Deck 3: Federalism

Question 1

Which of the following are considered concurrent powers available to federal, state, and local governments?

A) the authority to make policy
B) the authority to raise money
C) the authority to establish courts to interpret policy
D) the authority to implement policy
E) All of these answers are correct.

Answer 1

E

Question 2

The supremacy clause, which establishes the supreme law of the land, is mentioned in which article of the Constitution?

A) Article I
B) Article III
C) Article IV
D) Article V
E) Article VI

Answer 2

E

Question 3

Most Americans live under the jurisdiction of at least how many governments simultaneously?

A) three
B) four
C) five
D) ten
E) more than twelve

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Today, the majority of the world's governments have which system of government?

A) federal system
B) confederal system
C) unitary system
D) authoritarian system
E) representative system

Question 5

American colonists experienced three different types of government in which of these sequences?

A) unitary system, confederal system, federal system
B) unitary system, federal system, confederal system
C) confederal system, federal system, unitary system
D) federal system, confederal system, unitary system
E) confederal system, unitary system, federal system

Question 6

Which of the following is a power of state governments, not the national government?

A) establish criminal laws
B) regulate banks
C) build and maintain infrastructure
D) redistrict U.S. House districts
E) All of these answers are correct.

Question 7

Which of the following laws are unenforceable on Native American reservations?

A) increased state taxes
B) national laws for hunting and fishing
C) local crime laws
D) environmental laws
E) All of these answers are correct.

Question 8

Which body retains primary jurisdiction over local governments?

A) none-local governments are sovereign
B) state governments
C) the federal government
D) the Supreme Court
E) the governor in each state

Question 9

What view does the Constitution take regarding the legal status of Native American nations?

A) They are considered special interest groups.
B) They are considered local governments.
C) They are considered state governments.
D) They are considered sovereign foreign nations.
E) They are considered outside the Constitution's legal framework.

Question 10

Which of the following states has the largest number of local governments?

A) Alabama
B) Montana
C) Vermont
D) California
E) South Carolina

Question 11

The elastic clause is related to which of the following concepts?

A) enumerated powers
B) reserved powers
C) implied powers
D) concurrent powers
E) All of these answers are correct.

Question 12

How many Native American tribes are recognized today by the federal government?

A) 5
B) 55
C) 355
D) 450
E) more than 550

Question 13

McCulloch v. Maryland was decisive because it

A) ruled in favor of state-centered federalism.
B) asserted that the necessary and proper clause was a restriction on the power of the national government.
C) affirmed that national law is supreme over conflicting state law.
D) established the Supreme Court's power to judge constitutional issues.
E) allowed for a narrow reading of the Constitution.

Question 14

The powers accorded to the states in the Tenth Amendment are known as ________ powers.

A) police
B) reserved
C) implied
D) concurrent
E) enumerated

Question 15

How many local governments do the majority of states have?

A) 2-3
B) 20-30
C) 50-100
D) 100-500
E) more than 500

Question 16

Under which type of governmental structure do independent sovereign governments cooperate on specified governmental matters but retain sovereignty over all other governmental matters within their jurisdictions?

A) federal system
B) confederal system
C) representative system
D) authoritarian system
E) unitary system

Question 17

What proportion of states must ratify a constitutional amendment for it to pass?

A) simple majority
B) three-fifths
C) two-thirds
D) three-quarters
E) seven-eighths

Question 18

In its 1824 Gibbons v. Ogden decision, the Supreme Court

A) provided a broad definition of commerce.
B) gave a narrow interpretation of the necessary and proper clause.
C) asserted the supremacy of states' rights.
D) established the power of judicial review.
E) overturned the earlier McCulloch v. Maryland decision.

Question 19

Which of the following is most closely related to the concept of implied powers?

A) necessary and proper clause
B) supremacy clause
C) Tenth Amendment
D) commerce clause
E) the power to tax

Question 20

The relationship of a state government and local governments is best thought of as a(n)

A) federal system.
B) confederal system.
C) representative system.
D) authoritarian system.
E) unitary system.

Question 21

Collectively, state-to-state obligations and their mandated relationships are known as

A) horizontal federalism.
B) vertical federalism.
C) confederalism.
D) unitary federalism.
E) privileges and immunities.

Question 22

Over the last few years, enforcement of federal marijuana laws has

A) been vigorously applied.
B) been applied only in states with medical marijuana laws.
C) not occurred because it was declared unconstitutional.
D) been carried out by National Guard troops.
E) primarily been left to state and local officials.

