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AP US Government & Politics | Final Cram 2025 Flashcards | StudBud
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AP US Government & Politics | Final Cram 2025
AP US Government & Politics | Final Cram 2025
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Test your knowledge on content and FRQ writing for the AP US Government Exam
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1
What did Citizens United v. FEC allow interest groups to do?
Allowed interest groups to donate unlimited money to political expenditures
Allowed interest groups to donate unlimited amount of money to elections.
Allowed interest groups to donate only $2000 to political experndtiture
Banned interest groups from donating to elections.
2
What are tracking polls?
Polls that track a single voter's choice
Unscientific survey
Polls based on geographic location
Frequent polls conducted to see daily rises and falls
3
What is new federalism (or devolution) ?
powers of the states and national gov are separate
national and state governments share responsibilities
A movement to repeal the 10th amendment
shifting power and responsibility to the hands of states
4
The Federal Reserve can best be described as
The central banking system that creates monetary policy
Economic policy advisors to the president
The central banking system that creates fiscal policy
A division of the U.S. Treasury Department
5
How did the Pendelton Act and the Civil Service Commission affect the bureaucracy?
Replaced the patronage system for the merit system
Founded the NAACP to fight for civil rights
Created the Interstate Commerace Commission
Created the Secret Service
6
The Constitution creates a "wall of separation between church and state" in which clause?
Free exercise clause
Necessary and proper clause
Elastic clause
Establishment clause
7
McDonald v. Chicago (2010) dealt with which of the following?
Selective incorporation
4th Amendment: No unreasonable search and seizure
First Amendment: Freedom of Speech
Second Amendment: Right to Bear Arms
8
Prior restraint is often considered to be what?
Manipulation
Libel
Censorship
Slander
9
What was the purpose of the 10th Amendment?
To claarify the power of the national government
To state the rights of the people
To state the necessary and proper clause
To clarify the limits of the national government's power
10
What is the No Germaneness Rule in the U.S. Senate?
Amendments and Speeches can be about anything
Amendments and Speeches must be about the President
Amendments and Speeches must be about the bill
No clotures can be called without pause
11
Which of the following is true about media polarization?
New media is less polarized than old media
Citizens gravitate toward like-minded info
Polarization increases the public's political knowledge
Privately-owned news sources are less polarized
12
Which government institution is classified as a bureaucracy?
Senate Committee on Agriculture
Securities and Exchange Commission
Environmental Protection Agency
Department of Homeland Security
13
Which position is NOT up for election in midterm elections?
Member of the House of Representatives
Governor
Senator
President
14
A measure of the accuracy of a public opinion poll.
Sampling Error
Margin of Error
Stratification
Weighting
15
An important distinction between a categorical grant and a block grant is that:
stateshave more freedom in determing how to use block grants
block grants are more numerous than categoricalgrants
categorical grants have comparatively fewrestrictions
states must provide matching funds for a blockgrant
16
Which of the following is a principle of republicanism?
Laws only apply to certain groups of citizens
Wealthy individuals should run the government
People should rule themselves through elected officials
Society functions best when everyone acts according to their own interests
17
The Argumentative Essay (FRQ #4) is worth more towards the overall exam grade than the other 3 FRQs.
True
False
18
The power of the Rules Committee in the House rests on its authority to
choose chairs of other standing committees
initiate spending legislation and hold budget hearings.
place a bill on calendar, limit debate,& determine amendment
choose President if no candidate wins Electoral College
19
What government institutions are responsible for crafting fiscal policy?
The President
Congress
The Federal Reserve
The Supreme Court
20
Which evidence would support a claim that the Founders intended an elite form of democracy?
Declaration of Independence - "all men are created equal"
Art I, Sec 3 - Senators chosen by state legislatures
Brutus #1 - small republic best protects liberties
Federalist #10 - public opinion should be filtered through chosen body
21
Which political ideology does this quote best represent?
Liberal
Conservative
Libertarian
Socialist
22
Party dealignment can be seen in American politics today when
Party identification increases
People begin identifying as "independent"
People engage more with their party
People switch parties
23
What did the Great (Connecticut) Compromise call for?
The Articles of Confederation would have to be left behind
Every state gets 2 senators
No slavery in the Northwest Territory until approved later
Representation in the House depends on state population
24
Super PACs are banned from...
Outwardly expressing support for an incumbent
Spending unlimited $
Running attack ads against a candidate for office
Coordinating directly with a candidate or his/her staff
25
What is the primary purpose of political parties?
To have big conventions
To pass tax reform
To control government institutions and influence public policy
To run media outlets
26
According to supply side economics, which of these is the best way to stimulate the economy?
raising tariffs
reducing the national debt
cutting taxes
balancing the federal budget
27
Which generation is under 35, more diverse & leans more liberal in their social beliefs?
