American Government 100Part I
Patterson, pgs. 66-79, AG4-11
Woll, pgs. 66-71
Federalism
True or False Questions
1. Realizing that previous President Bush’s program, No Child Left Behind Act, was poorly designed and an infringement on state responsibility over public education, Barak Obama decided to scrap it altogether. True or False
2. Americans possess what amounts to dual citizenship: they are citizens both of the United States and of the state where they reside. True or False
3. Federalism had a clear basis in political theory that was applied by the Founders at Philadelphia when designing the American political system. True or False
4. Under a system of confederation, the central government could compel people to pay taxes. True or False
5. In spite of the fact that sovereignty in a federal system rests with both the national and state governments, states must still get the approval of the national government to do anything. True or False
6. Theorists such as Locke and Montesquieu had not proposed a division of power between national and local authorities as a means of protecting liberty that was applied in the United States. True or False
7. In nearly all unitary systems, the national legislature has two chambers—one apportioned by population and one apportioned by geography. True or False
8. According to Madison, the size of a republic is secondary to the range and multiplicity of groups and factions that comprise it, resulting in limited government. True or False
9. For all of its flaws, one of the positive aspects of the Articles of Confederation was its flexibility, readily adaptive to change. True or False
10. The Constitution delineates the dividing line between interstate commerce and intrastate commerce. True or False
11. Hamilton and his supporters claimed that because the federal government had constitutional authority to regulate currency, it had the “implied power” to establish a national bank. True or False
12. John Marshall’s opinions served to establish the United States as a nation by expanding the central government’s powers over the states, compelling the latter to obey the former’s laws. True or False
13. The Dred Scott decision had little impact on the election of 1860, allowing the two major parties to decide the presidency without controversy. True or False
Multiple Choice Questions
1. What percent of the education funding is provided by the states and localities? a) 36%, b) 41%, c) 55%, d) 90%
2. Having supreme and final authority: a) legitimacy, b) control, c) sovereignty, d) independence.
3. The Constitution's division of governing authority between two levels, where sovereignty rests with both the national government and state governments is referred to as: a) federalism, b) checks and balances, c) separation of powers, d) enumerated powers.
4. A confederacy is a system of government where: a) the authority of the central government stems from the people, b) the states retain their sovereignty, c) the central government can redefine the states' role, d) the people are autonomous.
5. What was a view of the Anti-federalists? a) centralized authority was a more efficient use of governmental power, b) a unitary system is the ideal political system, c) a distant national government could never serve the people's interests as well as the states could, d) government is best that is furthest away from the people.
6. According to Madison (from Federalist No. 10.), the problem with a small republic a) results from its lacking adequate resources to support a growing population, b) involves political leaders who tend to be parochial rather than flexible, c) is the fact that a dominant faction can more easily gain power, d) is its inability to stabilize its borders from outside threats that are more powerful.
7. What areas of the Constitution could lead to an expansive national government? a) the "necessary and proper" clause, b) the due process clause, c) the equal protection clause, d) the privileges and immunities clause.
8. Which of the following gives Congress the power to make all laws which shall be necessary for implementing and expanding the enumerated powers? a) equal protection clause, b) general welfare clause, c) full faith and credit clause, d) elastic clause.
9. Powers that are not listed in the Constitution but are a direct consequence of the enumerated powers: a) explicit powers, b) reserved powers, c) implied powers, d) expressed powers.
10. “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States.” a) expressed powers stemming from the Ninth Amendment, b) implied powers stemming from the Sixth Article, c) enumerated powers stemming from Article I, Section Nine, d) reserved powers stemming from the Tenth Amendment.
11. How did Marshall decide the McCulloch case? a) using the due process clause, he argued that the power to tax is the power to destroy, b) embracing the full faith and credit clause, he said that it allows the federal government to do whatever is necessary to achieve its mandate, c) he based his arguments on the theory of implied powers and the fact that a valid national law prevails over conflicting state law, d) he felt that the national government had violated its authority, ruling that the incorporated bank must be destroyed.
12. John C. Calhoun argued that the Constitution had created a government of states ... not a government of individuals, which led to his famed doctrine of: a) interposition, b) nationalism, c) codification, d) nullification.
13. What arguments did the Taney Court apply to reject Dred Scott’s lawsuit? a) The issue was a states’ rights concern and not a federal one; therefore, the case was sent to a lower court, b) It invalidated the Missouri Compromise, claiming that slaves were property, barred from citizenship and therefore could not sue for their freedom, c) Federal law trumps state law; therefore, Dred Scott was immediately freed, d) Realizing that the case was controversial, Taney argued Article Four’s “full faith and credit” clause was violated and therefore Scott had to be incarcerated until he could be sold at auction.
Fill-in Questions
1. What were the defects in the Articles of Confederation?
a) : the national government had neither the power to ____ nor
b) the power to ______among the states.
c) the national government lacked the financial means to maintain an _____ or _____.
d) the national government could neither promote the general ______nor prevent
______between the states.
2. Article 1, Section 10, prohibits the states from:
a) making ______with other nations,
b) raising ______,
c) waging ____,
d) printing ______, or
e) entering into ______agreements with other ______without the approval of ______.
Madison, Federalist 39
Woll, pgs. 66-71
1. In Federalist 39 Madison said that the incorporation of the Constitution required agreement among the states; therefore, it was a federal not a national act . True or False
2. The powers of the national government, argued Madison, are national not federal because they allow the national government to act directly upon the people. True or False
3. Madison defines a republican form of government as "a government which derives all its powers directly or indirectly from ...the ______, and is administered by persons holding their offices during pleasure for a ______period, or during ______.
4. Though he argued for limited terms for the legislative and executive officials, Madison said that members of the judiciary should receive: a) 6 year terms, b) 10 year terms, c) 12 year terms, d) lifetime terms
5. According to Madison (Federalist 39), the Senate derives its authority indirectly from the people. True or False
6. The President is impeachable at any time during his continuance in office. True or False
7. Ratification of the Constitution would occur by a) deputies elected for that purpose, representing the states, b) already elected state legislators, representing the national government, c) members of Congress, d) the people would vote directly, representing a national principle.
8. The act of establishing the Constitution, according to Madison in Federalist 39, would be a national, not a federal act. True or False
9. The House of Representatives represents a national, not a federal principle according to Madison. True or False
10. With regards to its role, the federal government is a national operation according to Madison. True or False
11. If there is a dispute between the federal and the state governments over jurisdiction, argued Madison, what would resolve the dispute? a) a tribunal, b) the Congress, c) the military, d) the states,
12. The amending process includes both federal and national principles according to Madison. True or False
Answers
Patterson, pgs. 66-79
True or False Questions
1. False
3. False
5. False
7. False
9. False
11. True
13. False
Multiple Choice Questions
1. d
3. a
5. c
7. a
9. c
11. c
13. b
Fill-in Questions
1. a) tax, b) regulate commerce, c) army, navy, d) economy, trade wars
Woll, pgs. 66-71
1. True
3. people, limited, good behavior
5. True
7. a
9. True
11. a
A:AG4-11
4-1