Deck 3: Federalism

Question 1

The necessary and proper clause gives Congress the power to pass laws that are related to the

A) enumerated powers.
B) police powers.
C) concurrent powers.
D) denied powers.
E) implied powers.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The Bill of Rights originally applied to

A) the state governments.
B) the national government.
C) both the national and state governments.
D) city governments.
E) all levels of government.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The reserve powers of the states, sometimes referred to as the __________ , include the powers to protect the safety, health, and welfare of citizens.

A) concurrent powers
B) national powers
C) people powers
D) police powers
E) safety powers

Answer 3

D

Question 4

In a __________ , virtually all power goes to the national government.

A) confederal system
B) federal system
C) unitary system
D) system of self-government
E) multifederal system

Question 5

Article 1, Section 8, of the Constitution details the _________ powers of Congress.

A) implied
B) forced
C) explicit
D) concurrent
E) enumerated

Question 6

The Framers feared that too much power in any government would lead to

A) autocracy.
B) monarchy.
C) tyranny.
D) meritocracy.
E) socialism.

Question 7

The Constitution guarantees that states provide a ___________ form of government.

A) direct
B) unitary
C) republican
D) federal
E) socialist

Question 8

A form of government in which political power is exercised directly by citizens is a(n)

A) republican government.
B) indirect democracy.
C) direct democracy.
D) self-government.
E) unitary system.

Question 9

The Fifteenth Amendment prohibits states from denying

A) voting rights on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
B) due process of law.
C) equal protection of the law.
D) the right to assembly.
E) the right to privacy.

Question 10

The Constitution prohibits the state governments from

A) passing bills of attainder.
B) passing ex post facto laws.
C) taxing imports and exports.
D) entering into any treaty or alliance with foreign nations.
E) all of these.

Question 11

A __________ exists when people have a sense of common identity due to a common origin, history, or ancestry, all of which the colonists shared.

A) state
B) nation
C) union
D) confederation
E) country

Question 12

The primary reason that the Framers chose to unify the country was that

A) unions allow for smaller entities to pool their resources.
B) they wanted to revoke states' rights.
C) they wanted to create a unitary system.
D) unions allow for larger states to dominate.
E) unions allow for collective bargaining.

Question 13

Which of the following remain almost exclusively within state authority?

A) marriage and divorce law
B) insurance regulations
C) professional licensing
D) prosecuting state crimes
E) all of these

Question 14

The writ of __________ provides the right of individuals who have been arrested and jailed to go before a judge who determines if their imprisonment is legal.

A) certiorari
B) due process
C) error
D) habeas corpus
E) mandamus

Question 15

A system of government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between the national and state governments is known as

A) the supremacy clause.
B) implied powers.
C) states' rights.
D) federalism.
E) a confederal system.

Question 16

Powers held by both the national and state governments in a federal system are called

A) concurrent powers.
B) denied powers.
C) police powers.
D) enumerated powers.
E) express powers.

Question 17

At the time the Constitution was written, virtually all the world's governments were either

A) confederal or federal.
B) federal or unitary.
C) multifederal systems or federal.
D) unitary or confederal.
E) self-government or federal.

Question 18

The __________ , which passed in 1868, prohibits states from denying "any person" due process and the equal protection of the laws.

A) Tenth Amendment
B) Eleventh Amendment
C) Twelfth Amendment
D) Thirteenth Amendment
E) Fourteenth Amendment

Question 19

_________ is enhanced when decisions that affect the citizens' lives are made by representatives who are local, closer to them, and more similar to them.

A) Direct democracy
B) Proportional representation
C) Unitary system
D) Self-government
E) Socialism

Question 20

In a _________, independent states grant powers to a national government.

A) unitary system
B) confederal system
C) federal system
D) proportional system
E) feudal system

Question 21

In  McCulloch v. Maryland, the Supreme Court ruled that Congress had the power to create a bank due to the

A) necessary and proper clause.
B) full faith and credit clause.
C) privileges and immunities clause.
D) interstate commerce clause.
E) fugitive slave clause.

Question 22

In 1857, the Supreme Court sided with the states' rights supporters, declaring in __________ that Congress had no authority to regulate slavery in the territories.

A) Dred Scott v. Sandford
B) Prigg v. Pennsylvania
C) Brown v. Board of Education
D) Marbury v. Madison
E) none of these

Question 23

The right of the states to reject national laws that would be beyond the powers granted in the Constitution is referred to as

A) direct democracy.
B) a unitary system.
C) states' rights.
D) nullification.
E) none of these.

Question 24

The ________ prohibits the states from establishing trade barriers, or leveling unequal taxes against goods from another state.

A) necessary and proper clause
B) general welfare clause
C) commerce clause
D) full faith and credit clause
E) supremacy clause

Question 25

__________ federalism recognizes that while the national government is supreme in some spheres, the state governments remain supreme in others, with layers of authority separate from one another, an arrangement that political scientists compared to a "layer cake."

