Deck 3: Federalism and the Separation of Powers

Question 1

When the Supreme Court ruled that the state of Maryland did not have the authority to tax a national bank, it did so by invoking ____________ of the federal Constitution.

A) the necessary and proper clause
B) the full faith and credit
C) the supremacy clause
D) the establishing clause

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Favorable judicial interpretation of the ______________ clause allowed the national government to substantially expand the scope of its authority over time.

A) free exercise
B) full faith and credit
C) necessary and proper
D) privileges and immunities

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Private property in the United States is defined according to ___________ .

A) state law
B) federal law
C) the federal Constitution
D) local law or ordinance

Answer 3

A

Question 4

According to the ______________ clause, if a couple marries in Texas as regulated by state law, then Missouri must also recognize that marriage even though the couple was not married under Missouri state law.

A) contract
C) necessary and proper
B) full faith and credit
D) privileges and immunities

Question 5

The federalist system created under the Constitution was designed to limit governmental power by creating a second layer of sovereignty in ____________.

A) Congress
B) the presidency
C) state governments
D) the people

Question 6

The power of eminent domain refers to the right of:

A) the federal government to take any property it deems desirable without compensation.
B) state governments to take private property for public use with compensation for the loss.
C) state governments to take private property for private use by elected officials.
D) state governments to take public property owned by the federal government for public use by state residents.

Question 7

In addition to the expressed powers granted to the federal government, which powers are derived from a broad interpretation of delegated powers?

A) Implied powers
B) Essential powers
C) Expressed powers
D) Numerated powers

Question 8

Powers reserved to the state government to regulate the health, safety, and morals of its citizens are known as _____________ powers.

A) police
B) implied
C) essential
D) concurrent

Question 9

Under the American framers' vision of ____________, government power is limited through a division into two levels, each with enough independence to compete with the other.

A) federalism
B) presidential
C) bicameral
D) separation of powers

Question 10

In 2015, the Supreme Court declared that under _______________, states were required to honor same-sex marriage licenses from other states

A) a federal judicial interpretation of the Tenth Amendment
B) the federal 1996 Defense of Marriage Act
C) the full faith and credit clause of the U.S.Constitution
D) the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993

Question 11

Powers derived from the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution that are not specifically delegated to the national government or denied to the states are known as ______________ powers.

A) exclusive
B) separation
C) reserved
D) restricted

Question 12

The system of government in which a constitution divides power between a central government and regional governments is known as:

A) bicameralism.
B) federalism.
C) divided government.
D) separation and checks.

Question 13

The Tenth Amendment to the U.S.Constitution states that the powers the Constitution does not delegate to the national government are:

A) reserved to the states or to the people.
B) reserved for county and municipal governments.
C) left to bargaining for control between states and the national government.
D) to be exercised only through specific legislation passed by Congress.

Question 14

Article IV of the U.S.Constitution calls for "full faith and credit" among states, meaning that:

A) each state is expected to honor the public acts of other states.
B) a state cannot discriminate against someone from another state.
C) states are required to honor all debt obligations.
D) borrowing costs for loans made from one state to another must remain low.

Question 15

The power to regulate commerce is an example of a ___________ power with the American federal system.

A) police
B) reserved
C) exclusive
D) concurrent

Question 16

In addition to expressed and implied powers, the Constitution affirmed the power of the national government over state governments in the:

A) reserved powers clause.
C) establishment clause.
B) supremacy clause.
D) privileges and immunities clause.

Question 17

The power to levy taxes is an example of a(n) _____________ power.

A) police
B) exclusive
C) concurrent
D) reserved

Question 18

States have the power to regulate the livelihoods of many Americans by requiring them to be licensed as physicians, attorneys, and even barbers, even while the federal government has the authority to regulate commerce that crosses state lines.This is an example of _____________ power.

A) an implied
B) an unconditional
C) an inherent
D) a reserved

Question 19

Which term describes the division of powers and functions between national and state governments?

