Deck 3: Federalism

Question 1

Federalism, coupled with the checks and balances and the sharing of powers at the national level, is most likely associated with a __________ government.

A) democratic
B) republican
C) unitary
D) confederated

Answer 1

republican

Question 2

The United States was born through the union of independent states-states that would never have agreed to that union if giving up their independence had been part of the deal. __________ was a compromise solution.

A) Federalism
B) Dual federalism
C) Cooperative federalism
D) Sovereignty

Answer 2

Federalism

Question 3

Still another significant factor behind federalism is the geographic, __________, and economic diversity of the United States.

A) geologic
B) educational
C) cultural
D) topographic

Answer 3

cultural

Question 4

Issues that impact localities such as issuing licenses for driving, hunting, and marriage, regulating __________, conducting elections, and caring for public health and safety are left to the state and local governments by the U.S. Constitution.

A) the coining of money
B) interstate commerce
C) and maintaining an army and navy
D) intrastate commerce

Question 5

The No Child Left Behind Act is an example of __________.

A) a block grant
B) the federal government setting conditions for receiving additional federal funding
C) a mandate
D) a programmatic request

Question 6

Which of the following is a confederation?

A) the United States during the Revolutionary War
B) France
C) Great Britain
D) NATO

Question 7

Which of the following courts are the final arbiters of state law and constitutions?

A) federal courts
B) trial courts
C) municipal courts
D) state courts

Question 8

Most of the framers believed in the necessity of a federal government, but they also agreed that it should __________ states.

A) be subject to the decisions from
B) leave most of the governing to
C) divide powers with
D) govern equally in all matters with

Question 9

In the United States, the __________ defines duties, obligations, and powers of both the national and state governments.

A) president
B) Congress
C) people
D) Constitution

Question 10

Which of the following powers belongs to state governments?

A) negotiate treaties with a foreign country
B) print money
C) conduct elections
D) regulate interstate commerce

Question 11

A primary strength of a federal system is _______.

A) it allows states to declare federal laws null and void
B) its ability to control tyranny by decentralizing power
C) it grants powers explicitly to either states or the federal government
D) that state rights become less important

Question 12

When the powers given to the national government are sharply divided from those of the states, the system is labeled ___________.

A) dual federalism
B) creative federalism
C) devolution
D) sovereignty

Question 13

Article I of the U.S. Constitution establishes that federal law grants Congress the power to make "all laws which shall be __________, for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this constitution, in the government of the United States, or in any department thereof."

A) persuasive
B) secondary
C) necessary and proper
D) significant

Question 14

Which amendment or clause of the Constitution says that no state shall deny "due process of law" or "the equal protection of the laws"?

A) the Commerce Clause
B) the Second Amendment
C) the Fourteenth Amendment
D) the Full Faith and Credit Clause

Question 15

State and federal governments have different powers. In the 1920s and 1930s, the federal courts began using the Fourteenth Amendment to strike down state laws that violated which of the following?

A) the Interstate Compact
B) the Commerce Clause
C) the Bill of Rights
D) federalist principles

Question 16

In United States v. E.C. Knight Company, the Supreme Court decided that __________ was/were a separate activity from commerce.

A) individual businesses
B) manufacturing
C) sales
D) workforce rules

Question 17

Chief Justice Marshall announced a broad definition of the power granted to Congress by the Constitution to regulate commerce "among the several states" in which famous ruling?

A) United States v. E. C. Knight Company
B) Hammer v. Dagenhart
C) Gibbons v. Ogden
D) United States v. Lopez

Question 18

Which of the following is the most extreme expression of the concept of dual federalism?

A) nullification
B) quasi-nullification
C) progressive federalism
D) secession

Question 19

Which statement best describes the decision in McCulloch v. Maryland?

