AP Gov Unit 1

Powers directly stated in the Constitution

Expressed powers

With respect to statutes enacted by a single legislature, courts traditionally have handled such contradictions by giving priority to the more recent statute. With respect to conflicts between state and federal law, the Supremacy Clause establishes a different hierarchy: m

federal law wins regardless of the order of enactment. But this hierarchy matters only if the two laws do indeed contradict each other, such that applying one would require disregarding the other.

To begin with, the Supremacy Clause contains the Constitution's most explicit references to what lawyers call

judicial review

If Congress disagrees with a Supreme Court decision Congress can

propose a constitutional amendment to overturn the court's decision such as 13th amendment in reaction to the Dred Scott decision.

All of the following are considered enumerated powers of Congress EXCEPT

setting up the first National Bank of the U.S.

Each of the following violations of individual rights is forbidden in the original Constitution EXCEPT

suspension of freedom of speech.

Among the concurrent powers of the U.S. system are

taxation.

The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court presides over

the impeachment trial of the president.

If you are going to take office in any official political position

you have to take an oath to the Constitution

Justice Scalia maintained that, under ___________ , "Congress may regulate even noneconomic local activity if that regulation is a necessary part of a more general regulation of interstate commerce."

(1995) U.S. v. Lopez

" A well-regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

2nd Amendment

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall be issued, but upon probable cause, supported by Oaths or affirmation, and particular describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

4th Amendment

Necessary and Proper (Elastic) Clause

A clause in Article 1, section 8 that grants power to "make all laws which are necessary and proper" to carrying out delegated.

Which of the following items describes the problems discussed in Federalist #10?

A group wants to take away the rights of others that do not agree with them and look to promote their own interest over those of the public.

How does Madison define "factions" in the Federalist Papers #10?

A number of citizens, whether amounting to a majority of minority, who are united by some common impulse or passion, or interest, Adverse to the rights of other citizens,

Which of the following scenarios would be considered an unconstitutional use of state power?

A state places a tax on furniture made overseas.

Which of the following conclusions is best supported by the infographic above?

Amendments are proposed more often by Congress than by special conventions.

As the framers wrote the Constitution they had no practical choice but to adopt a federal system for all but which of the following reasons?

America had always had a federal system and it would have been too radical and disruptive a change to adopt another system.

The belief in natural rights, as found in the Declaration of Independence, most directly impacted the development of which of the following?

American political culture.

Alexander Hamilton, the author of Federalist No.78, most strongly supports which of the following of the statements about a national judiciary?

An independent, national judiciary is the best safeguard of the integrity of the Constitution.

The National government through separation of powers is divided into

Art I Legislative Branch Art II Executive Branch and Art III Judiciary Branch

The longest and most detailed Article in the Constitution is

Art. I describing the power of the legislative branch to make laws.

The Presidents power as executive is found in

Art. II Sec i

"The executive power shall be vested in a president of the United States of America" is quoted from what article and what section in the U.S. Constitution?

Art. II Section 1

A congressional check of the judicial branch is

Art. III Sec 1. Congress may set judicial salaries and determine the number of federal courts and the number of justices setting on the Supreme Court.

The power of the judiciary branch is describe in

Art. III Sec. 1

One of the seven main divisions of the body of the Constitution

Article

Which of the following statements is FALSE?

As the country became more industrialized and urbanized, economic interest groups turned to the state governments rather than the federal government for help.

Federal grants given automatically to states or communities to support broad programs.

Block grants

Might be limited to the trade, exchange or transportation of people and things, which would exclude, for example, agriculture, manufacturing, and other methods of production; or it might expansively be interpreted to refer to any gainful activity or even to all social interaction

Commerce"

The power to appropriate federal funds is given to

Congress

Which of the following statements about federal block grants is FALSE?

Congress has established an unlimited number of block grants to support narrowly defined programs.

All of the following represent examples of checks and balances EXCEPT

Congress passing the Crime Bill after a conference committee made changes

a plan that provides the rules of government

Constitution

Interstate Compacts I

Constitution allows state governments to enter into agreement with other states.

The result of all this was a nationwide economic downturn that, rightly or not, was blamed on ruinous policies enacted by democratically-elected legislatures. In 1787, political dissatisfaction with the economic situation led to a convention convened in Philadelphia to remedy this state of affairs. The new Constitution it proposed, addressed debtor relief laws with the

Contracts Clause of Article I, Section 10, which barred states from "impairing the obligation of contracts.

Which of the following is an example of concurrent powers?

Determine crimes and punishments

Both the states and the national government remain supreme within their own spheres.

Duel federalism

Clause in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution that gives Congress the right to "make all laws which shall be necessary and proper" to carry out the powers expressed in the other clauses of Article

Elastic clause

If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: You must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place, oblige it to control itself. Which of the following statements would Madison agree with based on his views in the above excerpt?