A) Parallelism
B) Checks and balances
C) Separation of powers
D) Federalism

Question 20

In the 2015 U.S.Supreme Court ruling Obergfell v.Hodges, the Court held that the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees the right of individuals to marry into either same-sex or opposite-sex couples.However, Kim Davis, a county clerk in Kentucky, refused to issue marriage licenses to the former couples, to the point of refusing a federal court order to do so.She eventually served jail time for contempt of court.Which clause in the Constitution allowed a federal court to order Davis to comply with Obergfell?

A) Commerce clause
B) Supremacy clause
C) Establishment clause
D) Privileges and immunities clause

Question 21

Which term describes federal dollars offered to state and local governments, often as a means of gaining compliance or cooperation with national programs?

A) Mandates
B) Grants-in-aid
C) Bonus payments
D) Apportionments

Question 22

Which clause in the Constitution prevents a state such as Florida from prohibiting legal residents of other states from buying property in Florida?

A) commerce clause
B) supremacy clause
C) full faith and credit clause
D) comity, or privileges and immunities clause

Question 23

A kind of bribe, or "carrot," that Congress gives in the form of money to state and local governments with the condition that the money will be spent for a particular purpose as designed by Congress is called a:

A) grant-in-aid.
B) funded mandate.
C) conditional subsidy.
D) block payment.

Question 24

Grant programs in which state and local governments submit proposals to federal agencies and for which funding is provided on a competitive basis are known as ____________ grants.

A) contest
B) formula
C) project
D) competitive block

Question 25

When the Supreme Court ruled that a state could not tax the Bank of the United States in McCulloch v.Maryland, it said that when a state law conflicts with a federal law, the state law should be deemed invalid.This exemplifies the application of the:

A) elastic clause.
B) establishment clause.
C) supremacy clause.
D) full faith and credit clause.

Question 26

Funds that are given by Congress to states and localities and that may only be spent on narrowly defined purposes are known as:

A) categorical grants.
B) block grants.
C) project grants.
D) community development grants

Question 27

Two or more states reach a legally binding agreement about how to solve a problem that crosses state lines through:

A) a treaty.
B) a compact.
C) statutory bargain.
D) a bill of attainder.

Question 28

A new federal program administered by the U.S.Department of Housing and Urban Development allows governments in cities with a population over 250,000 to submit proposals outlining local plans to provide housing assistance for low-income families.The federal agency would then evaluate the proposals and allocate funds on a competitive basis.This kind of funding program would best be classified as a ____________ grant.

A) project
C) formula
B) venture
D) categorical

Question 29

The Constitution's commerce clause gives the federal government power to:

A) regulate only the specific parts of commerce not covered by individual states' constitutions.
B) regulate international commerce only.
C) regulate interstate commerce and trade with foreign nations.
D) regulate interstate commerce only.

Question 30

A type of federalism existing since the New Deal era in which grants-in-aid have been used strategically to encourage states and localities (without commanding them) to pursue nationally defined goals is known as ______________ federalism.

A) dual
B) welfare
C) subsidy
D) cooperative

Question 31

The power delegated by the state to a local unit of government, typically a larger city, to manage its own affairs is called:

A) home rule.
B) a municipal charter.
C) a corporate charter.
D) local autonomy.

Question 32

A system of government in which fundamental governmental powers are shared between the federal and state governments and in which the states exercise the most important powers is known as:

A) a confederacy.
B) bicameralism.
C) dual federalism.
D) marble cake federalism.

Question 33

In Gibbons v.Ogden, the Supreme Court held unconstitutional, under _______________, New York state's granting of a monopoly for steamboat service on the Hudson River, which passes through New York and New Jersey.

