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Friday, October 29, 2010

Due on Monday

The following assignments are due on Monday:

(1) Richard Hoffstader Reading (from The American Political Tradition)-20
(2) West Wing: The Short List-15
(3) Federalist 51 Worksheet-20
(4) Tony Barrera Survey and Reflection-20
(5) Landmark Decisions: Marbury v. Madison-15
(6) O'Connor and Breyer Discussion-20
(7) Public Spending Per Capita-20
(8) Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation Worksheet-15
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Also, for those of you who haven't turned the 2 assignments that were due on Monday, it's still worth your while to turn them in. I will only grade them down ONE letter grade, not 50%!!!

(a) Constitutional Scavenger Hunt-50
(b) Pew Notes Study Guide-30

P.S. Also Sabato pages 582-585

Questions:

Chapter 16 Interest Groups

1) Who was the D.C. lobbyist who pled guiltily to conspiracy, fraud, and tax evasion in 2006?
A) Tom DeLay
B) Robert Ney
C) Conrad Burns
D) Jack Abramoff
E) Robert Putnam

2) After paying for a lobbyist, Treasure Island, Florida received a $50 million appropriation in the
federal budget. This is called
A) casework.
B) logrolling.
C) constituency service.
D) an earmark.
E) a frank.

3) Involvement in community groups and activities
A) enhances social capital.
B) fosters self-reliance.
C) hinders resolution of collective action problems.
D) enhances the Protestant work ethic.
E) hinders economic and political development.

4) To which of the following groups are contemporary citizens most likely to belong?
A) bowling leagues
B) Elks Club
C) League of Women Voters
D) Lions Club
E) community associations

5) According to disturbance theory, why do interest groups form?
A) to serve the public good
B) to promote the well being of civil servants
C) to counteract the effects of other groups
D) to bother government
E) to bolster the economy

6) What kind of interest group focuses its attention on achieving collective goods?
A) public interest groups
B) economic interest groups
C) trade association groups
D) governmental units
E) political action committees

7) Common Cause, peace groups, environmental organizations, and other such groups are
examples of ________ interest groups.
A) social capital
B) civic virtue
C) public
D) economic
E) libertarian

8) A labor union is an example of a
A) public interest group.
B) economic interest group.
C) trade association group.
D) governmental unit.
E) political action committee.





9) Governmental units typically lobby for
A) political action committees.
B) trade associations.
C) foreign aid.
D) PETA.
E) earmarks.

10) Corporations can contribute money to political campaigns by forming
A) EIDs.
B) PACs.
C) 528 groups.
D) subsidiaries.
E) caucuses.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Info for Unit 1 Exam

Dear Students,

I would like to remind you that the Unit 1 exam will be administered this Tuesday. On Monday we will prepare for the exam. Additionally, we will start the period with the vocabulary quiz. That should take no longer than 10 minutes. We will use the remaining time on Monday to prepare for the exam.

On Tuesday, the following assignments will be due at the beginning of class:

(1) The Constitutional Scavenger Hunt
(2) Pew Pew Study Guide

If not turned in at beginning of class on Tuesday, all assignments will be marked down by 50%. No exceptions.

Please contact me if you have any questions.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Tomorrow's End of Chapter 3 Quiz

Class,

For tomorrow please make sure to finish chapter 3 (pages 115 to 120). Here is the posted quiz for tomorrow!

Who Loves You, Baby!!!