Elected government officials should be controlled by a system of "checks and balances."

Powers of the federal government that are specifically addressed in the Constitution; for Congress. Listed in Article 1 Section 8.

Enumerated powers

Which of the following federal policies exemplifies the implied powers of congress?

Environmental protection law

Which of the following is the best example of a right of the minority

Equal access to public education

Marbury v. Madison

Established the principle of judicial review

A legal process where a criminal offender is surrendered by the officials of one state to the state in which the crime is alleged to have committed.

Extradition

A system of government in which power two or more governments exercise power over the same people and the same territory

Federalism

Which of the following statements is FALSE?

Federalism reduces the opportunities for political participation.

Debates over the rights retained by the States was a major issue at the Constitutional Convention between Federalists and Anti-Federalists, Today those debates continue. Which of the following comparisons is correctly paired with the ideologies of the Federalists and Anti-Federalists?

Federalists- State laws that legalize marijuana violate federal law are unconstitutional. Anti-Federalists- State laws that legalize marijuana are permitted under the doctrine of state's rights.

Federal categorical grants distributed according to formula specified in law.

Formula grants

Which of the following principles is most fundamental to democratic theory?

Free elections and universal suffrage

States must honor the legality of one another's civil laws because of the

Full Faith and Credit Clause.

Article IV Section 1, each state to recognize the official documents and civil judgments rendered by the courts of other states

Full faith and credit

Which of the following best describes the concept of limited government?

Government must operate within certain bounds set by the people.

Which of the following provisions of the Republican Contract with America addresses the issue of federalism ID Ch.3 TB I. i term limits constitutional amendment II. balance budget constitutional amendment III. welfare reform act

III

Why was the legislature divided into 2 branches

In the republican form of government, the legislative branch tends to be the most powerful. That is why the framers divided the Congress into two branches, the House of Representatives and the Senate, and provided for a different method of election in each branch.

The boundary lines of congressional districts must be redrawn every ten years in order to

Incumbent senators are more likely to be reelected than are incumbent members of the House of Representatives.

A written agreement between two or more states

Interstate compact

What is the thesis of federalist 51?

James Madison focuses on the need for checks and balances in government while reminding people in government that separation of powers is critical to balance any one person or branch whose ambition is overwhelming against someone who is also overly ambitious.

The power of the Supreme Court to declare laws and actions of local, or national governments unconstitutional

Judicial review

The power of the courts to determine whether acts of Congress and the executive are in accord with the U.S. Constitution.

Judicial review

U.S. House of Representatives Benghazi Hearings 2013

Legislative checks Executive The U.S. House of Representatives Armed Services Committee Sub Committee on Oversight and Investigation calls members of the Presidents executive branch into hearings over the killing of the US Ambassador.

What is Madison discussing in the first half of his essay (Fed #51)? What is he attempting to explain and justify?

Madison is laying out the how and why the republic and the separation of powers are the best way of governance to ensure liberty and rights for the majority and minority.

How did Madison's view of human nature affect his theory of government (Federalist #51)

Madison's view of human nature was that people were self-centered and had their own personal interests and ambitions. He knows that since "men were (not angels (44)", they were inclined abuse their privileges and power at hand, so he believes that a check on each branch of power is necessary since it is ran by men.

A formal order given by a higher authority

Mandate

Most members of Congress believe the legal driving age should be 18, because statistics show that drivers under eighteen have many more accidents than those 18 and older. Which of the following is the most practical and lasting action Congress can take to address this issue?

Mandate states to set the driving age at 18 and then withhold highway funds from any state that does not comply.

The main instrument the national government use to influence the state governments is I

Mandates

Unfunded Mandates

Mandates that states must implement at their own expense (versus mandates with federal funding to carry them out).

Grants-in-aid

Money provided by the federal government to state/local government for a specific project or program.

Inherent Powers

Powers inherent in a national government, although not explicitly stated in the Constitution. (Inherent = existing as something permanent)

Reserved Powers

Powers the Constitution reserves for the states (Article 1 and Tenth amendment).

To revoke by legislative enactment

Repeal

Power is shared among the three branches of government

Separation of power

"TO WHAT expedient, then, shall we finally resort, for maintaining in practice the necessary partition of power among the several departments, as laid down in the Constitution? The only answer that can be given is, that as all these exterior provisions are found to be inadequate, the defect must be supplied, by so contriving the interior structure of the government as that its several constituent parts may, by their mutual relations, be the means of keeping each other in their proper places. Without presuming to undertake a full development of this important idea, I will hazard a few general observations, which may perhaps place it in a clearer light, and enable us to form a more correct judgment of the principles and structure of the government planned by the convention." -James Madison, The Federalist paper No.51 In the excerpt above, Madison argues that the Constitution will protect which of the following principles of American government?