A) Confrontational
B) Cooperative
C) Dual
D) Multi
E) State-centered

Question 26

The Constitution requires agreements between two or more states to receive the approval of

A) the president.
B) the Supreme Court.
C) three-fourths of the states.
D) the people.
E) Congress.

Question 27

The doctrine of dual federalism holds that

A) the function of government is determined by the people.
B) the federal government has more functions than the state governments.
C) the state governments have more functions than the federal government.
D) the state and federal governments have the exact same functions.
E) the state and federal governments have separate functions.

Question 28

Supporters of states' rights, such as Thomas Jefferson, believed that the central focus of power rests with

A) the states.
B) the federal government.
C) the people.
D) the Congress.
E) the townships.

Question 29

Congress exercises its implied powers through the

A) general welfare clause.
B) privileges and immunities clause.
C) equal protection clause.
D) full faith  and credit clause.
E) necessary and proper clause.

Question 30

Congress taking over the state regulation of warnings on cigarette packages is an example of

A) preemption.
B) supremacy clause.
C) direct democracy.
D) implied powers.
E) none of these.

Question 31

The __________ clause makes the Constitution of the United States, plus all laws and treaties made under the Constitution, superior to state law.

A) commerce
B) confrontation
C) guarantee
D) republican
E) supremacy

Question 32

In __________ , the Court ruled that the authority of Congress to regulate commerce among the states gave it, rather than the states, the authority to manage the licensing of steamboats traveling between New York and New Jersey.

A) Dred Scott v. Sandford
B) Gibbons v. Ogden
C) Marbury v. Madison
D) McCulloch v. Maryland
E) Prigg v. Pennsylvania

Question 33

Slavery concessions at the Constitutional Convention included the __________ clause of Article IV, requiring states to return runaway slaves.

A) fugitive slave
B) guarantee
C) personal liberty
D) private property
E) supremacy

Question 34

The __________ , as part of the Constitution under Article I, Section 8, establishes the exclusive authority of Congress to regulate commerce among the states.

A) supremacy clause
B) commerce clause
C) direct democracy
D) state's rights
E) reserve powers

Question 35

During the Civil War, Lincoln used his power as commander in chief to issue the __________ , which prohibited slavery in states under rebellion, as slave labor was an asset to the Confederate army.

A) Articles of Proclamation
B) Declaration of Independence
C) Emancipation Proclamation
D) Fugitive Slave Act
E) Personal Liberty Act

Question 36

In 1798, the Federalist administration of John Adams passed the __________ Act, making criticism of the government illegal.

A) Criticism
B) Embargo
C) McCarthy
D) Sedition
E) War Powers

Question 37

The __________ Amendment prohibited slavery throughout the nation.

A) Eleventh
B) Thirteenth
C) Fourteenth
D) Fifteenth
E) Seventeenth

Question 38

Under current U.S. law, if a heterosexual couple is married in Las Vegas, they are married in all 50 states due to the ___________ of the Constitution.

A) general welfare clause
B) interstate commerce clause
C) full faith and credit clause
D) equal protection clause
E) necessary and proper clause

Question 39

Under Chief Justice John Marshall, the Supreme Court fostered the view that the system of government was _______-centered.

A) state
B) nation
C) people
D) township
E) county

Question 40

Vice President John C. Calhoun argued that states had the right to nullify laws as well as secede from the union if they desired. To secede means that the state(s)

A) disobey an act of Congress.
B) fail to enforce the full faith and credit clause.
C) fail to enforce the fugitive slave clause.
D) formally leave the union.
E) do none of these.

Question 41

A unitary system increases __________ costs by increasing the number of people who disagree with the policies of the government. These costs are not financial; they represent the dissatisfaction that people feel when they live under laws that they do not like.

A) conformity
B) diffusion
C) election
D) general
E) all of these

Question 42

Over time, the Court's definition of what constituted interstate commerce grew to include

A) only commerce that occurs between states.
B) anything that affected interstate commerce.
C) only commerce that occurs intrastate.
D) anything that affected foreign trade.
E) none of the above.

Question 43

Overall, federalism enhances democracy by

A) enabling more people to live under laws that are made locally.
B) forcing everyone in a nation to live under all of the same rules.
C) reducing the number of laws that are made locally.
D) reducing the number of government officials.
E) all of these.

Question 44

President Reagan cut back on categorical grants and replaced them with _________, which are more flexible and set fewer restrictions on how the states can use the money.

A) free grants
B) marque grants
C) Pell Grants
D) categorical grants
E) block grants

Question 45

Congress originally played almost no role in public school (K-12) education; that role has

A) increased since World War I.
B) decreased since World War I.
C) increased since World War II.
D) decreased since World War II.
E) basically stayed the same.