Sabato End of Chapter 3 Test

1) In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, various federal, state, and local government
agencies worked together as like a well choreographed machine.
2) There are about 10,000 state and local governments in the United States.
3) The Constitution divided the power between state and national government in order to create
a confederation.
4) The supremacy clause of the Constitution mandates that state laws supersede national laws.
5) The necessary and proper clause is the root of Congressʹs implied powers.
6) The power to coin money is an enumerated power.
7) Taxation is a concurrent power.
8) Both the United States and Mexico have a federal system of government.
9) The Constitution specifically enumerates powers to the state and national governments.
10) The Tenth Amendment grants police powers to the national government.
11) The Constitution was designed to provide a mechanism for resolving interstate disputes.
12) Whether same-sex marriages preformed in one state are valid in another state will likely
depend on how the Supreme Court interprets the full faith and credit clause of the
Constitution.
13) The Constitution requires states to extradite criminals to states where they are to stand trial or
have been convicted.
14) In McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), the Supreme Court ruled that the commerce clause could not
be used to reduce state powers.
15) In Gibbons v. Ogden, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a very narrow interpretation of the
commerce clause.
16) In Dred Scott v. Sanford, the Supreme Court ruled that slaves were three-fifths of a person.
17) The Sixteenth and Seventeenth Amendments enhanced the power of the national government
at the expense of the states.
18) The New Deal was a package of policies introduced by the Roosevelt administration to
remedy the Great Depression through federal action.
19) The Supreme Court was initially rather supportive of Rooseveltʹs attempts to deal with the
Great Depression.
20) The New Deal period (1933-1939) was characterized by intense governmental activity on the
national level.
21) After Roosevelt unveiled his court-packing plan, the Supreme Court upheld most of the New
Deal programs.
22) Metaphorically, cooperative federalism is similar to a layer cake.
23) The Civil War and the Great Depression were two of the historical incidents that tended to
consolidate national powers at the expense of state powers.
24) Categorical grants often require matching state funding.
25) A cornerstone of Lyndon Johnsonʹs ʺGreat Societyʺ program was an effort to provide universal
health care.
26) Jimmy Carter was a strong advocate for New Federalism, in which the national government
attempted to address social and economic strife throughout the United States.
27) Increased government authority in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks has
some concerned that governments may be infringing on citizensʹ civil liberties.
28) Block grants are federal monies given to the states with few strings attached. Republicans
generally favor block grants over categorical grants.
29) The 1994 Republican Contract called for scaling back the scope of the national government.
30) Under the banner of New Federalism, Republicans advocated for an increased use of
unfunded mandates.
31) After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the federal government expanded dramatically.
32) During the 1980s and 1990s, the Supreme Court increased federal authority in a number of
areas, including abortion, education, and health care.
33) Due to the Supreme Courtʹs decision in Stenberg v. Carhart, American women have equal
access to abortion services regardless of where they live.
34) The Supreme Court has upheld the Violence Against Women Act, citing Congressʹs authority
to enact laws that are ʺnecessary and properʺ for ensuring domestic tranquility.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

FRQ for Warm Up Tomorrow

Class,

In place of a Sabato quiz you will be given the the 2003 FRQ #3 write up that you can find here:

http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/exam/exam_questions/2086.html#name03

Copy the 2003 FRQ and download it. Attempt to answer it. Use any of the resources provided at the site to help. You may bring your write up to tomorrow's "quiz."

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Check This Article Out and Comment on It....

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/17/weekinreview/17abramson.html

The link above is to an article in this Sunday's New York Times based on last year's US Supreme Court Citizen's United Case. Read the article and comment on the post. Are Corporate Donation's a First Amendment Right?

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Post for Monday

Hello Class,

Hope you are having a great weekend! A reminder that City Council Member Mr. Tony Barrera will be visiting class on Monday. For those students in period 3 who were not in attendance on Friday for homework, you need to put together 10 questions to ask Mr. Barrera. He will definitely be asking if you have questions, so please be prepared.

He represents the Eastside so any questions you may have about the community will be fine. He said: "they can ask me anything they want." Please have the 10 questions ready. I will grade them when I do your next binder check. Also, you will be asked to write a reflection on Mr. Barrera's visit. I'll have the writing topic for you on Tuesday.


Also for Tuesday, read Sabato pages 108 to 114. Here is the posted quiz:

Sabato Quiz #4

1) During the early years of the New Deal, the Supreme Court
A) ruled many programs unconstitutional.
B) continued to enforce the supremacy clause, thus ruling New Deal programs
constitutional.
C) cooperated with the administration to combat the depression.
D) worked in favor of programs designed to combat the crisis.
E) argued that ʺextraordinary times call for extraordinary measures.ʺ

2) During the early years of the New Deal, the attitude of the Supreme Court toward federal
economic intervention could be characterized as
A) enthusiastic.
B) laissez-faire.
C) interventionist.
D) activist.
E) collectivist.

3) In response to the Supreme Courtʹs opposition to many New Deal programs, President
Roosevelt suggested
A) impeaching the entire Supreme Court.
B) reducing the pay of sitting Supreme Court justices.
C) increasing the number of justices from nine to 13.
D) disbanding the Supreme Court.
E) giving the Supreme Courtʹs jurisdiction to the U.S. District Court for the District of
Columbia.

4) New Deal programs led to an era of ________ federalism.
A) carrot cake
B) apple pie
C) marble cake
D) cherry turnover
E) upside-down cake

5) Cooperative federalism is characterized by
A) a stronger national government.
B) stronger state governments.
C) a shift in power from the national to state governments.
D) stronger municipal governments.
E) a distinct division of authority between the national and the state governments.

