Chapter 4
34. The rulings of the Supreme Court under John Marshall contributed to enhancement of ______. a. the power of the federal government b. the role of states in the American political system c. the reach of the doctrine of nullification d. the participation of women in American politics e. the power of the presidency
A
33. Two trends evident in the development of American federalism throughout history are the ______. a. expansion of American government in general and the gradual strengthening of the federal government b. simultaneous growth of the nullification movement and federal desire for financial resources c. increases in state power and fiscal resources at the expense of the federal government d. development of the property tax and the need for states to provide resources to the national government e. legalization of the income tax and devolution
A
11. All of the following comparisons between the president and senators are true EXCEPT this one: a. Senators have always been chosen by direct election. b. The minimum age to be president is older than the minimum age to be a senator. c. Presidents cannot be naturalized citizens. d. Presidents have shorter terms than senators. e. Presidents can be impeached.
A
12. The founders were concerned the Supreme Court would become ______. a. dominated by political concerns b. too weak to protect itself from state courts c. dependent on the president d. too busy to carry out all of its duties e. isolated from public opinion
A
17. In a parliamentary system, the ______ is the dominant branch of government. a. legislature b. executive c. judiciary d. bureaucracy e. military
A
18. Legislative supremacy ______. a. is an alternative system to judicial review b. grew more important after the Civil War c. was never seriously considered by the founders d. is provided for in Article I of the Constitution e. is practiced by most democratic countries
A
19. The constitutional safeguard that places legislative, executive, and judicial powers in different hands is called ______. a. separation of powers b. checks and balances c. fusion of powers d. federalism e. bicameralism
A
23. The Supreme Court has interpreted the ______ clause of the Constitution so broadly that there are very few restrictions on what Congress can do. a. necessary and proper b. national supremacy c. full faith and credit d. commerce e. establishment
A
39. The New Deal increased the power of the federal government in regard to ______. a. business and the economy b. the war-making power c. education d. civil rights e. civil liberties
A
47. Congress has been reluctant to use block grants to achieve policy goals because ______. a. they allow states to pursue their own goals rather than the federal government's goals b. they are too expensive c. they are too time consuming to write d. state politicians dislike them as much as unfunded mandates e. states rarely accept them due to the restrictions written into such grants
A
7. The founders intended the people to have influence over public policy through the ______. a. House of Representatives b. House of Representatives and the Senate c. House of Representatives, the Senate, and the president d. president e. Senate
A
1. The Constitution spells out ______. a. the founders' views of the philosophically best government b. the official rules for who gets what, when, and how in American politics c. a government designed to maximize the power of the wealthy d. the justification for the Revolution e. the most extreme example of popular sovereignty ever created
B
20. Aspects of the system of checks and balances include all of the following EXCEPT this: a. Presidents can veto legislation. b. Presidents can force Congress to adjourn. c. Congress can impeach the president. d. The Supreme Court can declare acts of Congress or of the president to be unconstitutional. e. Congress can impeach members of the judiciary.
