Unit 1 review
Which of the following is the best example of a categorical grant?
Money given to states for special education programs
Which of the following forms of financial aid from the national government gives the states the broadest discretion in the spending of money?
Block grants
Cooperative federalism can best be described by which of the following statements?
Different levels of government are involved in common policy areas.
Of the following, which has been used most to expand the power of the national government?
The commerce clause of the Constitution
Which of the following is an accurate description of the decision in McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) ?
The federal government had the authority to establish a national bank, and Maryland's tax was unconstitutional.
Concurrent powers have which of the following effects on the United States political system?
They make it possible for the states and the national government to simultaneously exercise influence in the same areas of public policy.
The congressional power that has been contested most frequently in the federal courts is the power to
regulate interstate commerce
The decision in United States v. Lopez (1995) reflected new ideas about federalism at the time that can be best characterized by which of the following?
A delegation of power from the federal government to state governments, increasing state and local sovereignty
States and localities have the most discretion in establishing policy when federal funding is derived from
Block Grants
"We are unanimously of opinion, that the law passed by the legislature of Maryland, imposing a tax on the Bank of the United States, is unconstitutional and void...This is a tax on the operation of an instrument employed by the government of the Union to carry its powers into execution. Such a tax must be unconstitutional..." The decision of the Supreme Court upheld the principle that
Congress has the power to make laws to carry out its constitutional duties
Diversity of public policy throughout the United States is primarily a consequence of
Federalism
Which of the following constitutional principles best explains why there is variation among states on the use of capital punishment?
Federalism
Which of the following constitutional principles most directly addresses the relationship between the national and state governments?
Federalism
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.
Which of the following is a correct statement about the federal government's role in interstate commerce?
The federal government's role has been greatly expanded through the interpretation of the interstate commerce clause.
"We are unanimously of opinion, that the law passed by the legislature of Maryland, imposing a tax on the Bank of the United States, is unconstitutional and void...This is a tax on the operation of an instrument employed by the government of the Union to carry its powers into execution. Such a tax must be unconstitutional..." Which of the following resulted from this Supreme Court decision?
The power of the national government was strengthened.
"The Congress shall have 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." The practical effect of this clause has been to
allow the national government to extend its powers beyond those enumerated in the Constitution
In a federal system of government, political power is primarily
divided between the central government and regional governments
The supremacy clause in the Constitution states that
federal law takes precedence over state law when the laws conflict
The terms "fiscal federalism" and "cooperative federalism" refer to situations in which
federal, state, and local governments work together to complete a project, with the federal government providing much of the project funding
Constitutional checks and balances, especially applied to the president, are designed to
minimize the threat of tyranny from any one branch of government
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
The Americans with Disabilities Act was widely unpopular with governors and mayors because it
required that states and cities pay for federally mandated construction and remodeling
The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution has been interpreted by the Supreme Court to
reserve powers to the states
The clause in the United States Constitution that states that federal law will prevail in the event of a conflict between federal and state law is known as the
supremacy clause
In the United States political system, the term Federalism refers to
the division of powers between the levels of government
Which of the following actions by the federal government best illustrates the concept of unfunded mandates?
Requiring states and municipalities to provide certain services for their citizens without providing resources to pay for those services
Which of the following is an accurate description of the decision in United States v. Lopez (1995) ?
The Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 was struck down as unconstitutional because it exceeded the commerce clause.
Which of the following best defines the constitutional interpretation of federalism?
The federal government and the states have separate but overlapping powers; where these powers conflict the federal government prevails.