Deck 3: Federalism

Question 1

There are more than any other type of governmental unit in the United States.

A) counties
B) townships
C) municipalities
D) special districts
E) school districts

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Based on their observations of the U.S. Civil War, Canada's government framers

A) gave the provinces expanded powers to determine all areas of policy.
B) required that English be the official language throughout Canada.
C) gave the Canadian federal government more power over provinces than the U.S. central government has over states.
D) allowed their provinces an unprecedented degree of sovereignty or self rule.
E) chose not to clearly define the division of central and provincial powers.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

One advantage of federalism in the United States is that state governments can

A) print their own money.
B) overturn federal laws with which they disagree.
C) act as "laboratories" for public­policy experimentation.
D) act as "renegades" and refuse to implement national policy.
E) deny federally guaranteed civil rights and liberties.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The term is sometimes used to refer to the central government of the United States.

A) federalism
B) national unit
C) federal government
D) subnational system
E) Congress

Question 5

All of the following interest groups have lobbied in favor of maintaining the minimum drinking age of 21 years EXCEPT

A) Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).
B) the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
C) the American Medical Association (AMA).
D) the National Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees. (NFSCME).
E) the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

Question 6

There are about municipalities in the United States today.

A) 37,000
B) 19,000
C) 16,000
D) 13,000
E) 3,000

Question 7

All of the following are characteristics of federalism EXCEPT

A) the country has subnational government units.
B) the country has a written constitution.
C) the powers of the subnational governments are specified and limited.
D) the powers of the national government are specified and limited.
E) the people are ruled by a single government authority.

Question 8

There are governments in the United States today.

A) almost 90,000
B) about 20,500
C) 1500
D) nearly 100
E) 51

Question 9

A federal system of government

A) ensures that national powers cannot be expanded at the expense of the states.
B) makes it easy to coordinate government policies at the national, state, and local levels.
C) prohibits the political and cultural interests of regional groups to be reflected in the laws governing those groups.
D) provides a multitude of arenas for decision making, which keeps government closer to the people.
E) requires that state laws be uniform, thus making it easy to engage in business transactions that cross state borders.

Question 10

There are about counties in the United States today.

A) 90,000
B) 37,000
C) 16,000
D) 13,000
E) 3,000

Question 11

In a unitary system,

A) local or subdivisional governments exercise only those powers given to them by the central government.
B) the national government is a "creature" of the subdivisional governments.
C) sovereign states are joined together by a central government that has only limited powers over them.
D) government powers are divided between a central government and regional, or subdivisional, governments. It is a system of shared sovereignty between two levels of government.
E) there are no local or subdivisional governments.

Question 12

All of the following are major differences between federalism in Canada and federalism in the United States EXCEPT

A) provincial powers are confined to a list, but U.S. state powers are not.
B) U.S. lower governments are called states, but Canada's are called provinces.
C) in Canada, residual powers rest with the central government, but in the United States they rest with the states.
D) Canada's constitution is based on "peace, order, and good government," but the U.S. Constitution is based on "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
E) the United States. has adopted English as its national language, but Canada has adopted no national language.

Question 13

Of all the governments in the United States today, about 40 percent are

A) counties.
B) townships.
C) municipalities.
D) special districts.
E) school districts.

Question 14

There are about townships in the United States today.

A) 37,000
B) 19,000
C) 16,000
D) 13,000
E) 3,000

Question 15

The federal government has asserted its right to regulate the minimum age for drinking alcoholic beverages by

A) threatening to take federal highway construction funds away from states that do not comply.
B) arguing it has the right to establish a minimum drinking age under the reserved powers clause.
C) stating that doing so is a power reserved to the national government under the Tenth Amendment.
D) citing the past history of government regulating alcohol during Prohibition in the 1920s.
E) arguing that the United States needs to align itself with the policies of other advanced industrialized nations.

Question 16

The concept of federalism

A) originated in France.
B) was borrowed from Britain by the framers of the U.S. Constitution.
C) was first developed in Germany.
D) was an invention of the American founders.
E) originated in Greece.

Question 17

The word "federalism" appears in the U.S. Constitution.