Question 46

President George W. Bush's administration strengthened national authority, sometimes at the expense of the states, by

A) supporting the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act.
B) supporting a prescription drug plan for Medicare.
C) going to court to preempt California's fuel economy and emission standards for cars.
D) establishing national standards for driver's licenses.
E) all of these.

Question 47

Most states grant their governors a line-item veto, which is the ability to

A) sign and pass legislation in its entirety.
B) veto legislation in its entirety.
C) veto certain parts of spending bills without vetoing the entire bill.
D) propose specific provisions in legislation.
E) pass independent legislation.

Question 48

A citizen petition for a particular law is

A) a recall.
B) an initiative.
C) a referendum.
D) an election.
E) all of these.

Question 49

President George W. Bush's effort to revamp this Elementary and Secondary Education Act program by imposing stricter performance and accountability standards for education is better known as

A) No Child Left Behind.
B) USA PATRIOT Act.
C) Contract with America.
D) Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
E) Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act.

Question 50

In 1932, __________ was elected president having promised a "New Deal" to Americans who had lost their jobs, their homes, and their savings in the Great Depression.

A) Abraham Lincoln
B) Benjamin Franklin
C) Franklin Roosevelt
D) George Washington
E) Theodore Roosevelt

Question 51

__________ are examples of direct democracy.

A) New England town meetings
B) Recalls
C) Initiatives
D) Referenda
E) All of these

Question 52

The Johnson administration gave money to the states for its programs through _________, which was money for the states to use on what the national government wanted.

A) block grants
B) Pell Grants
C) categorical grants
D) piece-meal grants
E) marque grants

Question 53

The Nixon administration began a trend, labeled as __________ , of shifting powers back to the states.

A) dual federalism
B) new federalism
C) fiscal federalism
D) cooperative federalism
E) "layer cake" federalism

Question 54

Madison and the Framers preferred __________ over local democracies, fearful that local majorities would infringe on the rights of local minorities.

A) direct democracy at the national level
B) a large-scale democracy
C) a large-scale republic
D) small-scale town meetings
E) a small-scale republic

Question 55

How many states allow for the use of initiatives?

A) 4
B) 17
C) 24
D) 36
E) all states

Question 56

The __________ Act of 1964 prohibits job discrimination and segregation in public accommodations.

A) Antidiscrimination
B) Civil Rights
C) Embargo
D) Fugitive Slave
E) Voting Rights

Question 57

The most distinctive form of local government in the United States is __________ , in which the adult population of the town meets at least once a year to adopt the budget and vote on any legislation being considered.

A) the city-manager system
B) the New England town meeting
C) indirect democracy
D) the Missouri Plan
E) the city-state

Question 58

__________ is a process that allows legislatures to put certain issues on the ballot for citizen approval and requires legislatures to seek citizen approval for certain actions by the legislature.

A) The New England town meeting
B) The recall
C) The initiative
D) The referendum
E) Direct democracy

Question 59

Which type of government is far more diverse in function and design than that of the state government?

A) federal government
B) local government
C) special jurisdiction government
D) county government
E) none of these

Question 60

President Franklin Roosevelt's proposal to add new justices to the Supreme Court so that the Court would uphold his policies is referred to as

A) the Court-packing plan.
B) the Congress-packing plan.
C) the switch in time that saved nine.
D) the grand bargain.
E) the Roosevelt compromise.

Question 61

What would happen if the president had a line-item veto?

Question 62

Compare Jefferson's and Hamilton's views on federalism.

Question 63

Which government has the biggest impact on you-the federal government or your state government?

Question 64

What do supporters of states' rights think states should have the right to do?

Question 65

Contrast the arguments made by those who support more national power with those who support greater state authority.

Question 66

Find Antifederalist arguments in today's political debates.

Question 67

Briefly discuss the three main clauses in the Constitution that regulate the relationship between states.

Question 68

Discuss the controversy surrounding judicial elections for state judgeships.

Question 69

Explain how and why Congress has continued to pressure states to set the drinking age at 21, despite the fact that they have no direct authority on this issue.

Question 70

Compare the general features of state governments to their national counterparts.

Question 71

Discuss the line-item veto, and identify which levels of government have the power.

Question 72

Briefly discuss how the privileges and immunities clause curtails the powers of the states.

Question 73

What effects do judicial elections have on judges' decisions? What effects should they have?

Question 74

Explain where in the Constitution Congress derives its implied powers.

Question 75

Were the Antifederalists right to fear the power of the national government?

Question 76

Compare the powers of the president with the powers of state governors in regard to budgetary spending.

Question 77

Overall, to what extent does the Constitution lay out the relationship between the federal and state governments?

Question 78

Are there any state powers you think the federal government should have? Are there any federal powers you think should belong to the states?

Question 79

Discuss the split between Hamilton and Jefferson over federal authority and how this split would lead to the development of the first party system in the United States.

Question 80

Explain what led to the New Federalism.