B
25. Federalism in the United States ______. a. is a system badly in need of repair b. was a compromise for how power should be distributed between the national and state governments c. provides for strong state and local power compared to federal power d. has outlived its usefulness as a framework for American politics e. grants the federal government a dominant position over the states in all areas except education
B
26. Although the states have the authority to set the minimum drinking age, the United States has a national legal alcohol consumption age of twenty-one because ______. a. state compacts have led to a uniform drinking age b. the federal government threatened to withhold highway funds from any state that didn't have a drinking age of twenty-one c. all states are now sensitive to the consequences of underage drinking d. prohibition groups have lobbied successfully for a higher drinking age in all states e. the international standard for the legal drinking age is twenty-one
B
27. Both the states and the national government may exercise all of the following powers EXCEPT this one: a. borrowing and spending money for the general welfare b. levying import or export taxes on goods c. establishing highways d. taking private property for public purposes e. chartering and regulating banks and charter corporations
B
28. The theory that defines the state and national governments as essentially separate from each other and carrying out independent functions is ______. a. cooperative federalism b. dual federalism c. separation-of-powers federalism d. federalism e. independent federalism
B
29. Cooperative federalism is a theory that ______. a. was an accurate depiction of American federalism during the eighteenth century b. defines state and national powers as interdependent, requiring the cooperation of each other to get things done c. defines state and federal governments as essentially separate from each other and carrying out their functions independently d. reflects the formal distribution of powers by the Constitution e. is modeled after a layer cake
B
36. McCulloch v. Maryland increased the power of the federal government by ______. a. interpreting the commerce clause of the Constitution very broadly b. interpreting the necessary and proper clause of the Constitution very broadly c. outlawing slavery in the territories d. interpreting the federal police power very broadly e. establishing that the states did not have the power to secede from the union
B
38. The New Deal increased the scope of both national and state powers by ______. a. restricting the involvement of the government in business and the economy b. redefining the purpose of American government to include solving nationwide economic and social problems c. giving the states more control over how federal powers are carried out d. increasing the importance of balancing the federal budget e. increasing the power of Congress at the expense of the president
B
41. One reason for the growth of the national government's power and influence has been ______. a. the trend among democratic countries to become more unitary b. heightened expectations and demands placed on the federal government c. an increase in popular apathy d. the failure of the states to provide adequate opportunities for interest group participation e. the gradual expansion of the national share of the property tax
B
42. The trend of Supreme Court's rulings in favor of devolution ended ______. a. when the membership of the court became more liberal b. following the attacks of September 11, 2001 c. when the membership of the Supreme Court became more conservative d. when Barack Obama became president e. when George W. Bush became president
B
46. Federal orders that require states to operate and pay for programs created at the national level are called ______. a. block grants b. unfunded mandates c. categorical grants d. delegated orders e. hortatory appeals
B
5. The founders hoped that the Senate would be ______ the House of Representatives. a. more responsive to the public than b. more stable than c. more accessible to the people than d. less aristocratic than e. similar in every way to
B
50. The text concludes that the current status of federalism ______. a. is dominated by conservative efforts toward devolution b. is characterized by a contradictory mix of rhetoric about moving power back to the states and new national initiatives c. is characterized by rhetoric about new national initiatives while more power is being devolved to the states d. involves a consensus that the national government has grown too strong e. involves a consensus that the national government must become stronger in the face of so many challenges to the nation's welfare
B
6. An advantage of the unicameral legislature over the bicameral legislature is that ______. a. many more interests can be represented in it b. it is much more responsive to public opinion c. it can represent different levels of a federal government d. it divides the power of government more than a bicameral legislature e. it creates a slower, more deliberative legislative process
B
10. The founders created the ______ as an intermediate body to elect the president. a. House of Representatives b. Senate c. Electoral College d. Council of Governors e. Federal Election Commission
C
14. In Federalist No. 78, Hamilton argued that the judiciary would be the least threatening branch of government because ______. a. judges are naturally peaceful b. its members can be impeached c. it does not control the military or the budget of the nation d. it has no power that cannot be restricted by Congress e. its functions are totally passive
C
15. The power of the Supreme Court to declare acts unconstitutional ______. a. is explicitly spelled out in the Constitution b. is no longer recognized today c. was argued by Hamilton to be consistent with the Constitution d. is subject to presidential veto e. is allowed only in situations that concern the First Amendment
C
22. The congressional abilities specifically listed in Article I, Section 8, are called the ______. a. concurrent powers b. elastic powers c. enumerated powers d. supreme powers e. necessary and proper powers
C
24. The necessary and proper clause ______. a. states that it is necessary and proper for Congress to have sufficient reasons to impeach the president b. states that the authorities must have a necessary and proper reason for search and seizure of private property c. is used by Congress to justify the exercise of powers not mentioned in Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution d. states that it is necessary and proper for the president to have sufficient reasons to begin a war e. is used by the Supreme Court as justification for the power of judicial review
C
30. Which of the following is NOT a disadvantage of federalism? a. It fosters "the race to the bottom." b. It fosters a tendency toward "smokestack chasing." c. It enables the states to serve as policy laboratories. d. It permits local prejudices to find their way into state and local laws. e. It creates interest groups to "shop" for governments favorable to their interests.
