Deck 3: Federalism and the Separation of Powers

Question 1

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 __________ power.

A)an implied
B)balance of
C)an expressed
D)an inherent
E)a reserved

Answer 1

E

Question 2

The power to charter banks is an example of a(n) __________ power.

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

Answer 2

D

Question 3

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

Answer 3

B

Question 4

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

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

Question 5

Federalism seeks to limit governmental power by creating two sovereigns: __________.

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

Question 6

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

A)ex post facto
B)advice and consent
C)full faith and credit
D)necessary and proper
E)reserved powers

Question 7

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)gray
E)expressed

Question 8

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)checks and balances.
D)representation.
E)nationalism.

Question 9

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

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

Question 10

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)expressed powers
D)appropriate powers
E)liberal powers

Question 11

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

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

Question 12

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.
E)state governments to take private property for public use without compensation for the loss.

Question 13

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.
B)a state cannot discriminate against someone from another state.
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.
E)the federal government is obligated to pay its debts.

Question 14

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

A)reserved to the states or to the people.
B)reserved for county and municipal governments.
C)not to be exercised by any governmental authority.
D)to be exercised only through specific legislation passed by Congress.
E)relatively few and rarely exercised.

Question 15

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)federal ascendancy provision.
D)national establishment provision.
E)full faith and credit clause.

Question 16

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

Question 17

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 of powers.
E)socialism.

Question 18

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 full faith and credit clause.
D)the comity clause.
E)stare decisis.

Question 19

Private property exists because laws against trespass are defined by

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

Question 20

Powers derived from the necessary and proper clause of Article I,Section 8,of the Constitution are called

A)surplus powers.
B)essential powers.
C)expressed powers.
D)appropriate powers.
E)implied powers.

Question 21

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

Question 22

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

Question 23

Each state is normally expected to honor "the public Acts,Records,and judicial 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)civility
C)due and proper
D)necessary and proper
E)full faith and credit

Question 24

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)McCulloch v.Maryland.
D)Dred Scott v.Sandford.
E)Plessy v.Ferguson.

Question 25

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

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

Question 26

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)habeas corpus
D)interstate relations
E)privileges and immunities

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.
E)transaction clause.

Question 28

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)a duopoly.
C)separation of powers.
D)dual federalism.
E)marble cake federalism.

Question 29

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)decree of authority.
E)jurisdictional decree.

Question 30

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)American society was so agriculture-oriented in the 1880s and 1890s that factory and workplace safety was not important enough to allow the federal government to act.
B)The workplace is inherently local because the goods produced there have not yet passed into commerce and crossed state lines.
C)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.
D)During this period,the Supreme Court was staffed by Democratic appointees who sought to block federal workplace regulations.
E)During this period,most Supreme Court justices promised to support congressional regulation of transportation in their Senate confirmation hearings.

Question 31

Late in the nineteenth century,when the national government sought to use its power to regulate the economy rather than merely promote economic development,the concept of interstate commerce began to operate more as a

A)catalyst.
B)barrier.
C)stimulus.
D)point of leverage.
E)source of national power.

Question 32

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
E)necessary and proper clause

Question 33

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)separation of powers
D)pancake
E)marble cake

Question 34

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

A)regulate all commerce in the United States and with foreign nations.
B)sell surplus commodities to the states.
C)regulate international commerce only.
D)regulate interstate commerce and trade with foreign nations.
E)regulate interstate commerce only.

Question 35

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 supremacy clause.
D)the privileges and immunities clause.
E)their police powers.

Question 36

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)incarcerate the prisoner for life without parole.
E)return the convict to Texas.

Question 37

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)abolish slavery.
D)redeploy state militias.
E)license public accommodations.

Question 38

In a 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 most recently evident in the state takeover of the city finances of Harrisburg,Pennsylvania,and Detroit,Michigan.Why can state governments interfere in the fiscal matters of local governments but the federal government not interfere in the fiscal matters of state governments?

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.
E)Many state governments are authoritarian.

