Government Chapter 3 Test
Describe one obligation that the Constitution places on the National Government with regard to the States.
1. Each state will have a republican form of govt 2. Protection against invasion and domestic violence 3. Must respect the Territorial boundaries of each state
The Preamble to the U.S. Constitution speaks for "We the People." It also promises to "establish justice." Describe two ways in which the Constitution creates a framework of rules that helps carry out the principles expressed in the Preamble. Use details to support your answer.
1. The Constitution contains the Bill of Rights which specifically declares what rights people have 2. It contains amendments which are extremely important laws to society
Use the chart to answer the question. If you wanted to gather a group of friends and respectfully protest against a new law, on which amendment's protections would you rely?
1st amendment
To which one of the listed situations would the protections of the Full Faith and Credit Clause apply? "Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State." —Article IV, Section 1
A man taking a trip wants his driver's license from one State to be accepted as proper identification in another State.
Which of the following statements supplies the information on proposing an amendment that is missing from the chart?
A national convention called by Congress at the request of 2/3 of the State legislatures
Use the chart to help you answer the question. Which statement describes the method missing from the chart by which a constitutional amendment can be ratified?
A pro-ratification vote by 3/4 of the State legislatures
Use the photo to answer the question. Oregon's no self-service law is an example of a government using what type of power in our federal system?
A reserved State power not mentioned in the Constitution.
What is the difference between a categorical grant and a block grant? Use details from the text to support your answer.
Both are from the federal gov block grants are super broad and categorical must be used specifically.
The map shows the years that various states were admitted into the Union. Note the date of California's admission compared to its neighbors. Based on your knowledge of the terms under which States are admitted, what does this suggest?
California had a higher population than its neighbors and thus met the requirement for a territory to apply for statehood before they did.
What limit does the Constitution place on the ability of the U.S. government to add new States to the Union?
Congress cannot take territory from an existing State to create a new State without the permission of the original State's legislature.
Which of the following is an example of checks and balances at work?
Congress removes from the bench a federal judge who has accepted a bribe.
Which of the following is NOT a check available to the legislative branch?
Declaring an executive act to be unconstitutional
An explicitly denied power is a power banned outright by the Constitution. An implicitly denied power is a power banned, but not directly mentioned in the Constitution. Which of the following powers is implicitly denied to the Federal Government?
Establish marriage and divorce laws
What is the difference between an expressed power and an inherent power? Use details you learned from the text to support your answer.
Expressed Power: Written directly in the constitution Inherent Powers: A power that is possessed by a nation of the world
Why do some critics oppose federal grants-in-aid to the States? Use details you learned from the text to support your answer.
Federal grants may have ties to them like the state has to do something in return. In effect, grants-in-aid blur the division-of-powers line in the federal system.
How is the principle of federalism connected to the idea of limited government? Use details you learned from the text to support your answer.
Federalism is when the federal government has limits because it has certain powers the states has, and the states have powers the federal does not have. Limited government is restricted in what it can and can't do.
Federalism is an important part of the Constitution's web of protections of individual freedom. What is the reasoning behind this? Use details to support your answer.
Federalism protects the liberty of individuals by preventing the government from becoming too powerful. If government were to gain too much power, they would most likely abuse it, putting the freedom of citizens at risk.
Use the photo to help you answer the question. To which amendment in the Bill of Rights are these protests related?
First Amendment (freedom of speech / press)
Based on the reasoning Chief Justice John Marshall uses in the excerpt below, what choice best describes the decision he made in the McCulloch v. Maryland case? "[T]he states have no power . . . to retard, impede, burden, or in any manner control, the operations of the constitutional laws enacted by Congress." —Chief Justice John Marshall, McCulloch v. Maryland, 1819
He decided that federal law could not be challenged by State law.
Use the chart to answer the question. Which statement best describes the intent of the 10th Amendment?
It is an effort to promote a balance of power between the Federal and State governments in the federal system.
Read this text excerpt about senatorial courtesy. Which explanation describes the underlying justification that validates this practice? "The Senate will approve only those presidential appointees, such as a federal judge or a United States marshal, who are acceptable to the senator or senators of the President's party from the State involved."
It is an example of an unwritten rule, or custom, that is closely followed in the Senate.
What was the significance of the Bill of Rights when it was first adopted, and why does it remain important today? Use details to support your answer.
It is the laws that American's live by, and the constitution would not of been approved without the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights assured people that they would still have their freedom and wouldn't have to worry about too much government power.
Which of the following statements BEST describes the cause and effect of the 15th Amendment?
It was passed as a result of the Union's victory in the Civil War, and extended the right to vote to male African Americans
Use the chart to answer the question. The first three Amendments listed have which of the following in common?
Protecting the rights of individuals in the court system
What constitutional principle prevents the tyranny that James Madison describes in the quotation below from taking place? "The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many . . . may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny." —James Madison, The Federalist No. 47, 1788
Separation of powers
The chart shows some of the powers held by different levels of government in our federal system. Which of the following powers is a concurrent power shared by both the federal and State governments that is missing from the chart?
Setting punishments for crimes
What events led to the ratification of the 26th Amendment and what rights did it guarantee?
The 26th Amendment says that anyone over the age of 18 can vote. This is because after and during the vietnam war, people felt that if children are eligible to join the war, they should be able to vote.
Identify which fact about the amendment process best supports this quotation from the lesson text. "The formal amendment process emphasizes the federal character of the governmental system."
The National and State governments must work together to propose and ratify a constitutional amendment.
What is the significance of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787? Use details you learned from the text to support your answer.
The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 laid the basis for the government of the Northwest Territory and for the admission of its constituent parts as states into the union...until 1862
Which of the following is an example of the principle of judicial review being exercised?