C
35. In McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), the Supreme Court held that ______. a. it could declare acts of Congress to be unconstitutional b. state-chartered banks were immune from federal regulation c. the federal government had the implied power to create a national bank d. states had the ability to restrict interstate commerce within their jurisdictions e. Congress was not allowed to outlaw slavery in U.S. territories
C
37. Gibbons v. Ogden increased the power of the national government by interpreting very broadly the ______. a. federal police power b. congressional power to declare war c. commerce clause of the Constitution d. necessary and proper clause of the Constitution e. none of the above
C
40. The Supreme Court has interpreted the Fourteenth Amendment to ______. a. allow women to have the right to vote b. strike down Prohibition c. strike down racial segregation in the states d. limit the power of the federal government in relation to the states e. require the states to permit eighteen-year-olds to vote
C
48. What is the key difference between categorical grants and block grants? a. Categorical grants lack any true congressional oversight, and block grants require a lot of congressional oversight. b. Categorical grants are reflective of the dual-federalism era, and block grants reflect the operative federalism era. c. Block grants provide states with more leverage and power over how to spend grants-in-aid than do categorical grants. d. State discretion is minimal for block grants and extensive for categorical grants. e. Block grants can be spent on any policy issue, no matter what Congress allocated the money for.
C
49. Political scientists today see federalism as ______. a. a partnership between the national and state governments in which the state governments are the dominant partners b. a bitter rivalry in which each level of government struggles to gain supremacy c. a partnership between the national and state governments in which the federal government is the dominant partner d. consisting of two totally separate levels of power that have little to do with each other e. having evolved to the point at which the state governments really do not matter
C
52. The Constitution has been amended through the formal amendment process and through ______. a. state nullification b. presidential interpretation c. judicial review d. passage of laws by Congress e. the passage of initiatives
C
8. The fewer chambers a legislature has, the ______. a. harder it is to achieve consensus on public policy b. less democratic it is c. more representative it is of the people as a whole d. more weight it gives to elite opinion e. slower it is to react to crises
C
16. Article III of the Constitution ______. a. defines a ten-year term for federal judges b. forbids Congress from adjusting the structure and organization of federal courts c. creates the Supreme Court and all other federal courts d. creates the Supreme Court but allows Congress to establish lower courts e. spells out, in detail, the structure and organization of the federal judiciary
D
2. In the United States, ______. a. the legislative and executive branches have gradually come to share all institutional powers b. legislative powers include the ability to initiate and implement laws in a completely autonomous fashion c. the Constitution gives the president the explicit ability to declare a state of emergency d. legislative, executive, and judicial powers are handled by separate institutions e. the judiciary takes precedence over the legislative and executive branches by design
D
3. The major difference between a republic and a democracy is that ______. a. popular sovereignty is important only in a democracy b. majority tyranny is more of a danger in a republic c. republics are less stable than democracies d. in a republic, elected individuals, rather than citizens themselves, have the direct power to make most governmental decisions e. democracies require a unicameral legislature
D
45. Federal funds provided to states for a broad purpose and unrestricted by detailed requirements are called ______. a. categorical grants b. limited grants c. self-improvement grants d. block grants
D
13. All of the following comparisons between the American presidential and parliamentary systems are true EXCEPT this one: a. Parliament chooses the head of the executive branch, whereas Congress normally does not. b. A prime minister can call new elections, whereas the president cannot. c. A prime minister is usually the leader of the majority party or party with the most seats in Parliament, whereas the president may be a member of the minority party. d. The prime minister is a member of Parliament, whereas the president cannot be a member of Congress. e. The prime minister is not chosen directly by the people, whereas the president is chosen by the people via a "one person, one vote" system.
