Deck 3: Texas in the Federal System

Question 1

________ percent of the world's population lives in the countries that are organized around a federal principle where there is a national government and regional government.

A) Ten
B) Twenty
C) Thirty
D) Forty
E) Ninety

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Dual federalism is also known as

A) layer-cake federalism.
B) cooperative federalism.
C) coercive federalism.
D) marble-cake federalism.
E) New Federalism.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

According to the Tenth Amendment, any powers not delegated to the national government by the Constitution

A) can be claimed by the national government as necessary.
B) belong exclusively to the people.
C) belong exclusively to the states.
D) are denied to both the national government and the states.
E) belong to either the people or the state.

Answer 3

E

Question 4

The use of block grants, allowing states considerable leeway in how federal money is spent, was championed by President ________ under the name New Federalism.

A) Clinton
B) Wilson
C) Johnson
D) Nixon
E) Obama

Question 5

In his famous landmark cases, Chief Justice John Marshall generally

A) supported the authority of the federal government over that of state governments.
B) enhanced the power of state governments over that of the federal government.
C) maintained that the powers of the state and federal governments were identical and inseparable.
D) held that no restraints could be placed on a government that derived its authority from the consent of the majority of its citizens.
E) contended that the Supreme Court had no authority to adjudicate in interstate or intrastate affairs.

Question 6

For eligible participants, the Social Security Act of 1935 instituted all of the following EXCEPT

A) a national retirement pension for the elderly.
B) unemployment insurance for the unemployed.
C) universal health care for all Americans.
D) aid for the blind and disabled.
E) aid for impoverished elderly persons.

Question 7

Congress gained the power to tax income through

A) the Seventeenth Amendment.
B) the Tenth Amendment.
C) the New Deal.
D) the Sixteenth Amendment.
E) coercive federalism.

Question 8

In the case of Gibbons v. Ogden (1824), the Supreme Court decided that

A) states retained full authority to regulate commerce within their own borders and among their immediate neighbors.
B) the federal government had authority to regulate only international commerce, not interstate commerce.
C) the federal government had authority to regulate only interstate commerce, not international commerce.
D) the federal government's authority to regulate international and interstate commerce bestowed on it some power to regulate intrastate commerce.
E) the federal government's limited ability to regulate interstate commerce was sharply curtailed by a narrow definition of "commerce."

Question 9

Which of the following styles of federalism characterized the immediate pre-Civil War era?

A) creative federalism
B) dual federalism
C) new federalism
D) devolution
E) cooperative federalism

Question 10

The Supreme Court in Shelby County v. Holder (2013) ruled all of the following EXCEPT that

A) the coverage formula used to determine which jurisdiction had engaged in egregious voting decisions was outdated.
B) the outdated coverage formula was an intrusion on states' rights.
C) Congress must update the coverage formula.
D) states were now free to pass laws affecting voting without Justice Department approval.
E) Texas had to rewrite its voter ID law.

Question 11

Which amendment was commonly referred to as the States' Rights Amendment?

A) the Tenth Amendment
B) the Seventeenth Amendment
C) the Nineteenth Amendment
D) the Sixteenth Amendment
E) the Ninth Amendment

Question 12

Under the New Deal, federalism is frequently described as

A) New Federalism.
B) coercive federalism.
C) cooperative federalism.
D) dual federalism.
E) layer-cake federalism.

Question 13

During which of the following president's administration did the federal government's power, especially with regard to the economy, increase the most?

A) Theodore Roosevelt
B) Woodrow Wilson
C) Andrew Jackson
D) Franklin Roosevelt
E) Ronald Reagan

Question 14

To which court case did the U.S. Supreme Court apply the dual federalism perspective when it ruled that state officers did not have to pay a federal income tax because such a tax would interfere with the autonomy of states?

A) Collector v. Day
B) Gibbons v. Ogden
C) Texas v. White
D) McCulloch v. Maryland
E) New State Ice Company v. Liebmann

Question 15

During the Nullification Crisis in 1833, South Carolina tried to assert the right to veto (or
Nullify)

A) national legislation passed by Congress.
B) actions taken by the North Carolina and Georgia militias.
C) Supreme Court rulings.
D) presidential cabinet appointments.
E) terms of office for U.S. senators and representatives.