Question 39

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 commerce and hence the growth of federal power.
B)The Supreme Court has favored a strict interpretation of interstate commerce,thereby leaving bartering completely unregulated.
C)The Supreme Court has interpreted interstate to mean "between nation-states" and hence not applicable to domestic trade.
D)The Supreme Court was supportive of the federal government early on before limiting the scope of federal power and then consenting to large-scale central regulation of the economy.
E)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 restrictive standard to support the New Deal program.

Question 40

The state of Michigan passed a law that allowed wineries within the state to ship wine directly to Michigan consumers without having to go through a wholesaler.The same law prohibited out-of-state wineries from doing the same.In effect,the cost of out-of-state wine increased as it had to go through a wholesaler,thereby providing incentives for Michigan consumers to purchase Michigan wine.However,in 2005,the Supreme Court ruled in Granholm v.Heald that the law was unconstitutional because it discriminated against out-of-state wineries.Which clause of the Constitution did the Court use to declare the Michigan law unconstitutional?

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

Question 41

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

A)Joseph Pulitzer to publish a daily newspaper.
B)Thomas Edison's new electrical utility to run lines through New York City.
C)William Henry Vanderbilt to lay railroad tracks to the Hudson Bay ports.
D)Robert Fulton's steamboat company to operate between New York and New Jersey.
E)Eli Whitney to produce cotton gins.

Question 42

In McCulloch v.Maryland,the Supreme Court recognized and reinforced the __________ clause.

A)supremacy
B)establishment
C)equal protection
D)full faith and credit
E)privileges and immunities

Question 43

The obligations imposed on state government by the national government without any funding at all have come to be known as

A)blank checks.
B)assigned obligations.
C)unchecked authorizations.
D)misdirected indemnities.
E)unfunded mandates.

Question 44

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)principle of stare decisis.
B)establishment clause.
C)supremacy clause.
D)full faith and credit clause.
E)privileges and immunities clause.

Question 45

In McCulloch v.Maryland,Chief Justice John Marshall argued that an agency created by Congress could not be put out of business by a state legislature,stating that

A)"the nation needs energy and strength."
B)"the power to tax is the power to destroy."
C)"the United States is made up of people,not states."
D)"the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."
E)"sic semper tyrannis."

Question 46

Morton Grodzins,a noted scholar of federalism,characterized the shift to post-New Deal cooperative federalism as a move from

A)"unrestricted federalism" to "regulated federalism."
B)"regulated federalism" to "unrestricted federalism."
C)"regulated federalism" to "layer cake federalism."
D)"layer cake federalism" to "marble cake federalism."
E)"marble cake federalism" to "layer cake federalism."

Question 47

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)the Triple Entente.
D)exhortative intergovernmental relations.
E)cooperative federalism.

Question 48

In 1973,at the height of the oil shortage,a national speed limit of 55 miles per hour was imposed on the states by congressional legislation that threatened withdrawal of highway funds if state legislatures failed to lower allowable speeds.This is an example of encouraging state behavior through

A)hostage grants.
B)an unfunded mandate.
C)categorical grants-in-aid.
D)dual federalism.
E)layer cake federalism.

Question 49

A new federal program administered by the U.S.Department of Housing and Urban Development allows city governments in cities having 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
B)venture
C)market
D)formula
E)categorical

Question 50

The federal government created block grant programs to

A)give states more discretion over how to use federal money.
B)implement more uniform national standards.
C)consolidate the power of the national government.
D)consolidate funds targeted at states and localities into manageable regional groupings.
E)circumvent Supreme Court rulings that invalidated legislative vetoes.

Question 51

Which of these is NOT an example of an unfunded mandate imposed on the states by the federal government?