A) Chief Justice Marshall concluded that the creation of the Bank of the United States was "necessary and proper" as a means to carry out other powers that Article I explicitly granted to Congress.
B) Congress can only regulate commercial activity that actually reaches over state lines.
C) States cannot declare illegal what the Congress has stipulated as law.
D) The people of a single state cannot confer a "sovereignty" that would extend beyond the borders of the state.

Question 20

Before the Civil War, many southern leaders and advocates of states' rights argued for a __________, which declared that each state had retained its sovereignty upon joining the United States.

A) doctrine of independence
B) compact of independence
C) doctrine of nullification
D) wide view of federalism

Question 21

Which of the following holds that city governments can do anything to serve the needs of their residents that is not specifically prohibited by state law?

A) Dillon's rule
B) home rule
C) nullification
D) creative federalism

Question 22

In Hammer v. Dagenhart (1918), the Supreme Court struck down the 1916 federal statute barring the interstate transport of goods produced by __________.

A) noncitizens
B) nonunion workshops
C) child labor
D) monopolies

Question 23

In 1964, the Civil Rights act barred racial discrimination in public accommodations provided by __________.

A) minority owners
B) majority owners
C) noncitizens
D) private businesses

Question 24

Adherents to the theory of __________ generally believe that the federal government should not overstep its enumerated powers.

A) dual federalism
B) block grants
C) monopolies
D) home rule

Question 25

The case of __________ laid the groundwork for a central bank in the United States.

A) United States v. E. C. Knight Company
B) McCulloch v. Maryland
C) Gibbons v. Ogden
D) United States v. Lopez

Question 26

What was significant about the ruling in Gibbons v. Ogden?

A) It laid the groundwork for a central bank in the United States.
B) The Supreme Court held that local governments could rule only in areas explicitly permitted by the state government.
C) The Supreme Court recognized broad congressional power to regulate interstate commerce.
D) It took away Supreme Court power to review decisions by state courts.

Question 27

Why did the framers of the U.S. Constitution choose to abandon the Articles of Confederation?

A) The Articles of Confederation gave too much power to the national government.
B) A stronger national government was needed to effectively respond to the needs of the United States.
C) They wanted to find a way to make George Washington their ruler but were unable to under the Articles.
D) It put too much emphasis on the Necessary and Proper Clause.

Question 28

Which type of federalism asserts that the role of the federal government is expanded by providing financial incentives for states to follow congressional initiatives?

A) permissive
B) creative
C) new
D) competitive

Question 29

Creative federalism favors which type of government aid?

A) grants
B) funded mandates
C) any type of mandate
D) unfunded mandates

Question 30

Which of the following is not a concurrent power?

A) building and maintaining roads
B) collecting taxes
C) developing public lands
D) regulating interstate commerce

Question 31

A flexible relationship between the national and state governments in which both work together on a variety of issues and programs is the essence of __________ federalism.

A) creative
B) cooperative
C) New Deal
D) devolution

Question 32

Which of the following is a reserved power of the states?

A) admitting new states
B) coining money
C) exercise of police powers to protect the public welfare
D) levying interstate commerce taxes

Question 33

Which is an example of a federal mandate?

A) Congress passes a law requiring all states to adopt a sex offender registry system categorizing offenders based on conviction, not future threat.
B) The Environmental Protection Agency sends money to Louisiana to help with cleanup from the gulf oil spill.
C) The Nevada legislature passes a law requiring all public school teachers to spend twenty hours per week preparing students for the state achievement test.
D) The Supreme Court upholds a federal law requiring all citizens to wear a seatbelt while operating a motor vehicle.

Question 34

In 1994, the Republican congressional leadership announced its "Contract with America," which called for reducing the size of the federal government and for returning money, responsibility, and power to the states-what has come to be known as __________, or the transfer of power to political subunits.

A) devolution
B) localized politics
C) funded politics
D) revolution

Question 35

The legalization of medical marijuana in many states potentially violates the fact that national laws ___________ over state law.

A) share equal enforcement
B) reign supreme
C) require due process
D) produce full faith and credit