Question 16

In Wickard v. Filburn, the Supreme Court decided that

A) Congress had improperly used the interstate commerce clause.
B) Congress had no authority to regulate commerce.
C) not only could Congress regulate interstate commerce but it could regulate anything that affected prices and market conditions.
D) Roscoe Filburn was right and he was to be paid $117.11 by the federal government.
E) the New Deal was not subject to any constitutional limitations.

Question 17

Which Supreme Court case in 1869 voted Texas's secession from the Union?

A) Texas v. White
B) Texas v. Marshall
C) Texas v. Chase
D) Texas v. Perry
E) Texas v. Wilson

Question 18

In the Supreme Court case McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), Chief Justice John Marshall argued that

A) state governments had the power and the duty to protect their citizens from onerous federal legislation.
B) although the federal government could create a national bank, it could not shield the bank's branches from taxation by the governments of the states in which the branches were located.
C) although a national bank would have been an effective means with which the federal government could regulate the economy, it was not the only means available and therefore did not meet the requirement of the "necessary and proper clause."
D) the federal government had the right to charter a national bank, and that state governments had no right to impede its functions through taxation.
E) the will of the people, as expressed through the actions of their state governments, must always take precedence over the whims of the more distant national governing officials.

Question 19

A defining characteristic of federalism is that

A) rather than being held exclusively or primarily by one body, governing authority is divided at different levels among several bodies.
B) the federal government wields ultimate authority in all matters.
C) state governments can nullify the exercise of unpopular federal laws within their own states' boundaries.
D) state governments exist primarily to enact laws established by the national government.
E) the federal government cannot pass any laws without the explicit consent of the majority of state governments.

Question 20

Both federal and state governments obtain sovereignty directly from

A) the Treaty of Versailles.
B) the consent of the people.
C) the Declaration of Independence.
D) block grants.
E) the Divine Right of Kings.

Question 21

Under the Articles of Confederation, states played a primary role in governing Americans, while the national government had very limited powers.

Question 22

In Plyler v. Doe, the Supreme Court held that Texas may not deny a free public education to the children of illegal aliens. How did the Court justify its decisions?

A) The statute lacked a rational basis.
B) Alienage is a suspect classification and Texas could not show it had a compelling interest.
C) Education is a fundamental right and Texas could not show that the statute was narrowly tailored.
D) The Court held for the aliens on procedural grounds.
E) The Court found that funding for schools came from both the state and federal governments and it was based on the number of students enrolled.

Question 23

In the Brown v. Board of Education case, segregated school districts were ordered to

A) double the funding for African American integrated schools.
B) desegregate their schools within the next 10 years.
C) desegregate their schools with all deliberate speed.
D) appoint a commission to study the Texas school system and make recommendations to the governor.
E) redraw school district lines to improve funding for all schools on a more equitable basis.

Question 24

As federal regulations became more intrusive, forcing states to change their policies in order to meet national goals, some people began calling our system a ________ federalism.

A) sovereign
B) dual
C) progressive
D) coercive
E) utopian

Question 25

During the Nullification Crisis of 1833, South Carolina and several northern states attempted to nullify key provisions of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal.

Question 26

Federal laws provide the regulation for birth, death, marriage, divorce, and most crime and punishment.

Question 27

The legal doctrine at issue in the Plessy v. Ferguson case is the

A) separate but equal doctrine.
B) privileges and immunities clause.
C) hold and save harmless doctrine.
D) supremacy clause.
E) doctrine of eminent domain.

Question 28

Until a national database was created, background checks under the Brady Act were
Suspended following the Supreme Court's ruling in

A) United States v. Lopez.
B) Gonzales v. Raich.
C) Printz v. United States.
D) South Dakota v. Dole.
E) Wickard v. Filburn.

