In the debate over enforcement of medical marijuana laws in California, you'll hear political analysts refer to the "supremacy clause" in the Constitution. What does this clause mean?
Federal laws supersede state laws
If you look at your paycheck, you'll probably notice you were taxed by both your state and federal government. This is a reflection of the fact that these two levels of government
possess similar powers to directly tax citizens
If you received a ticket for jaywalking and wanted to contest the charge in court, your case would most likely be heard by a/an
local or municipal court
If you were living under a unitary (or undivided) system of government
all power would be concentrated at the national level
The Founders adopted a federal (or shared) system of government because they feared
the concentration of power in a single government
Under the Constitution, which of the following powers is reserved for the federal government?
Making treaties with foreign nations
Given the proportion of public employees employed by the various levels of government, if you get a job as a public employee, you will most likely be working for
a local or municipal government
When the federal government requires that your local school district measure student performance with regularly scheduled tests but does not provide any federal funding to meet this requirement, this is an example of
an unfunded mandate
Prior to passage of the 17th amendment in 1913,which required the direct election of US senators by citizens, if you wanted to serve in the United States Senate you had to be appointed by
your state legislature
Which public agencies would likely be first at the scene in the event that a national emergency unexpectedly occurred in your community?
Local fire, safety and rescue personnel
The 10th constitutional amendment reserves the powers that are NOT specifically delegated to the national government to
state governments
The congressional district in which you live is likely determined by district lines that are re-drawn every ten years in accordance with changes in population. Who is responsible for drawing those district lines?
The state governments
The nationwide adoption of the 21 year old drinking law is an example of the national government's ability to
use federal grants-in-aid to motivate states to take action
Because state taxes pay for most welfare spending, state governments have an incentive to spend less on welfare programs. States, looking to attract businesses, engage in what some call a "race to the bottom" to keep government spending and taxes low. Thi
Competitive Federalism
The "full faith and credit" clause to the Constitution requires states to recognize each other's laws. Which of the below would be an example?
Your driver's license must be recognized in all states
The Anti-Federalists opposed ratifying the proposed new constitution because they were very concerned that the Constitution would concentrate too much power in the federal government. If you shared the views of the Anti-Federalists, which of the following
The 22nd Amendment, which limits the president to two terms
While categorical grants provide states and local governments with federal funding for a specific purpose, block grants give state and local officials the ability to determine for themselves how to best spend federal grant money. One other advantage of bl
they are cheaper and easier to administer than categorical grants
If you own a small business, the intrastate commerce clause gives Congress the power to regulate your business activities.
FALSE
If you have a job in the private sector, you can ask your employer to pay your salary in state currency, rather than federal dollars.
FALSE
Since the Founding, the federal government has generally grown more powerful at the expense of the states.
TRUE
The federal courts have ruled there are no limits on the federal government's power to regulate the American people.
FALSE
Under the American system of government, the federal government is sovereign (or independent) but not the states
FALSE
If you believe a state law violates your constitutional rights, you can take your case to a federal court.
TRUE
Though they were ultimately struck down by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional, Jim Crow segregation laws are a good example of "tyranny of the majority".
TRUE
If you were a woman living in the early part of the 20th century, it would have been impossible for you to cast a vote anywhere in the United States until passage of the 19th amendment in 1920.
TRUE
Governmental authority in the United States is distributed according to a ____________ system
federal
In a _____ system, all ruling authority rests in a single national government.
unitary
The exclusive right of an independent state to reign supreme and have absolute power over a geographic region and its people is usually referred to as
sovereignty
Prior to the ratification of the new Constitution in 1789, the relationship between the national and state governments could best be characterized as
confederation
Which of the following is NOT an explanation for the development of federalism in the United States?
The belief that a federal system would be more efficient
The Supreme Court's ruling in McCulloch v. Maryland
overturned a state's attempt to impose taxes on federal government agencies (in this case the national bank).
The Supreme Court ruling in Gibbons v. Ogden concluded that the sole and exclusive authority to regulate interstate commerce rests with the
U.S. Congress
Under a system of _____ federalism, state governments and the national government are equally authoritative, neither is regarded as superior to the other.
dual
In the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan famously sought to
reduce the power of the federal government
The programs developed under President Franklin Roosevelt to expand the role of the federal government in providing employment opportunities and social services in the wake of the Great Depression were collectively referred to as the
New Deal.
