Deck 3: Federalism

Question 1

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

A) republican government.
B) representative democracy.
C) direct democracy.
D) monarchy.
E) unitary system.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

How does the Tenth Amendment affect the distribution of power between the states and federal government?

A) It divides it equally between the national and state governments.
B) It separates power across the three branches of government.
C) It reserves power to the national government if not granted to the states.
D) It reserves power to the states if not granted to the national government.
E) It enumerates specific powers of the states and national governments.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Which of the following is NOT predominantly within state authority?

A) marriage and divorce law
B) insurance regulations
C) professional licensing
D) prosecuting state crimes
E) interstate commerce

Answer 3

E

Question 4

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

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

Question 5

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 6

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 7

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 8

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

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

Question 9

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 10

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 11

_________ 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) National sovereignty
D) Self-government
E) Socialism

Question 12

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

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

Question 13

In a _________, authority rests with regional (for example, state) governments.

A) unitary system
B) confederal system
C) federal system
D) monarchy
E) oligarchy

Question 14

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

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

Question 15

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

A) socialism.
B) nationalism.
C) states' rights.
D) federalism.
E) a confederal system.

Question 16

The Bill of Rights originally applied to

A) the state governments.
B) the national government.
C) both the national and state governments.
D) the British government.
E) all local, state, and national governments.

Question 17

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.

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

The Constitution prohibits the state governments from all of the following EXCEPT

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) having state income taxes.

Question 20

Regarding the U.S. Constitution, which of the following best describes the enumerated powers?

A) Powers that are reserved to the states.
B) Powers that are expressly granted to Congress by the Constitution.
C) Powers that are not explicit, but are implied.
D) Concurrent powers shared by the national and state governments.
E) Powers that have developed over time.

Question 21

The __________ Amendment prohibited slavery throughout the nation.

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

Question 22

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 23

__________ 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 24

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 25

Supporters of states' rights, such as Thomas Jefferson, believed that the central focus of power should and must rest with

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

Question 26

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) concurrent powers
D) state's rights agreement
E) reserve powers

Question 27

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

A) antifederalism.
B) devolution.
C) states' rights.
D) nullification.
E) secession.

Question 28

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 29

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 30

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 31

If a couple is married in one state, 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 32

The Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges ruled that

A) the Defense of Marriage Act was constitutional.
B) same-sex marriage was legal in only those states that allowed it.
C) same-sex marriage was legal in all 50 states.
D) same-sex marriage was unconstitutional.
E) civil unions were legal, but states could decide whether to allow same-sex marriages.

Question 33

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 34

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 35

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) equal protection
C) guarantee
D) republican
E) supremacy

Question 36

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) ignore the laws of the union.

Question 37

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) Plessy v. Ferguson
E) Gibbons v. Ogden

Question 38

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 identical functions.
E) the state and federal governments have separate functions.

Question 39

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

A) implied powers.
B) state powers.
C) privileges and immunities clause.
D) interstate commerce clause.
E) full faith and credit clause.

Question 40

Congress taking over the regulation of warnings on cigarette packages from individual states is an example of

A) preemption.
B) nullification.
C) direct democracy.
D) implied powers.
E) licensing.

Question 41

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 Judicial Expansion Act.
C) the rule of four.
D) the New Deal.
E) the Roosevelt compromise.

Question 42

Over time, the Supreme 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) restrictions on gun rights.

Question 43

A citizen petition for a particular law is referred to as a(n)

A) recall.
B) initiative.
C) referendum.
D) election.
E) bill.

Question 44

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 the same rules.
C) reducing the number of laws that are made locally.
D) reducing the number of government officials.
E) centralizing power and authority.

Question 45

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 46

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 47

Which of the following is true of direct democracy?

A) It exists in all states and localities.
B) It provides an easy way to get items on the ballot.
C) It can be very costly to get items on the ballot.
D) It is no longer used in the states.
E) It exists at the national level.

Question 48

The Rehnquist Court took a very __________ approach toward federalism.

A) state-centered
B) nation-centered
C) commerce-centered
D) liberal
E) anti-state

Question 49

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 50

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) tax breaks
E) general-revenue sharing

Question 51

The Obama administration has endorsed state-centered federalism by

A) strengthening the provisions of the the Motor Voter Law.
B) establishing new national standards for driver's licenses.
C) working to pass new federal legislation on medicinal marijuana use.
D) prosecuting states for setting their own immigration policies.
E) permitting states to set higher fuel economy and emissions standards than the federal government.

Question 52

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) opportunity

Question 53

__________ 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) A retention election

Question 54

Which of the following is NOT an example of direct democracy?

A) New England town meetings
B) electing lawmakers to vote on legislation
C) initiatives
D) referenda
E) recalls

Question 55

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

A) Anti-discrimination
B) Civil Rights
C) Social Security
D) Great Society
E) Voting Rights

Question 56

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 57

What alternatives to federalism did the Framers consider?

Question 58

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) Dwight Eisenhower
B) Herbert Hoover
C) Franklin Roosevelt
D) Calvin Coolidge
E) Theodore Roosevelt

Question 59

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 60

What were the key weaknesses of the confederal system under the Articles of Confederation?

Question 61

Where in the Constitution does Congress derive its implied powers?

Question 62

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

Question 63

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 64

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

Question 65

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

Question 66

Explain what led to the New Federalism.

Question 67

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

Question 68

Explain the Missouri Plan for selecting judges.

Question 69

What are the criticisms of direct democracy?

Question 70

Compare the positions of Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama in regards to federalism and marijuana laws in the states.

Question 71

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

Question 72

How does the Constitution govern the relationship among the states? Why is this necessary?

Question 73

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 74

Discuss the line-item veto, and its significance.

Question 75

What are some key powers that the states alone possess and the federal government alone possess?

Question 76

Discuss Antifederalist arguments found in today's political debates.

Question 77

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

Question 78

What advantages does the federal system of government have over unitary and confederal systems of government?  What are the disadvantages?

Question 79

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

Question 80

Compare and contrast dual federalism and cooperative federalism.