Checks and balances, and powers shared between the nation and the states

Grade 8 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Who holds which powers (a Venn diagram)

   Box National government only (delegated powers): coin money; regulate trade with other nations, among the states and with the Indian tribes; make treaties. Box Both (concurrent powers): collect taxes; make and enforce laws; run courts. Box States only (reserved powers): run schools; issue driver's licenses; oversee police and libraries, with local governments. Line 1 (Constitution (1787), Article I, Section 8, clause 5; as printed in 1840, p. 8): "To coin money, regulate the value thereof…" Line 2 (Constitution (1787), Article I, Section 8, clause 3; as printed in 1840, p. 8): "To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes…" Line 3 (Constitution, Tenth Amendment (1791); as printed in 1820, p. 33): "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."

2. 1.

   Which government alone can coin money, Bo asks?

   • Local towns and cities
   • The national government
   • The fifty states
   • Both levels of government
3. 2.

   Who issues driver's licenses, by the diagram, Jun asks?

   • The national government
   • The states
   • The Supreme Court
   • Congress
4. 3.

   Line 1 gives Congress the power to coin money. Which side of the diagram is that, Kira asks?

   • Both levels of government
   • States only, as a reserved power
   • Neither level of government
   • National government only
5. 4.

   By line 2, trade with whom may Congress regulate, Luz asks?

   • Trade with Britain alone
   • Nations, states and Indian tribes
   • Trade inside a single town
   • No trade of any kind
6. 5.

   By line 3, where do powers not delegated to the nation go, Milo asks?

   • To Congress
   • To the president and the cabinet
   • To the states, or the people
   • To the courts
7. 6.

   Noah reads the word federalism. What does it mean?

   • Power split among branches
   • Power held by the nation alone
   • Power shared by nation and states
   • Power held by a king
8. 7.

   Pia reads the word concurrent. What are concurrent powers?

   • Powers the states alone hold
   • Powers no one holds
   • Powers the nation alone holds
   • Powers both levels hold
9. 8.

   Making treaties belongs where in the diagram, Tala asks?

   • States only, as a reserved power
   • National government only
   • Local towns and cities
   • Both levels of government
10. 9.

    Running schools belongs where in the diagram, Zee asks?

    • The national government alone, in Washington
    • States, with local governments
    • The Supreme Court
    • Neither level
11. 10.

    Collecting taxes belongs where in the diagram, Ari asks?

    • The states alone
    • Neither level
    • The national government alone
    • Both levels