method of polling - considered less reliable than a random sample - in which interviewers are instructed to question members of a particular group in proportion to their percentage in the population as a whole.