Unit 1 Study Guide
The relationship between the states under the Articles of Confederation could best be described as which of the following?
A loose league of friendship
Which of the following is an accurate comparison of the two Supreme Court cases?
A. Ruled that national laws were supreme to state laws/Ruled that the Gun-Free School Zones Act was unconsitutional
In 1974, Congress created a program that grants money to state and local governments to help revitalize low-income communities. State and local governments can decide how best to use their money and used it to rebuild streets, fund libraries, and fix drinking water systems. This is an example of which of the following types of federal aid?
Block grants
" 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." -Publius (James Madison), Federalist No. 51, 1788 Which of the following principles of US government is most consistent with the author's argument?
Checks and balances
Why did the Framers decide to include Article V of the Constitution, detailing an amendment process?
Concerns about protecting self-government
Which of the following is an accurate comparison of the exclusive and concurrent powers of the federal government?
D. Declare War/Levy Taxes
The government of Maryland is considering increasing its welfare benefits significantly. Which of the following describes a difficulty that the state government may face in the policy implementation process?
Due to the "privileges and immunities" clause of Article IV, poorer citizens of other states might move to Maryland in order to take advantage of the benefits
"All communities divide themselves into the few and the many. The first are the rich and the wellborn, the other the mass of the people. . . . The people are turbulent and changing; they seldom judge or determine right. Give therefore to the first class a distinct, permanent share in the government. They will check the unsteadiness of the second, and as they cannot receive any advantage by a change, they therefore will ever maintain good government." -Alexander Hamilton, "Speech in the Constitutional Convention on a Plan of Government," 1787 Which of the following models of democracy is the author advocating?
Elite democracy
Based on the ruling in McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), what is the difference between enumerated powers and implied powers?
Enumerated powers are powers that the Constitution explicitly grants to the federal government, whereas implied powers are not explicitly written but are necessary for carrying out enumerated powers
"When the Articles of Confederation were drafted, Americans had little experience of what a national government could do for them and bitter experience of what an arbitrary government could do to them. In creating a central government they were therefore more concerned with keeping it under control than with giving it the means to do its job." -Edmund S. Morgan, The Birth of the Republic, 1763-89, 1956 Which of the following concepts is most consistent with the author's argument?
Limited government
An informal group advocating for a $15 minimum wage collects 590,000 signatures from registered voters in their state. In the next election, this initiative appears on the ballot for voters to decide whether it becomes a state constitutional amendment. This is an example of which of the following models of democracy?
Participatory democracy
Anthony is concerned by his state government's efforts to decrease regulations on pesticides that could hurt the bee population. He decides to join the League of Conservation Voters to help them lobby against deregulating pesticides. This is an example of which of the following models of democracy?
Pluralist democracy
After a House of Representatives member supports an unpopular tax despite protests from his constituents, he loses his bid for reelection. This is an example of which of the following democratic ideals?
Popular sovereignty
Read the passage and answer the following question. "In so extensive a republic, the great officers of government would soon become above the control of the people, and abuse their power to the purpose of aggrandizing themselves, and oppressing them. The trust committed to the executive offices, in a country of the extent of the United States, must be various and of magnitude." -Brutus No. 1 Which constitutional provision would the author most likely support?
The addition of a Bill of Rights
Social contract is best defined as which of the following?
The agreement between people and the government defining the rights and duties of each
A member of the House of Representatives proposes a Constitutional amendment that would force the president and Congress to balance the budget every year. Which of the following accurately describes the amendment process?
The bill must pass both the House and the Senate with a two-thirds majority
The National Recovery Act of 1933, enacted by Franklin Roosevelt's administration to combat the Great Depression, vastly expanded the power of the federal government to regulate wages and labor standards. This scenario is an example of which of the following aspects of federalism?
The changing balance of power between the states and federal government in response to societal needs
"Our Debts being unfunded and unprovided for, the Interest cannot be paid. Those therefore who trusted us in the Hour of Distress are defrauded. To expect that under such Circumstances others will confide in the Government would be Folly, and to expect that Foreigners will Trust a Government which has no Credit with its own Citizens must be madness . . . "The United States have call'd for eight Million of Dollars early in November last, of which the first quarterly Payment was to have been made on the first Day of April next. But I cannot find that a single State has laid the Taxes." -Robert Morris, letter to the president of Congress, 1782 Based on the text, which of the following statements would the author most likely agree with?
The national government under the Articles lacks necessary tax enforcement power
Which of the following aspects of the US Constitution best illustrates the concept of elite democracy?
The original wording of the Constitution regarding the selection of US senators
In 1993, Congress passed the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, which required background checks for gun purchases from licensed gun dealers. The bill required local chief law enforcement officers to perform background checks on prospective handgun purchasers until the Attorney General created a federal system to do this task. Two county sheriffs sued the United States, arguing that the law was an unconstitutional use of federal power. The case, Printz v. United States, went to the Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of the county sheriffs. The Court ruled that the necessary and proper clause does not give the federal government the power to require local law enforcement to fulfill the federal task of performing background checks. This is an example of which of the following aspects of federalism in the United States?
The system of checks and balances between the branches of the federal government constrains policymaking
Removal of a public official for crimes or abuse of power is an example of which of the following principles of American government?
Checks and balances
Read the passage and answer the following question. "As long as the reason of man continues fallible, and he is at liberty to exercise it, different opinions will be formed . . . The diversity in the faculties of men, from which the rights of property originate, is not less an insuperable obstacle to a uniformity of interests. The protection of these faculties is the first object of government. From the protection of different and unequal faculties of acquiring property, the possession of different degrees and kinds of property immediately results; and from the influence of these on the sentiments and views of the respective proprietors, ensues a division of the society into different interests and parties." -Publius (James Madison), Federalist No. 10 Based on the text, which of the following statements would the author most likely agree with?
Political liberty is best protected by the fragmentation of political power in a large republic
A member of the Senate makes a statement to the press that she is unsure of how she is going to vote on a bill. After numerous calls from her constituents asking her to vote for the bill, she votes in support of the bill. This is an example of which of the following democratic ideals?
Republicanism
Shana has a daughter in a public school whose students take a national reading test each year. Shana strongly disagrees with the test's methods and believes the test should either be replaced or eliminated. Which of the following is an action Shana could take to influence education policy?
Run for a seat on her local school board in order to influence her district not to use the test
