CLEP 
American Government
College · CLEP American Government · Certificate available
295 lessons 2.5h runtime 11 units 565 links between lessons Test yourself · 11 quizzes, a mid exam, and a final
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Begin with Unit 1: Foundations and the Constitution. It sets the foundation for everything that follows.
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Unit 1: Foundations and the Constitution 41 lessons, 1 lecture part
Lecture: Watch · 34:17
- 001 What a Government Is
- 002 Public Goods
- 003 Common Goods
- 004 The Goods Grid
- 005 Democracy
- 006 Representative Democracy
- 007 Direct Democracy
- 008 ERROR: "The United States Is a Direct Democracy"
- 009 Oligarchy
- 010 Totalitarian Government
- 011 Elite Theory
- 012 Pluralist Theory
- 013 Civic Engagement
- 016 The Social Contract
- 017 Natural Rights
- 018 Republicanism
- 019 ERROR: "Republicanism Means the Republican Party"
- 020 The Declaration of Independence
- 021 ERROR: "The Declaration of Independence Is Binding Law"
- 022 The Articles of Confederation
- 023 ERROR: "The Constitution Was America's First Governing Document"
- 024 The Tax Weakness of the Articles
- 025 Shays' Rebellion
- 026 The Constitutional Convention
- 027 The Virginia Plan
- 028 The New Jersey Plan
- 029 The Great Compromise
- 030 The Three-Fifths Compromise
- 031 Separation of Powers
- 032 Checks and Balances
- 033 ERROR: "Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances Are the Same"
- 034 The Federalists
- 035 The Anti-Federalists
- 036 The Federalist Papers
- 037 The Bill of Rights Bargain
- 038 Reading a Constitutional Citation
- 039 Proposing an Amendment
- 040 Ratifying an Amendment
- 041 ERROR: "Two-Thirds of the States Ratify an Amendment"
- 042 Looking Up a Constitutional Claim worked example
- 043 From Articles to Constitution review
Unit 2: Federalism 29 lessons, 1 lecture part
Lecture: Watch · 27:39
- 056 Federalism
- 057 ERROR: "'Federal' Means Only the National Government"
- 058 Unitary System
- 059 Confederation
- 060 Enumerated Powers
- 061 The Elastic Clause
- 062 Reserved Powers
- 063 Concurrent Powers
- 064 The Supremacy Clause
- 065 ERROR: "States Can Nullify Federal Law"
- 066 The Commerce Clause
- 067 McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
- 068 Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
- 069 Full Faith and Credit
- 070 Dual Federalism
- 071 Cooperative Federalism
- 072 ERROR: "Federal and State Spheres Stay Separate Today"
- 073 New Federalism
- 074 Categorical Grants
- 075 Block Grants
- 076 Creeping Categorization
- 077 Unfunded Mandates
- 078 States as Laboratories
- 079 Unequal Policy Across States
- 083 State Constitutions
- 084 The Mirrored Design of State Governments
- 085 Local Governments Are Creatures of Their States
- 086 Classifying a Power worked example
- 087 The Federal Bargain review
Unit 3: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights 55 lessons, 2 lecture parts
- 096 Civil Liberties
- 097 Civil Rights
- 098 ERROR: "Civil Liberties and Civil Rights Are the Same"
- 099 The Bill of Rights
- 100 Barron v. Baltimore (1833)
- 101 The Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause
- 102 Selective Incorporation
- 103 ERROR: "The Bill of Rights Has Always Bound the States"
- 104 The Establishment Clause
- 105 The Free Exercise Clause
- 106 ERROR: "'Separation of Church and State' Is Constitutional Text"
- 107 Freedom of Speech
- 108 Unprotected Speech
- 109 Freedom of the Press and Prior Restraint
- 110 Assembly and Petition
- 111 The Second Amendment
- 112 The Fourth Amendment
- 113 The Fifth Amendment: Self-Incrimination
- 114 Miranda v. Arizona (1966)
- 115 The Sixth Amendment: Counsel
- 116 The Eighth Amendment
- 117 The Inferred Right to Privacy
- 118 Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)
- 119 Roe v. Wade (1973)
