Examkin

Question

Difficulty: MediumStructure and Core Principles of the U.S. Constitution

Read the excerpt below.

"This government is to possess absolute and uncontrollable power, legislative, executive, and judicial, with respect to every object to which it extends, for by the last clause of section 8th, article 1st, it is declared, that the Congress shall have power to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers... [and] by the 6th article, it is declared that this Constitution, and the laws of the United States, which shall be made in pursuance thereof... shall be the supreme law of the land."
—Brutus No. 1, 1787

Which of the following core constitutional principles was most directly established to address the fears of total national consolidation expressed in the excerpt?

  1. The division of sovereignty between the national government and the states under the system of federalismAnswer
  2. B
    The retention of a unicameral legislature where each state holds equal voting power
  3. C
    The implementation of a strict constructionist interpretation of the Constitution as championed by Alexander Hamilton
  4. D
    The subordination of federal treaties to state constitutions in matters of foreign trade

Answer

The division of sovereignty between the national government and the states under the system of federalism
The correct option correctly identifies the principle of federalism, which divides power between the national government and the state governments. This system, eventually reinforced by the Tenth Amendment, was designed to prevent the total national consolidation feared by Anti-Federalists like the author of Brutus No. 1.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the historical source excerpt to identify the central fear.
The Anti-Federalist author of Brutus No. 1 fears that the Necessary and Proper Clause and the Supremacy Clause will grant the federal government absolute and consolidated power, destroying state authorities.
This establishes the historical problem the Constitution needed to address to satisfy critics during ratification.
2
Identify the constitutional mechanism designed to resolve this tension between national and state power.
The Constitution established federalism, dividing power between the federal government and the states, leaving local matters to state jurisdiction.
Federalism directly answers the fear of absolute consolidation by preserving state-level authority alongside the national government.
3
Evaluate the options to find the correct principle and eliminate the distractors.
The correct option correctly defines federalism. The other options either represent the discarded structure of the Articles of Confederation or misidentify the views of Alexander Hamilton.
This confirms the correct choice while mapping errors to historic misconceptions.

Key Concept

The division of powers between the national government and state governments (federalism) as a core constitutional principle.
Rate this question

Topics

Structure and Core Principles of the U.S. Constitution

More questions from this topic