A) nowhere
B) in Article I
C) in Article IV
D) in the Ninth Amendment
E) in the Tenth Amendment

Question 18

In a confederal system,

A) local or subdivisional governments exercise only those powers given to them by the central government.
B) any subnational government is a "creature" of the national government.
C) sovereign states are joined together by a central government that has only limited powers over them.
D) there is no central government.
E) government powers are divided between a central government and regional governments in a system of shared sovereignty.

Question 19

Segregationist policies in the southern states can be attributed to

A) the expansion of national power at the expense of the states.
B) the simultaneous regulation of business by all levels of government.
C) the lack of uniformity of state and federal laws.
D) the convergence of national and state policies on a single issue.
E) federalism's encouragement of local self rule, allowing the dominance of a single group.

Question 20

There are about school districts in the United States today.

A) 37,000
B) 19,000
C) 16,000
D) 13,000
E) 3,000

Question 21

of the Constitution is sometimes used to justify arguments supporting increased states rights.

A) The Ninth Amendment
B) The Thirteenth Amendment
C) The Tenth Amendment
D) The necessary and proper clause
E) Article I, Section 10

Question 22

The U.S. Constitution's means that states cannot use their reserved or concurrent powers to counter national policies.

A) full faith and credit clause
B) police powers
C) elastic clause
D) supremacy clause
E) necessary and proper clause

Question 23

Powers that are not delegated to the national government by the Constitution, nor prohibited to the states, are

A) reserved to the Supreme Court.
B) enumerated powers.
C) reserved to the states, or to the people.
D) expressed powers.
E) concurrent powers.

Question 24

The Defense of Marriage Act (1996)

A) allowed state governments to ignore same-sex marriages performed in other states and barred the national government from recognizing same-sex marriages.
B) stated the America has a powerful interest in allowing same-sex couples to enjoy the institution of marriage.
C) states that the national government cannot determine who is or is not married.
D) employed a novel legal theory to allow states to opt out of expanding medical coverage to same-sex couples.
E) states that the national government is required to accept state-authorized same-sex marriages.

Question 25

All of the following are concurrent powers EXCEPT the power to

A) levy and collect taxes.
B) charter banks and corporations.
C) borrow money.
D) establish local government.
E) to make and enforce laws.

Question 26

The constitutional basis for the implied powers of the national government is found in Article I, Section 8, Clause 18, and is often called the clause.

A) supremacy
B) due process
C) equal protection
D) necessary and proper
E) full faith and credit

Question 27

The ability of the national government to own land is an example of its powers.

A) implied
B) inherent
C) police
D) expressed
E) concurrent

Question 28

The constitutional basis for the powers of the national government is found in Article I, Section 8, Clause 18, often called the necessary and proper clause.

A) inherent
B) enumerated
C) implied
D) expressed
E) concurrent

Question 29

The supremacy clause in Article VI, Clause 2, of the Constitution

A) grants the president the power to veto legislation.
B) establishes Congress as the supreme branch of the national government.
C) ensures that the states retain ultimate governmental power.
D) makes the Constitution and federal laws superior to all conflicting state and local laws.
E) outlines the powers of the Supreme Court.

Question 30

Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution enumerates twenty-seven powers that Congress may exercise. Two of these powers are the power to regulate commerce among the states and with the Indian tribes.

A) implied
B) inherent
C) police
D) expressed
E) concurrent

Question 31

The Defense of Marriage Act provided a challenge to the Constitution's clause.

A) elastic
B) supremacy
C) equal protection
D) full faith and credit
E) necessary and proper

Question 32

The government's acquisition of is an example the inherent powers of government, and was needed to gain the support of states such as Maryland during ratification of the Constitution.

A) Louisiana
B) the Northwest Territory
C) slaves
D) police powers
E) government owned corporations

Question 33

The relationships among the states in our federal system of government are sometimes referred to as federalism.

A) picket-fence
B) cooperative
C) dual
D) new
E) horizontal

Question 34

The is the ultimate arbiter of the U.S. Constitution.