Silent
Millenial
Generation X
Baby Boom
28
Affirmative action is
a process of hiring an outsider to settle an argument
receiving approval from executives to make a decision
increased hiring of women and minorities in the workplace
encouragement of employees through praise and compensation
29
One of the life-cycle effects observed in American politics is that
the strength of one’s party attachment
political participation increases with age
people become more liberal with age
interest in politics decreases with age
30
A problem with the the delegate model for congressional voting behavior is that
such representation relates to the House but not Senate
on many key issues public opinion is weak or vague
most politicians are not theoreticians
most politicians have a strong academic background
31
In an economic slowdown, Keynesian economic policy would advocate increasing
interest rates
taxes
government spending
the unemployment rate
32
Which are the most important factors in political socialization?
family and education
peer groups and opinion leaders
mass media and historic events
race and occupation
33
How can the courts have oversight on the federal bureaucracy?
appointing and confirming leadership posiitions
requiring congressional oversight hearings
judicial review on bureaucratic actions
increasing or decreasing the budget of an agency
34
Civil Rights are
Laws that protect that allow consumers to sue businesses for civil damages
Laws passed to prevent the desecration of Civil War statues
Restrictions on governments against violating the Bill of Rights
Government policies that protect individuals from discrimination
35
This type of primary election, voters may vote in a party's primary only if they are registered
blanket primary
open primary
semi-closed primary
closed primary
36
All of the following are purposes of political parties EXCEPT
Propose a platform of issue stances
GOTV
Recruit candidates
Filing litigation (lawsuits)
37
Discretionary and rule-making authority is given to ___________ to implement policy.
The Supreme Court
Bureaucracies
Ambassadors
The President
38
The death penalty is debated because it might violate our 8th amendment freedom from _______.
Self-incrimination
Trial by Jury
Excessive bail
Cruel and Unusual Punishment
39
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972
prohibited ethnic discrimination by schools
prohibited sex discrimination by schools receiving federal $
granted non-levy funding to schools
granted land to schools for construction
40
What clause was at issue in Wisconsin v. Yoder?
Exclusionary Rule
Free Exercise
Equal Protection
Free Speech
41
Federalist 70 argues that the executive must be
aided in its actions by a vice president
energetic to allow for proper decision-making
part of a council in order to be held accountable
cautious and accountable to a cabinet
42
The democratic theory of pluralism promotes...
the maximum amount of political involvement.
collective economic activity.
the idea of competing groups.
the belief that the powerful few rule.
43
In the SCOTUS comparison FRQ (#3), how many points (of the 4 total) is part B worth?
1 for explaining why the holding is similar or different from required case
2 because you get the "hidden" point for describing the facts of req. case
44
To earn the thesis point for the argumentative essay (FRQ #4), you must
Establish a line of reasoning
Identify a trend in the data
List both pieces of evidence.
Take a position
45
Which statement shows an example of checks and balances?
A committee drafts a bill and sends it to the House of Representatives.
The Sup. Court declares that a law created by Congress is unconstitutional
The Senate approves a treaty ending a war.
The President creates a new federal agency.
46
Interest groups do all of the following EXCEPT
play a part in political campaigns
try to shape specific policy goals
nominate candidates for elective office
link the public to the political process
47
Which is an accurate comparison of McCulloch v Maryland (MM) and U.S. v. Lopez (USL)?
(MM) increase power for Nat'l gov (USL) est. limits to Congress' power
(MM) states can tax Nat'l bank (USL) Gun Free School Zones unconstitutional
(MM)said act of Congress unconst'l (USL)state sovereign/local control imp't
(MM) Congress has implied powers (USL) ruled state laws supreme over nat'l
48
Which of the following requires Senate advise and consent?
Approving an executive order
Approving a treaty
Appointing a SCOTUS judge
Appointing a cabinet secretary
49
Stare decisis means that
cases should be decided on who has the best argument.
state court decisions cannot be changed by a federal court
courts follow similar precedent decisions when available.
judges have wide latitude and discretion.
50
Pick the ideas that are considered to be core American political values.
Limited Government
Rule by Law
Equality of outcome
Free enterprise
51
The trustee model of representation dictates that when congressmen vote, they
use their best personal judgment
mirror the views of the nation as a whole
mirror the views of their home districts
contradict the views of their home districts
52
Executive Agreements are...
President agreement with another foreign leader with House approval
President agreement with foreign leader with Senate approval
President agreement with Congress
President agreement with a foreign leader without Senate approval
53
If the FCC sets a new rule for cell phone company pricing it is said to be making
administrative adjudication
fiscal policy
oversight
regulatory policy
54
If you have a high political efficacy, you might believe
That it doesn't matter if you vote at all
That your individual vote will make a difference
Voting should be mandatory
That your individual vote doesn't matter much at all
55
How does consumer-driven media increase partisan polarization?