Separation of powers.

Which of the following is not a concurrent power of national and state governments?

Setting educational requirements for local school

Madison attempts to prevent injustice and instability caused by a minority faction based on interests by

Shaping the government so that it uses a system of majority rule.

In Federalist #10, what is a faction?

Special interest groups

What are the reasons why states would want more power to govern or control behavior linked to interstate commerce?

State wanted to enact laws to relive debtors, erect trade barriers to protect their own businesses from competing with out of state firms.

In McCulloch v Maryland, the Supreme Court established which of the following principles?

States cannot interfere with or tax the legitimate activities of the federal government

A position that favors state and local action in dealing with problems

States' rights positions

A law prohibiting public officials from holding meetings not open to the public

Sunshine law

"the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding."

Supremacy Clause

Explicitly specifies that the Constitution binds the judges in every state notwithstanding any state laws to the contrary.

Supremacy Clause

Statement in Article VI of the Constitution establishing that the Constitution, laws passed by Congress, and treaties of the United States "shall be the supreme Law of the Land

Supremacy clause

The framers were concerned with which branch or branches becoming tyrannical and sought to checks its or their power?

The Executive branch

All of the following represent examples of limited government EXCEPT

The Reserved Power Clause of the 10th Amendment

The Art.1 Sec, 5 the power to impeach the president is given to

The U.S. House of Representatives

Cooperative federalism

The concept that national and state governments shared political policy making power and should cooperate with one another.

Public Policy

The exercise of government power in doing those things necessary to maintain legitimate authority and control over society

Which of the following statements best summarizes the argument in the Texas Justice Foundation's brief?

The judicial branch can determine if Congress is operating within its enumerated powers and thus checks legislative power.

Which of the following most accurately describes a change in the allocation of national and state power that has occurred since the ratification of the Constitution?

The national government has gained additional power relative to the states as a result of its increased power to tax and spend.

The judicial branch relies on

The other two branches to write laws and enforce court orders.

Fiscal policy

The policies of taxation and spending that comprise of the nation's economic policy.

King V Burwel 2015 Federalism

The power of the Federal government is increased over the states. The Court held that Congress did not delegate the authority to determine whether the tax credits are available through both state-created and federally created exchanges to the Internal Revenue Service, but the language of the statute clearly indicates that Congress intended the tax credits to be available through both types of exchanges. The federal government has the power to set up health care exchanges in the states.

A member of Congress has proposed an amendment to the Constitution to revise the 2nd Amendment. Which of the following options best describes what would have to happen for this proposed change to the 2nd Amendment to take effect

The proposed change to the 2nd Amendment would need to be passed by a 2/3rds majority in both the House and Senate and ratified by 3/4ths of the State Legislatures.

Based on Federalist No.10, which of the following statements could best be inferred about James Madison's political philosophy?

The protection of personal property is important to keeping a political society stable.

Which of the following is an example of checks and balances, as established in the Constitution?

The requirement that presidential appointments to the Supreme Court be approved by the Senate

Hurtado v. California 1884 Federalism

The states maintain their power in relation to the federal government. The first test of the 14th Amendment and the due process clause. In this case the Court ruled that 14th Amendment did not make the Bill of Rights applicable to the states in regards to the 5th Amendment and the need for a grand jury indictment.

According to Madison, the most common and durable source of faction is which of the following?

The various and unequal distribution of property

All of the following serve as checks on the power of the federal courts EXCEPT:

The voters can oust federal judges in national elections.

Which is not true of factions as Madison defines them?

They are problems associated mainly with majority rule.

According to Madison, a democracy & a small republic have similar problems that include:

They can only include a small number of people and they risk majority tyranny.

Which of the following actions can Congress take if the Supreme Court finds a federal law unconstitutional?

Try to amend the Constitution

The ___________ has the power to hold the impeachment trial and remove a president from office with a ________ .

U.S. Senate can remove the president with a two thirds vote of the members present.

The plan at the Constitutional Convention in which each State would be represented in Congress based on the states population

Virginia Plan

What does Madison mean when he says (Federalist Paper #51) "The great security against the gradual concentration of several powers in the same department, consists in giving those who administer each department, the necessary constitutional means, and personal motives, to resist encroachment of others?

[T]he great security against a gradual concentration of the several powers in the same department, consists in giving to those who administer each department the necessary constitutional means and personal motives to resist encroachments of the others

If the allocation of power in a cooperative federal system were compared to a cake it would be most like

a marbled cake where the colors blend into each other.

The Constitution requires the National Government to guarantee

a republican form of government for every State.

Federal regulation of state governments is usually accomplished through

attaching conditions to grants it gives them.