A) the privileges and immunities clause
B) the commerce clause
C) the necessary and proper clause
D) the Tenth Amendment

Question 34

The main issue in the 1824 case Gibbons v.Ogden was the question of whether New York state had the power, under the Constitution, to grant a monopoly for the operation of:

A) a newspaper that would be sold in New York City.
B) the laying of railroad tracks from New York City to the state capital of Albany.
C) the Erie Canal, which ran from the state capital of Albany to Buffalo.
D) a steamboat service running between New York and New Jersey.

Question 35

The system of supportive relations among national, state, and local governments since the 1930s is often referred to as:

A) friendly federalism.
B) associative federalism.
C) elastic federalism.
D) cooperative federalism.

Question 36

Well into the first third of the twentieth century, most efforts by Congress to regulate the American economy-and institute, more specifically, such regulations as wage and hour laws, and protection of collective bargaining rights for unions-were blocked by the Supreme Court's more traditional interpretation of _______________.

A) free trade
B) corporate law
C) full faith and credit
D) interstate commerce

Question 37

In a federal system, state governments retain sovereignty, which prevents the federal government from directly interfering in the fiscal matters of states, even given the amount of money states receive in federal aid.However, state governments can become directly involved in the fiscal matters of local governments.Why is this the case?

A) The U.S.Constitution was amended to increase the power of states over local matters.
B) The U.S.Constitution explicitly gives states the right to intervene in local affairs.
C) Local governments are not recognized by the U.S.Constitution.
D) Congress passed a law allowing the states to intervene in local affairs.

Question 38

Imagine you are a resident of California and have a California driver's license.If you decide to take a road trip to Arizona, which clause of the Constitution requires Arizona to recognize your California driver's license?

A) commerce clause
C) full faith and credit clause
B) supremacy clause
D) police powers clause

Question 39

A prisoner convicted of murder and facing the death penalty in the state of Texas escapes but is later recaptured by authorities in the state of Vermont.Unlike Texas, Vermont does not have the death penalty.In this case, the state of Vermont is required to:

A) turn the prisoner over to the federal prison system.
B) hold a new trial in a Vermont court.
C) incarcerate the prisoner for life without parole.
D) return the convict to Texas.

Question 40

The system of government that prevailed in the United States from the writing of the Constitution to approximately the Great Depression could be most accurately characterized as _____________ federalism.

A) dual
B) separation of powers
C) pancake
D) marble cake

Question 41

Mechanisms through which each branch of government participates in and influences the activities of the other branches are referred to as:

A) separation of powers.
B) federalism.
C) cooperative governance.
D) checks and balances.

Question 42

Obligations imposed on state governments, by Congress, without reimbursement have come to be known as ___________.

A) blank checks
B) assigned obligations
C) unchecked authorizations
D) unfunded mandates

Question 43

Federal funds given to state governments to pay for goods, services, or programs with relatively few restrictions on how the funds may be spent are known as ___________ grants.

A) categorical
B) devolutionary
C) block
D) open

Question 44

When Richard Nixon refused to respond to a subpoena to make available his infamous White House tapes as evidence in a criminal prosecution, the Supreme Court declared his refusal unconstitutional.This court action limited the president's right to:

A) habeas corpus.
B) the Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination.
C) executive privilege.
D) an independent prosecutor.

Question 45

The legal doctrine holding that states cannot be sued by private persons or groups claiming that the state violated a statute enacted by Congress is known as state:

A) executive privilege.
B) judicial supremacy.
C) habeas corpus.
D) sovereign immunity.

Question 46

Morton Grodzins described the shift from the use of federal grants as a means of supplementing states' traditional functions to a post-1960s era marked by intergovernmental cooperation as a move from "layer cake" to "marble cake" federalism because:

A) the goals and rules of grants programs grew more elaborate and tangled over time.
B) state and federal functions are still fairly distinct, but less so, and they now include chunks or marble-like sections of local activity and funding as well.
C) state and federal functions were once more distinct, but federal power cut state power dramatically from the 1960s on, leaving its role akin to streaks in a marble cake.
D) marble cakes tend to be more expensive to produce or buy than layer cakes, reflecting the greater expense of post-1960s federalism.

