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.

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

   • State law lets cities form and card A lists police as a city job, so a city's power rests on the state
   • Cities hold power in their own right, since a mayor and council run them without any link to the state
   • Congress gives it, since the national government sits at the top of card A and power comes down from it
   • The county gives it, since counties carry out state laws locally and police enforce those laws daily
3. 2.

   Esme compares the state-to-county arrow with the national-to-tribal arrow on card B. What differs?

   • The tribal arrow shows that the nation sets tribal rules, in the same way that the state sets school rules
   • Nothing: each arrow runs from a higher government to a lower one that must follow the higher one's laws
   • The tribal arrow shows that tribes are counties of the nation, as counties are parts of the state
   • County: carries out state laws. Tribe: a government-to-government link, not carrying out national laws
4. 3.

   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?

   • No arrow joins them; both arrows run from the state, so the cards do not support the claim
   • It holds, since a district lies inside a county and the county carries out state laws over it
   • It holds, since a city runs police, water and parks, which gives it more power than a board
   • It holds, since the cards list the city before the school district, which puts the city higher
5. 4.

   Luz reads card D. What can a count from one list in one year support?

   • That the same 574 tribes existed in earlier years, since a federal list records tribes that are permanent
   • That each tribe in the United States is on the list, since the Bureau keeps the list complete
   • How many tribal citizens there are, since a government list counts people as well as governments
   • How many tribes were on that list in 2024; not other years, and not tribes missing from the list
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?

   • 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
   • Right: the arrow runs from the national government alone, which makes tribes subordinate to the nation
   • 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 the arrow from the state to the district shows money flowing down to the schools
   • Card B says the state sets school rules and says nothing about paying, so rulemaking is left out
   • It holds, since an elected board makes the state's rule-making role unnecessary for the district
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
   • 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
   • The governor, since a state is shown above counties, cities and districts and the tribe sits inside the state
9. 8.

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

   • It is proven: card B shows states forming cities, so the power must be one reserved to the States
   • 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 does not fit: 'or to the people' means the people alone, not the states, may create local governments
   • It fits but is not proven: card C reserves undelegated powers, and card B shows states acting on this one
10. 9.

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

    • 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
    • It follows: with 574 tribes on the list, there are more of them than states, so they must be states
    • It fails: a tribe's constitution counts if the national government approves it first and not otherwise
11. 10.

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

    • 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
    • The state, since counties merely copy the records that the state already holds on its own account