- 120 The Undue Burden Standard
- 121 The Equal Protection Clause
- 122 The Rational Basis Test
- 123 Strict Scrutiny
- 124 Intermediate Scrutiny
- 125 Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
- 126 Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
- 127 ERROR: "Brown Ended Segregation Immediately"
- 128 The Civil Rights Act of 1964
- 129 The Voting Rights Act of 1965
- 130 The Nineteenth Amendment
- 131 The Equal Rights Amendment
- 132 Native American Citizenship
- 133 Applying the Standards of Review worked example
- 134 Two Shields review
- 135 Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (2022)
- 136 ERROR: "Dobbs Made Abortion Illegal Nationwide"
- 137 Lawrence v. Texas (2003)
- 138 Tracing an Inferred Right worked example
- 139 Engel v. Vitale (1962)
- 140 The Lemon Test
- 141 Kennedy v. Bremerton School District (2022)
- 142 ERROR: "The Lemon Test Still Governs"
- 143 The Sherbert Test
- 144 Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)
- 145 Employment Division v. Smith (1990)
- 146 ERROR: "A Religious Objection Defeats Any Law"
- 147 The Religious Freedom Restoration Act
- 148 City of Boerne v. Flores (1997)
- 149 Applying the Religion Clauses worked example
- 150 The Two Clauses and Their Tests review
Unit 4: Public Opinion and Political Beliefs 18 lessons, 1 lecture part
Lecture: Watch · 19:54
- 161 Public Opinion
- 162 Political Socialization
- 163 Agents of Socialization
- 164 Political Ideology
- 165 The Ideological Spectrum
- 166 ERROR: "Ideology and Party Are the Same"
- 167 Party Identification
- 168 Scientific Polling
- 169 Random Sampling
- 170 ERROR: "A Bigger Sample Beats a Random Sample"
- 171 The Margin of Error
- 172 Question Wording
- 173 The Bradley Effect
- 174 The Delegate Model
- 175 The Trustee Model
- 176 The Presidential Approval Pattern
- 180 Reading a Poll worked example
- 181 The Measured Public review
Unit 5: Voting, Elections, and Campaigns 23 lessons, 1 lecture part
Lecture: Watch · 22:07
- 201 Voter Registration
- 202 Making Registration Easier
- 203 Voter Turnout
- 204 The Three Denominators
- 205 ERROR: "There Is One True Turnout Number"
- 206 Who Votes
- 207 Turnout in Comparison
- 208 The Nomination Stage
- 209 Primaries
- 210 Caucuses
- 211 Delegates and Conventions
- 212 The General Election
- 213 Plurality Rule
- 214 ERROR: "Most Votes Means a Majority"
- 215 The Electoral College
- 216 ERROR: "The National Popular Vote Elects the President"
- 217 The Electoral Calendar
- 218 Coattails
- 219 The Initiative
- 220 The Referendum
- 221 The Recall
- 230 Reading Election Returns worked example
- 231 The Machinery of Choosing review
Unit 6: Media, Parties, and Interest Groups 26 lessons, 1 lecture part
Lecture: Watch · 24:25
- 251 The Media
- 252 The Watchdog Role
- 253 Agenda Setting
- 254 ERROR: "The Media Tell People What to Think"
- 255 Framing
- 256 Priming
- 257 Sunshine Laws
- 258 Political Parties
- 259 ERROR: "The Constitution Establishes Political Parties"
- 260 The Three-Part Party
- 261 The Two-Party System
- 262 Winner-Take-All and Duverger's Law
- 263 Third Parties
- 264 Divided Government
- 265 Partisan Polarization
- 266 Interest Groups
- 267 ERROR: "Parties and Interest Groups Are the Same"
- 268 The Collective Action Problem
- 269 Free Riding
- 270 ERROR: "Bigger Groups Organize More Easily"
- 271 Overcoming Collective Action
- 272 Lobbying
- 273 Grassroots Strategies
- 274 Political Action Committees
- 290 Reading a Crosstab worked example
- 291 The Linkage Institutions review
Unit 7: Congress 23 lessons, 1 lecture part
Lecture: Watch · 22:28
- 311 The First Branch
- 312 The House of Representatives
- 313 The Senate
- 314 ERROR: "Senators Have Always Been Popularly Elected"
- 315 The Identical-Bills Requirement
- 316 Congressional Oversight
- 317 Congressional Districts
- 318 Redistricting
- 319 Gerrymandering
