Deck 2: Federalism and the American Constitutional Order

Question 1

In the case of U.S. v. E.C. Knight, the Supreme Court ___ .

A) limited presidential power over state laws
B) limited Congress's regulation of interstate commerce to the transportation of goods across state lines
C) invalidated the claim that states could withdraw from the Union
D) enforced the right of the national government to create unfunded mandates

Answer 1

B

Question 2

During the time of Dual Federalism, which Supreme Court Chief Justice was associated with nation-centered federalism and which with state-centered federalism?

A) Taney with nation-centered federalism and Marshall with state-centered federalism
B) Taney with state-centered federalism and Marshall with nation-centered federalism
C) Rehnquist with state-centered federalism and Warren with nation-centered federalism
D) None of the above

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold Obamacare was argued on the basis of the ___ .

A) commerce clause
B) power to tax
C) implied powers
D) categorical grant authority

Answer 3

B

Question 4

For most of American history, the claims of state officials that federal officials construed their powers too broadly and infringed on state powers protected by the Tenth Amendment were taken seriously in the federal courts until ___ .

A) the Great Compromise
B) the Great Transformation
C) the Great Depression
D) the Great Society

Question 5

To stop the Supreme Court from striking down major parts of his legislative agenda, FDR attempted to __________the court.

A) pack
B) impeach
C) fire
D) All of the above

Question 6

In the mid-1980s the Supreme Court began to challenge the federal government's expansive social programs and an aggressive regulatory agenda on the basis of ___ .

A) the First Amendment
B) the Second Amendment
C) the Ninth Amendment
D) the Tenth Amendment

Question 7

Formal nullification refers to the ___ .

A) state government declaring an act of Congress void and the federal courts upholding that claim
B) Supreme Court declaring an act of a state void and Congress upholding the decision in enabling legislation
C) Congress declaring an executive order void and empowering the states to ignore the order through enabling legislation
D) state legislatures passing contrary laws or declining to enforce federal mandates or the public demonstrating an unwillingness to comply

Question 8

Informal nullification refers to the ___ .

A) state government declaring an act of Congress void and the federal courts upholding that claim
B) Supreme Court declaring an act of a state void and Congress upholding the decision in enabling legislation
C) Congress declaring an executive order void and empowering the states to ignore the order through enabling legislation
D) state legislatures passing contrary laws or declining to enforce federal mandates or the public demonstrating an unwillingness to comply

Question 9

In American federalism, sovereignty is located in ___ .

A) the federal government only
B) the state governments only
C) both the federal government and the state governments
D) neither the federal government nor the state governments

Question 10

The Supremacy Clause in Art. VI of the U.S. Constitution states that the __________shall be the supreme law of the land.

A) Constitution, federal laws, and state laws
B) Constitution, federal laws, and treaties
C) federal laws, treaties, and state laws
D) Constitution, treaties, and state laws

Question 11

The "necessary and proper" clause suggests that Congress has a general authority beyond and in addition to its __________powers.

A) inherent
B) reserved
C) prohibited
D) enumerated

Question 12

Which of the following is not true regarding a compound republic?

A) National and state governments exercise dual sovereignty.
B) Double security exists to protect the rights of the people.
C) The Constitution establishes double jeopardy as a fundamental right.
D) Powers are delegated to two separate governments.

Question 13

Following the Civil War, "Jim Crow" laws were enacted in the South to ___ .

A) incorporate the Emancipation Proclamation
B) segregate the races
C) integrate Reconstruction efforts
D) assimilate the combatants into society

Question 14

In the case of Marbury v. Madison, the Supreme Court declared a section of an act of Congress, the Judiciary Act of 1789, to be ___ .

A) inherent
B) implied
C) unconstitutional
D) constitutional

Question 15

The decision by the Supreme Court in McCulloch v. Maryland, ___ .

A) interpreted the powers of Congress narrowly and expanded the right of states to interfere with federal law
B) interpreted the powers of Congress broadly and limited state interference with federal law
C) interpreted the powers of the states broadly and limited federal interference with state law
D) interpreted the powers of Congress and the states narrowly to limit both in interfering with each other

Question 16

Which set of the following court cases under John Marshall produced decisions by the Supreme Court that attempted to embed the nation-centered vision of federalism in the Constitution?

A) U.S. v. E.C. Knight, Marbury v. Madison, McCulloch v. Maryland
B) Marbury v. Madison, McCulloch v. Maryland, Gibbons v. Ogden
C) Gibbons v. Ogden, U.S. v. E.C. Knight, Marbury v. Madison
D) McCulloch v. Maryland, Gibbons v. Ogden, U.S. v. E.C. Knight

Question 17

Modern opponents of states' rights claim that __________standards must be set and maintained in the area of equal rights for minorities and women, as well as in such areas as health, welfare, and education.

A) national
B) local
C) both national and local
D) state

Question 18

Contemporary states' rights arguments continue to focus on the virtues of __________control.

A) national
B) local
C) both national and local
D) state

Question 19

Which one of the following presidential programs attempted to end racial discrimination, protect civil liberties, reform criminal justice procedures, and afford new protections to rights of the accused and convicted?