E
31. Which of the following is NOT a consequence of federalism? a. It creates greater flexibility at local levels of government. b. It leads to increased access to government for citizens. c. It creates a tendency for states to engage in "smokestack chasing." d. It creates a tendency for states to cut social benefits to better compete with each other. e. It creates a more uniform environment for business activity across the country.
E
32. Although the Constitution provides for both national and state powers, ______. a. state powers decreased so dramatically by the 1990s that states were little more than federal administrative units b. the state governments have ignored that division of powers at their whim c. the precise wording of the Constitution has made division of powers between the two levels practically impossible d. states dominated American politics throughout the twentieth century e. the balance between state and national powers has shifted considerably since 1787
E
4. All of the following comparisons between the House and the Senate are true EXCEPT this one: a. Only House members have always been chosen by the public. b. Senators have longer terms than members of the House. c. Senators must be citizens for longer before being elected than members of the House. d. Senate terms are staggered, whereas all House members are elected at the same time. e. The House of Representatives was modeled after the British House of Lords, whereas the Senate was modeled after the House of Commons.
E
43. The ways that the national government tries to influence the states include ______. a. no influence combined with no funding on an issue b. categorical grants c. block grants d. unfunded mandates e. all of the above
E
44. The federal government has been able to use categorical grants to coerce states into doing what it wants most of the time because ______. a. citizens want the federal government to force recalcitrant states to accept the grants b. the Supreme Court has ruled that states cannot turn down this money c. states are not required to spend their own funds to complete the project if they reject the categorical grant d. states fear that if they don't accept all categorical grants they will not be offered any more e. states have become financially dependent on this aid
E
54. Liberals differ from conservatives in that the former are more likely to ______. a. prefer to change the Constitution through formal amendment b. be suspicious of change c. believe in strict construction of the Constitution d. be hostile to altering the Constitution through judicial interpretation e. see the Constitution as a living document that can be continually altered by judicial interpretation
E
9. The powers of the president include all of the following EXCEPT this: a. The president is commander in chief of the armed forces. b. The president appoints, with confirmation by the Senate, members of the judiciary. c. The president negotiates treaties. d. The president can call Congress into session under extraordinary circumstances. e. The president can declare war.
E
8. Discuss the different ways the Constitution has changed over the years. How difficult is it to amend the Constitution? Explain why it should or should not be easier to amend the Constitution.
Students should concentrate particularly on the Supreme Court's role in interpreting what is or is not constitutional. In particular, with the Fourteenth Amendment, the court extended Bill of Rights protections to state citizens. Thus, interpretation by the court has altered the Constitution and what is considered constitutional over time. However, the most direct way to change the Constitution would be by amendment. This is not easy; only twenty-seven amendments have been accepted in our nation's history. Further, the first ten of those were amendments ratified with the Constitution, plus one amendment canceled out another one. (The Twenty-First Amendment undid the Eighteenth Amendment.) These numbers show that amending the Constitution is a particularly difficult process. Some observers suggest that the process should be made simpler, as many states provide for amendments to their state constitutions through initiatives and referenda.
5. Compare and contrast presidential and parliamentary systems.
Students should describe the presidential system as one in which the power of government is divided among three independent institutions: the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary. They should contrast this system with the parliamentary system, in which ultimate power rests with the legislature. They should explain that the president retains power independent of the legislature because the president is chosen by the people (or in the United States an Electoral College) and has independent powers. Further, the separation is reinforced by a system of checks and balances that gives each branch the ability to protect itself from the others. Good essays will point out that in the United States, the power of the legislature is divided further by the use of a bicameral structure. Students can then contrast this arrangement with the parliamentary system, in which the parliament chooses the head of the executive branch, usually called a prime minister, and the other chief executive officials. Students can point out that the united power of the branches is reinforced by usually choosing all these officials from among the members of parliament. Further, the prime minister represents the majority or largest party in the legislature, thus reinforcing the agreement in policy goals between the branches.
