POLS 206 CH 3 - TAMU Matthew Haydon

Which is an accurate statement describing the growth of the U.S. government?

Liberals have favored intervention by the federal government to fix problems that the states have not.

The U.S. government has never had to take over the functions of a state or local government because of the federal system created by the Constitution.

False

Voting for referenda is one way that citizens can become involved in their local government.

True

Today, all of the states have a legal drinking age of 21. How did this happen?

The federal government withheld funding for state highways until the states raised the drinking age to twenty-one.

If the Republican party is the minority in Congress and does not consistently occupy the executive branch, the most effective strategy for enacting new policy would be ______.

developing a local strategy to focus on securing power at the state level

Enumerated powers

powers explicitly given to Congress in the Constitution

How did the Union victory in the Civil War decide the question of nullification?

The sovereignty of states under the Constitution was defeated and rejected, so they could not void federal law.

What was the significance of the Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) decision?

It allowed the federal government to regulate businesses.

Which of the following is a disadvantage of federalism?

Programs and policies are often duplicated at different levels of government

Which president sought to return power to the states by giving them more control over how they spent federal money?

Ronald Regan

What is meant by the devolution of power in the United States?

the transfer of powers from federal to state governments

Federalism means that there is no real power at local levels of government.

False

Federalism allows government to do which of the following?

respond to local needs

The struggle between the national and state governments in the United States originated in the ______.

Articles of Confederation

How has hyperpartisanship in the last few decades altered the relationship between state and federal governments in the United States?

It has caused gridlock in Congress, forcing many states to find their own solution to problems.

Why is local government not discussed at all in the Constitution?

Local government was intended to be entirely subordinate to state governments.

How does the Constitution limit the power of state governments?

Article I, Section 10 denies the states powers that they had under the Articles of Confederation.

Gibbons v Ogden

Congress has the power to regulate most interstate business under the commerce clause.

What is one act of government that is possible under a unitary system of government like Britain but virtually unthinkable under a federal system like the United States?

How has the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution been used to limit state powers?

The Supreme Court has interpreted its protection of rights for all citizens to extend to state rights as well.

Dred Scott v Sandford

Congress does not have the power to make laws for territories, like one to outlaw slavery.

Local governments worry more than the federal government about pleasing their constituents because ______.

people who can afford it are likely to relocate to another city or state

Which of the following Supreme Court decisions stated that the federal income tax was unconstitutional?

Pollock v. Farmers Loan and Trust Co.

What event halted the conservative trend toward devolution that began in the early 1990s?

the terrorist attacks of Sept 11 2001

States can regulate some parts of interstate business if local interests require it.

Cooley v Board of Wardens

Which congressional strategy could be considered "coercive federalism"?

categorical grants

How did John Marshall, the third chief justice of the United States Supreme Court, interpret the necessary and proper clause?

Congress could do whatever was appropriate to execute its constitutional powers, even if not addressed in the Constitution itself.

Which is an example of how federalism shares power between the federal and state governments?

Both the federal and state governments can raise and spend taxes.

The policies that most affect our everyday lives typically fall under state purview.

True

Necessary and Proper clause

Congress can make any law necessary to carry out its responsibilities

Supremacy Clause

The Constitution and the laws made by Congress are the supreme laws of the land.

The Civil War represented a giant step toward which of the following?

stronger national government

McCulloch v Maryland

Confirmed the supremacy of national over state government.

The present-day Supreme Court has a liberal majority.

False

What is the most common form of federal aid that state and local governments get?

categorical grants