Federalism: expressed, implied, reserved and concurrent powers

Grade 12 Social Studies Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), quoted: "Let the end be legitimate, let it be within the scope of the constitution, and all means which are appropriate, which are plainly adapted to that end, which are not prohibited, but consist with the letter and spirit of the constitution, are constitutional." McCulloch v. Maryland, background (our words). Congress chartered the Second Bank of the United States in 1816. In 1818 Maryland taxed the notes of banks not chartered by the state. The bank's Baltimore cashier, McCulloch, refused to pay. The Court decided unanimously in 1819 that Congress may charter a bank and that Maryland may not tax it. Marshall wrote that "necessary" does not always mean absolutely indispensable. He also noted that the Tenth Amendment, unlike the Articles of Confederation, does not say "expressly delegated". And he said states may still tax the bank's real property and the shares that Maryland citizens hold in it.

2. 1.

   Ren reads cards M1 and M3. Maryland said the Constitution lists no bank. Which part of the Court's reply answers that?

   • A bank is a fitting means to listed ends, and nothing forbids it
   • The word "necessary" means absolutely indispensable, and a bank was indispensable
   • A bank counts because the Tenth Amendment reserves banking to the people
   • Any means Congress picks is allowed if the end is good, whatever the Constitution says

3. Use this

   McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), quoted: "Let the end be legitimate, let it be within the scope of the constitution, and all means which are appropriate, which are plainly adapted to that end, which are not prohibited, but consist with the letter and spirit of the constitution, are constitutional." Case C1 (made-up): Congress creates a national weather bureau, saying it helps carry out the commerce power and the power to raise armies. A state objects that the Constitution never mentions weather.

4. 2.

   Jun reads card M1 and case C1. Which fact would make the weather bureau fail the McCulloch test?

   • If any state objected, since states must agree to national laws that touch them
   • If the Constitution forbade the means, or the end was not legitimate
   • If the Constitution does not mention weather, since powers must be named in the text
   • If a cheaper means existed, since a law is necessary solely if no cheaper way would do

5. Use this

   McCulloch v. Maryland, background (our words). Congress chartered the Second Bank of the United States in 1816. In 1818 Maryland taxed the notes of banks not chartered by the state. The bank's Baltimore cashier, McCulloch, refused to pay. The Court decided unanimously in 1819 that Congress may charter a bank and that Maryland may not tax it. Marshall wrote that "necessary" does not always mean absolutely indispensable. He also noted that the Tenth Amendment, unlike the Articles of Confederation, does not say "expressly delegated". And he said states may still tax the bank's real property and the shares that Maryland citizens hold in it. Tenth Amendment (quoted): "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."

6. 3.

   Kira reads card M3 and the Tenth Amendment. Maryland said the Tenth Amendment kept banking for the states. Why did that fail?

   • The Tenth reserves only undelegated powers, and fitting means to listed powers are delegated
   • Banks are private businesses, so no amendment about government powers can apply to them
   • The Tenth Amendment protects the people but not the states, so it cannot protect Maryland
   • The Tenth was ratified before the bank was chartered, so it cannot cover later institutions

7. Use this

   Wickard v. Filburn, background (our words). Under a national wheat law, a farmer's allotment was 11.1 acres, but he sowed 23 acres and grew 239 bushels more than the law allowed. He said the extra wheat was for his own farm: feed, flour and seed, not for sale. The Court upheld the penalty unanimously, reasoning that if many farmers did the same, the total would affect the national wheat market. Gibbons v. Ogden (1824), in our words. New York gave Ogden the sole right to run steamboats on its waters. Gibbons held a federal license to run coasting vessels between New York and New Jersey. The Court held that commerce includes navigation, so the federal law governed, and New York's monopoly gave way where it clashed with that law.

8. 4.

   Milo reads cards W2 and G1. How do Gibbons and Wickard reach different kinds of activity?

   • Gibbons reached local activity through its effect, and Wickard found navigation to be commerce
   • Wickard overruled Gibbons, narrowing commerce to the sale of farm goods and nothing more
   • Both held that commerce means just goods that physically cross a state line and nothing else
   • Gibbons: navigation is commerce. Wickard: a local activity reached for its substantial effect

9. Use this

   Wickard v. Filburn (1942), quoted from the Court's opinion: "even if appellee's activity be local and though it may not be regarded as commerce, it may still, whatever its nature, be reached by Congress if it exerts a substantial economic effect on interstate commerce". Garden law (made-up): Congress fines anyone who plants a backyard flower garden, finding that, in total, gardens affect the national seed market.

10. 5.

    Noah reads cards W1 and GD. A challenger says the garden law goes further than Wickard. Which reply fits the quote?

