Deck 3: Federalism

Question 1

Sovereign power means that

A) the state governments have just as much power as the national government.
B) each unit of government has some degree of authority and autonomy.
C) the Constitution recognizes only national authority.
D) local governments have no authority in the United States.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The Supreme Court justices have not limited Congress's commerce powers since the 1930s.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Debates over how power is divided between the national and state governments have not been controversial since the nation's founding because most people interpret the Tenth Amendment and the necessary and proper clause in a similar manner.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Alexander Hamilton was an advocate of the doctrine of states' rights.

Question 5

Issues concerning federalism rarely break down along ideological lines.

Question 6

A confederal system features weak states that can never veto national government decisions.

Question 7

In the first century of America's history, the national government played a relatively active role in the domestic economy.

Question 8

Coercive federalism was last used in the 1960s.

Question 9

The framers granted the president all authority to contend with national security matters.

Question 10

Federalism does not provide a check on national tyranny.

Question 11

An example of a concurrent power is ________.

A) national security
B) foreign policy
C) conducting elections
D) transportation

Question 12

The 1965 Voting Rights Act, enforced when the federal government sent marshals to the South to ensure African Americans were allowed to vote, is a good example of dual federalism.

Question 13

There are no confederal governments in the world today.

Question 14

An example of the U.S. Constitution's full faith and credit clause is that a person with a driver's license from the state of Indiana does not need to get a separate Michigan driver's license to drive a car through the state of Michigan.

Question 15

The doctrine of dual federalism was rejected in Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857).

Question 16

The idea of giving states more control over social programs began when Lyndon Johnson was president.

Question 17

The "rights revolution" and Great Society programs were made possible because of the doctrine of new federalism.

Question 18

Policy diversity and innovation are arguments in favor of a stronger role for the states in U.S. politics.

Question 19

Federal systems of government are the most common in the world today.

Question 20

Chief Justice Roger Taney believed in the doctrine of dual federalism.

Question 21

________ espoused the doctrine of states' rights in the early years of the republic.

A) Thomas Jefferson
B) John Adams
C) Alexander Hamilton
D) George Washington

Question 22

Which best defines the situation of local governments in the American federal system?

A) They are created by the federal Constitution.
B) They are created by state governments.
C) They are formed by popular petition.
D) They are created by the national and state governments working together.

Question 23

Police powers exist at the

A) state level only.
B) local level only.
C) state and local levels of government.
D) national level.

Question 24

What is a disadvantage of a unitary system?

A) Unitary systems are inefficient and tend to suffer from weak central leadership.
B) Unitary systems are autocratic, which often leads to rampant government corruption.
C) There is no competition between different political units in unitary systems, which can stifle policy development.
D) Unitary systems allow multiple parties to be included on the ballot, which causes confusion among the electorate.

Question 25

The principal impact of McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) was

A) its decision to interpret the commerce clause broadly, thus giving the national government the ability to become involved in many more policy areas.
B) its decision to let states interfere in the federal government's business by taxing it.
C) its ruling that the national government's power to print money did not imply that it could open a bank for regulating the economy.
D) its expansive interpretation of implied powers and the supremacy clause in favor of the national government.

Question 26

Intergovernmental organizations exist primarily to

A) assist member nations with loans through the World Bank and International
Monetary Fund.
B) help poor nations combat poverty.
C) monitor elections and advance democracy around the world.
D) assist member nations seeking to coordinate their policies.

Question 27

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) is an important Supreme Court ruling because

A) it limited state government power by declaring that Maryland could not tax a federal bank.
B) it strengthened state government power by declaring that Maryland could tax a federal bank under the doctrine of dual sovereignty.
C) it expanded the power of the national government by declaring that federal taxes on state banks were constitutional.
D) it expanded state government power by declaring that state laws could override the commerce clause.

Question 28

________ is an example of a unitary system of government.

A) The United States
B) Canada
C) Australia
D) Japan

Question 29

What is the clearest statement of the nation-centered focus of the U.S. Constitution?

