Deck 3: State Constitutions: the Fundamental Rules of State Government

Question 1

South Dakota's declaration of federal firearms regulations as invalid, Utah's enactment of a law prohibiting the federal government from carrying out its Affordable Care Act, and the legalization of medical marijuana in seventeen states are examples of

A)legislative supremacy.
B)New States' Rights movement.
C)the positive-law tradition.
D)judicial review.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The informal method of amending state constitutions rests upon

A)interpretations by governors.
B)direct initiative.
C)interpretation by the various branches of government.
D)reliance on challenges in the federal courts.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

The Massachusetts constitution, though amended, is the only constitution of the original thirteen states that still exists, because

A)Massachusetts is a very politically active state.
B)of the complicated procedures required before it can be replaced.
C)of the foresight of the drafter, John Adams, who grounded the document in extensive research of governments that took him all the way back to the ancients and the Magna Carta.
D)of an unwillingness to adjust to new ways.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which of the following was NOT a reason state constitutions increased in size from the original documents?

A)Growing social and economic complexity
B)A perceived need to be extremely specific about what the legislatures could do
C)A desire to delineate state from national powers
D)The early adoption of the legislative supremacy

Question 5

Thomas Jefferson believed that each generation should have the right to choose for itself its own form of government, and that it would be appropriate for a new constitution to be considered about every

A)twenty years.
B)fifty years.
C)thirty years.
D)forty years.

Question 6

The influential Kestnbaum Commission was

A)disbanded before it could complete its deliberations.
B)successful in producing the Model State Constitution, which would be used by most states to revise their constitutions.
C)charged with actually rewriting several state constitutions.
D)in favor of the states reviewing their constitutions to ensure responsible government.

Question 7

State constitutions represent the fundamental law of the state, thus

A)they stand above mere questions of political power.
B)Florida state constitutions cannot protect free speech for its citizens because free speech is an area covered in the U.S. Constitution.
C)they are supreme in only those matters specifically delegated to the state in the U.S. Constitution.
D)only the national constitution and statutes have priority over the state's constitution.

Question 8

Since the beginning of modern constitutional reform efforts in the 1960s to the 1980s,

A)little real progress has been made.
B)more than half the states had new or substantially altered constitutions put into operation.
C)almost all of the states altered their constitutions to include fundamental law.
D)More than half the states had new or substantially altered constitutions put into operation and  almost all of the states altered their constitutions to include fundamental law .

Question 9

Legislative supremacy, or the legislature's dominance of the other two branches, was imbedded in early constitutions due to

A)The Framers' fear and distrust of the executive.
B)a requirement for statehood.
C)the understanding that legislative politics was pure and honorable.
D)the fact that no states had any experience with an executive branch.

Question 10

Guarantees of individual rights are

A)based solely on the Bill of Rights.
B)often more restrictive in state constitutions than in the U.S. Constitution.
C)being extended by activist states in their constitutions.
D)being struck from revisions of state constitutions as unnecessarily wordy.

Question 11

By 1967, most state constitutions were

A)filled with needed details about the power and authority of local government.
B)severely limiting the types of taxes, other fees, and revenues states could impose without a popular vote.
C)long, inflexible, and overly detailed, thus tying the hands of state government in its efforts to meet the challenges of the era.
D)modernized by adding much needed details, thus equipping the states to adapt to the era.

Question 12

Judicial review evolved at the state level

A)through formal adoption in state constitutions.
B)through the courts' own insistence that they hold this authority.
C)through executive order.
D)through the initiative process.

Question 13

Which of the following was not a mechanism that increased gubernatorial power in the 1800s?

A)Longer terms for the governor
B)Term limits for governors
C)Popular election of the governor
D)The authority to veto legislative bills

Question 14

Between 1860 and 1870, considerable constitutional revision occurred when

A)Jacksonian notions of popular government swept the nation.
B)Populist and Progressive reform movements swept the nation.
C)western states created before the Civil War sought to update their constitutions.
D)the former Confederate states rewrote their constitutions in order to be readmitted to the union.

Question 15

Lengthy state constitutions create problems for states, which include the

A)fear of challenge in the U.S. Supreme Court.
B)need for state courts to rule on conflicting provisions.
C)burden of increased legal costs that are passed on to business interests.
D)high costs of revision.

Question 16

The National Municipal League's Model State Constitution emphasized

A)a weak governor and strong legislature.
B)brevity and broad functions and responsibilities of government.
C)brevity and a weak governor.
D)a focus on specific and detailed policy issues.

Question 17

The positive-law constitutional tradition would best be exemplified by a constitution with

A)detailed provisions and procedures.
B)basic and enduring principles that reach beyond statutory law.
C)an amendment process that makes it difficult to change the constitution.
D)a bill of rights and few other provisions.

Question 18

The Model State Constitution was developed by

A)the U.S. Supreme Court in 1921.
B)the National League of Cities in 1960.
C)the Council of State Governments in 1968.
D)the National Municipal League in 1921.

