Midterm Flashcards by Cristi Lemon

Among the major features of the federal form of government are that it is a system in which:

All of the above

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That government model characterized as a “league of equal and sovereign members,” where only member units affect people directly, and member units are equally represented in the national legislature is known as a _______ model

Confederal

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The government model in which all power resides in the central government and the central government can alter or abolish member units is known as a _____ model.

Unitary

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Most federal systems of the world were created in the 1800s, within about 50 years of the adoption of the American model.

False

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The federal system appears to appeal especially to large countries with large and diverse populations.

True

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The Framers of the U.S. Constitution made sure to include a long and detailed listing of specified powers and authorities belonging to state and local governments.

False

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Among the benefits often said to be associated with the federal form of government are:

policy flexibility and experimentation

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Among the negative aspects often identified with the federal form of government is the difficulty of coordinating policy responsiveness and policy impacts among multiple units of government.

True

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Of the major elements of the U.S Constitution (like separation of powers, checks and balances, etc.), the concept of federalism was oldest and best known by the framers.

false

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“Federalism” is a system of governing that constitutionally apportions authority between a national-level government and various subnational governments. The subject of how those subnational governments relate to and interact with the national government and with each other is known as:

Intergovernmental relations

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Those constitutional powers that are recognized as belonging to both the national and state governments (such as power to tax, to spend, to make and enforce laws, and so forth) are known as:

Concurrent powers

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Under our constitution, both the national government and the states are prohibited from:

All of the above
Granting titles of nobility, making ex post facto laws, issuing bills of attainder

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An examination of spending patterns by the federal, state, and local governments shows that in our federal system, responsibilities are pretty neatly and discretely divided among the several levels of government: rarely does more than one level spend on any particular function

False

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Today, spending by the federal government is largely confined to four large functional areas: national defense, health (including Medicaid), welfare, and income security (including social security).

True

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Comparing spending by state and local governments, we see that in the U.S. today, local governments are largely, or almost exclusively, responsible for:

All of these
FD, PD, Water, Sewer, Parks

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Which of the following does not today have a federal structure?

France

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In terms of expenditure of dollars, the most active level (federal, state, or local) of government in the area of elementary and secondary education in the United States today is the local level.

True

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That level of government (state, local, or federal) that today is the most active in the areas of prisons, highways, and higher education is the federal level.

False

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At the Constitutional Convention, James Madison was one of those delegates advocating for a stronger national government than existed under the Articles of Confederation.

True

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The Constitution unequivocally identifies the Supreme Court as the final arbitrator of disputes between the national government and the states.

False

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The original “Virginia Plan” introduced at the 1787 Constitutional Convention would have provided the national government with the authority to legislate in all cases in which the states were found to be “incompetent.”

True

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The very first power awarded to Congress by the 1787 Constitution is the power to tax.

True

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Madison very much agreed with Montesquieu’s argument that liberty could only exist in small republican forms of societies.

False

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The two “auxiliary precautions” that Madison argued the U.S. Constitution provided as a check on tyranny are:

Federalism and Separation of Powers

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Most everyone agrees that the Americans' experience under the Article of Confederation was one of universal harmony and tranquility, especially in affairs of business and the economy.

False

In pre-revolutionary America, the colonists were generally pleased with the process by which Britain made various policies affecting the colonies; they mainly were upset with the policy themselves.

False

The Albany Plan of 1754, as proposed by Benjamin Franklin, would have included a President appointed by the Crown with authority to veto acts of a representative council of the colonies.

True

All of the following are elements that were included in the government established by the Articles of Confederation, except:

A strong Executive

The "Virginia Plan," introduced at the Constitutional Convention, would have pretty much eliminated the states as sovereign features of the new government.

True

Fortunately, patriots like Patrick Henry lent their considerable prestige to the creation of a strong, central national government and consequently were able to defeat attempts by state interests to weaken the new government.

False

Who among the following "founding fathers" was not at the Constitutional Convention of 1787?

Jefferson

The so-called "Great Compromise" reached by the Constitutional Convention delegates in July of 1787 is important because it settled, at least for that time, the issue of slavery in America.