A) supremacy clause
B) reserved powers clause
C) Tenth Amendment
D) Electoral College

Question 30

One advantage of decentralized power in a federal system is that it

A) provides Congress with more power than the president.
B) makes legislation easier to pass.
C) is a natural check on the power of the federal government.
D) leads to more coherent and unified ethnic and national identities.

Question 31

Why is the necessary and proper clause often a source of controversy and political disagreement?

A) Some argue that it grants too much power to the Supreme Court by giving it the power to declare state laws unconstitutional.
B) Some argue that the executive branch has abused its power through an overly broad interpretation of the necessary and proper clause.
C) Some argue that the U.S. Congress has abused its power through an overly broad interpretation of the necessary and proper clause.
D) Some argue that it makes the military too powerful without proper checks from civilian government.

Question 32

The ________ clause is vague but gives the national government a very broad grant of power to carry out its responsibilities.

A) enumerated powers
B) full faith and credit
C) supremacy
D) necessary and proper

Question 33

Under the U.S. system of federalism, the necessary and proper clause applies to

A) local governments.
B) state governments.
C) the national government.
D) both the national government and the states.

Question 34

The privileges and immunities clause was originally meant to promote

A) equality for all citizens under the law.
B) the doctrine of states' rights.
C) individual civil liberties.
D) commerce and travel between states.

Question 35

Which amendment stipulates "the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people"?

A) First
B) Second
C) Fourth
D) Tenth

Question 36

Which part of the Constitution emphasizes a nation-centered perspective?

A) Eleventh Amendment
B) public education
C) Tenth Amendment
D) commerce clause

Question 37

Which part of the Constitution emphasizes a state-centered perspective?

A) First Amendment
B) commerce clause
C) forging treaties with foreign nations
D) amending the U.S. Constitution

Question 38

Which system is most common among the world's democracies?

A) federal system
B) confederal system
C) unitary system
D) direct democratic system

Question 39

Local governments

A) are autonomous units of government.
B) are appendages of the state government.
C) are appendages of the national government.
D) do not control any public policy issues.

Question 40

Federalism is about

A) the politics of self-interest.
B) intergovernmental relations.
C) the interpretation of the necessary and proper clause.
D) the influence of the mass media.

Question 41

Why is Barron v. Baltimore important?

A) The justices sided with the national government over state governments, giving added power to the supremacy clause.
B) The justices ruled that Congress did not have the authority to prohibit slavery in any state.
C) The justices ruled that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional.
D) The justices helped to establish dual federalism as a guiding judicial principle to settle questions concerning state and national power.

Question 42

Which of the following areas of policy would be reserved to the states based on the precedent established by United States v. Lopez?

A) establishing security for schools
B) creating background check data for gun purchases
C) developing interstate transportation systems
D) designing course requirements for high school graduation

Question 43

Following the Civil War, why were the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments added to the Constitution?

A) to guarantee African Americans seats in Congress
B) to move the nation toward a unitary government
C) to ensure that the Union's views on states' rights were the law of the land
D) to ensure that northern states would dominate the national government

Question 44

The picket fence metaphor is an appropriate description of current American federalism because

A) different policy areas are "fenced off" from each other by congressional action and court rulings.
B) it takes money to make policy, just like it does to build a fence.
C) policy makers mainly interact with others in the same policy area, regardless of whether they are federal or state employees.
D) the state and federal governments have clear boundaries, much like two fences on separate properties.

Question 45

Fiscal federalism refers to

A) taxes by the national government on state institutions.
B) taxes by the states on national institutions.
C) grants of money from states to the national government.
D) grants of money from the national government to the states.

Question 46

Unfunded mandates

A) no longer exist at the national level.
B) are typically supported by Republicans in Congress.
C) have not been a contentious political issue since the Great Society.
D) are still possible at the national level.

