Deck 3: Federalism and the Separation of Powers

Question 1

The necessary and proper clause allowed the national government to expand considerably the scope of its authority, although the process was a slow one.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Shortly after its founding, the Supreme Court quickly encouraged Congress to exercise the power granted in the necessary and proper clause.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Local governments have always been mere conveniences of the states.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Under the U.S. Constitution, state governments can enter into agreements with one another, subject to congressional approval.

Question 5

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

Question 6

Congress uses grants-in-aid because it does not have the political or constitutional power to command local governments to do its bidding.

Question 7

After 1937, the Supreme Court minimized the old distinction between interstate and intrastate commerce.

Question 8

In the early years of the Republic, states turned to compacts primarily to settle border disputes.

Question 9

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

Question 10

In the United States, states have a considerable measure of sovereign power.

Question 11

State governments have the power to define private property.

Question 12

Local government entities such as counties and cities have no status in the U.S. Constitution.

Question 13

Americans have always been more loyal to their national government than their states.

Question 14

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

Question 15

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 16

Powers not granted to the federal government in the Constitution are reserved for the states or for the people.

Question 17

The necessary and proper clause of the Constitution puts severe restrictions on what actions the federal government could take.

Question 18

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

Question 19

The U.S. Constitution recognizes local governments as a third level of federalism.

Question 20

The no-strings-attached stimulus spending bill enacted in 2009 marked a significant shift away from regulated federalism.

Question 21

In the United States, each of the three branches of government exercises some power over the other two.

Question 22

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)separation of powers.
D)split government.

Question 23

James Madison advocated a complete separation among the branches of government.

Question 24

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

A)apportionment
B)checks and balances
C)separation of powers
D)federalism

Question 25

A government that has supreme and independent political authority is said to have

A)the structure of a republic.
B)the structure of a democracy.
C)sovereignty.
D)a dictator.

Question 26

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

A)implied powers
B)essential powers
C)appropriate powers
D)liberal powers

Question 27

All of the following are examples of the police powers reserved to the states EXCEPT

A)licensing members of professions, such as lawyers and hairdressers.
B)ensuring compliance with state-employed religious inspectors.
C)defining and protecting private property.
D)defining and regulating marriage and divorce laws.

Question 28

Limiting government by dividing it into two levels (national and state), each with sufficient independence to compete with the other, is called

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

Question 29

There were no Supreme Court reviews of congressional acts in the 50-plus years between Marbury v. Madison (1803) and Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857).

Question 30

The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) represents a serious effort to strengthen the domination of the federal government over the states.

Question 31

Which constitutional amendment was adopted to address the Antifederalists' concerns that a strong central government would encroach upon the power of the states?

A)First Amendment
B)Tenth Amendment
C)Thirteenth Amendment
D)Seventeenth Amendment

Question 32

The framers considered the presidency to be the most important branch in American government.

Question 33

Historically, the Supreme Court has frequently used its authority to strike down acts of the president and laws passed by Congress.

Question 34

Separation of powers means that within the national government there is a clear decision-making hierarchy.

Question 35

In the case of United States v. Nixon, the Supreme Court ruled that executive privilege did not extend to data in presidential files and tapes involved in criminal prosecutions.

Question 36

The national government under the Articles of Confederation is an example of a national government that

A)was dominated by the executive branch.
B)had too much power.
C)allowed powerful federal agencies to overregulate businesses.
D)lacked sovereignty.

Question 37

The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) combined the various unfunded mandates Congress has imposed over the years into three block grant programs.

Question 38

The fact that the framers established a federal system in which the states retained a significant amount of the power they had under the Articles of Confederation is an illustration of the importance of the

A)institution principle.
B)rationality principle.
C)history principle.
D)policy principle.

Question 39

Federalism seeks to limit governmental tyranny by distributing power among which two sovereign entities?

A)president and Congress
B)national and state governments
C)government and the people
D)House of Representatives and the Senate

Question 40

The use of federalism to distribute power among multiple actors is an example of which of the five principles of politics?

A)history, because the independence of U.S. states grew out of the combination of Spanish, French, and English colonies that met at the Constitutional Convention
B)institution, because it reflects the influence of structural design on political outcomes
C)collective action, because it helps state and federal authorities work together
D)rationality, because politicians wanted a system that offered them lots of opportunities to run for office

Question 41

Each state is normally expected to honor the "public Acts, Records, and Proceedings" that take place in any other state because of Article IV, Section 1, of the Constitution, which is referred to as the __________ clause.

