Deck 2: Federalism and the States: Sorting Out Roles and Responsibilities

Question 1

The difference between a federal system and a confederacy is that

A)a federal system divides power between the central government and geographically defined jurisdictions whereas in a confederacy all authority is derived from the central government.
B)a federal system divides power between the central government and geographically defined jurisdictions whereas in a confederacy the central government is weak and the regional governments are strong.
C)a federal system derives its powers from regional governments, whereas in a confederacy the central government is strong and the regional governments are weak.
D)in a federal system, the central government is weak and the regional governments are strong, whereas a confederacy divides power between the central government and geographically defined jurisdictions.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The Marshall Court's ruling in Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)involved

A)intrastate commerce.
B)interstate commerce.
C)the right of the federal government to renew the charter for the national bank.
D)Congress's right to levy an income tax.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The Framers of the Constitution held to the belief of English political philosopher Thomas Hobbes that

A)human beings are contentious and selfish.
B)government should be created by the people to serve the people.
C)people are born free and that natural rights cannot be taken from them.
D)the right to revolt against an unjust government is a natural right.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Dual federalism is a term used to describe a circumstance in which

A)national and state governments are sovereign and equal within their constitutionally allocated spheres of authority.
B)the state governments, having called the original Constitutional Convention, may agree to nullify federal acts.
C)many new grants-in-aid are made.
D)the linkages and joint arrangements among the three levels of government are stressed.

Question 5

The practical devices placed in the U.S. Constitution to control factions included all of the following except a

A)system of representative government.
B)division of government into three branches, which served as a system of checks and balances.
C)federal system where power was dispersed within and among the federal government and the states.
D)national bank that would control the nation's money and therefore keep factions from ever gaining complete control over the economy.

Question 6

Real financial power moved from the states to the national government by virtue of

A)McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), which gave the federal government the power to establish a bank.
B)Baker v. Carr (1962), which established the Federal Reserve System.
C)Brown v. Rhode Island (1820), which allowed the United States to establish a national bank modeled after the Bank of England.
D)the Sixteenth Amendment, which gave Congress power to tax personal and corporate incomes.

Question 7

Federalism under the second president Bush was poorly articulated, but actions of his administration and Congressional Republicans

A)pre-empted state authority over school testing systems and driver's license procedures, obstructed state laws that would permit the medical use of marijuana, imposed burdensome new homeland security requirements, and also imposed expensive Medicaid spending responsibilities on the states.
B)continued to support the practice of state sovereignty in the same manner as President Reagan.
C)rested less on theory and more on mandating programs without providing sufficient funding.
D)were less important because increases in revenues made funding less of an issue.

Question 8

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)enhanced the power of the national government by stating

A)that the federal government could not establish a national bank.
B)Maryland's right to tax the national bank located in that state.
C)that Congress had the right to lend money through the Second National Bank of the United States.
D)that the Constitution contained implied, as well as enumerated, powers.

Question 9

The advantages of federalism include all of the following except that

A)it ensures that national programs and priorities are achieved.
B)it encourages innovation.
C)it helps manage social and political conflict.
D)it facilitates efficiency and rapidity with which problems are addressed and solved.

Question 10

The Great Compromise adopted by the Framers of the Constitution involved

A)the procedures by which the Constitution would be ratified.
B)increasing the powers of the central government.
C)resolving disputes between the states and the central government by means of an independent judiciary.
D)adoption of a bicameral legislature in which one house selected members based on population and one in which the states were equally represented.

Question 11

The Constitutional Convention's debates centered largely on

A)the power to be allocated to local government.
B)the role of the executive.
C)the role of the judiciary.
D)division of power between large and small states.

Question 12

The enumerated or delegated powers in the Constitution are those that

A)give powers to both the states and the national government.
B)give power to the states.
C)are expressly given to the national government.
D)give power to local governments by way of general revenue sharing.

Question 13

Enumerated powers in the U.S. Constitution are

A)powers that are expressly given to the national government.
B)synonymous with implied powers.
C)numerous but checked greatly by the Ninth Amendment.
D)powers that are expressly given to local governments.

Question 14

Creative federalism was a term used to describe the

A)efforts of Reagan to turn programs back to the states.
B)social welfare programs of Roosevelt.
C)social justice programs of Kennedy.
D)Great Society programs of Johnson.

Question 15

The great majority of countries (more than 90 percent)have a

A)confederate system of government.
B)unitary system of government.
C)a federalist system of government.
D)a unique blending of a confederate and unitary system of government.

Question 16

State governments can do all of the actions below except

A)conduct elections.
B)regulate intrastate commerce.
C)coin money.
D)establish local governments.

Question 17

The argument for state-centered federalism relies on which of the following sections of the Constitution?

A)The necessary and proper clause
B)The Commerce Clause
C)The Fourteenth Amendment
D)The Tenth Amendment

Question 18

The Real ID Act of 2005, which imposed national requirements on how states must validate personal identification when issuing driver's licenses, and the ensuing state opposition to the more strenuous requirements for obtaining a driver's license, is an example of the politics surrounding

A)federal pre-emption.
B)creative federalism.
C)grant-in-aid.
D)intrastate compacts.

Question 19

A system of government in which most, if not all, legal powers rests in the central government is referred to as a

A)confederacy.
B)defederated system.
C)federal system.
D)unitary system.

Question 20

The elimination of large amounts of categorical grants and merging others into block grants during the Reagan Presidency in the 1980s was an example of

A)coercive federalism.
B)new federalism.
C)creative federalism.
D)cooperative federalism.

Question 21

Federalism generally encourages innovation and participation in government.