Question 19

A unicameral legislature, the only one of the fifty states, is found in which state?

A)Wisconsin
B)Arizona
C)Florida
D)Nebraska

Question 20

All of the formal procedures for constitutional change in the states involve two basic steps. These steps consist of

A)legislative and executive proposals.
B)constitutional conventions and commissions.
C)direct and indirect initiatives.
D)initiation and ratification.

Question 21

Before ratifying its new constitution in 1983, Georgia's state constitution contained more than 583,000 words-longer than Tolstoy's "War and Peace".

Question 22

The most common manner of making formal changes to state constitutions is permitted in all fifty states and accounts for 90 percent of all revisions. It begins with a(n)

A)legislative proposal.
B)initiative.
C)constitutional convention.
D)constitutional commission's recommendations to the electorate.

Question 23

One national survey found that 51 percent of Americans were not aware that their state had its own constitution.

Question 24

The U.S. Constitution contains about 8,700 words, while the typical state constitution is much longer in length.

Question 25

The long ballot refers to having fewer elected officials and more appointed officials under the control of the governor.

Question 26

State constitutions are generally shorter in length than the U.S. Constitution.

Question 27

Constitutions represent the fundamental law of a state, superior to statutory law.

Question 28

In order to study an existing constitution and subsequently recommend changes to the legislature or to the voters, states often establish

A)initiative working groups.
B)constitutional conventions.
C)constitutional commissions.
D)model state constitutions.

Question 29

Direct initiatives are distinguished by the fact that

A)the legislatures vote directly on citizens' proposals.
B)proposals are placed directly on the general election ballot.
C)the secretary of state must certify that sufficient signatures exist to permit immediate adoption.
D)the courts must decide that the proposals are consistent with federal law before they are adopted.

Question 30

State constitutions are political documents and often have been drafted to protect the rights of special interests, such as public utilities, farmers, timber companies, religious groups and, more recently, social issues.

Question 31

The higher-law tradition of constitutional law is currently the more favored concept of common law.

Question 32

The legislative proposal method of constitutional change is probably best suited for which of the following?

A)Revisions that are relatively narrow in scope
B)Revisions that are broad and interpretable
C)Statutory revisions
D)Revisions only to fiscal policy issues

Question 33

Vermont has the shortest state constitution, with roughly 8,565 words.

Question 34

Legislative supremacy remains the norm in most states.

Question 35

Delegates selected for constitutional conventions are usually

A)dominated by reformers.
B)dominated by professionals, educators, and businesspeople.
C)an ethnically and socially diverse group.
D)dominated by legislators.

Question 36

In 1955, the Kestnbaum Commission devised the model state constitution, which many states used as a model in revising their own constitutions.

Question 37

Following the War of Independence, the former colonies used special revolutionary conventions or legislative assemblies to draft their new constitutions.

Question 38

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has the oldest state constitution in use, although it has been amended more than 100 times.

Question 39

Following the War of Independence, all states rewrote their constitutions and put them into effect immediately without popular ratification.

Question 40

Only federal law and federal statutes take priority over state constitutions and state laws.

Question 41

The United States Constitution has been amended thirty-five times.

Question 42

Nebraska is one of four states that has a unicameral state legislature.

Question 43

Residents of Washington, D.C. pay federal income tax but not Social Security Tax.

Question 44

Florida is the only state where a constitutional commission sends amendment proposals directly to the voters.

Question 45

The most common way that state constitutions are revised is through judicial interpretation.

Question 46

Very few states allow constitutional amendments to be made using direct citizen initiatives.

Question 47

Judicial review is the power of the U.S. Supreme Court or a state supreme court to declare unconstitutional actions of the executive and legislative branches as well as decisions of lower courts.

Question 48

Should Washington, D.C. become the 51st state? Take a position; and in doing so, discuss the background issues and the trade-offs involved in its admission as a state.

Question 49

The legislative proposal is used more often than the initiative in amending state constitutions.

Question 50

Constitutions are essentially political documents. Discuss the informal and formal methods for making constitutional changes to a state's constitution.

Question 51

Describe four major elements of the National Municipal League's Model State Constitution. Discuss the perceived problem with existing state constitutions that each element attempted to overcome? In conclusion, address the issue of how effective these elements are in addressing the problem and speculate on any additional elements that might be needed.

Question 52

Explain how judicial interpretation impacts the policies of state and local governments.

Question 53

Describe the evolution of state constitutions from colonial times through the current era. Discuss the American tradition of written constitutions and how state constitutions were originally shaped by the colonial experience. Discuss the pressures to create a long constitution and the advantages and disadvantages of such a constitution. Include the major developments and trends that have occurred over the past 200 years.

Question 54

Constitutions are living documents that evolve over time and bear the temporal marks of the citizens of a state, often containing certain quirks, oddities, and detailed provisions.

Question 55

The concept of judicial review refers to the judiciary's power to declare the actions of the legislative and executive branches or the actions of lower courts unconstitutional.