    • Wickard asks for a substantial economic effect, and a garden may lack one
    • Wickard lets Congress reach any local activity, so the garden law passes
    • The law fails because Congress may regulate just products that are sold
    • Wickard concerned wheat alone, so it cannot guide any law about gardens

11. Use this

    McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), quoted: "That the power to tax involves the power to destroy; that the power to destroy may defeat and render useless the power to create; …" McCulloch v. Maryland, background (our words). Congress chartered the Second Bank of the United States in 1816. In 1818 Maryland taxed the notes of banks not chartered by the state. The bank's Baltimore cashier, McCulloch, refused to pay. The Court decided unanimously in 1819 that Congress may charter a bank and that Maryland may not tax it. Marshall wrote that "necessary" does not always mean absolutely indispensable. He also noted that the Tenth Amendment, unlike the Articles of Confederation, does not say "expressly delegated". And he said states may still tax the bank's real property and the shares that Maryland citizens hold in it.

12. 6.

    Bo reads cards M2 and M3. Why could Maryland not tax the Second Bank?

    • A state tax could destroy the bank and put a national creation under state control
    • Banks are exempt from each tax, so no level may tax any bank
    • Congress had passed a law forbidding any state to tax the bank, and Maryland's tax broke that law
    • Maryland's tax rate was too high, and a lower rate would have been allowed

13. Use this

    McCulloch v. Maryland, background (our words). Congress chartered the Second Bank of the United States in 1816. In 1818 Maryland taxed the notes of banks not chartered by the state. The bank's Baltimore cashier, McCulloch, refused to pay. The Court decided unanimously in 1819 that Congress may charter a bank and that Maryland may not tax it. Marshall wrote that "necessary" does not always mean absolutely indispensable. He also noted that the Tenth Amendment, unlike the Articles of Confederation, does not say "expressly delegated". And he said states may still tax the bank's real property and the shares that Maryland citizens hold in it.

14. 7.

    Pia reads card M3. A student says McCulloch bars states from taxing anything the bank owns. What does the card show?

    • The student is right, since the bank's assets are tied to the national government
    • Not so; states may still tax the bank's real property and shares held by their citizens
    • The student is wrong, since states may tax any national property that sits within their borders
    • The student is wrong, since the Court said states may tax the bank's notes and operations

15. Use this

    McCulloch v. Maryland, background (our words). Congress chartered the Second Bank of the United States in 1816. In 1818 Maryland taxed the notes of banks not chartered by the state. The bank's Baltimore cashier, McCulloch, refused to pay. The Court decided unanimously in 1819 that Congress may charter a bank and that Maryland may not tax it. Marshall wrote that "necessary" does not always mean absolutely indispensable. He also noted that the Tenth Amendment, unlike the Articles of Confederation, does not say "expressly delegated". And he said states may still tax the bank's real property and the shares that Maryland citizens hold in it. Gibbons v. Ogden (1824), in our words. New York gave Ogden the sole right to run steamboats on its waters. Gibbons held a federal license to run coasting vessels between New York and New Jersey. The Court held that commerce includes navigation, so the federal law governed, and New York's monopoly gave way where it clashed with that law. Wickard v. Filburn, background (our words). Under a national wheat law, a farmer's allotment was 11.1 acres, but he sowed 23 acres and grew 239 bushels more than the law allowed. He said the extra wheat was for his own farm: feed, flour and seed, not for sale. The Court upheld the penalty unanimously, reasoning that if many farmers did the same, the total would affect the national wheat market.

16. 8.

    Ari reads cards M3, G1 and W2. Which two cases both set aside a state measure?

    • The three set aside national laws that went beyond the commerce power Congress had been given
    • Gibbons and Wickard; each rejected a rule because it touched interstate commerce
    • McCulloch and Wickard; each set aside a state measure that clashed with national power
    • McCulloch and Gibbons; each set aside a state measure that clashed with national law

17. Use this

    Wickard v. Filburn (1942), quoted from the Court's opinion: "even if appellee's activity be local and though it may not be regarded as commerce, it may still, whatever its nature, be reached by Congress if it exerts a substantial economic effect on interstate commerce". McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), quoted: "Let the end be legitimate, let it be within the scope of the constitution, and all means which are appropriate, which are plainly adapted to that end, which are not prohibited, but consist with the letter and spirit of the constitution, are constitutional."

18. 9.

    Esme reads cards W1 and M1. A student says Wickard shows Congress may regulate anything. How should that be judged?

    • The student is right, since Wickard overruled the limits that Gibbons had set
    • The student is right, since any activity, in total, has some economic effect
    • The student is wrong, since Wickard struck down the wheat penalty as too broad
    • Wickard sets a substantial-effect test, and McCulloch sets its own limits

19. Use this

    McCulloch v. Maryland, quoted: "we must never forget that it is a constitution we are expounding." Marshall wrote that a constitution that listed every detail "would partake of the prolixity of a legal code", so only its great outlines are marked. McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), quoted: "Let the end be legitimate, let it be within the scope of the constitution, and all means which are appropriate, which are plainly adapted to that end, which are not prohibited, but consist with the letter and spirit of the constitution, are constitutional."

20. 10.

    Jun reads cards M4 and M1. Why does "we must never forget that it is a constitution we are expounding" support Marshall's reading of "necessary"?

    • The Court may add powers not in the text whenever it finds them useful
    • A constitution must be read word by word, as a legal code would be read
    • Just the examples the framers gave, such as a bank, count as proper means under the clause
    • A constitution marks great outlines, so powers are read with their purposes in view