Ch. 3

Question 1

Unitary System

Answer 1

A centralized government system in which lower levels of government have little power independent of the national government

Question 2

Implied powers

Answer 2

Powers of the government that are not expressed in the Constitution but are understood through the “necessary and proper” clause

Question 3

Reserved powers

Answer 3

Powers, derived from the Tenth Amendment, that are not specifically delegated to the national government or denied from the states

Question 4

Police power

Answer 4

Power reserved to the state government to regulate the health, safety, and morals of its citizens

Question 5

Concurrent powers

Answer 5

Authority possessed by both the state and national government, such as the power to levy taxes

Question 6

Full Faith and Credit Clause

Answer 6

Requires that states normally honor the public acts and judicial decisions that take place in another state

Question 7

Privileges and Immunities

Answer 7

A state cannot discriminate against someone from another state or give its own residents special privileges

Question 8

Home rule

Answer 8

Power delegated by the state to a local unit of government to manage its own affairs

Question 9

Dual Federalism

Answer 9

A system of government in which most fundamental governmental powers are shared between the federal and state governments

Question 10

Commerce Clause

Answer 10

Allows Congress to control commerce, interpreted by the Supreme Court as meaning that Congress controls the economy.

Question 11

Grants-in-Aid

Answer 11

Programs by which Congress provides money to state and local governments on the condition that the funds be employed for purposes defined by the federal government

Question 12

Categorical Grants

Answer 12

Congressional grants given to states and localities on the condition that expenditures be limited to a particular problem or group specified by law

Question 13

Cooperative Federalism

Answer 13

A system of federalism in which grants-in-aid have been strategically used to get states to pursue nationally defined goals

Question 14

Regulated Federalism

Answer 14

A form of federalism in which Congress imposes legislation on states and localities, requiring them to meet the national standards

Question 15

Preemption

Answer 15

The principle that allows the national government to override state or local actions in certain policy areas.

Question 16

States’ rights

Answer 16

The principle that the states should oppose the increasing authority of the national government

Question 17

Devolution

Answer 17

A policy to remove a program from one level of government by delegating it to a lower level of government

Question 18

Diffusion

Answer 18

Policy decisions in one political jurisdiction are influenced by choices made in another jurisdiction

Question 19

Block Grants

Answer 19

Federal grants-in-aid that allow the states considerable discretion in how the funds are spent

Question 20

New Federalism

Answer 20

Attempts by Nixon and Reagan to return power to the states through block grants

Question 21

General Revenue Sharing

Answer 21

The process by which one unit of government yields a portion of its tax income to another unit of government

Question 22

Unfunded Mandate

Answer 22

A law or regulation requiring a state or locality to perform certain actions without providing funding for fulfilling the requirement

Question 23

Redistributive Programs

Answer 23

Economic policies designed to transfer income through taxing and spending, with the goal of benefitting the poor.