Chapters: “Constitution” and “Federalism
Attitudes/Beliefs of Revolutionaries
Weakness of Articles of Confederation
Constitutional Convention (Compromises)
Ratification (Federalist vs. Antifederalist)
Constitutional Aspects (Structure, Key
Provisions, Amendment Process, Full Faith
and Credit)
 Federalist #10
 Bill of Rights
 Federalism (Eras of Dual and Cooperative,
Examples, Court Cases)
 Money and Control (Grants and Mandates)
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Unlike the Articles of Confederation, the
Constitution does which of the following?
A) Restricts the ability of Congress to tax
B) Restricts the ability of Congress to
establish an army or navy
C) Establishes a unitary form of government
D) Emphasizes state sovereignty over
national sovereignty
E) Emphasis both national sovereignty and
federalism
The debates between Federalists and AntiFederalists were primarily about which of the
following issues?
A) The right of people to rebel
B) The existence of slavery
C) The scope of power of the central
government
D) The need to establish a standard currency
E) The representation of small and large
states
Which of the following statements about political parties
and the United States Constitution is true?
A) According to the constitution, only two major political
parties may exist at any time
B) The Constitution requires political parties to be
restricted by both federal and state law
C) The Constitution indicates that political party leaders
at the national level be elected by political party
leaders at the state level
D) The Constitution specifies that political party leaders
must be native-born United States Citizens
E) The issue of political parties is not addressed in the
Constitution
Which of the following is a fundamental element of
the United States Constitution?
A) Recognition of the centrality of political parties in
government
B) Direct election of members of the executive
branch
C) An executive branch that is more powerful than
the legislature
D) Emphasis on a unitary system of government
E) Division of governmental authority across political
institutions
The procedure for formally amending the United
States Constitution best illustrates which of the
following?
A) The dominance of the national government over
the state governments
B) The dominance of the state governments over the
national government
C) The Founding Fathers’ desire to facilitate rapid
constitutional revisions
D) The Supreme Court’s power to review
constitutional amendments
E) The federal structure of the United States
government
In the Federalist #10, James Madison
argued that factions in a republic are
A) A more serious threat if the republic is
large
B) Natural but controllable by institutions
C) Not likely to occur if people are honest
D) Prevented by majority rule
E) Prevented by free elections
The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution
has been interpreted by the Supreme Court
to
A) Prevent states from taxing agencies of the
federal government
B) Reserve powers to the states
C) Restrict the application of judicial review
D) Allow for the burning of the flag as an
expression of protest
E) Limit the use of the legislative veto
In a federal system of government, political
power is primarily
A) Vested in local governments
B) Vested in regional governments
C) Vested in the central government
D) Divided between central government and
regional governments
E) Divided between regional governments
and local governments
Of the following, which has been used the
most to expand the power of the national
government?
A) The commerce clause of the Constitution
B) The habeas corpus clause of the
Constitution
C) The bill of attainder clause of the
Constitution
D) The First Amendment
E) The Fifth Amendment
In McCulloch v. Maryland, The Supreme Court
established which of the following principles?
A) States cannot interfere with or tax the legitimate
activities of the federal government
B) The judicial branch cannot intervene in political
disputes between the President and Congress
C) The federal Bill of Rights places no limitations on
the states
D) The federal government has the power to regulate
commerce
E) It is within the judiciary’s authority to interpret
the Constitution
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British “Obstructionism”
 Abrupt Taxation
 Crystallizes emerging philosophies
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Enlightenment Influences (John Locke)
 Natural Rights cannot be infringed on
 Life, Liberty, Property
 Government by consent rather than decree
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Declaration of Independence
 Restatement of Locke’s principles
 Listed 27 specific abuses by Britain
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Structure and Power
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Key Weaknesses
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Unicameral Legislature
Each state had one vote
9 of 13 for passage of law
Powerless Executive and No Judicial
Unanimous Consent for Amendment
No power to tax, had to request from states
No power to regulate commerce, no national economy
No court system to deal with conflict between states
No money to fund military
Shay’s Rebellion
 Reveals weaknesses of Articles
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Issues Dealt With
 Representation
▪ Virginia Plan
▪ New Jersey Plan
▪ Compromise
 Slavery
▪ 3/5 Compromise
 Voting (left to states)
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Key Concepts (Madison)
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Separation of Power
Checks and Balances
Limits on Majority Power
Federalism
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Technically Illegal
Federalists vs. Antifederalists
 Federalists (Strong National Gov/Pro-Constitution
 Antifederalists (State’s Rights/Anti-Constitution
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The Federalist Papers
 Federalist 10: Danger of factions, virtue of republic
 Federalist 51: Separation of Powers to control factions
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Bill of Rights
 Antifederalists pushed for one, added after ratification
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Ratification
 Special Conventions
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Formal
Proposal
2/3 vote of both Houses of Congress
Ratification
¾ vote of State Legislatures
National Convention called by Congress State Conventions ratify in ¾ of the
at the request of 2/3 of state legislatures states.
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Informal
 Judicial Interpretation
 Political Practices (Parties for example)
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Federalism
 A political system in which power is shared
between local/regional governments (states) and
a national government
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Continues due to
 Commitment to local government
 Congress being elected by local constituency
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Clear Advantage
 Increase participation and activity
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Based on 10th Amendment
Federal and State Relationships
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No state can make treaties
No state can coin money
Elastic Clause muddies the waters
Decided by Supreme Court
State to State relationships
 “Full Faith and Credit Clause”
 “Privileges and immunities”
 Extradition
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Dual Federalism (Layer Cake)
 Early interpretation which held the States had
powers in some areas and the federal in others
but they did not overlap
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Cooperative Federalism (Marble Cake)
 More recent interpretation (1930s on) that hold
the Federal and State governments both have
power and responsibilities in certain areas. Leads
to federal solutions implemented through the
state’s apparatus.
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1919 McCulloch v. Maryland
 Implied Powers
 Federal Supremacy
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1924 Gibbons v . Ogden
 Court defines commerce broadly, increasing Federal
power
Nullification and the Civil War
Loss of distinction between Interstate and Intrastate
commerce
 Devolution
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 1995 United States v. Lopez
▪ Restricts commerce clause
 Medicaid and Medicare debate
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Grants-In-Aid
 Categorical Grants
▪ Grants for specific purposes. Often require
matching funds. Have many conditions of
aid.
 Block Grants
▪ Grants for general purposes. Have little to
no conditions of aid.
 Stronger lobby for Categorical Grants
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Two Types of Federal Control over States
 Conditions of Aid
▪ What states must do to get grant money
 Mandates
▪ Regulations and Requirements State must meet
(Environmental and Civil Rights mostly)
▪ Often vague, left up to Federal Gov to define
▪ Unfunded Mandates: Requirements given to
states without providing funding to meet.
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Amendment Process
Antifederalists
Bicameral
Bill of Rights
Checks and Balances
Constitution
Declaration of Independence
Factions
Federalism
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Federalist Papers
Federalists
Great Compromise
Judicial Review
Natural Rights
New Jersey Plan
Ratification
Republic
Separation of Powers
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Shay’s Rebellion
Virginia Plan
Unalienable
Unicameral
Block Grants
Categorical Grants
Conditions of Aid
Cooperative Federalism
Devolution
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Dual Federalism
Extradition
Federalism
Federal System
Full Faith and Credit
Gibbons v. Ogden
Grants in aid
Initiative
Mandates
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Mc.Culloch v. Maryland
Nullification
Privileges and Immunities
Referendum
Unfunded
Unitary System