- 320 ERROR: "All Gerrymandering Is Illegal"
- 321 The Incumbency Advantage
- 322 The Speaker of the House
- 323 Senate Floor Leaders
- 324 Standing Committees
- 325 Select, Joint, and Conference Committees
- 326 The Committee Graveyard
- 327 ERROR: "Most Bills Become Laws"
- 328 The Filibuster
- 329 Cloture
- 330 ERROR: "The Filibuster Is in the Constitution"
- 331 The Veto and the Override
- 340 Tracing a Bill worked example
- 341 The First Branch at Work review
Unit 8: The Presidency and the Bureaucracy 32 lessons, 1 lecture part
Lecture: Watch · 28:23
- 356 The Presidency's Design
- 357 Qualifications and the Two-Term Limit
- 358 Commander in Chief
- 359 The Appointment Power
- 360 The Treaty Power
- 361 ERROR: "The President Alone Makes Treaties"
- 362 The Pardon Power
- 363 Impeachment
- 364 ERROR: "Impeachment Means Removal"
- 365 The All-or-Nothing Veto
- 366 ERROR: "The President Can Veto Part of a Bill"
- 367 The Cabinet
- 368 The Executive Office of the President
- 369 The Growth of the Office
- 370 Going Public
- 371 Executive Orders
- 372 ERROR: "Executive Orders Are Permanent Like Statutes"
- 373 Executive Agreements
- 374 Signing Statements
- 380 The Bureaucracy
- 381 The Spoils System
- 382 The Pendleton Act
- 383 ERROR: "Federal Jobs Go to the Winner's Supporters"
- 384 The Civil Service Today
- 385 The Four Types
- 386 Cabinet Departments
- 387 Independent Regulatory Agencies
- 388 Government Corporations
- 389 Rulemaking
- 390 Overseeing the Bureaucracy
- 400 Classifying an Agency worked example
- 401 The Executive Branch Entire review
Unit 9: The Courts 22 lessons, 1 lecture part
Lecture: Watch · 22:16
- 411 The Third Branch
- 412 Judicial Independence
- 413 Judicial Review
- 414 Marbury v. Madison (1803)
- 415 ERROR: "Judicial Review Is Written into Article III"
- 416 The Dual Court System
- 417 Criminal and Civil Cases
- 418 The Three Federal Tiers
- 419 District Courts
- 420 Courts of Appeals
- 421 The Nine Justices
- 422 Certiorari
- 423 The Rule of Four
- 424 ERROR: "The Supreme Court Must Hear Appeals"
- 425 Precedent
- 426 Opinions of the Court
- 427 Restraint and Activism
- 428 The Solicitor General
- 429 Purse and Sword
- 430 ERROR: "Court Rulings Enforce Themselves"
- 440 Reading a Supreme Court Decision worked example
- 441 The Guardians and Their Limits review
Unit 10: Domestic and Foreign Policy 19 lessons, 1 lecture part
Lecture: Watch · 20:54
- 451 Public Policy
- 452 The Policy Stages
- 453 Distributive Policy
- 454 Regulatory Policy
- 455 Redistributive Policy
- 456 Entitlements
- 457 Discretionary Spending
- 458 The Deficit and the Debt
- 459 ERROR: "The Deficit and the Debt Are the Same"
- 460 Fiscal and Monetary Policy
- 461 Foreign Policy
- 462 The Instruments
- 463 ERROR: "Foreign Aid Is a Large Share of Federal Spending"
- 464 Hard and Soft Power
- 465 Isolationism
- 466 Liberal Internationalism
- 467 Idealism and Realism
- 475 Tracing a Policy worked example
- 476 The Outputs of Government review
Unit 11: Capstones (synthesis only, no new doctrine) 7 lessons, 1 lecture part
Who this subject is for
- Students preparing for the CLEP American Government exam
- Political science, history and pre-law students
- Adult learners finishing a degree
- Homeschool students
- Service members earning credit by exam
- Anyone who wants to understand how the US government works
Why American Government matters
American Government explains the institutions and rules that shape public life. It underpins:
- Constitutional law
- Public policy
- Political science
- Civic participation
- US history
Time to complete
- of lessons (295, measured)
- 2.5 h
- of lectures (12)
- 5.0 h
- learning hours on the certificate, with quizzes and the final
- 12.5 h
Times are measured from the recordings and the exam time limits. Go at your own pace; nothing expires.
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