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 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
   • The county, since counties carry out state laws locally and the school sits inside a county somewhere
3. 2.

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

   • 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
   • Congress gives it, since the national government sits at the top of card A and power comes down from it
   • 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.

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

   • County: carries out state laws. Tribe: a government-to-government link, not carrying out national laws
   • The tribal arrow shows that tribes are counties of the nation, as counties are parts of the state
   • 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 the nation sets tribal rules, in the same way that the state sets school rules
5. 4.

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

   • 'Nor prohibited by it to the States': powers the Constitution bars to states are not reserved to them
   • 'Not delegated': states may act solely after the national government has delegated a power to them
   • 'Or to the people': it shows that states hold no power, since the people keep the whole of it
   • No limit: 'reserved to the States' means that everything not named in the Constitution belongs to them
6. 5.

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

   • How many tribal citizens there are, since a government list counts people as well as governments
   • That each tribe in the United States is on the list, since the Bureau keeps the list complete
   • That the same 574 tribes existed in earlier years, since a federal list records tribes that are permanent
   • How many tribes were on that list in 2024; not other years, and not tribes missing from the list
7. 6.

   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
8. 7.

   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
9. 8.

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

   • 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
   • The governor, since the Tenth Amendment reserves to the States each power not given to the nation
10. 9.

    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 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 does not fit: a state may act solely on powers the nation has delegated to it, and card B names no such power
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 keeps it, carrying out state laws, since counties carry out state laws locally
    • The county alone, since deeds are a local matter that state law does not reach in any way