A) House of Representatives
B) Supreme Court
C) President
D) electorate
E) Senate

Question 35

The Constitution's full faith and credit clause

A) provides for the separation of church and state.
B) prohibits interstate compacts.
C) requires each state to honor every other state's public acts, records, and judicial proceedings.
D) protects the free exercise of religion.
E) asserts that all interstate interactions must be approved by the federal government.

Question 36

The Constitution expressly prohibits the national government from

A) imposing taxes on exports.
B) borrowing money.
C) establishing post offices.
D) coining money.
E) regulating interstate commerce.

Question 37

Agreements among two or more states to regulate the use or protection of certain resources, such as water or oil and gas, are known as

A) confederal deals.
B) interstate compacts.
C) federal mandates.
D) categorical contracts.
E) federal pacts.

Question 38

Most of the powers prohibited to the national government are listed in of the U.S. Constitution.

A) Article I, Section 8, Clause 18
B) Article I, Section 9 and the first eight amendments
C) the Ninth and Tenth Amendments
D) Article IV
E) the Preamble

Question 39

The powers of a state to enact whatever laws are necessary to protect the health, morals, safety, and welfare of its people are called powers.

A) enumerated
B) inherent
C) implied
D) police
E) expressed

Question 40

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

A) enumerated
B) inherent
C) implied
D) concurrent
E) expressed

Question 41

The model in which every level of government is involved in implementing a policy is referred to as federalism.

A) picket-fence
B) dual
C) horizontal
D) chaotic
E) competitive

Question 42

In , the Supreme Court established the doctrines of implied powers and national supremacy.

A) Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
B) McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
C) United States v. Lopez (1995)
D) Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency (2007)
E) Marbury v. Madison (1803)

Question 43

The new federalism is a model of federalism in which

A) local governments exercise only those powers given to them by the national government.
B) the federal and the state governments maintain diverse but sovereign powers.
C) specific policies and programs are administered by all levels of government-national, state, and local.
D) the federal government's role in regulating state governments is limited and the states are given increased power to decide how they should spend government revenues.
E) state and local governments compete for businesses and citizens.

Question 44

The era of federalism came to an end in the 1930s.

A) competitive
B) cooperative
C) horizontal
D) new
E) dual

Question 45

Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal legislation ushered in an era of federalism and also marked the real beginning of an era of national supremacy.

A) dual
B) cooperative
C) new
D) competitive
E) horizontal

Question 46

The cornerstones of United States government domestic regulatory powers through the commerce clause are

A) the states' rights arguments advanced during the Civil War era.
B) the Supreme Court decisions Gibbons v. Ogden and McCulloch v. Maryland.
C) the power judicial review asserted by the Supreme Court in Marbury v. Madison.
D) a 1942 Supreme Court case upholding federal regulations on wheat production.
E) the programs to combat poverty launched as part of president Johnson's Great Society initiative.

Question 47

is a term describing the "new federalism" process of returning to the states certain powers that had been exercised by the national government since the 1930s.

A) Hand-off
B) Spin-off
C) Discharge
D) Transference
E) Devolution

Question 48

The most extreme example of the conflict between national supremacy and state sovereignty was/is

A) the Civil War.
B) the Revolutionary War.
C) state segregation laws.
D) the gay marriage debate.
E) the regulation of interstate commerce.

Question 49

At issue in was how the commerce clause should be defined and whether the national government had exclusive power to regulate commerce in more than one states.

A) Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
B) McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
C) Marbury v. Madison (1803)
D) United States v. Lopez (1995)
E) Printz v. United States (1997)

Question 50

In , Chief Justice John Marshall enunciated the principle of judicial review.

A) Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency (2007)
B) Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
C) Marbury v. Madison (1803)
D) McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
E) United States v. Lopez (1995)

Question 51

When Congress chooses to act exclusively in an area in which the states and the national government have concurrent powers, Congress is said to have the area.

A) acquired
B) usurped
C) seized
D) appropriated
E) preempted

Question 52

Cooperative federalism grew out of the desire to solve the pressing national problems caused by

A) slavery.
B) the Civil War.
C) child labor.
D) gay marriage.
E) the Great Depression.