6) What are categorical grants?
A) Money given to the national government for ʺparty building activities.ʺ
B) Money given to state governments for specific purposes.
C) Money borrowed from citizens to pay war debts.
D) Money borrowed from citizens to pay for the New Deal programs.
E) Money allocated by the president to ʺenhance the general welfareʺ of the national
government.

7) After the New Deal, the next major effort to use significant national government resources to
remedy societal problems was
A) Harry S. Trumanʹs ʺWar for the Middle Class.ʺ
B) Dwight Eisenhowerʹs ʺMaster Plan.ʺ
C) John F. Kennedyʹs ʺAsk What Your Country Can Do For Youʺ initiative.
D) Lyndon B. Johnsonʹs ʺGreat Societyʺ program.
E) Jimmy Carterʹs ʺCompassionate Countryʺ program.

8) What did Ronald Reagan have in mind when he advocated for ʺNew Federalismʺ?
A) The national government should return power to the states.
B) The national government should expand its powers by aggressively using the commerce
clause.
C) The national government should regulate economic conditions, but state governments
should determine social policies.
D) States should shoulder a greater burden of paying for Congressional mandates.
E) A return to the relationship between the national government and the state governments
that existed during the New Deal.

9) National laws that direct state or local governments to comply with federal rules or
regulations without providing funds to defray the costs are called
A) unfunded mandates.
B) block grants.
C) the Contract with America.
D) the new federalism.
E) Reaganomics.

10) Which of the following expanded the authority of the national government?
A) New Federalism
B) devolution
C) block grants
D) United States v. Lopez
E) the No Child Left Behind Act

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Hump Day!

Here is tomorrow's quiz for Sabato reading pages 105 to 108:

Sabato Federalism Quiz #3

1) What is the significance of the Court’s decision in Gibbons v. Ogden?
A) Maryland could not create a national bank.
B) Congress must provide ʺdue compensationʺ when it exercises its power of eminent
domain.
C) The president has broad foreign policy powers beyond those explicitly granted in the
Constitution.
D) Congress has broad authority under the commerce clause.
E) The full faith and credit clause does not apply to unmarried couples.

2) The doctrine, applied by the Taney Court, that the national government should not exceed its
enumerated powers is called
A) the full faith and credit doctrine.
B) the doctrine of implied powers.
C) confederation.
D) dual federalism.
E) the emancipation doctrine.

3) In Dred Scott v. Sandford the Supreme Court ruled
A) in favor of Dred Scott.
B) the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional.
C) that slavery could not extend into the territories.
D) for a broad interpretation of the takings clause.
E) that slavery was an immoral “stain upon the Union.”

4) In which 1857 decision did the Supreme Court rule that slaves were not citizens, but property?
A) McCulloch v. Maryland
B) Plessy v. Ferguson
C) Gibbons v. Ogden
D) Dred Scott v. Sandford
E) Gonzales v. Raich

5) The Supreme Court ruled in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) that
A) separate but equal was inherently unconstitutional.
B) the states had very limited police powers under the Tenth Amendment.
C) racial segregation was constitutional.
D) states could not protect the general welfare of their citizens.
E) all persons born or naturalized in the United States are citizens of the United States.

6) What was the impact of the Sixteenth Amendment on federalism?
A) It increased the power of the state governments by granting them sovereign immunity.
B) It codified the doctrine of dual federalism.
C) It codified the doctrine of concurrent powers.
D) It enhanced states’ rights.
E) It enabled the federal government to expand its power by giving it more money to
spend.

7) The Seventeenth Amendment
A) required that U.S. Senators be elected directly by the people.
B) punished the South for the Civil War.
C) enhanced the power of the states.
D) was an unsuccessful attempt to guarantee former slaves the right to vote.
E) successfully guaranteed former slaves the right to vote.

8) The era of dual federalism ended with the
A) Civil War.
B) Great Depression.
C) Sherman Anti-Trust Act.
D) passage of the Fourteenth Amendment.
E) doctrine of implied powers.

9) How did Presidents Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover react to the worsening economic
situations of the 1920s?
A) They launched the New Deal.
B) They created the Works Progress Administration.
C) They abandoned the doctrine of nullification and established the Federal Reserve Board.
D) They did very little, believing it was the responsibility of state governments.
E) They established the Social Security Administration to serve the needs of the elderly and
the impoverished.