A)the mandatory building codes of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act
B)the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act
C)increasing mandatory Medicaid benefits while decreasing federal contributions to the program
D)the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Act of 1986,which requires school districts to inspect for asbestos hazards and remove them when necessary
E)an increase in the federal minimum wage that applies to state government employees

Question 52

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
B)regulated
C)hostage
D)contingent
E)competitive

Question 53

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)community redevelopment
E)tax remuneration

Question 54

Funds that are given by Congress to states and localities and that are earmarked by law for specific categories are known as

A)categorical grants-in-aid.
B)block grants.
C)stovepipe grants.
D)devolutionary grants.
E)reverse remunerations.

Question 55

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)reapportionment.
E)line-item appropriation.

Question 56

The Supreme Court case that firmly defined interstate commerce was

A)Hicklin v.Orbeck.
B)Gibbons v.Ogden.
C)Marbury v.Madison.
D)Printz v.United States.
E)City of Boerne v.Flores.

Question 57

Grant programs in which a set of distributive criteria established by law is used to determine the amount of federal funds that a state or local government will receive are known as __________ grants.

A)project
B)formula
C)entitlement
D)community redevelopment
E)tax remuneration

Question 58

Which presidents advocated converting federal programs into block grants as a strategy labeled the New Federalism?

A)Carter and Clinton
B)Eisenhower and Kennedy
C)Ford and Clinton
D)Clinton and Obama
E)Nixon and Reagan

Question 59

Which term describes federal subsidies of special state and local activities?

A)mandates
B)grants-in-aid
C)bonus payments
D)apportionments
E)revenue allocations

Question 60

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
E)commercial

Question 61

If a citizen were to sue a state for violating a law passed by Congress,his or her lawsuit would fail because the state could invoke the power of

A)civil exemption.
B)legal supremacy.
C)double jeopardy.
D)cloak of invulnerability.
E)sovereign immunity.

Question 62

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)interstate relations.
E)checks and balances.

Question 63

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

Question 64

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

A)judiciary.
B)executive.
C)Electoral College.
D)legislature.
E)bureaucracy.

Question 65

Which principle,bolstered by the Tenth Amendment,made it difficult for the federal government to address the issue of slavery prior to the Civil War?

A)state sovereign immunity
B)states' rights
C)separation of powers
D)federalism
E)checks and balances

Question 66

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)a split system.
D)divided government.
E)oligarchy.

Question 67

Which of these is NOT a constitutional mechanism for the three branches of government to check and balance each other?

A)president's ability to veto congressional legislation
B)congressional right of stare decisis
C)Senate's power to approve or reject executive appointments
D)congressional power to impeach and remove the president and judges
E)Supreme Court's power of judicial review

Question 68

The first Supreme Court decision since the New Deal that limited claims of federal authority under the commerce clause was

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

Question 69

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

Question 70

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

A)states' rights.
B)neoliberalism.
C)confederalism.
D)fiscal conservatism.
E)state and local preemption.

Question 71

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)presidents' noninterference with the appointment of U.S.attorneys.
E)the size of the Supreme Court relative to the U.S.Congress.

Question 72

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.
E)command confidentiality.

Question 73

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

Question 74

The separation of powers sought to limit the power of the government by

A)reserving some powers for the people.
B)dividing national government against itself.
C)forcing states to compete against each other.
D)prohibiting Congress and the states from passing ex post facto laws.
E)encouraging conflict between the national government and the states.

Question 75

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
E)sharing

Question 76

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.
E)legislative exemption.

Question 77

When President 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.
E)judicial review.

Question 78

In the 2006 Supreme Court decision Gonzales v.Oregon,the Supreme Court held which of the following?

A)A state cannot sue the government to block the implementation of the Patriot Act.
B)The federal government has the authority to allocate water resources from one state to another.
C)Senator Robert Packwood cannot prevent the publication of his diaries if they were part of the record of court proceedings.
D)The First Amendment protects the right to smoke myrtlewood for religious purposes.
E)The federal government cannot overrule state laws determining how legal drugs should be used.

Question 79

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

A)executive supremacy.
B)executive privilege.
C)a collective action problem.
D)checks and balances.
E)divided government.

Question 80

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)implied powers provision.
E)national supremacy clause.