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

   • The state law wins, since states hold the unlisted powers under card A
   • 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
   • Any federal rule, on any subject, beats a state law, even outside its powers
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 B names towns among the supreme laws, with federal laws and treaties alike
   • Strong: card A reserves powers to the people, and towns are made up of people
   • Weak: the Constitution never mentions towns or counties, so powers come another way
   • Weak: card C lets towns regulate commerce with foreign nations and the tribes
5. 4.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    A student says: "Only the federal government can regulate fireworks." How strong is that claim, given cards A to D, Ren asks?

    • Strong: card C gives Congress the power to regulate fireworks on any lake or beach it chooses
    • Weak: card D shows town and state rules too, and card A leaves other powers to states
    • Strong: card B makes federal law supreme, so no other level can make rules
    • Weak: card A says the federal government has no powers whatsoever over the states
11. 10.

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

    • 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
    • To show how a real state's fireworks law works and how courts enforce it
    • To practice reasoning about overlapping rules, not to learn real facts