South Carolina's decision in the 1830s that a federal tariff would not apply in their state exemplified
the doctrine of nullification
President Lyndon Johnson's Great Society programs would be an example of ________ federalism
creative
The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from 1801-1835, who was responsible for writing the majority opinion in many important cases, including McCulloch v. Maryland, was
John Marshall
Block grants were developed in 1966 in order to
provide states with more flexibility to direct federal money toward specific local needs.
Grants that can be used only for subsidizing school meals, and that are calculated on the basis of the state's population of school-aged children who are living in families with incomes below the poverty line, are examples of _________.to the states
formula grants
The Iowa Supreme Court judge who, in 1868, held that local governments could rule only in areas explicitly permitted by the state government was
John Dillon
Welfare reform passed under President Clinton, which transferred management of welfare programs from the national government to the states, was an example of
devolution.
Over the past 40 years, the general trend in Supreme Court decisions with regard to federalism has been to
limit the powers of the federal government and increase the states' power in some areas.
A board of officials elected to oversee city schools would be an example of
special government
The issue at play in Printz v. United States (1997) was the power of the Congress to require state and local governments to
conduct background checks on people who purchase firearms
Justice Louis Brandeis' idea that states can function as "laboratories of democracy" points to an advantage of a federal system
TRUE
The Civil War represented an example of citizens pursuing one of the many pathways of action in American politics.
FALSE
The New Deal was an example of cooperative federalism
TRUE
With the defeat of the Confederacy, the doctrine of secession was also laid to rest.
TRUE
The transfer of authority and fiscal responsibility for particular programs from the federal government to the states is usually referred to as grants-in-aid.
FALSE
The political systems of Britain and France can most accurately be described as
unitary
American federalism can be seen as a response to the
concerns about the potential abuses by a strong central government
The contemporary American political system can best be described as
federal.
The idea of government with divided authority as discussed in Federalist Paper #51 was most influenced by the eighteenth-century philosopher
Baron de Montesquieu
The central issue at stake in the McCulloch v. Maryland case was
the constitutionality of the national government's establishment of a federal bank
The necessary and proper clause permits the Congress to
make laws essential to exercising its specified powers
With regard to American federalism, the impact of the Civil War was to
centralize political power in the national government
The Fourteenth Amendment, which limited states' authority to interfere with certain rights of individuals, was
not applied to the states until the 1920s, and even then, not for the purpose of protecting African Americans from discrimination.
In the 1964 rulings of Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States and Katzenbach v. McClung, the Supreme Court supported civil rights by expanding federal authority in what area?
Regulating interstate commerce
The belief that state and national government should work together to solve problems is called
cooperative federalism
The term "laboratories of democracy" refers to the
the fifty states working independently, increasing the likelihood of developing innovative solutions
_____ grants are targeted for specific purposes
catagorical
To affirm Congress' constitutional authority to take actions not explicitly enumerated among its powers, the Supreme Court relied upon _________________in McCulloch v. Maryland
the necessary and proper clause
Funds given by the federal government to the states, to establish colleges in the 19th century would be an example of
grants-in-aid
President Franklin Roosevelt's court-packing plan was his response to
a series of decisions by the Supreme Court striking down New Deal legislation
_____ are awarded on the basis of competitive applications rather than by a specific formula
project grants
The most common system of distributing political power in countries around the world today is federalism
flase
The strong desire to maintain local self-governance among states so diverse was one of the reasons the founders established a federal system
TRUE
In its decision on United States v. E.C. Knight Co., the U.S. Supreme Court specifically ruled that the interstate commerce clause applies only to transport commerce and not to manufacturing or production
TRUE
After the Civil War, political power gradually became centralized in the national government
TRUE
According to Article VI of the Constitution, when federal law and state law conflict, state law takes precedence
FALSE
Categorical grants are targeted for specific purposes
TRUE
Dillon's Rule maintains that local governments may exercise all authority not specifically denied to them by the state constitution or state law.
FALSE
One reason for devolution is the view that the federal government is best equipped to address social and economic problems
FALSE
In recent years, the Supreme Court has rejected specific assertions of federal power it considers to violate the federal balance of power in the United States
TRUE