Question 22

Federalism under President Obama is still in the development stage, but the 2009 Federal Stimulus Plan can best be described as

A)new federalism.
B)creative federalism.
C)general revenue sharing
D)All of these choices

Question 23

Compact theory has had little impact on the states' rights arguments.

Question 24

Nongrant forms of aid to individuals, notably through the Social Security system: Medicaid payments, purchases by the national government; and wages and salaries of federal employees represent approximately:

A)36 percent of total federal grants today, down from 63 percent in 1980.
B)the same percent of federal grants today as they did in 1980.
C)63 percent of total federal grants today, up from 36 percent in 1980.
D)a smaller percentage of federal grants today then in 1980.

Question 25

In McCulloch v. Maryland , the Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution contained implied powers .

Question 26

A common way for states to resolve disputes over issues such as water that flows or sits among multiple jurisdictions is through

A)legal action.
B)an act of Congress.
C)interstate compact.
D)imposing higher fees on water consumption.

Question 27

Factions refer to any group of citizens or interested parties united in a cause or actions without concern for the interests of society as a whole.

Question 28

A federal grant that is given to a school district that can use those funds freely to address the most important need within the district is an example of which type of grant?

A)Categorical grant
B)Block grant
C)Functional grant
D)Revenue sharing grant

Question 29

Interstate compacts authorized by the U.S. Constitution are useful in

A)permitting the national government to impose solutions to state problems.
B)addressing situations not covered in the Tenth Amendment.
C)providing a vehicle that is useful in settling disputes between two or more states.
D)settling disputes between local governments within a state.

Question 30

The political arrangement under the Articles of Confederation is a good example of a unitary political system.

Question 31

One of the disadvantages of federalism is that it may enhance conflict among the various levels of government and different states, which may hinder achieving national goals.

Question 32

A unitary system of government, which more than 90 percent of nations have, is one in which all government authority is derived from a central government.

Question 33

Currently, federal funding accounts for approximately _______ percent of state and local revenues.

A)10
B)21
C)38
D)40

Question 34

A confederacy is a political arrangement in which power is derived from a central authority.

Question 35

"Fend for Yourself" federalism describes a newer trend in federalism. It generally refers to

A)a greater focus on state and local governments funding their own priorities, without federal government assistance.
B)each state and local government fighting on its own for federal grants and program dollars.
C)increased reliance on sin taxes for critical services.
D)states receiving a greater portion of their total funding from the federal government.

Question 36

A major advantage of the federal system of government is that it helps manage social and political conflict.

Question 37

A unitary system is a political arrangement in which the power of the central government is derived from the member states.

Question 38

The role of tribal governments and expansion of casinos has affected many state governments. Which of the following is NOT true?

A)Tribes are semi-sovereign nations exercising self-government on their reservation.
B)States are prohibited from taxing or regulating their judicial powers over them.
C)Local zoning laws govern tribal land use.
D)Tribal residents can vote in federal and state elections.

Question 39

The Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires states and localities to make physical and occupational accommodations for disabled persons, is an example of

A)partial pre-emption.
B)initial pre-emption.
C)total pre-emption.
D)implied pre-emption.

Question 40

Which of the following is NOT a formal provision that exists for cooperation among the states?

A)The interstate rendition clause
B)The privileges and immunities clause
C)The full faith and credit clause
D)The commerce clause

Question 41

The principle of pre-emption holds that state laws take precedence over national laws.

Question 42

Currently, the principal tool for devolving federal financial and programmatic authority and responsibility to the states is the grant-in-aid.

Question 43

Categorical grants are a form of financial aid from one level of government to another to be used for a narrowly defined purpose.

Question 44

Creative federalism was devised by President Johnson to promote his vision of a Great Society.

Question 45

American federalism is ambiguous by nature.

Question 46

The commerce clause allows Congress to regulate commercial activities as long as the activities are involved in intrastate commerce.

Question 47

The Seventeenth Amendment grants the national government the power to levy income taxes.

Question 48

The Ninth Amendment reserves clear and specific powers for the states.

Question 49

State and local governments depend on federal grants for about 38 percent of their revenues.

Question 50

Devolution involves delegating power and programs from the federal to state and local governments.

Question 51

Congress tried but failed to resolve the unfunded mandate issue in 1995.

Question 52

Decriminalizing medical marijuana, which allows physicians to prescribe modest use of marijuana for the treatment of various medical conditions, is an example of a federalism issue.

Question 53

President Johnson sought to devolve powers to the states using creative federalism.

Question 54

Discuss how powers and responsibilities are divided among levels of government in unitary, confederate, and federal systems of government.

Question 55

The Sixteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution gave the federal government the power to levy a national income tax.

Question 56

Discuss your view of the future of federalism. Will or should there be more direction/control from the federal government? Should states have more power in setting policies in their states even though there may be significant differences between them? When is it justifiable for the federal government to utilize coercive federalism to achieve a national goal?

Question 57

The Supreme Court interpretations of the necessary and proper clause of the Constitution have evolved into one of the most important influences over public policy.

Question 58

The model of federalism currently in use is considered to be new federalism.

Question 59

Block grants are a form of financial aid from one level of government to another to be used for a narrowly defined purpose.

Question 60

Trace the history of American federalism from colonial times into the current era. What changes have occurred over the past 200 years? What are the various distinct phases or periods that have occurred? What impact does federalism have on state and local governments? Also, include the advantages and disadvantages of federalism in your answer.

Question 61

Discuss how federalism and the distribution of power in the U.S. system are tied to money and the provision of fiscal resources. Include in your answer a discussion of what this means for the future of state and national power.

Question 62

Describe the major sources of friction and conflict between the federal and state levels of government that have arisen over time. Be sure to include policy examples to illustrate your answer.