Question 29

The supremacy clause, stipulated in Article VI of the Constitution, holds that

A) in a conflict between federal and state laws, the former will override the latter.
B) in the federal system established by the Constitution, the true source of sovereignty is in the people.
C) federal laws will be supreme in the national sphere and state laws will be supreme in local affairs.
D) as a sovereign institution, the only limits that the federal government need obey are ones that it establishes for itself.
E) despite temporarily sacrificing certain powers to the federal government, the state governments remain sovereign entities.

Question 30

The Constitution was created out of a fear of disunity.

Question 31

The U.S. Supreme Court overturned Plessy v. Ferguson in

A) Gilmer v. Aikin.
B) San Antonio v. Rodriguez.
C) Edgewood ISD v. Kirby.
D) Roe v. Wade.
E) Brown v. Board of Education.

Question 32

Which of the following theories about the applicability of the Bill of Rights to the states can be said to have emerged victorious?

A) the "No Incorporation" theory
B) the "Selective Incorporation" theory
C) the "Total Incorporation" theory
D) the "Total Incorporation Plus" theory
E) the "Partial Incorporation" theory

Question 33

The Great Depression of 1929 was the catalyst that led many Americans to support the New Deal.

Question 34

A federal program that gives a state government federal funds to address a specific need but gives the state wide latitude in deciding how the funds will be spent is known as a(n)

A) categorical grant.
B) block grant.
C) program grant.
D) formula grant.
E) unfunded mandate.

Question 35

Replacing the Articles of Confederation in 1787, the new U.S. Constitution allowed both the federal government and state governments to retain significant measures of sovereignty.

Question 36

In general, Governor Perry's position on Obamacare

A) is that it is an unconstitutional, overly broad exercise of Congress' power to regulate interstate commerce.
B) is that it is fully supported under the interstate commerce clause.
C) is that it is justified under the precedent set in Wickard v. Filburn (1942).
D) is that it can be properly defended under the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
E) remains unclear, as Governor Perry generally takes a pragmatic approach to social legislation and withholds judgment, depending upon the program's effectiveness.

Question 37

________ provide(s) states constitutional protections that go above rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.

A) The Fourteenth Amendment
B) The Fifteenth Amendment
C) Independent state grounds
D) The Tenth Amendment
E) Intermediate standard of review

Question 38

Which of the following requires state governments to spend their own money to meet standards imposed on them by the federal government?

A) categorical grants
B) block grants
C) program grants
D) formula grants
E) unfunded mandates

Question 39

The Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prevents state governments from imposing cruel and unusual punishments.

Question 40

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

A) invalidated the state-imposed racial segregation in Texas.
B) validated the election of State Board of Education members.
C) overturned the Brown v. Board of Education U.S. Supreme Court case of 1954.
D) was reinforced by Edgewood ISD v. Kirby.
E) validated the Texas state-imposed racial segregation in public schools.

Question 41

Describe the Supreme Court's position of federalism from the founding of the republic to the present day. What landmark cases have been most influential in shaping federal-state relations? Has the Supreme Court's position changed frequently, or has its stance been generally consistent, despite a few anomalous periods?

Question 42

One advantage that a federal system has over a highly centralized government is that it allows states to experiment with ways to improve public policy.

Question 43

The Fifteenth Amendment gives states leeway to expand the rights of their citizens.

Question 44

The Tenth Amendment is also known as the states' rights amendment.

Question 45

What are some advantages that our federal form of government has over a strong national government in a highly centralized system? What are some disadvantages of a federal system like ours?

Question 46

Unfunded mandates requiring states to meet federal guidelines without financial support are associated with coercive federalism.

Question 47

Analyze why we have our particular form of federalism, including the alternatives and their advantages and disadvantages.

Question 48

Analyze the ways the Constitution divides power between federal and state governments.

Question 49

New Federalism was President Richard Nixon's attempt to give individual states greater control over how they spent federal money.

Question 50

Describe the character of federal-state relations today. How much influence does the federal government wield over the states? What tools can it use to coerce state compliance with federal measures? What means do states have to resist federal initiatives?

Question 51

As of late April 2013, Attorney General Greg Abbot sued the Obama administration twice.

Question 52

Texas rejected the Equal Rights Amendment.

Question 53

Unfunded mandates infringe upon state sovereignty.