A)comity
B)due and proper
C)necessary and proper
D)full faith and credit

Question 42

The allocation of primary control over police powers, property rights, and education to state and local governments is an example of a jurisdictional plan under which principle?

A)collective action principle
B)rationality principle
C)history principle
D)institution principle

Question 43

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

A)each state is expected to honor the public acts of other states, such as marriages.
B)a state cannot discriminate among its citizens based on religion or income.
C)the laws passed at the national level are superior to state laws.
D)states have the power to regulate the health, welfare, and morals of their citizens.

Question 44

The power to levy taxes is an example of a __________ power.

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

Question 45

The power of eminent domain refers to

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

Question 46

We know that states have the power to establish local governments even though that power is not specifically granted to either the federal or state governments in the text of the Constitution. This is an example of a(n) __________ power.

A)implied
B)expressed
C)inherent
D)reserved

Question 47

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

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

Question 48

In Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the Supreme Court ruled that schools segregated by race were unconstitutional. In response, some states opposed to desegregation passed laws to prevent the desegregation of schools. However, the Supreme Court again ruled in Cooper v. Aaron (1958) that its 1954 decision was binding on all states, regardless of conflicting state laws. Which clause in the Constitution allowed the Supreme Court to make this 1958 ruling?

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

Question 49

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

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

Question 50

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)full faith and credit clause
B)supremacy clause
C)privileges and immunities clause
D)necessary and proper clause

Question 51

When the Supreme Court ruled that the federal government had the power to create a national bank because it had other specific powers enumerated in the Constitution, it did so by invoking

A)the necessary and proper clause.
B)expressed powers.
C)the comity clause.
D)the full faith and credit clause.

Question 52

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.
B)supremacy clause.
C)national establishment provision.
D)full faith and credit clause.

Question 53

Private property exists because laws against trespassing are defined by

A)state statutes.
B)city ordinances.
C)the U.S. Congress.
D)the Bill of Rights.

Question 54

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

A)reserved to the states or to the people.
B)reserved for county and municipal governments.
C)to be exercised only through specific legislation passed by Congress.
D)relatively few and rarely exercised.

Question 55

The power of state and federal authorities to charter banks is an example of a __________ power.

A)police
B)reserved
C)concurrent
D)full faith and credit

Question 56

Until 2013, states had not been required to recognize same-sex marriages legalized in other states, despite the full faith and credit clause, because of

A)the comity clause.
B)the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act.
C)the privileges and immunities clause.
D)the supremacy clause.

Question 57

Though the Constitution does not explicitly grant the federal government power to establish and prosecute crimes occurring within the states, over time Congress has created a large body of federal criminal law to prosecute crimes that occur in more than one state, such as the Federal Kidnapping Act. The power of Congress to enact such statutes comes from the implied powers granted by which clause in the Constitution?

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

Question 58

The doctrine that allowed the national government to increase the scope of its authority considerably through the Supreme Court's expansive interpretation of delegated powers was based on the __________ clause.

A)full faith and credit
B)advise and consent
C)necessary and proper
D)reserved powers

Question 59

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)withheld
B)separation
C)reserved
D)expressed

Question 60

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

A)commerce clause
B)full faith and credit clause
C)the comity or privileges and immunities clause
D)necessary and proper clause

Question 61

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)triple
C)separate but equal
D)principal-agent

Question 62

The shift from dual federalism to cooperative federalism in the 1930s increased the role of the federal government over domestic policy. One consequence of this shift was

A)the elimination of state sovereignty.
B)a strengthening of the states' rights coalition in Congress.
C)a decrease in the use of grants-in-aid.
D)an increase in lobbying in Washington by business interests.

Question 63

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)put the prisoner to death.
B)turn the prisoner over to the federal prison system.
C)hold a new trial in a Vermont court.
D)return the prisoner to Texas.

Question 64

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)exhortative intergovernmental relations.
D)cooperative federalism.

Question 65

The first Supreme Court case that clearly defined interstate commerce was

A)Hicklin v. Orbeck.
B)Gibbons v. Ogden.
C)Printz v. United States.
D)Marbury v. Madison.

