Federal, state, tribal, county and city government: who does what

Grade 8 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Who holds which power? (cards A to D). Card A, the Tenth Amendment, as transcribed by the National Archives: "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." Card B, Article VI of the Constitution (National Archives transcript): "This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding." Card C, Article I, Section 8 (National Archives transcript, one clause): "To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;" Card D, a made-up example (invented places and rules): the Town of Lake Hollow bans fireworks on its town beach. The State of Larkin allows fireworks only from September through May. A federal wildlife rule bans all fireworks within one mile of a nesting area on the lake; the beach is half a mile from a nesting area. Note from the National Archives transcript of the Constitution's seven articles: the words county, city and town do not appear in it.

2. 1.

   Card A is the Tenth Amendment. What is it best evidence for, Ari asks?

   • How a state gives its towns their powers and lets them collect taxes
   • How the Constitution divides power, leaving unlisted powers to states or people
   • That states may ignore any federal law they dislike or find too costly
   • How courts have used the amendment since 1900 to settle disputes between states and Congress
3. 2.

   Card B calls federal law the "supreme Law of the Land". What follows if a state law conflicts with such a law, Luz asks?

   • Any federal rule, on any subject, beats a state law, even outside its powers
   • Any state law is cancelled, even one that does not conflict with federal law
   • The federal law made under the Constitution wins, and state judges follow it
   • The state law wins, since states hold the unlisted powers under card A
4. 3.

   A student says: "Towns get their powers directly from the Constitution." How strong is that claim, given cards A to D, Tala asks?

   • Strong: card A reserves powers to the people, and towns are made up of people
   • Strong: card B names towns among the supreme laws, with federal laws and treaties alike
   • Weak: card C lets towns regulate commerce with foreign nations and the tribes
   • Weak: the Constitution never mentions towns or counties, so powers come another way
5. 4.

   Cards A and B seem to pull in different directions. How do they fit together, Jun asks?

   • Card A reserves unlisted powers; card B makes federal law supreme in its own field
   • Card A makes federal law supreme, and card B reserves unlisted powers to states and people
   • They contradict each other completely, so one must be cancelled by the Court
   • Card B cancels card A completely, since federal law is supreme over everything
6. 5.

   In card D, the town, the state and a federal agency each have a fireworks rule. Which statement is best supported, Pia asks?

   • The state law allows fireworks in July, so only the town rule matters
   • All three rules apply together, and each bars fireworks near the beach in July
   • Only the town's rule applies, since the beach belongs to the town and its residents
   • Only the federal rule applies, since it is the highest of the three rules
7. 6.

   Card D's state law allows fireworks from September through May. What share of the year is that, Milo asks?

   • About one third, since 9 minus 5 is 4 months
   • Eleven months, everything but July
   • About 25 percent of the year, the months when it is banned
   • Nine of twelve months, or 75 percent
8. 7.

   Card C lists foreign nations, the States and the Indian Tribes separately. What does that listing suggest, Zee asks?

   • It gives tribes their own power over trade with foreign nations and among the several States
   • It names tribes apart from states and foreign nations, a third kind Congress deals with
   • It makes the tribes foreign nations, since it lists them beside foreign nations
   • It puts the tribes under state control, since the States are listed beside them
9. 8.

   Which new evidence would best show who enforces the fireworks rules at Lake Hollow, Kira asks?

   • The text of each rule naming its enforcers, and records of who issued citations
   • A map of the lake's depth, with its nesting areas and public beaches marked
   • A report from ten years after the rules change, written by a local news reporter
   • A news column that guesses who enforces them, without quoting any of the rules
10. 9.

    Card D is a made-up example. What can Esme use it for?

    • To practice reasoning about overlapping rules, not to learn real facts
    • To show how a real state's fireworks law works and how courts enforce it
    • As a news report retelling a real event that happened at a lake in Larkin
    • For nothing, since made-up examples cannot teach a reader anything about real laws
11. 10.

    Card D's federal rule covers one mile around a nesting area. A new beach is 1.5 miles away. Does that rule apply there, Noah asks?

    • No: and so no other rule can apply either, including the town and state rules
    • No: it is outside the zone, though the town and state rules could still apply
    • Yes: the rule bans fireworks everywhere on the lake, however far from any nest
    • Yes: it is inside by 0.5 mile, since 1.5 minus 1 is 0.5, so the rule applies