10) What is the New Deal?
A) An expansive use of federal government authority in an attempt to end the Great
Depression.
B) Franklin Roosevelt’s proposal to strengthen the state governments.
C) Theodore Roosevelt’s proposal to strengthen the state governments.
D) A failed attempt to restore the doctrine of dual federalism.
E) A successful attempt to restore the doctrine of sovereign immunity.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

So Happy It's Thursday

Class,

Here is info on the Rutger's Suicide. Issues include right to privacy, suicide, homophobia: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MindMoodNews/rutgers-suicide-latest-linked-gay-humiliation/story?id=11766816

Also, an interesting Supreme Court case concerning protesting at funerals: http://articles.cnn.com/2010-03-08/politics/homosexuality.protest_1_topeka-based-westboro-baptist-church-funerals-protests?_s=PM:POLITICS

Please comment on blog for either two stories or both....

Read Sabato pages 105 to 108 from Chapter 3. This quiz questions here:

Chapter 3; Quiz 3

1) In McCulloch v. Maryland (1816), the Supreme Court ruled that
A) state laws trump national laws.
B) the supremacy clause prohibits states from taxing the federal government.
C) the scope of Congressʹs authority to create laws is strictly limited to the enumerated
powers.
D) the full faith and credit clause provides sufficient collateral to establish a national bank.
E) Congress has the power of judicial review over laws passed by the states.

2) The McCulloch v. Maryland (1816) decision continues to be important today because
A) it established the sovereignty of state governments.
B) it enabled Congress to use the necessary and proper clause to widen its policymaking
scope.
C) the national bank continues to be the foundation of the American dollar.
D) Maryland continues to enjoy immunity from federal laws that regulate banking in every
other state.
E) it established the precedent of stare decisis.

3) What is the significance of the Courtʹs decision in Gibbons v. Ogden?
A) Maryland could not create a national bank.
B) Congress must provide ʺdue compensationʺ when it exercises its power of eminent
domain.
C) The president has broad foreign policy powers beyond those explicitly granted in the
Constitution.
D) Congress has broad authority under the commerce clause.
E) The full faith and credit clause does not apply to unmarried couples.

4) The doctrine, applied by the Taney Court, that the national government should not exceed its
enumerated powers is called
A) the full faith and credit doctrine.
B) the doctrine of implied powers.
C) confederation.
D) dual federalism.
E) the emancipation doctrine.

5) In Dred Scott v. Sandford the Supreme Court ruled
A) in favor of Dred Scott.
B) the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional.
C) that slavery could not extend into the territories.
D) for a broad interpretation of the takings clause.
E) that slavery was an immoral ʺstain upon the Union.ʺ

6) In which 1857 decision did the Supreme Court rule that slaves were not citizens, but property?
A) McCulloch v. Maryland
B) Plessy v. Ferguson
C) Gibbons v. Ogden
D) Dred Scott v. Sandford
E) Gonzales v. Raich

7) The Supreme Court ruled in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) that
A) separate but equal was inherently unconstitutional.
B) the states had very limited police powers under the Tenth Amendment.
C) racial segregation was constitutional.
D) states could not protect the general welfare of their citizens.
E) all persons born or naturalized in the United States are citizens of the United States.

8) What was the impact of the Sixteenth Amendment on federalism?
A) It increased the power of the state governments by granting them sovereign immunity.
B) It codified the doctrine of dual federalism.
C) It codified the doctrine of concurrent powers.
D) It enhanced statesʹ rights.
E) It enabled the federal government to expand its power by giving it more money to
spend.

9) The Seventeenth Amendment
A) required that U.S. Senators be elected directly by the people.
B) punished the South for the Civil War.
C) enhanced the power of the states.
D) was an unsuccessful attempt to guarantee former slaves the right to vote.
E) successfully guaranteed former slaves the right to vote.

10) The era of dual federalism ended with the
A) Civil War.
B) Great Depression.
C) Sherman Anti-Trust Act.
D) passage of the Fourteenth Amendment.
E) doctrine of implied powers.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Sabato Federalism Quiz #2

Class,

Read Sabato pages 101 to 105 for tomorrow's quiz posted below:

Chapter 3; Quiz 2

1) What are the police powers?
A) those powers granted to Congress by the Constitution
B) those powers granted to the president by the Constitution
C) those powers which are ʺnecessary and properʺ for carrying out the enumerated powers
D) those powers reserved to the states by the Tenth Amendment
E) those powers protected by the supremacy clause

2) Who has concurrent powers?
A) only the state governments
B) only the national government
C) only Congress
D) only the president
E) both the state governments and the national government


3) Under the Constitution, governments are prohibited from passing
A) economic regulations.
B) writs of habeas corpus.
C) ex post facto laws.
D) revenue measures.
E) block grants.