False

In terms of representation in the new Congress, the "state-centered" delegates at the Constitutional Convention wanted:

equal state apportionment of representatives in each house

In the allocation of powers to the national and state governments, those powers the constitutional framers reserved to the state governments are found most directly in:

the 10th Amendment to the Constitution

In the allocation of powers to the national and state governments, those powers the U.S. constitutional framers delegated to the national government are found most directly in:

Article I, Section 8 of the constitution

The "electoral college" mechanism for selecting the President was included in the Constitution as a means of appeasing those delegates who felt that the President ought to have at least a minimum level of education.

False

In describing the division of powers between the states and the national government as provided in the new Constitution, Madison argued that the new government can most accurately be described as a _______system.

Mixed

Critics, like "Brutus" and Patrick Henry, believed that the new government created a truly _______ system.

national

Who was not included among the authors of the Federalist Papers (documents intended to sway adoption of the proposed constitution)?

Jefferson

George Washington's Farewell Address is notable because it served to provide very strong support to Madison and Jefferson's "state-centered" notion of federalism.

False

The Supreme Court case of McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) provided both a very large grant of discretionary power to the national government, as well as significant curbs on state activity.

True

The 2000 Supreme Court case that struck down portions of the Violence Against Women act as an overreach of federal power was:

United States v. Morrison

The effect of the 2010 Supreme Court case of McDonald v. Chicago was to:

place limits on powers of state and local governments to restrict gun ownership

The first Supreme Court case to rule on the "interstate commerce" clause, giving broad discretionary power to the national government in this area, was:

Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

Although there were many “problems” under the Articles of Confederation, the power to tax was not one of them. The Congress under the articles had ample power to tax and spend, for the “general welfare.”

False

The event occurring in Massachusetts in 1786 when a group of about 1,500 debtors rebelled against the state’s attempt to seize property to satisfy those debts, and is said to have persuaded George Washington to support the call for a new constitution, is known as:

Shay’s Rebellion

In contrast with the British, most colonial Americans believed that “sovereignty,” resided:

with the people

The Supreme Court case that upheld as constitutional the distribution of federal grants-in-aid to states was:

Massachusetts v. Mellon (1923)

Reading their various letters to President Washington and their private correspondence between each other, it is clear that Hamilton and Jefferson very much agreed upon the direction the new government should take.

False

We have seen that most policy issues in the United States today (like transportation, housing, education, and so forth) are handled almost exclusively by one level or the other (state, local, federal) with little or no shared responsibility or funding.

False

The 1995 United States v. Lopez decision was significant in that for the first time in over half a century, the Court limited the reach of the national government under the Interstate Commerce Clause.

True

The decisions in the Marshall Court, such as McCulloch v. Maryland and Gibbons v. Ogden, represent a philosophy of federalism known as:

nation-centered

The doctrine espoused by Jefferson and Calhoun that argued that states should feel free to judge for themselves the constitutionality of national laws within their own borders is known as:

doctrine of nullification

The decision in the Hammer v. Dagenhart case illustrates a philosophy of federalism known as

dual federalism

Not included among the key characteristics of the nation-centered view of federalism would be that:

states should have the right to nullify national actions within their own boundaries

Hamilton's plan for the national government's role in providing economic stability showed his true commitment to a confederal arrangement, with a strong emphasis on "states rights."

False

Somewhat surprisingly, perhaps, by the end of Washington's presidency even James Madison was critical of Hamilton and his plan for strengthening the new national government.

True

Throughout the 1800s, state and local governments were primarily responsible for the following function(s):

All of the above civil and property rights business organization and regulation construction of roads and bridges labor and race relations

In the famous Virginia and Kentucky resolutions, Madison and Jefferson argued that states should be willing to step aside in those areas where they were "incompetent" and support the national government's actions.

False

Among the characteristics of the period known as "dual federalism" (about 1860-1930) were:

All of the above

The period known as "cooperative federalism" (about 1930-1960) is characterized by:

All of the above development of many shared federal/state activities supreme court rulings friendly to the national government growth in grants-in-aid

One of the features of president Lyndon Johnson the domestic program known as "The Great Society" was the inclusion of cities as direct recipients of many federal grants-in-aid.

True

For students of federalism, one of the major implications of the 2012 Supreme Court case dealing with the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, also known as “ Obamacare (Department of Health and Human Services v. Florida) is that for the first time ever the Court placed limits on requirements that Congress can set on state-level receipt of federal funds.