Question 66

In the late nineteenth century, when the national government sought to use its power to regulate the economy rather than merely promote economic development, the Supreme Court's interpretation of the concept of interstate commerce began to operate more as a

A)catalyst for change.
B)restraint on state and federal regulation.
C)point of leverage.
D)source of national power.

Question 67

The power delegated by the state to a local unit of government to manage its own affairs is called

A)home rule.
B)rule of the interior.
C)vesting power.
D)jurisdictional decree.

Question 68

In the late nineteenth century, why was the Supreme Court willing to allow federal regulation of railroads and waterway transportation but less willing to allow regulation of factory and workplace safety?

A)The workplace is inherently local because the goods produced there have not yet passed into commerce and crossed state lines.
B)The Supreme Court ruled in McCulloch v. Maryland that the federal government had no power to regulate workplace safety, a precedent that was strictly followed until the New Deal.
C)During this period, the Supreme Court was staffed by Democratic appointees who sought to block federal workplace regulations.
D)During this period, most Supreme Court justices promised to support congressional regulation of transportation in their Senate confirmation hearings.

Question 69

A well-known contemporary example of a legally binding compact between two states is the

A)North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
B)North American Free Trade Agreement.
C)Port Authority of New York & New Jersey.
D)Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex Chamber of Commerce.

Question 70

Over the course of American history, how has the Supreme Court interpreted the interstate commerce clause of Article I, Section 8?

A)The Supreme Court has consistently supported an expansive interpretation of the word commerce and hence the growth of federal power.
B)The Supreme Court has favored a strict interpretation of the phrase interstate commerce, thereby leaving bartering completely unregulated.
C)The Supreme Court was supportive of the federal government early on, later limited the scope of federal power, and then consented to large-scale central regulation of the economy during the 1930s.
D)Early on, the Supreme Court favored a restrictive standard, followed by a broad definition of commerce to crack down on child labor and then a return to a restrictive standard to support the New Deal program.

Question 71

Well into the twentieth century, most efforts by Congress to regulate commerce were blocked by the Supreme Court's interpretation of the idea of federalism, with the primary barrier being a limited concept of

A)free trade.
B)full faith and credit.
C)command economy.
D)interstate commerce.

Question 72

The first and most important Supreme Court case favoring national power over the economy was

A)Barron v. Baltimore.
B)United States v. Lopez.
C)Dred Scott v. Sandford.
D)McCulloch v. Maryland.

Question 73

In the federal system, the 50 state governments retain sovereignty, which prevents the federal government from interfering in the financial matters of states. However, state governments can become involved in the fiscal matters of local governments, which is evident in recent state takeovers of the city finances of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Flint, Michigan. Why can state governments interfere in the fiscal matters of local governments when the federal government cannot do so with state governments?

A)The Constitution was amended to increase the power of states over local matters.
B)The 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 74

__________ federalism has existed since the New Deal era and uses grants-in-aid strategically to encourage states and localities (without commanding them) to pursue nationally defined goals.

A)Dual
B)Welfare
C)Cooperative
D)Commercial

Question 75

The commerce clause of the Constitution gives the federal government power to

A)regulate commerce within and among states but not trade with foreign nations.
B)sell surplus commodities to the states.
C)regulate international commerce only.
D)regulate interstate commerce and trade with foreign nations.

Question 76

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

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

Question 77

In the case of McCulloch v. Maryland, the main issue was whether Congress had the power to

A)charter a bank.
B)tax state corporations.
C)redeploy state militias.
D)license public accommodations.

Question 78

The system of government from 1789 to about 1937, 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)separation of powers.
C)dual federalism.
D)marble cake federalism.

Question 79

Article IV, Section 2 of the Constitution prohibits a state from discriminating against someone from another state or giving special advantages to its own residents. That section is referred to as the __________ clause.

A)establishment
B)general welfare
C)interstate relations
D)comity or privileges and immunities

Question 80

The main issue in the 1824 case Gibbons v. Ogden was the question of the power of the state of New York to grant a monopoly to

A)the New York Times as the sole newspaper in New York City.
B)an electrical utility to run lines through New York City.
C)a railroad company to lay tracks from New York City ports to the state capital of Albany.
D)a steamboat company to operate between New York and New Jersey.