ap gov ch 3 Flashcards
what is federalism
divided authority between several levels of government (federal and state governments) decentralizes politics and policies
why would a country want a federal system of government?
large countries tend to have a federal system, diversity also plays a role
why wouldn’t a country want a federal system of government?
do not wish to disperse power away from the central gov
what are 3 items are the supreme law of the land?
the constitution, laws of the national gov (as long as they are consistent with the constitution), treaties (can only be made by the national gov)
how did federalism affect the struggle for racial equality?
led to conflicts regarding racial inequalities between state and national powers
10th amendment and federalism
different interpretations, either states are guaranteed power or Congress cannot go beyond what the Constitution says
11th amendment and federalism
gives states immunity from certain levels of persecution
enumerated powers
powers specifically listed in the Constitution
implied powers
powers that go beyond what is said in the Constitution
elastic clause
authorizes Congress to pass all laws “Necessary and Proper” to carry out the enumerated powers
commerce clause
promote economic development and regulate the economy
what are the states’ obligations to each other
full faith and credit / extradition
full faith and credit
requires each state to recognize the public acts, records, and judicial proceeding of all other states
extradition
state surrenders a person charged with a crime to the state in which the alleged crime was committed
types of federalism
dual and cooperative
dual federalism
(layer cake) distinct spheres of authority (beginning of the U.S)
cooperative federalism
marble-cake intermixed powers (what we have today)
devolution
transferring responsibility for policies from the federal gov to state and local govs
who is for devolution
republicans
who is against devolution
democrats
fiscal federalism
pattern of spending, taxing, and providing grants for influence
categorical grants
federal grants that can be used for specific purposes
project grants
awarded on the basis of competitive applications
formula grants
distributed according to a formula specified in legislation or in administrative regulations
block grants
given automatically to states or communities to support, freedom to figure out problems
what kind of grants are democrats for
categorical, project, formula
what kind of grants are republicans for
block
unfunded mandate
fed gov demands that states carry out certain policies whether or not they accept federal grant (unfunded demands)
good things about federalism
diversity in policy, increases democracy (higher participation and accessibility)
bad things about federalism
run national majority on certain policies, decentralization can be bad, too many governments
scope of government and federalism
state and national gov has their own responsibilities to carry out within their reasonable scopes, different levels of resources and authority
