CLEP American Government Practice Test Latest Updated

Punch cards - ANSWER-Type of voting system that became well known immediately following the 2000 election Prospective voting - ANSWER-A person who votes based on what candidate says he or she will do in the future is said to be engaged in this type of voting House of Representatives - ANSWER-Should presidential candidates receive an equal number of electoral votes, the election is decided by___________ Democracy - ANSWER-"A form of government in which the people (defined broadly to include all adults or narrowly to exclude women and slaves, for example) are the ultimate political authority" Direct democracy - ANSWER-New England town's meetings are examples of this type of democracy The Federalist Papers - ANSWER-Under the pen name "Publius," Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay wrote this The Mayflower Compact - ANSWER-In the seventeenth century, the signers of which document agreed to live under the colony's recognized authority and to wait for a royal charter, such as the Virginians had? Rhode Island - ANSWER-The last state to ratify the U.S. Constitution U.S. President - ANSWER-The purpose of the electoral college is to choose the_________ Interest groups - ANSWER-In the debates over the Constitution, federalist sand anti-federalist a spoke of factions the way we today speak of _________ Article I - ANSWER-"All Bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives." These words appear in which article of the U.S. Constitution? John Locke - ANSWER-The English philosopher whose words are heavily drawn on in the Declaration of Independence U.S. Treasury - ANSWER-Insofar as the Constitution is concerned, members of Congress receive payment for their work from_______ Senate - ANSWER-The Vice President of the United States is the president of what government body? 25 - ANSWER-What is the minimum age specified in the Constitution for members of the House of Representatives? Oregon - ANSWER-In recent decades, which state has relied most heavily on mail-in voting? The Constitution - ANSWER-In which of the nation's founding documents could one point to an "elastic clause" to justify the existence of vast government agencies such as the Department of Health and Human Services? State legislatures and the people - ANSWER-The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution states that government powers "not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States," are reserved for_____, ______, and _______. Administrative discretion - ANSWER-Term for when Congress sets guidelines for government agencies to follow Unfunded mandate - ANSWER-The Real ID Act of 2005 was an example of an_______ Filibuster - ANSWER-Senators have the power to "talk a bill to death." What is the formal term for this procedure? Bill - ANSWER-A piece of legislation proposed to Congress is called_________ End debate in the Senate - ANSWER-What do Unanimous consent agreements accomplish? Congress - ANSWER-Article I is the longest section contained in the U.S. Constitution. What is the subject matter of this article? Punch-card ballots - ANSWER-Created a controversy following the 2000 presidential election; the "hanging" and "dimpled" chads that resulted when voters did not punch through the cards completely were difficult for vote counters to assess Prospective voting - ANSWER-Forward-looking voting: when a voter supports a candidate based on what the candidate plans to do once in office Retrospective voting - ANSWER-Voting based on an informed view of a candidate's or political party's past Attack and contrast ads - ANSWER-Designed, respectively, to create negative feelings toward a candidate's opponent and to draw distinctions between opponents Republicanism - ANSWER-Advocates a political system without a monarch "Mobocracy" - ANSWER-Rule by the mob Oligarchy - ANSWER-A government run by a few people Democratic socialism - ANSWER-Distinguished from tyrannical forms of socialism in that it guarantees basic rights (e.g. Free speech) and free elections Concurrence - ANSWER-Refers to a judge's agreement with the decision of a majority of judges on the court, through different reasons. The Anti-Federalist Papers - ANSWER-Were written in opposition to ratification of the Constitution Common Sense - ANSWER-Written by Thomas Paine in the early stage of the Revolution. It's purpose was to rouse the American public against the British Leviathan - ANSWER-An important work in political philosophy by the English theorist Thomas Hobbes. Second Treatise on Government - ANSWER-By John Locke, another work in political philosophy, was highly influential on the American revolutionaries and Constitutional framers. Mayflower Compact - ANSWER-Was agreed to by Pilgrim leaders who had landed at Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts Magna Carta - ANSWER-Is a document from medieval England that established certain rights for British citizens. The Federalist - ANSWER-a series of essays written to address the American controversy over ratification of the U.S. Constitution. The English Bill of Rights of 1689 - ANSWER-Set an important precedent for the Americans who desired a federal Bill of Rights. Marshall Plan - ANSWER-Was a post-World War II development program for Europe Delaware - ANSWER-First state to ratify the Constitution; it was a unanimous vote Political delegates - ANSWER-Represent the wishes of the majority on whose behalf they vote Earmarks - ANSWER-Federal funds appropriated by Congress for local projects