Question 53

federalism involved a shift from nation-centered federalism to state-centered federalism.

A) New
B) Cooperative
C) Dual
D) Competitive
E) Horizontal

Question 54

In McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), Chief Justice John Marshall declared that no state could use its taxing power to tax an arm of the national government. In doing so, he was defining the meaning of

A) the full faith and credit clause.
B) concurrent powers.
C) the elastic clause.
D) the supremacy clause.
E) implied powers.

Question 55

Because people in different sections of the country had radically different beliefs about slavery, the slavery issue- which provoked the Civil War-took the form of a dispute over

A) interstate compacts versus expressed powers.
B) states' rights versus national supremacy.
C) concurrent powers versus implied powers.
D) police powers versus reserved powers.
E) enumerated powers versus secession.

Question 56

Picket-fence federalism is a model of federalism in which

A) businesses "vote with their feet" by moving to jurisdictions that offer a competitive advantage.
B) the federal and the state governments maintain diverse but sovereign powers.
C) specific policies and programs are administered by all levels of government-national, state, and local.
D) the federal government's role in regulating state governments is limited and the states are given increased power to decide how they should spend government revenues.
E) state and local governments compete for businesses and citizens.

Question 57

The model of federalism assumes that the states and the national government are more or less equals, with each level of government having separate and distinct functions and responsibilities.

A) competitive
B) cooperative
C) dual
D) new
E) horizontal

Question 58

The Constitution denies states the power to

A) regulate intrastate commerce.
B) conduct elections.
C) establish local governments.
D) establish courts.
E) enter into treaties.

Question 59

Preemption is a doctrine rooted in the clause of the Constitution.

A) equal protection
B) elastic
C) supremacy
D) full faith and credit
E) necessary and proper

Question 60

The claim that in conflicts between state and national governments the states should have ultimate authority to determine the welfare of citizens and even abrogate national laws is known as

A) secessionism.
B) nullification.
C) civil war.
D) dual federalism.
E) states rights.

Question 61

A requirement in federal legislation that forces states and municipalities to comply with certain rules is called a(n) _____.

A) appropriation
B) federal mandate
C) continuing resolution
D) authorization
E) interstate compact

Question 62

Currently, about of state and local revenue comes from the federal government.

A) 50 percent
B) 25 percent
C) 20 percent
D) 75 percent
E) 33 1/3 percent

Question 63

federalism can best be defined as the allocation of taxes collected by one level of government to another level.

A) Dual
B) Cooperative
C) Competitive
D) New
E) Fiscal

Question 64

The cost of compliance with federal mandates is estimated to be about annually.

A) $29 billion
B) $19 billion
C) $9 billion
D) $39 billion
E) $49 billion

Question 65

Which of the following pieces of legislation is an example of new federalism, or the devolution of power back to the states?

A) The Welfare Reform Act (1996)
B) President Johnson's Great Society programs (1964-1969)
C) The Gun Free School Zones Act (1990)
D) Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (1993)
E) The Affordable Care Act (2010), popularly known as Obamacare

Question 66

A is an allocation of funds by the federal government to states to implement broad areas of federal policy, such as welfare, criminal justice, or mental health. These funds allows the states some discretion as to how the funds are spent.

A) land grant
B) categorical grant
C) cash grant
D) federal mandate
E) block grant

Question 67

Grants of funds to the states from the national government are one way that the of the U.S. Constitution can be bridged by the federal government to control and influence the states.

A) Ninth Amendment
B) Tenth Amendment
C) Fifteenth Amendment
D) Supremacy Clause
E) Necessary and Proper Clause

Question 68

A is an allocation of funds targeted for a specific purpose defined by federal law and targeted at state and local spending.

A) land grant
B) categorical grant
C) cash grant
D) federal mandate
E) block grant

Question 69

The requirement to balance their budgets is written into every state's constitution EXCEPT the state of .

A) Vermont
B) Maine
C) Texas
D) California
E) Florida

Question 70

When state or local governments offer lower taxes or more services in order to attract businesses and citizens, they are engaging in federalism.

A) new
B) cooperative
C) fiscal
D) horizontal
E) competitive