Question 47

The idea that states should oppose the increasing authority of the national government is known as:

A) states' rights.
B) state nullification.
C) fiscal conservatism.
D) state and local preemption.

Question 48

Throughout much of the nineteenth century, the Supreme Court continued to strike down laws that it thought exceeded national power by referencing constitutional language contained in the:

A) preamble.
B) Tenth Amendment.
C) Fourth Amendment.
D) necessary and proper clause

Question 49

Within the system of separated powers, the framers provided for supremacy by the:

A) judiciary.
B) executive.
C) presidency or the legislature, depending on the era.
D) legislature

Question 50

The type of federalism that occurs when the national government actually threatens to withhold grant money unless state and local governments conform to national standards is known as _____________ federalism.

A) restricted
C) contingent
B) regulated
D) mandated

Question 51

An older type of federal grant, in which statistical criteria are used to determine how much funding that a state or local government will receive, is the ___________ grant.

A) project
B) formula
C) entitlement
D) community redevelopment

Question 52

The Affordable Care Act (ACA), popularly referred to as Obamacare, increased the percentage of Americans covered by health insurance.A Supreme Court ruling, however, made optional the funding of coverage for many lower-income people.Why was this the case?

A) The Court ruled, on federalism and states' rights grounds, that the national government could not compel states to expand Medicaid coverage, under the ACA.
B) The Court ruled that states could not be required to offer subsidized health-care policies under their insurance exchanges, as required under the ACA.
C) The Court ruled that increased use of categorical grants to states to fund the health care of lower-income populations posed a conflict with the Tenth Amendment.
D) The Court ruled that the expansion of Medicaid in every state, as required under the ACA, represented an unfunded mandate.

Question 53

The fact that the Supreme Court can rule an act of Congress invalid is an example of:

A) executive supremacy.
C) checks and balances.
B) judicial activism.
D) judicial review.

Question 54

The condition in American government in which the presidency is controlled by one party while the opposing party controls one or both houses of Congress is known as:

A) bicameralism.
B) dual control.
C) gridlock.
D) divided government.

Question 55

In the 1990s, the Supreme Court issued a series of state-friendly rulings, including one that struck down most of the Brady Bill, a federal gun control law.This ruling has since been cited in backing the constitutionality of so-called "sanctuary" cities and states, which limit their cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.Why is this the case?

A) The Court ruled that the federal government could not require states to enforce or administer federal laws, such as the Brady Bill.
B) The Court ruled that police powers, which can include immigration enforcement and gun control, are left to the states under the Tenth Amendment.
C) The Court ruled that requiring state and local enforcement of federal laws and policies, without reimbursement, violates the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
D) States, under this ruling, were seen as given a broad mandate of independence from the federal government.

Question 56

What does the U.S.Constitution suggest could be done when states blatantly interfere with the affairs of local governments, including cities and school districts?

A) Nothing, since local governments are not recognized under the federal Constitution
B) The Constitution's Ninth and Tenth Amendments could be used to challenge the laws on the grounds of a modern understanding of local government autonomy.
C) Congress could ban these state restrictions, given its constitutional authority to regulate interstate commerce.
D) Congress could ban the restrictions through the necessary and proper clause.

Question 57

In proposing the Tenth Amendment after the ratification of the Constitution, Congress sought to limit the power of the national government by:

A) granting states, or the people, powers not delegated to the national government.
B) forcing states to compete against each other.
C) prohibiting Congress and the states from passing ex post facto laws.
D) creating a grants-in-aid system that would force cooperating with state governments.

Question 58

The role of the judicial branch in the separation of powers has depended on:

A) the power of Congress to fill Supreme Court vacancies.
B) the power of the courts to exercise judicial review.
C) citizens' willingness to accept controversial court decisions.
D) the power of activist courts to create new law "from the bench."