3. Explain how the concept of federalism has changed since the days of Marbury v. Madison.
Students should discuss how Marbury v. Madison was considered a radical ruling in 1803. Americans had barely had time to get used to the fact the federal government was supreme, so the concept of an all-powerful Supreme Court that could invalidate unconstitutional laws was considered radical. Federal power was further advanced by McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) and Gibbons v. Ogden (1824). Over time, the federal government obtained more and more power due to increased societal needs brought on by the Civil War, the Great Depression, and the civil rights movement. There was a temporary reprieve from this trend during the early 1990s, when Americans saw a period of devolution. But after September 11, 2001, Americans accepted the argument that we need our federal government to have more power to protect us.
6. Compare and contrast the models of dual and cooperative federalism.
Students should discuss the separate powers that each level of government historically had until the New Deal. They may use the layer cake analogy (though they need to discuss the notion of powers and not just culinary styles). Cooperative federalism came largely from the New Deal era and afterward and included the sharing of responsibilities and the increase of federal power. It is often compared to a marble cake.
4. Discuss the logic behind the separation of powers as given by Montesquieu. According to James Madison, why would having different branches of government hold power protect against tyranny?
Students should fully define separation of powers and then discuss how Montesquieu believed that if one branch of government went bad, the others would remain viable. Madison extended this logic by claiming not only that giving each branch some power would protect against a branch going bad and destroying the whole government but also that the natural thirst for power in human nature would lead different branches to check and balance one another to protect each branch's powers. Particularly solid answers will be able to transition between the definition of separation of powers and an explanation of how checks and balances complement the concept.
2. Compare and contrast unicameral and bicameral legislatures. What are the advantages and disadvantages of a unicameral legislature? Why did the founders choose a bicameral legislature?
Students will need to define unicameral and bicameral legislatures. The advantages of a unicameral legislature are that lawmaking is faster and more efficient and that citizens are encouraged to feel a sense of identity with their government. However, a disadvantage is that it is difficult for a unicameral legislature to represent different interests. The founders preferred a bicameral legislature because it could represent more interests, it could represent the different levels of the federal system, and it divided the power of the legislature.
1. The Supreme Court has interpreted the ______ clause of the Constitution so broadly that there are very few restrictions on what Congress can do.
necessary and proper
6. Federal funds provided to states for a broad purpose and unrestricted by detailed requirements are called ______.
block grants
5. The New Deal increased the power of the federal government in regard to ______.
business and the economy
3. The theory that defines the state and national governments as essentially separate from each other and carrying out independent functions is ______.
dual federalism
2. The founders intended the people to have influence over public policy through the House of Commons.
false
3. The fewer chambers a legislature has, the less representative it is of the people as a whole.
false
7. In a parliamentary system, the executive is the dominant branch of government.
false
8. The constitutional safeguard that places legislative, executive, and judicial powers in different hands is called separation of church and state.
false
4. The supremacy clause of the Constitution states that if a state law and a federal law conflict, the ______ law will be followed.
federal
9. Citizens can directly engage in the legislative process in some states by the use of the ______ or the ______ and can remove elected officials from office before the end of their terms by use of the ______.
initiative, referendum, recall election
8. The Constitution has been amended through the formal amendment process and through ______.
judicial review
10. A ______ is a bill passed by a state legislature and submitted to voters for approval.
referendum
2. The principle that states that national laws will be followed if state laws conflict with them is found in the ______ clause.
supremacy
1. The founders hoped that the Senate would be more stable than the House of Representatives.
true
4. The founders created the Electoral College as an intermediate body to elect the president.
true
5. In a parliamentary system, the legislature selects and removes the executive.
true
6. In Federalist No. 78, Hamilton argued that the judiciary would be the least threatening branch of government.
true
9. The congressional abilities specifically listed in Article I, Section 8, are called the enumerated powers.
true
7. Federal orders that require states to operate and pay for programs created at the national level are called ______.
unfundated mandates