4) Why was the Tenth Amendment added to the Constitution?
A) concern among Anti-Federalists that the national government would claim powers
otherwise belonging to the states
B) to ensure that a state could not sue the national government without its permission
C) because the Constitution failed to list powers belonging to the national government
D) in order to minimize the economic hardships of the Founders
E) because Chief Justice John Marshall refused to hear cases involving constitutional issues,
noting that the Constitution does not explicitly grant to power of judicial review to the
judiciary


5) A law declaring an act illegal without a judicial trial is called a(n)
A) bill of attainder.
B) writ of mandamus.
C) ex post facto law.
D) habeas corpus act.
E) ex officio law.


6) The clause that ensures that judicial decrees and contracts made in one state will be binding
and enforceable in another is called the ________ clause.
A) privileges and immunities
B) full faith and credit
C) extraordinary rendition
D) bill of attainder
E) supremacy


7) How are local governments established?
A) by an act of Congress
B) by submitting an interstate compact to the attorney general
C) by state governments
D) by application to the United States Court of Federal Claims
E) by executive orders issued by the president


8) In the early 1800s, who was the Chief Justice who oversaw important federalism decisions,
including Marbury v. Madison and Gibbons v. Ogden?
A) Robert Bork
B) Oliver Ellsworth
C) Brushrod Washington
D) John Marshall
E) Oliver Wendell Holmes


9) In McCulloch v. Maryland (1816), the Supreme Court ruled that
A) Congress could use the necessary and proper clause to charter a national bank.
B) Maryland could not create a state bank because it is an enumerated power given
explicitly to Congress.
C) James McCulloch could not establish a bank in Maryland because he did not own
property in the state.
D) the Declaration of Independence does not carry any legal force.
E) the Commerce Clause is unconstitutionally vague and, therefore, prohibits establishing a
bank.


10) In McCulloch v. Maryland (1816), the Supreme Court ruled that
A) state laws trump national laws.
B) the supremacy clause prohibits states from taxing the federal government.
C) the scope of Congressʹs authority to create laws is strictly limited to the enumerated
powers.
D) the full faith and credit clause provides sufficient collateral to establish a national bank.
E) Congress has the power of judicial review over laws passed by the states.

Monday, October 4, 2010

Monday's Post

Class, Here's the quiz for tomorrow. A reminder to read pages 95 to 101. There is also an interesting post related to Arizona recinding "ethnic studies" programs. This is a fertile topic to write on. For some reason, I am unable to place Sabato Quiz on webpage, therefore here it is in blog:

Federalism Quiz #1

1) Which of the following best describes the ability of the various levels of government to work
together in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina?
A) State, local, and federal governments worked together seamlessly.
B) State and local governments worked with each other seamlessly, but did not coordinate
their activities with the federal government.
C) The government of Louisiana and the federal government worked together seamlessly,
but the Mayor of New Orleans preferred to work independently.
D) State, local, and federal governments were not able to coordinate effectively.
E) While state, local, and federal governments worked together well in the immediate
aftermath of the hurricane, their ability to coordinate dissipated as the crisis unfolded.

2) The most common type of government in the United States is the
A) county government.
B) township government.
C) municipal government.
D) school district.
E) special district.

3) What system of government is used in the United States?
A) a federal system
B) a confederation
C) a fiscal system
D) a unitary system
E) a renal system

4) Which type of government derives all of its power from the states?
A) socialism
B) a federal system
C) a confederation
D) a unitary system
E) a theocracy

5) Article I, section 8 gives Congress the power to pass all laws “necessary and proper” to
carrying out its enumerated powers. This clause is also known as the
A) enumerated powers clause.
B) reserve powers clause.
C) implied powers clause.
D) full faith and credit clause.
E) expressed powers clause.

6) In a federal system, the states derive their power from ________ and the national government
derives its power from ________.
A) the national government; the state governments
B) the state legislature; Congress
C) the states; the people
D) the people; the states
E) the people; the people

7) Which of the following is a concurrent power?
A) taxation
B) coining money
C) establishing federal courts
D) regulating commerce within a state
E) conducting war

8) Where state law conflicts with national law, national law prevails due to
A) federalism.
B) the supremacy clause.
C) the Tenth Amendment.
D) full faith and credit.
E) sovereign immunity.

9) Which of the following best describes the powers explicitly granted to state governments by
the Constitution?
A) State governments were given the enumerated powers.
B) State governments were given the expressed powers.
C) State governments were given the implied powers.
D) The powers granted to the state governments are spelled out in Article V of the
Constitution.
E) State government powers are not explicitly spelled out in the Constitution.

10) Identify the following phrase: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
A) the establishment clause
B) the full faith and credit clause
C) the enumerated powers
D) Article I, section 8
E) the Tenth Amendment