Question 47

The Supreme Court justices' endorsement of laissez-faire capitalism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was significant because

A) it gave Congress added powers to regulate private affairs.
B) it prevented Congress from regulating any economic activity that occurred within a state.
C) it gave additional freedom to Congress to act under the commerce clause.
D) it strengthened the full faith and credit clause of the Constitution.

Question 48

The doctrine of states' rights

A) was used as a rationale for upholding slavery.
B) was rejected by Roger Taney in his decisions.
C) disappeared in the nineteenth century.
D) was overturned by the Fourteenth Amendment.

Question 49

Under the doctrine of dual federalism, what is the relationship between the national and state governments?

A) Each has distinct areas of authority with very little overlap.
B) Each has distinct authority, but they cooperate with one another in most areas.
C) The only way in which the national government influences the states is by providing them with funds.
D) Federal mandates matter only when state officials agree with them.

Question 50

With regard to federalism,

A) there is always clarity between federal and state authority on public policy issues.
B) it is often difficult to ascertain when federal authority ends and state authority begins.
C) the Tenth Amendment provides a great deal of clarity in the Constitution.
D) there has been little conflict about the subject in U.S. history.

Question 51

Following the Civil War, the Constitution was amended to ensure that states could not deny any citizen

A) equal pay for equal work.
B) the right to run as a candidate for public office.
C) due process or equal protection of the laws.
D) the right to earn a guaranteed minimum wage established by the federal government.

Question 52

Which early court case reinforced the power of the supremacy clause?

A) Barron v. Baltimore
B) Gibbons v. Ogden
C) McCulloch v. Maryland
D) Dred Scott v. Sandford

Question 53

Which court case strengthened Congress by providing for a broad interpretation of the commerce clause?

A) Gibbons v. Ogden
B) Barron v. Baltimore
C) Chisholm v. Georgia
D) Dred Scott v. Sandford

Question 54

Picket fence federalism is the same thing as

A) dual federalism.
B) cooperative federalism.
C) the doctrine of nullification.
D) the commerce clause.

Question 55

Cooperative federalism emerged during the

A) 1890s.
B) 1930s.
C) 1970s.
D) 1990s.

Question 56

In Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857), the justices ruled that

A) the Missouri Compromise deprived slave owners of property without due process of law.
B) previous Court rulings that relied on the principle of dual federalism were incorrect because this was not what the framers envisioned when drafting the Constitution.
C) federal law was supreme over state law.
D) the Bill of Rights did not apply to the states.

Question 57

The doctrine of dual federalism is most consistent with the concept of

A) marble cake federalism.
B) layer cake federalism.
C) coercive federalism.
D) fiscal federalism.

Question 58

Coercive federalism

A) ended in the 1960s.
B) ended in the 1980s.
C) is still utilized when federal officials desire to do so.
D) was last utilized to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Question 59

The commerce clause

A) allows Congress to create a standing army.
B) requires Congress to regulate the domestic economy.
C) allows Congress to protect civil rights.
D) requires Congress to levy and collect taxes.

Question 60

John Marshall and Roger Taney

A) had similar views of federalism.
B) did not have similar views of federalism.
C) voted the same way in Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857).
D) had similar views of the Tenth Amendment.

Question 61

Which one of the following statements would fall under the principle of coercive federalism?

A) The president threatens the states with military might.
B) Members of Congress create mandates without giving state leaders the money to execute and enforce the mandates in question.
C) Members of Congress pass new constitutional amendments limiting state power.
D) Members of Congress raise taxes in states aligned with the opposing political party.

Question 62

The Tenth Amendment has been

A) ignored by the Supreme Court justices in recent years.
B) instrumental in preserving civil rights in the United States.
C) used as a constitutional mechanism to increase the powers of the states.
D) interpreted consistently by the Supreme Court justices throughout history.