Question 23

Which of these pairs of presidents are most closely associated with new federalism, or devolution?

A) Andrew Jackson and William McKinley
B) Ulysses Grant and Andrew Johnson
C) Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson
D) Dwight Eisenhower and Harry Truman
E) Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan

Question 24

Which of the following is NOT illustrative of today's era of partisan federalism?

A) If a state government is dominated by one party and Congress or the presidency is controlled by the opposing one, the state may act on its own, fulfilling its policy preferences.
B) Officials in national government may try to obtain policy goals by proposing state action.
C) Members of both political parties, regardless of their personal ideological preferences of federalism, may vote against each other when in conflict with their policy goals.
D) Democrats tend to support federal government expansion in domestic policy, while Republicans tend to support state's rights over national expansion.
E) States have acted to invalidate (nullify) national laws by enacting state laws that conflict with policy preferences.

Question 25

The layer cake analogy, in which there is a clear distinction between the powers and responsibilities of the different levels of government, is most applicable to

A) conflicted federalism.
B) new federalism.
C) centralized federalism.
D) cooperative federalism.
E) dual federalism.

Question 26

What term has been coined to describe today's national-state government relations?

A) conflicted federalism
B) new federalism
C) centralized federalism
D) cooperative federalism
E) dual federalism

Question 27

Which type of intergovernmental tool allows the national government to influence the budget decisions of state and local governments by forcing them to spend their own money on a national priority?

A) categorical grant
B) block grant
C) mandate
D) preemption
E) nullification

Question 28

Which branch of government oversees interstate compacts?

A) Congress
B) state governors in each affected state
C) the federal judiciary
D) state supreme courts
E) the president

Question 29

The full faith and credit clause, which asserts states must recognize each other's public acts, records, and judicial proceedings, is located in which article of the Constitution?

A) Article II
B) Article III
C) Article IV
D) Article VI
E) Article VIII

Question 30

The impact of which event on Americans led to the passage of the Social Security Act of 1935?

A) World War I
B) the Great Depression
C) the Spanish Civil War
D) German hyperinflation
E) the Florida real estate crash of 1929

Question 31

Which three constitutional amendments have been most influential in shaping the national-state power relationship?

A) Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth
B) Eighth, Ninth, and Fourteenth
C) Tenth, Fourteenth, and Sixteenth
D) Fourteenth, Sixteenth, and Seventeenth
E) Sixteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth

Question 32

What phrase is used by political scientists to describe the way state judges base decisions on state constitutions when those laws grant more liberties and rights than those guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution?

A) horizontal federalism
B) judicial federalism
C) judicial libertarianism
D) judicial individualism
E) interstate compacts

Question 33

In most states, how long must new residents wait until they can register to vote?

A) 3 days
B) 7 days
C) 30 days
D) 90 days
E) 180 days

Question 34

Which of the following has the power under the Constitution to request or refuse extradition?

A) state legislatures
B) state governors in each affected state
C) the federal judiciary
D) state supreme courts
E) the Supreme Court

Question 35

Whose presidency marked the appearance of centralized federalism, where the national government imposed its own policy preferences on state and local governments?

A) Abraham Lincoln
B) Ulysses Grant
C) Theodore Roosevelt
D) Franklin Roosevelt
E) Lyndon Johnson

Question 36

Which type of power relationship prevailed between the national government and the states between 1789 and 1932?

A) horizontal federalism
B) judicial federalism
C) cooperative federalism
D) dual federalism
E) centralized federalism

Question 37

Which of these eras saw the appearance of cooperative federalism?

A) 1789-1861
B) 1861-1870
C) 1882-1932
D) 1932-1963
E) 1963-1969

Question 38

The legalization of marijuana for recreational use by many states is an example of what tool used in intergovernmental relations?

A) a block grant
B) nullification
C) a mandate
D) preemption
E) All of these answers are correct.

Question 39

Which case saw the Supreme Court strike down the national Gun-Free School Zones Act as unconstitutional?

A) Ogden v. Gibbons
B) Marbury v. Madison
C) Lochner v. Ellison
D) United States v. Lopez
E) Garcia v. San Antonio Transportation Authority

Question 40

What event significantly influenced the national-state power relationship?

A) the Louisiana Purchase
B) the War of 1812
C) the Civil War
D) the Spanish-American War
E) World War I

Question 41

Compared to the federal system of the writers of the Constitution, today's system

A) is balanced equally between the powers of the national and state and local governments.
B) gives the national government more expanded power than the state governments.
C) gives state governments more expanded power than the national government.
D) is a collaboration between the national government and state governments.
E) has clear and defined responsibilities.

