State, local and tribal government

Grade 12 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Cards A to D. Card A, levels of government, a summary in our words, written today: The national government has Congress, the President and the federal courts. A state government has a governor, a legislature and state courts. A county carries out state laws locally and keeps records such as deeds. A city or town has a mayor and a council and runs police, water and parks. A school district has an elected school board that runs public schools. A tribal government has a tribal council, tribal courts and its own constitution. Card B, the links between them, from the same summary: State to county: counties carry out state laws. State to city or town: state law lets cities form. State to school district: the state sets school rules. National government to tribal government: a government-to-government relationship. Card C, the Tenth Amendment (1791), exact words: "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 D, a note from the sheet: federally recognized tribes are sovereign nations, and the United States deals with each one government to government. The Bureau of Indian Affairs listed 574 such tribes in 2024.

2. 1.

   Ari's school has an elected board that wants to change the school day. Using cards A and B, who has the final say?

   • The county, since counties carry out state laws locally and the school sits inside a county somewhere
   • The board decides inside the rules the state sets, so it can change the day unless a state school rule covers it
   • The city, since the school sits in a city that runs police, water and parks for the people who live there day to day
   • The board alone, since an elected board answers solely to the voters who chose it, whatever state rules say
3. 2.

   Bo asks why a city can run its own police. Using cards A and B, what is the best reason?

   • Congress gives it, since the national government sits at the top of card A and power comes down from it
   • Cities hold power in their own right, since a mayor and council run them without any link to the state
   • The county gives it, since counties carry out state laws locally and police enforce those laws daily
   • State law lets cities form and card A lists police as a city job, so a city's power rests on the state
4. 3.

   Jun says the Tenth Amendment gives states unlimited power. Which words of card C limit that?

   • No limit: 'reserved to the States' means that everything not named in the Constitution belongs to them
   • 'Not delegated': states may act solely after the national government has delegated a power to them
   • 'Nor prohibited by it to the States': powers the Constitution bars to states are not reserved to them
   • 'Or to the people': it shows that states hold no power, since the people keep the whole of it
5. 4.

   Kira says that because a city is bigger than a school district, a city council can overrule a school board. What do cards A and B show?

   • It holds, since the cards list the city before the school district, which puts the city higher
   • It holds, since a city runs police, water and parks, which gives it more power than a board
   • It holds, since a district lies inside a county and the county carries out state laws over it
   • No arrow joins them; both arrows run from the state, so the cards do not support the claim
6. 5.

   Card D calls recognized tribes sovereign nations. Milo concludes they have no place in the system on card A. What is the careful reply?

   • Right: the arrow runs from the national government alone, which makes tribes subordinate to the nation
   • Wrong: tribal governments are parts of states, like counties, as card B shows with its state arrows
   • Right: sovereign means separate from the United States in each way, so card A should not list them
   • Card B shows the nation dealing with tribal governments directly: they appear as governments, but as nations
7. 6.

   Noah says a state's only role toward a school district is paying its bills. What do the cards say?

   • It fails, since the state also names the board members, as the arrow from the state shows
   • It holds, since an elected board makes the state's rule-making role unnecessary for the district
   • Card B says the state sets school rules and says nothing about paying, so rulemaking is left out
   • It holds, since the arrow from the state to the district shows money flowing down to the schools
8. 7.

   A tribal council makes a rule on tribal land and a governor objects. Pia asks what cards A, B and D suggest first.

   • The governor, since the Tenth Amendment reserves to the States each power not given to the nation
   • The governor, since a state is shown above counties, cities and districts and the tribe sits inside the state
   • Neither is settled; the tribe has its own council, courts and constitution on card A, and no arrow from the state
   • The tribe, since sovereign nations may do anything on their own land without any limit
9. 8.

   Card B says state law lets cities form. Ren asks whether that fits card C. What follows?

   • It does not fit: a state may act solely on powers the nation has delegated to it, and card B names no such power
   • It fits but is not proven: card C reserves undelegated powers, and card B shows states acting on this one
   • It does not fit: 'or to the people' means the people alone, not the states, may create local governments
   • It is proven: card B shows states forming cities, so the power must be one reserved to the States
10. 9.

    Card A gives tribal government its own constitution. Tala says that makes it a state. What follows?

    • It fails: a tribe's constitution counts if the national government approves it first and not otherwise
    • It follows: with 574 tribes on the list, there are more of them than states, so they must be states
    • It follows: a government with a council, courts and a constitution is a state by definition
    • Not shown: a constitution is one trait of a government, and card B links tribes to the nation, not the states
11. 10.

    Zee buys land and needs the sale recorded as a deed. Which government keeps the record, and under whose laws?

    • The state, since counties merely copy the records that the state already holds on its own account
    • The city, since land sales happen inside city limits and the city runs services for the people there
    • The county alone, since deeds are a local matter that state law does not reach in any way
    • The county keeps it, carrying out state laws, since counties carry out state laws locally