Question 63

The Violence Against Women Act

A) was passed during the George W. Bush administration.
B) had strong Democratic support but no Republican support in Congress.
C) was struck down, in part, by the Supreme Court justices.
D) was based on the necessary and proper clause of the Constitution.

Question 64

In 1997, the Supreme Court justices struck down the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. This ruling was significant because it

A) marked a turning point in the justices' interpretation of the Fifth Amendment.
B) weakened protections for individual civil liberties.
C) established a new standard to justify the supremacy clause.
D) established a new standard to justify remedial legislation.

Question 65

If a state official wished to challenge the constitutionality of a federal law, which amendment would she or he most likely cite?

A) Eighth
B) Tenth
C) Fourteenth
D) Fifteenth

Question 66

Recent Supreme Court rulings concerning the Fourteenth Amendment have had the effect of

A) reducing the power of state governments.
B) reducing the power of the federal government.
C) increasing the power of both state and federal governments.
D) Increasing the power of local governments in the federal system.

Question 67

Which one of the following reinforced the role of the national government beginning in the 1960s?

A) the devolution revolution
B) President Nixon's New Federalism
C) the "rights revolution"
D) the passage of the Sherman Antitrust Act

Question 68

What is the privileges and immunities clause in the Constitution and why is it important?

Question 69

The Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act's insurance mandate due to

A) the commerce clause.
B) the supremacy clause.
C) Congress's power to tax.
D) the federalism clause.

Question 70

Which one of the following is an advantage of giving states flexibility in making policy instead of federal officials imposing policy?

A) State-elected officials are more civil and reasonable toward one another than are members of Congress.
B) It allows states to compete for business, meaning they will have stronger regulation.
C) It allows for policy experimentation, providing new ideas about how to solve problems.
D) State officials tend to care more about the average person.

Question 71

What is a concurrent power and what are some examples?

Question 72

The significant variation in resources at the state level is an argument in favor of

A) allowing states more power.
B) the Supreme Court justices having the final say on federalism.
C) limiting how much power is given to the states.
D) competitive federalism.

Question 73

The decision in United States v. Lopez (1995) was particularly important because it required Congress to

A) respect the constitutional right of an individual to bear arms.
B) provide states with funds when it mandates a policy change.
C) amend the Constitution to give states more power.
D) justify how laws passed are a legitimate exercise of commerce clause powers.

Question 74

Temporary Aid to Needy Families is an example of

A) an assistance program administered through categorical grants.
B) an assistance program administered through general revenue sharing.
C) an assistance program administered through block grants.
D) an entitlement program based on the Medicaid program model.

Question 75

Which one of the following is a reason why one might support a strong state role in federalism?

A) States are laboratories of democracy.
B) States tend to have more honest elected officials.
C) Federal officials are paralyzed by special interest groups, whereas state governments are not.
D) State governments have a better record than Congress at eradicating racial discrimination and providing civil rights.

Question 76

What contributed to increased national control over state policies in the 1960s?

A) New Federalism
B) Great Society social programs
C) the tendency of members of Congress to favor block grants over categorical grants
D) the rejection of the "rights revolution" by the Supreme Court justices

Question 77

Since the 1990s, the Supreme Court justices have made decisions that generally

A) expand federal power.
B) protect state power.
C) expand application of the Fourteenth Amendment to the states.
D) expand civil rights.

Question 78

What shifted political power toward Washington, D.C., in the twentieth century?

A) a string of Republican presidential victories
B) Americans grew to distrust state governments.
C) a conservative Supreme Court
D) major crises

Question 79

With regard to federalism,

A) competition can create a "race to the top" between and among the states.
B) there is no clear winner in determining the appropriate balance of national and state power.
C) there is a virtual certainty that national government officials will create policies that are harmful to the states.
D) it is clear to most that sanctuary city policies are unconstitutional.

Question 80

Americans are more likely to

A) trust their local and state governments over the federal government.
B) trust the federal government over their local and state governments.
C) fear executive power when a Democrat is president.
D) support expanded executive power when a Republican is president.