Question 42

Passed in 1913, which constitutional amendment powerfully enhanced the national government's ability to raise money?

A) Fourteenth
B) Fifteenth
C) Sixteenth
D) Seventeenth
E) Eighteenth

Question 43

Which level or levels of government provide(s) funding for elementary and secondary education?

A) state government
B) local and state government
C) federal and local government
D) local and state governments
E) federal, state, and local governments

Question 44

Which intergovernmental tool caused conflict by forcing states to comply with a national policy of a drinking age of 21 and was featured in South Dakota v. Dole?

A) categorical grant
B) block grant
C) mandate
D) preemption
E) nullification

Question 45

The fact that states must enforce a national law that is based on a constitutionally enumerated or implied power even if the state government has its own law on the matter is based on the principle of

A) categorical grants.
B) intergovernmental relations.
C) mandates.
D) fiscal federalism.
E) preemption.

Question 46

Historically, which of these has been the most common form of national grant-in-aid to the states?

A) categorical project grants
B) matching funds grants
C) block grants
D) categorical formula grants
E) national priority grants

Question 47

Outline the key features of a unitary system of government.

Question 48

What type of national grant-in-aid requires state and local governments to compete for funding by writing needs-based proposals?

A) national priority grants
B) categorical formula grants
C) categorical project grants
D) block grants
E) matching funds grants

Question 49

The Every Student Succeeds Act

A) was passed over President Barack Obama's veto.
B) provided no specific funding for education.
C) required testing of all children in grades 3 through 8.
D) returned elements of education policy to the states.
E) placed education firmly under the control of the national government.

Question 50

The theory that states have the authority to invalidate national laws is known as

A) state supremacy.
B) preemption.
C) devolution.
D) nullification.
E) mandates.

Question 51

As a result of devolution, which branch of government in the United States is currently responsible for education policy?

A) state government
B) local government
C) federal government
D) the president
E) the Supreme Court

Question 52

Which 1923 court case saw state government opposition to conditions within national grants come to a head?

A) Bush v. Gore
B) Lochner v. Ellison
C) United States v. Lopez
D) Massachusetts v. Mellon
E) South Dakota v. Dole

Question 53

Which tool, used by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, moved the country from duel federalism to cooperative federalism?

A) grants-in-aid
B) nullification
C) matching funds requirement
D) mandate
E) preemption

Question 54

What percentage of total spending by the national government went to the states as federal grants-in-aid in 2010?

A) 5 percent
B) 10 percent
C) 17 percent
D) 22 percent
E) 95 percent

Question 55

The provision of categorical and block grant money by the federal government to state and local governments has resulted in a relationship between the two of

A) cooperative federalism.
B) dual federalism.
C) centralized federalism.
D) horizontal federalism.
E) fiscal federalism.

Question 56

Which type of intergovernmental tool is used most commonly in national education policy?

A) categorical formula grant
B) categorical project grant
C) block grant
D) mandate
E) nullification

Question 57

Explain the reasons behind the establishment of the federal system after 1787.

Question 58

Which type of governmental transfer of funds gives states the most latitude in the use of the money?

A) categorical project grants
B) matching funds grants
C) block grants
D) categorical formula grants
E) national priority grants

Question 59

Clauses in national laws that direct state and local governments to do something specified by the national government are known as

A) declarations.
B) categorical grants.
C) mandates.
D) supplementary clauses.
E) preemptive clauses.

Question 60

What term is used by political scientists to refer to the collaborative effort of two or more levels of government?

A) federalism
B) confederalism
C) intergovernmental relations
D) governmental collaboration
E) inter-public partnership

Question 61

Compare the federal system from its conception to the contemporary reality of the system today.

Question 62

Discuss the significance of McCulloch v. Maryland in shaping the development of enumerated powers of the national government.

Question 63

Discuss and explain the full faith and credit clause, and provide examples of its application.

Question 64

Outline the chief features of the Tenth Amendment, and provide examples of the powers it grants to the states.

Question 65

Explain the difference between enumerated and implied powers, and give examples of each.

Question 66

Define the concept of intergovernmental relations, and provide examples of its application in the contemporary United States.

Question 67

Identify at least two types of national mandates, and explain their key features.

Question 68

What are the key provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment and how have they affected interstate relations?