Question 59

After 2015, states were forced to recognize the same-sex marriage license of other states because:

A) President Barack Obama forced states to recognize them, through an executive order.
B) Congress passed a law requiring as much, and national law supersedes state law under the Constitution's sovereignty clause.
C) Congress required this as a qualification for state receipt of a variety of federal grants.
D) The Supreme Court ruled that states must issue same-sex marriage licenses, and recognize those from issued jurisdictions.

Question 60

The claim that confidential communications between a president and close advisers should not be revealed without the consent of the president is known as:

A) executive privilege.
B) plausible deniability.
C) dual federalism.
D) presidential prerogative.

Question 61

In essence, the 50 individual American states are agencies of the national government.

Question 62

For nearly 150 years after the ratification of the federal Constitution, most of the major policies affecting Americans' lives came from____________________.

A) a much stronger federal government than the one that existed under the Articles of Confederation
B) Congress and state legislatures, in a typically balanced manner that gave birth to the term dual federalism
C) state legislatures, despite a stronger federal government than the one that existed under the Articles of Confederation
D) Congress, with the exception of the decade or two prior the Civil War

Question 63

During the Jacksonian era of the early nineteenth century, a states' rights coalition developed, because:

A) powerful southern state representatives focused on protecting the institution of slavery.
B) the coalition included party leaders who had themselves appointed to the Senate, and staunchly protected state power.
C) a series of Supreme Court rulings that strengthened the national government led to a backlash.
D) states still developed most of the public policies that affected the lives of American citizens.

Question 64

The Constitution gives Congress the leeway to take actions or adopt initiatives seen as necessary and proper to carrying out its enumerated powers.

Question 65

Despite lukewarm support from some national Republican figures when Donald Trump was running for president, a Republican-controlled Congress still managed to pass a major tax reform package in late 2017, one that reduced taxes for businesses and wealthy individuals.What did this suggest about how unified or one-party government, as opposed to divided government, works at the federal level?

A) One-party government results in more effective use of the Constitution's checks and balance system, and thus better policies.
B) It suggests that the overwhelming influence that corporate and affluent interests have over American elected officials supercedes party differences.
C) It suggests that major pieces of legislation are more likely-although still not guaranteed-to pass when one party controls the White House and Congress, as contrasted with greater likelihood of gridlock in divided government eras.
D) Tax cuts are popular and thus easier to pass, no matter what party is in charge of either the White House or Congress.

Question 66

The Supreme Court's interpretation of federalism over the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries kept Congress from passing many industrial regulations, including ones involving working hours and child labor, because justices held that:

A) industrial regulation was a reserve power under the Tenth Amendment.
B) manufacturing plants were not engaged in interstate commerce, and as such could only be regulated by states.
C) the commerce clause did not allow any regulation of factories, only direct trade and transportation to markets.
D) the regulations infringed upon manufacturers' contract liberty under the Constitution's contract clause.

Question 67

Judicial review of acts of Congress or the president are:

A) a regular part of the policymaking process, coming before signed bills go into effect.
B) relatively rare, something especially true with presidential actions, where deference to the executive is traditional and expected.
C) relatively rare and only exercised in cases that go before federal courts, especially the Supreme Court.
D) relatively uncommon now, given increased judicial respect for the concepts of executive privilege and legislative supremacy.

Question 68

In a 1997 case, Printz v.United States, the Supreme Court ruled that states were not required to help the federal government enforce a portion of a federal gun control law, and that the federal government could not demand such of states with any regulatory program.Officials in cities and states with more liberal-leaning populations have, since that time, cited this case to argue that cities may refuse to assist federal law enforcement in deportations of undocumented immigrants.Interestingly, however, Printz had reflected a more conservative view of the _____________.

A) commerce clause
B) supremacy clause
C) state rights under the Tenth Amendment
D) equal protection clause

Question 69

Federalism means that the national government is the only significant decision-making body in the United States.