The Supreme Court declares a State law unconstitutional.
What argument was Oliver Wendell Holmes making in this quotation about how our federal system works? "I do not think the United States would come to an end if we [the Court] lost our power to declare an Act of Congress void. I do think the Union would be imperiled if we could not make that declaration as to the laws of the several States." —Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes
The Supreme Court needs to be able to settle disputes between the States and the Federal Government by reviewing the constitutionality of State laws.
Use the chart to answer the question. What idea embodied in the Constitution is demonstrated by how California and Wyoming are represented in Congress?
The bicameral legislature creates equal representation in the Senate, but population-based representation in the House.
The principle of popular sovereignty is based on the belief that
The government gets its power from the people and can exist only with their consent.
Which of the following statements best expresses the argument Alexander Hamilton is making in the quotation below? "Laws are a dead letter without courts to expound and define their true meaning and operation." —Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist No. 22, 1788
The government needs courts to explain and interpret laws.
The map shows the years that various states were admitted into the Union. Which of the following statements best describes the pattern of how States were admitted into the Union?
The last States in the continental United States were admitted in the 1900s.
Once an amendment is formally proposed, how long do the States have to ratify it?
There is no time limit on the ratification process and States have as long as they wish to consider amendments.
Why did the Framers choose to create a federal system rather than give more power to the central government or to the State governments? Use details you learned from the text to support your answer.
They chose a federal system because they believed that governmental power threatened the liberty and rights of the citizens. More representation; checks and balances
How did the Framers ensure that the government of the United States could adapt over time to meet the needs of the people? Give specifics to support your answer.
They left room for changes in the Constitution so the government could add amendments; the Constitution wasn't detailed for that reason. (Example) The Formal Amendment Process and they had 4 formal methods.
The text states that most of what government does in this country today is done by State and local governments. Using details from the text, give evidence that supports this argument.
They plan and pay for most roads, run public schools, provide water, organize police and fire services, establish zoning regulations, license professions, and arrange elections for their citizens.
What are some reasons that States form interstate compacts?
To increase commerce and promote economic prosperity, and to trade
Under which of the following scenarios would your 5th Amendment rights be violated?
You were found innocent of a crime but later charged again with that crime and forced to give evidence that made you seem guilty.
Use the photo to answer the question. An image shows a ticket which reads, "U.S. Senate Impeachment of the President; admit the bearer; March 13, 1868." Which constitutional principle was being practiced at the event represented by this ticket?
checks and balances
Before any new States can be admitted to the Union, they first have to
create a State constitution that provides a republican form of government.
Which of the following is an example of Congress expanding the provisions of the Constitution by enacting a law rather than seeking a formal Amendment?
creating a federal court system
Which of the constitutional principles listed was Madison describing and defending in the quotation below? "In the compound republic of America, the power . . . is first divided between two distinct governments. . . . The different governments will control each other, at the same time that each will be controlled by itself." —James Madison, Federalist No. 51, 1788
federalism
Use the quotation from the text to help you identify which of the following forms of government aid qualifies as a categorical grant. "Categorical grants are usually made with conditions attached. These 'strings' require the State to . . . use the federal monies only for the specific purpose involved . . . [and] obey a set of guidelines tailored to the particular purpose for which the monies are given."
funds provided by a federal agency to help build a single airport according to federal requirements
Tariffs are taxes on foreign imports. In our federal system, the power to levy tariffs is a power
granted exclusively to the Federal Government by the Constitution.
The Framers included the Supremacy Clause in the Constitution for the purpose of
helping to settle disputes between different levels of government in the federal system
States that joined the Union after the original 13 colonies
immediately received the same congressional status and constitutional rights as the original States.
What advantages did the Framers see in creating a bicameral legislature rather than one with only a single legislative body? Use details from the text to support your answer.
it further divided up in the power in congress, it allowed both smaller and larger states to be satisfied on how they represented
Which of the following powers is a concurrent power shared by both the Federal Government and the State governments?
levying and collecting taxes from businesses and citizens
This clause in the Constitution is used to justify what type of action by the Federal Government? [Congress has the power] "to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defense and general welfare of the United States." —Article I, Section 8, Clause 1
providing federal grants-in-aid to State governments in many policy areas
The chart lists some of the powers denied to the Federal Government. An explicitly denied power is a power banned outright by the Constitution. An implicitly denied power is a power banned, but not directly mentioned in the Constitution. Which one of the following powers is implicitly denied to the Federal Government, and could go in the empty place on the chart?
tax State or local governments
What name is commonly given to this quote from the Constitution? "A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another State, shall on Demand of the executive Authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having Jurisdiction of the Crime." —Article IV, Section 2
the Extradition Clause
Local governments get their authority from
the State governments.
Use the quote from the text about reserved powers to determine which of the following examples is a reserved power possessed only by State governments. "The reserved powers are those powers that the Constitution does not grant to the National Government and does not, at the same time, deny to the States."
the ability to forbid people under 18 to marry without parental consent
What specific constitutional principle was Alexander Hamilton referring to in this quotation? "It therefore belongs to [the courts] to ascertain . . . the meaning of any particular act proceeding from the legislative body." —Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 78, 1788
the authority to interpret laws
The Necessary and Proper Clause, shown below, is used to justify what category of government powers in our federal system? [Congress has the power] "to make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof." —Article I, Section 8
the implied powers of the Federal Government
The existence of the federal district courts is evidence of which of the following?
the way that executive agreements have added to the basic structure of the Federal Government
The diagram shows some of the ways the executive branch can limit the power of the other branches. What is another way in which the executive branch can check the legislative branch that is missing from the diagram?
vetoing a bill