It reinforces existing political biases in individuals
It relies heavily on corporate advertising
It tends to avoid discussing controversial topics
It is overwhelmingly conservative
56
The size of the Supreme Court is determined by
Congress
the POTUS
the Court itself
the Constitution
57
What is the Supreme Court's "Rule of Four"?
It takes four years for a case to reach the Supreme Court
A case must be argued before the court by four lawyers
Four justices must agree to hear case for it to be taken up
Four lower courts must hear case before it gets to SCOTUS
58
The SCOTUS case Gideon v. Wainwright dealt with the...
5th Amendment's protection from self incrimination
Sixth Amendment's right to counsel in criminal cases
4th Amendment's protection from unreasonable searches
Sixth Amendment's right to speedy and public trial
59
Horse race journalism is most indicative of this role of the media.
Agenda setter
Gatekeeper
Scorekeeper
Watchdog
60
What was the significance of Shays’ Rebellion?
It demonstrated that the Constitution government was too weak
It marked the start of the American Revolution
It demonstrated that the Articles of Confederation government was too weak
It demonstrated that the Articles of Confederation government was strong
61
Which of these are concurrent powers? (There are 3)
Maintain military
Regulate Banks
Establish courts
Collect taxes
62
The USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 was widely criticized for its potential violation of 4th Amendment protections by
Denying the right to an attorney for terrorism-related crimes
Using covert surveillance to monitor communications of U.S. citizens
Eliminating the double jeopardy standard
Taking away the guns of suspected terrorists
63
Which of the following defines judicial activism ?
using earlier percents to make decisions
interpreting the Constitution to reflect current society
using the party who nominated them to shape decisions
interpreting the Constitution as a "dead" document
64
How does Congress depend on interest groups in iron triangles?
lobbying of Congress
little regulation
electoral support
friendly legislation
65
Voting based on looking at past performance of an incumbent or challenger is
Retrospective Voting
Party-Line Voting
Rational choice voting
Prospective Voting
66
Why do Presidents issue signing statements?
To tell the bureaucracy on how a bill should be implemented
To flag parts of a bill they believe are unconstitutional
To control the bully pulpit
To prevent a bill from becoming a law
67
What is a cloture vote in the U.S. Senate?
Motion to eliminate pork barrel spending programs in the budget.
Motion to end a filibuster that requires 60 votes.
When the VP is foreced to break a tie.
Motion to end a filibuster that requires 66 votes.
68
Recommended a republic as a solution to manage "mischief of factions."
Fed. 10
Fed. 70
Fed. 78
Fed. 51
69
What impact did the Voting Rights Act of 1965 have?
increased voter registration % for African Americans in Southern states
prohibited Jim Crow laws such as literacy tests
prohibited discrimination in housing
decreased the number of minority representation in legislatures
70
Civil liberties are...
limitations on the government
limitations on other citizens
limitations on the majority
limitations on other nations
71
Which three political institutions make up an "iron triangle" in the public policy process?
Political party
Congressional committee
Interest group
Bureaucratic agency
72
Why is question wording so important in polls?
can influence the accuracy in the responses
can impact the result of an election
can show the strength of the pollster
can address major problems in the nation
73
Identify the most common level of education spending by states in the Southeast.
$10,000-$11,999
$8,000-$9,999
Less than $8,000
$16,000 or more
74
How does the bureaucracy help Congress in iron triangles?
electoral support
funding & support
policy execution & implementation
lobbying
75
What does the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment say?
Every citizen is protected equally under the law
No state can take away life, liberty, or property without fair trial
Certain parts of Amendments apply at both the state and federal level
You have the right to a lawyer in court cases
76
What are two examples of mandatory spending in the federal budget?
Social security
Military
College Pell Grants
Medicare
77
The Supreme Court has ruled that speech can be regulated based on
the time, place, and manner of the speech
whether that speech is defamatory, offensive, or obscene to an extent.
the feelings of individual members of congress.
the president's feelings.
78
All of the following are reasons third parties don't take off;
3rd Parties don't support legitimate issues
Winner-take-all election system
Single-member districts
Lack of Media Coverage
79
The data in the graph best illustrate which of the following common criticisms of the electoral college?
Candidates from large-population states have a major advantage
Small states have fewer electoral votes than large states
Smaller states have more electoral votes than larger states
Individuals in small-population states can impact the electoral college
80
The Americans with Disabilities Act is an example of
a formula grant
a project grant
revenue sharing
an unfunded mandate