True

Expressing a strong “expansionist” view of the federal arrangement, early leaders such as George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and John Marshall felt that

All of these

Among those many federal grants made available to state and local governments during President Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society programs were those used to create and support:

All of the above (a-c) Model cities head start community action programs

The “Aid for Families with Dependent Children,” program that for many years was the country’s major “welfare” program was first initiated during the presidency of:

Franklin Roosevelt

The period known as “coercive federalism” (1970’s-2000’s): is characterized by Increased use of congressionally set mandates and preemptive statutes, as well as Supreme Court decisions largely favoring the national government over the states

True

The 1985 case of Garcia v. San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority is important in that state and local governments are exempt from complying with congressionally-set minimum-wage standard.

False

The contemporary era of federalism, that many view as one of “Push Back Federalism,” is characterized by:

All of the above (a-c)

Probably the main feature of the period known as "coercive federalism" (about 1970's -2000's) has been the tremendous growth of federal mandates and preemptive statutes.

True

Given the importance of national economic regulation to the framers, it is surprising that the Constitution does not grant to Congress the right to lay and collect taxes.

False

The 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (approved in 1913) is important to contemporary federalism because it granted to women the right to vote in all national elections.

False

At the beginning of the last century (20th), the level of government spending the most on domestic issues was:

local

At the beginning of the last century (20th), that functional area for which the federal government spent the most was:

Postal service

One of the key features of contemporary fiscal matters in the United States is that the sources of funds for the federal government are complex and fragmented, while those for state and local governments are few and concentrated.

False

In terms of per capita federal aid received, Texas typically is among the top state recipients.

False

Today, the total number of federal grant-in-aid programs totals about:

1200

Today, the amount of money distributed to state and local governments by the federal government through its various grant programs is approximately

$650 billion

Today, as a percent of total state and local expenditures, intergovernmental aid represents about:

35%

Today, the major source of revenue for the federal government is:

individual income taxes

In general, the major sources of revenue available to the federal government in the United States differ from those available to state and local governments in that those sources available to the federal government:

are more concentrated and less "regressive"

Other than intergovernmental transfers the largest source of revenue for state governments in the United States today is:

sales taxes

Other than intergovernmental l transfers the largest source of revenue for local governments in the United States today is:

property taxes

“Formula grants” are those federal grants that allocate money to state and local governments on the basis of:

some “formula” that might take into account all these, and other, factors

Today, spending by all levels of government (federal, state, and local) represents about what percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP):

38%

Among the several states, Texas is unusual in that it is one of the few states collecting no revenue from income taxes.

True

The Homeland Security Grant, passed in 2001, is a recent example of what type of grant?

block

The Framers of the Constitution were clear in their intent that taxing and spending was to be a state function only; the federal government was never intended to have authority in these areas.

False

Two of the most important events of the 20th century affecting fiscal relations among the various levels of government during that century were:

the 16th amendment and the invention of the grant-in-aid system

Most economists would argue that the revenue streams available to state and local governments are relatively "regressive" in their effects, while those available to the national government are relatively "progressive."

True

Grants that are made for specific and narrowly defined purposes (like airports, drug abuse, libraries, and bridge construction) belong to a group of grants known as:

categorical

When we look at spending by the various levels of government from about 1900 to today, we see:

All of the above (a-c)

Today public sector spending represent just a tiny proportion of the country’s gross national product, unlike the situation of about 100 years ago.

False

Almost immediately after the ratification of the Constitution, Congress passed a law that would forever deny to states the authority to use the personal income tax.

False

Interestingly, spending by state governments as a proportion to their total budgets has not changed a great deal over the past 100 years or so. Then, as now, states spend largely in the areas of education, health, welfare, and corrections.

True

One of the important features of our country’s grant-in-aid program is that over the past 25 years or so is that the proportion of federal grants made available to state governments for capital items (like roads, bridges, and the like), has steadily declined while the proportion made available for individuals (like Medicaid and welfare) has steadily increased.

True

Federal grants distributed to state and local governments on the basis of some predetermined basis that might take into account such factors as population, poverty rates, age, and the like are known as:

Formula grants

Federal grants distributed to state and local governments that make very large grants of money available in very broad areas, like community development, job training, public housing, welfare, and the like are known as:

Block grants

Thinking about the effects of federal grants to state and local governments, it’s fair to conclude that they:

All of the above (a-c)

Per capita distribution of federal aid throughout the states can be said to be a function of:

all of the above politics state matching efforts two of the above, only