A) "Square Deal"
B) "New Deal"
C) "New Frontier"
D) "Great Society"

Question 20

Preemption is the power of the national government ___ .

A) to punish international lawbreakers
B) to interdict unlawful drug shipments
C) to push aside state law
D) to nullify decisions by courts of law

Question 21

State governments receive more than __________of their general revenue directly from the federal government.

A) one-eighth
B) one-fourth
C) one-third
D) one-half

Question 22

Adopting earlier legal arguments of conservatives, Democrats and progressives also relied on legal arguments based on __________to oppose Donald Trump's executive order banning "sanctuary cities."

A) human rights provisions in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
B) individual rights of the accused in the IV, V, and VI Amendments to the U.S. Constitution
C) states' rights and the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
D) None of the above

Question 23

When the Trump administration decided to withdraw from the Paris climate change accords, California's Democratic Governor, Jerry Brown, pledged to __________the president's decision.

A) support
B) ignore
C) resist
D) In fact, the governor pledged nothing.

Question 24

Federalism allocates and limits __________and __________between levels of government.

A) political power
B) liberty
C) individual rights
D) responsibility

Question 25

What were the old models of government that the Founders rejected at the Constitutional Convention of 1787?

A) federal
B) confederation
C) unitary
D) international

Question 26

At the Constitutional Convention of 1787, which two ideas laid open the possibility that within a single territory there might be two sets of governments and two sets of public officials assigned clear and specific responsibilities and powers?

A) constitutionalism
B) democracy
C) representation
D) limited government

Question 27

Throughout the history of American federalism, tension has existed between __________and ___ .

A) the elastic clause and the supremacy clause
B) the take care clause and the establishment clause
C) the powers reserved to the individual states by the Tenth Amendment
D) the rights retained by the people by the Ninth Amendment

Question 28

President Bush's policies associated with his devolution federalism were __________when __________strained state budgets.

A) accelerated
B) reversed
C) low taxes
D) the "Great Recession"

Question 29

The Supremacy Clause declares that the national government within its area of legitimate authority is supreme over the state constitutions and laws.

Question 30

When federal and state laws conflict, federal laws always prevail over state laws.

Question 31

Formal nullification refers to the state government declaring an act of Congress void and the federal courts upholding that claim under the "reserved rights" of the states in the Tenth Amendment.

Question 32

Informal nullification refers to the state legislatures passing contrary laws or declining to enforce federal mandates or the public demonstrating an unwillingness to comply.

Question 33

A federal system divides political power and responsibility between national and subnational levels of government.

Question 34

The fundamental logic of American federalism is that the states possess complete power over matters not delegated to the national government and not denied them by the U.S. Constitution or by their own state constitutions.

Question 35

S. Constitution permits the states to enter into treaties or alliances with each other and with foreign powers.

Question 36

According to Art. IV, section 3, of the U.S. Constitution, Congress may change the boundaries of the states without their permission.

Question 37

The broad result of the Marbury decision was to establish the Supreme Court as the final arbiter of what is and is not constitutional.

Question 38

The idea of the Constitution as a compact from which states might secede was a casualty of the Civil War.

Question 39

The Commerce Clause has been used by Congress to justify the federal government's expansion of police powers.

Question 40

The Civil War destroyed secession as a practical idea within the American political system.

Question 41

S. district court judge upheld Trump's attempt to command state resources to combat sanctuary cities as constitutional.

Question 42

Which do you think is better, unitary government or federal government? Why?

Question 43

Compare and contrast implied and enumerated powers. Give an example of each.

Question 44

What were the reasons behind the transition from dual to cooperative federalism?

Question 45

What are the potential drawbacks of States' Rights?

Question 46

What is the relationship between federal and state government expenditures across the last century?

Question 47

Imagine you're a state governor combating a budget shortfall in your state. Which type of federal grant would you prefer and why?

Question 48

Explain the reasons behind the U.S. v. Morrison decision.

Question 49

Make a case for one type of federalism over another and support your argument with evidence garnered from the text.

Question 50

How have mandates and grants-in-aid been employed to push the federal government's agenda on the states?

Question 51

Contrast layer cake with marble cake federalism.

Question 52

Discuss the role played by interstate commerce regulation in nation-centered and state-centered federalism.

Question 53

What historical developments were associated with the move from a dual federal system to a cooperative federal system?

Question 54

Do you believe that the growth in the number of governments within the federal system is directly caused by the growth in the population of the country? Defend your answer.

Question 55

Discuss how the Constitution has adapted to permit and even facilitate the evolution of our federal political structure.

Question 56

Discuss how states that oppose federal policies can provide a refuge where national minority parties and their policy goals are accepted and where they can plot an electoral comeback in the next election.

Question 57

Discuss how the Civil War destroyed secession as a practical idea within the American political system.

Question 58

Discuss what it means to say that there is a long national tradition that the party that dominates Washington is comfortable with uniformity while the opposition party looks for partial victories in friendly states.

Question 59

Discuss what happened to the states when President George W. Bush's tax cuts resulted in national budget deficits.

Question 60

Discuss why Republican opposition began to shift and even to moderate once the Supreme Court held Obamacare constitutional.

Question 61

Discuss some potential effects on state and local governments now that the Trump administration has renegotiated NAFTA.