CHAPTER TWO
Multiple Choice
1. Which statement is correct?
a. National power is constrained by unitary system.
b. State power is constrained by national and state constitutions.
c. The state constitutions place specific restraints on national government.
d. Texas government is part of the confederate system.
2. All of the these are true about federation except:
a. State and national government share power.
b. State and national governments do not operate concurrently.
c. Both state and national governments have authority over their citizens.
d. Both state and national governments have their own three branches of government.
3. Many of the limits imposed by the U.S. Constitution are found in
a. Article I, Section 10 of the Constitution.
b. Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution.
c. Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution.
d. Article V of the Constitution.
4. All of these are true about a constitution except:
a. It provides a framework in which government operates.
b. It is the blueprint for government.
c. It specifies which branch of government has what responsibility.
d. It does not set limitations on what government can do.
5. What power do courts exercise when they declare a state or federal law unconstitutional?
a. The Power of Writ of Habeas Corpus
b. The Power of Bill of Attainder
c. The Power of Judicial Review
d. Reserved Power
6. What means did the federal government use to expand its power over the states in the past 200 years?
a. The Federal Budgetary Powers
b. The State Budgetary Powers
c. The State Courts
d. The State Constitutional Amendments
7. In which stage of development of federalism did each level of government, state and federal, have its own sphere of governing?
a. The Cooperative Federalism
b. The New Federalism
c. The “New” New Federalism
d. The Dual Federalism
8. Which one of the following U.S. Supreme Court decisions has limited the power of national government over the states?
a. United States v. Lopez
b. Plessy v. Ferguson
c. Gonzales v. Raich
d. Dred Scott v. Sandford
9. Name the state with the longest constitution at 340,000 words?
a. Texas
b. California
c. Mississippi
d. Alabama
10. The number of constitutions that Texas has had is
a. three.
b. five.
c. seven.
d. nine.
11. The 1836 Constitution
a. was modeled after the 1827 Constitution.
b. created a parliamentary democracy.
c. abolished slavery.
d. prohibited clergy from holding office.
12. Why did Texas need a new constitution in 1861?
a. Texas was no longer an independent country.
b. Texas joined the United States.
c. Texas joined the Confederate States of America.
d. Texas was no longer a slave state.
13. The 1869 Constitution
a. centralized power in the office of the Secretary of State.
b. created a document under which a weak government could operate.
c. prohibited the Republican Party from nominating candidates for state-wide elected offices.
d. centralized power in the office of the governor.
14. Why did Governor E. J. Davis request that President Ulysses S. Grant send U.S. troops to Texas?
a. To help him keep order until election disputes for governor were resolved.
b. To repel Mexican invasion of Texas.
c. To suppress a riot in South Texas.
d. To help him implement the Obnoxious Acts.
15. The Texas Grangers
a. were a populist carpenters’ group whose members supported the Confederacy.
b. were the most influential group in the Constitutional Convention of 1875.
c. blamed their economic plight on the trucking industry in Texas.
d. sought to increase government expenditures.
16. The 1876 Constitution limited the power of the legislature by
a. returning to biennial session.
b. returning to the annual session.
c. cutting the Senate terms from eight years to six years.
d. allowing the legislature to call itself into special session.
17. Which of the following rights is covered in the Bill of Rights of the Texas Constitution but not in the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution?
a. Freedom of Religion
b. Speedy Trial
c. Banning Gender-based Discrimination
d. Freedom of Speech
18. A proposed amendment to the Texas Constitution
a. must be ratified by the Senate.
b. must be ratified by the members of Texas Supreme Court.
c. must be ratified by the House of Representatives.
d. must be ratified by the voters.
19. The role of the governor in the constitutional amendment process is
a. set by law.
b. set by the Constitution.
c. mostly political by either supporting or opposing it.
d. never important.
20. Texas Constitution has been amended
a. 467 times as of 2010.
b. 450 times as of 2009.
c. 456 times as of 2010.
d. 450 times as of 2009.
21. The Texas Constitution of 1876
a. is a model of disarray.
b. provides for an efficient government.
c. was written to admit Texas into the Union.
d. is a model of a well-organized document.
22. The passage of the proposed constitution of 1974 required
a. majority approval from 181 convention members.
b. two-thirds approval from 181 convention members.
c. three-fourths approval from 181 convention members.
d. two-thirds approval from 150 convention members.
23. All of these are the reasons why the proposed constitution of 1974 failed except:
a. Exclusion of the right-to-work-law provision
b. Exclusion of the school equalization provision
c. Convention members representing labor strongholds opposed the document
d. Convention members representing minority strongholds opposed the document
24. All of these are obstacles to any new attempt to change the Texas Constitution except:
a. Those groups that benefit from the present document will oppose it.
b. The Republican Party will oppose it.
c. Most Texans will oppose it.
d. Most Texans will remain indifferent to it.
25. Who has recently called for revision of the Texas Constitution?
a. Major newspapers
b. Governor Rick Perry
c. President George W. Bush
d. Speaker of the House of Representatives Joe Straus
True/False
1. Article IV of the U.S. Constitution establishes how states and federal governments treat each other.
2. A portion of the federal constitution is void if the court determines that it conflicts with the state constitution.
3. In the case of United States v. Morrison, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed women who had been sexually assaulted to recover damages in federal court.
4. Texas is one of four states with a constitution that has been amended less than 100 times.
5. The Texas 1836 Constitution created a president.
6. The Permanent School Fund earmarked money generated from public lands for education.
7. In late 1873, E. J. Davis lost his bid for reelection to Democrat Sam Houston.
8. Grangers were a populist farmers’ group whose members blamed their economic decline on railroad companies, Radical Republicans, and the newly freed slaves.
9. The Texas Constitution allows the legislature to call itself into special session.
10. Article III, Section 52 of the Texas Constitution contains parts a, b, and d, but not c.
Essay Questions
1. Discuss the constitutional meaning of the federal system and how power is distributed between national and state governments.
2. Explain how the federal government expanded its power over the states.
3. Discuss the characteristics of the Texas Constitution and explain why Texas needs a new constitution.
4. What have been the effects of devolution on congressional mandates and federal grants?
5. What would it take to adopt a new constitution in Texas?
State & Local Govt Chapter 2 Page 5 of 5