American Government A New Perspective Assignment

1. Which statement BEST describes the trend of federal authority in the second half of the twentieth century? A. Federal authority decreased after the Great Depression. B. Federal authority decreased after Roosevelt’s presidency. C. Federal authority increased and expanded into public education. D. Federal authority increased and expanded into the economy. 2. Money from the national government that is given to the states for the purpose of carrying out public policy that the national government has deemed important is known as: A. categorical grants. B. unfunded mandates. C. grants-in-aid. D. block grant. 3. Which statement BEST describes the concept of fiscal federalism? A. The national government using grants-in-aid to influence votes in states. B. The national government using grants-in-aid to assist states in debt. C. The national government using grants-in-aid to achieve federal policy goals. D. The national government using grants-in-aid to influence state policies. 4. How is a categorical grant an example of expanding national power? A. States are under pressure from citizens to use the money wisely. B. By encouraging states to carry out important national policies. C. States depend on the money to maintain a policy that was implemented with a categorical grant. D. The government can add provisions to the grant at any time. 5. When the government asks states to implement a policy, but does not provide funds to assist in doing so, it is called: A. an unfunded mandate. B. a categorical grant. C. a block grant. D. fiscal federalism. 6. What was the main purpose of Lyndon Johnson’s the Great Society? A. To give states more power that had been encroached upon in previous years. B. To deliberately expand the role of the national government. C. To add more programs to Roosevelt’s New Deal. D. To create programs that would ensure funds given to states would not discriminate against minorities. 7. Which is a function of block grants? A. Ensuring that states are spending the funds in accordance with the provisions. B. The funds are to be used for the purpose of improving health-care systems in that state. C. States must use the funds to support low-income and minority families. D. Funds are provided in a way that increases state and local authority on how the funds are spent. 8. When the federal government provides states with tax money and no provisions on how that money should be spent, it is known as: A. redistribution of wealth. B. revenue sharing. C. a block grant. D. a categorical grant. 9. Upon his nomination for the Republican Party in 1980, Reagan promised: A. to implement more social welfare programs. B. to increase the scope of the national government. C. to decrease the use of unfunded mandates. D. to devolve power back to the states. 10. How was the Every Student Succeeds Act different than No Child Left Behind? A. It did not require standardized testing. B. It gave more power to the federal government on curriculum content. C. It devolved more power to the state in setting educational standards. D. It set standards for education but did not provide states money to achieve them. 11. The arguments against federal control over education can be BEST summarized with which statement? A. Education has traditionally been a state issue and the federal government has overstepped its boundaries. B. The federal government is too large to have a clear idea of the concerns within the educational system. C. State governments do a better job of ensuring equal educational opportunities than the federal government could ever do. D. Without the overhead of federal government, states can save money to put back into the educational system. 12. Which state spends more per-pupil? A. California B. Iowa C. South Dakota D. New York