Question 70

The American president is often referred to as the world's most powerful leader.Despite this, presidents often find policymaking difficult.Why?

A) The Constitution clearly provided for legislative supremacy and failed to give the other branches enough checks and balances against it.
B) The modern consistency of divided government, where one party is in control of the White House, and another in control of one or both houses of Congress
C) The separation of powers, and checks and balances set forth in the Constitution
D) The president does not control the federal budget.

Question 71

One of the largest nonfederal government organizations in the United States is the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.It oversees airports, bridges, tunnels, and train systems, and developed New York City's One World Trade Center.It has its own police force.Governors of each state appoint board members.If states are supposed to be independent, how does this organization exist?

A) Port Authority is an illegal organization that is only allowed due to the economic power that New York wields.
B) This government was allowed through an interstate compact, created with the consent of Congress, as the Constitution allows.
C) The organization's founding came before ratification of the federal Constitution, which would allow it to bypass the Constitution.
D) Presidents are allowed to grant waivers for cooperation through executive orders, bypassing Congress.

Question 72

While their ability to do so, or ease of doing so, depends on their own statutes and constitutions, state legislatures may legally shift city limits and the boundaries of counties because:

A) the federal Constitution allows this, in suggesting that local governments are conveniences of states.
B) local governments are not mentioned in the federal Constitution, and as such are creatures or conveniences of the states.
C) power was returned to the states in recent decades, largely by Republican-dominated Congresses and presidents.
D) the regulation of local governments does not interfere with interstate commerce.

Question 73

In the American republic's early years, the Supreme Court held that Maryland could not tax a newly chartered Bank of the United States, on the grounds that:

A) the Constitution included the power to charter banks in its long list of congressional powers, ones known to as the "enumerated powers."
B) the bank was, according to justices, clearly allowed under the commerce clause.
C) Congress's power to establish a bank was implied by others given to Congress in the Constitution.
D) the state could not tax out of business a bank created by the federal government, in a manner deemed constitutional by the Court, given national law's supremacy over state law.

Question 74

In 2017, Congress was unable to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (otherwise known as Obamacare), despite the fact that the White House and Congress were controlled by the same party, the Republicans.What does this suggest about how federal government policymaking operates?

A) That some members of Congress respond to interest group and corporate pressure more than party
B) The clear continuance of legislative supremacy, as opposed to presidential supremacy
C) The independence of individual lawmakers in a system marked by checks and balances, and a multiplicity of constituencies
D) The lack of a difference between the effects of divided and unified government

Question 75

Federal judicial resistance to President Franklin D.Roosevelt's expansive New Deal programs, created to battle the Great Depression and involving extensive economic regulation, finally ended when:

A) the Supreme Court unanimously adopted a new interpretation of federalism that allowed industrial regulations.
B) the Supreme Court ordered manufacturers to comply with the newly formed National Labor Relations Board's decisions involving union relations.
C) the president appointed many new federal judges, and threatened to add new justices to the Supreme Court.
D) the president asked Congress to cut the federal judiciary funding, setting the stage for Roosevelt to bend the Supreme Court to his will.

Question 76

Wherever there is a direct conflict of laws between the federal and the state levels, the issue will most likely be resolved in favor of states' rights.

Question 77

Even when the White House and Congress are controlled by the same party, roadblocks to the passage of legislation may be presented by the fact that each responds to different ___________, and not necessarily to party leadership, or each other:

A) interest groups
B) barriers to policy change
C) constituencies, or groups of voters
D) checks and balances

Question 78

Federalism is a system of government in which the Constitution divides power between a central government and regional governments.

Question 79

The framers of the Constitution reinforced the principle of federalism in the Bill of Rights.

Question 80

What does the state power of eminent domain, which allows for the taking of properties in exchange for fair compensation, require the land to be used for?

A) A public purpose
B) Purposes defined by Congress, under the supremacy clause
C) Purposes allowed under the Tenth Amendment
D) Purposes that do not interfere with interstate commerce