Grants that are given more or less automatically to states or communities, which have discretion in deciding how to spend the money with no strings attached are called

block grants.

Federalism is a way of organizing a nation so that

both national and state levels of government have authority over the same land and people.

Each of the branches of government has the power to

check the other two branches and creates a balance of power.

Public policy is defined as

choice that government makes in response to an issue.

Ordinarily, statutes enacted by the same legislative body are

cumulative

Judicial review gives the courts the power to

declare legislative laws and executive actions unconstitutional.

The fact that Congress has chosen to establish federal income taxes,

does not mean that state legislatures have to make the same choice as a matter of state law.

The national government has exclusive control over foreign and military policy, the postal system, and monetary policy, while the states have exclusive control over other specific areas. This division of responsibilities reflect

dual federalism.

The Constitution's provision that Congress has the right to "make all laws necessary and proper for carrying into execution" its powers is often referred to as the

elastic clause necessary and proper clause.

One purpose of the Electoral College was to

ensure an independent executive branch

Citizens who commit a crime in one State and then flee to another State to escape prosecution are to be returned to the original State under

extradition.

The pattern of spending, taxing, and providing grants in the federal system is called

fiscal federalism.

The fact that a driver's license from one state is valid in other states is an example of

full faith and credit.

Since 1929, the national government's share of American governmental expenditures has

grown rapidly.

Make money

implied powers

Federalism is advantageous for democracy for each of the following reasons EXCEPT

increases the number of decisions and compromises made at the national level.

Pluralist Theory

interest groups compete in the political arena with each promoting its own policy preferences through organized efforts

A check on the president's power to make appointments and sign treaties

is the Senate's power of Advice and Consent.

The idea that even duly enacted statutes do not supply rules of decision for courts to the extent that the statutes are unconstitutional

judicial review

Clinton v. City of New York 1998

legislature checks Executive The Supreme Court rules at the federal level the line item veto is unconstitutional violation of the separation of power. The executive branch can not cancel or amend laws.

Federal judges serve for

life, until the resign or are impeached and removed from office.

Which statement about local government is accurate?

local government is a subunit of State government.

John Locke's ideas on natural rights were related to human law in that

natural rights were considered higher than human law.

The basic principle that valid federal statutes preempt conflicting rules of state law is

not controversial

The Supremacy Clause definitely does

not mean that each state must base all of its own laws on the same policy judgments reflected in federal statutes.

The reserved powers of the state governments can best be described as those powers

not specifically granted to the national government or denied to the states

When the Supremacy Clause was adopted, judges had long been using an analogous test to decide whether

one law repeals another

A presidential veto can be

overridden with a two thirds vote of both houses of Congress.

Which of the following groups believes that bargaining and compromise are essential ingredients in our democracy?

pluralists

The effects a policy has on people and problems is called

policy impacts.

The policymaking institutions of the American national government include all of the following EXCEPT

political parties.

A unitary system is a way of organizing government so that IE Ch.3 TB

power is concentrated in a central government.

Federalism Power

powers of government are shared between a national government and state governments.

Things that are indivisible, nonexclusive, and that everyone can share are called

public goods.

Set up public schools

reserved powers

Instead of giving Congress additional powers, the Supremacy Clause

simply addresses the legal status of the laws that other parts of the Constitution empower Congress to make, as well as the legal status of treaties and the Constitution itself

The legislative process at the national level of government reflects the intent of the framers of the Constitution to create a legislature that would be

slow and deliberate in the law-making process

The Tenth Amendment provides for I

statesʹ reserve or police powers.

The term for when relevant federal statute includes a preemption clause, what does the clause mean? Should any additional instructions about preemption be inferred?

statutory interpretation

Ever since Hines v. Davidowitz (1941) The Supreme Court has generally held U1 Fed SC ID

that state law is preempted whenever its application "stands as an obstacle to the accomplishment and execution of the full purposes and objectives" behind a valid federal statute.

Those who support a narrower reading observe that

the Constitution aims to constrain, as well as to empower, Congress, and the broadest reading of the Commerce power extends well beyond anything the framers imagined.

The core of the Supremacy Clause is that

the Constitution and federal laws take priority over any conflicting rules of state law.

If the federal courts make a ruling

the president can refuse or not support the judicial ruling.

A executive branch check on the congressional branch is that

the president can veto congressional legislation that reaches his desk.

In the opening paragraph of the Declaration of Independence Jefferson claims that

the purpose of government is to protect natural rights,

Almost every policy the national government has adopted has originated with

the states.

The Supremacy Clause has

three main sections

National laws that direct state or local governments to comply with federal rules or regulations but do not include funds to help defray the costs are called

unfunded mandates.

As a result of our federal form of government, the death penalty in the United States

varies substantially by state.