Exam 3: Federalism

The U.S.Congress passes a law on the regulation of Internet piracy,a concept that the framers obviously could not have conceived of.How does Congress justify their ability to pass a law like this?

Throughout the twentieth century,federalism questions were most often decided in favor of ____________________.

Which constitutional change most clearly shifted the balance of power toward the federal government and away from the states in the American federal system?

A political system in which both levels of government-national and state-are active in nearly all areas of policy activity and share sovereign authority is ____________________.

What are the costs and benefits of federalism? How might the United States benefit by providing even greater autonomy to the states? In what ways might such a shift yield negative consequences? How might the United States benefit by providing even greater authority to the national government? In what ways might such a shift yield negative consequences?

Which term indicates the constitutional or legal authority held by local governments that allow them to govern themselves with little or no interference from the state?

Which of the following types of grants are most favored by state governments because of the flexibility that comes with their receipt?

Which of the following is most clearly associated with the phrase Òlaboratories of democracyÓ?

Which form of local government most closely mirrors U.S.national government?

Some economists have argued that federalism leads states to offer more efficient mixes of taxes and services due to ____________________.

A political system in which each level of government-national and state-is sovereign in its own spheres of policy authority is ____________________.

Which term denotes money that is distributed to lower-level governments with the purpose of funding special projects?

Which of the following resulted from the implementation of the Sixteenth Amendment,which gave the United States federal government the ability to tax income?

In an effort to improve standardized testing scores in math and natural sciences,the federal government authorizes the Department of Education to make grants to local school districts to fund advanced training for high school teachers with established records of success teaching in relevant fields.How would this program best be characterized?

Historically,some states have taken advantage of their sovereign discretion under institutions of federalism to discriminate against racial and ethnic minorities despite constitutional guarantees of equal protection and due process.How does federalism enable this sort of abuse? What institutions and political dynamics support legal discrimination at the state level in the American federal system? What political forces ultimately enabled the national government to end legal discrimination in these states?

When do central governments often gain power and become either confederated or federated?

The decisions in the court cases of McCulloch v.Maryland (1819)and Gibbons v.Ogden (1824)can best be described as decisions that favored what group?

Which term indicates a political system in which the national government holds ultimate authority over all areas of policy and over all actions of subunit governments?

Which practice would be prohibited by the Supreme Court's decisions in Baker v.Carr (1964)and Wesberry v.Sanders (1964)?

Suppose Congress decided it was unnecessary to have two Carolinas (North and South),two Dakotas (North and South),and both a Virginia and West Virginia.Could Congress pass a law changing these six states into only three states (Carolina,Dakota,and Virginia,respectively)?