Chapter 3 Flashcards
Federalism
Power divided between a national government and regional governments
Divided and Shared
-National and state governments linked through shared powers -
also assigned their own
Constitutional powers (divided) to pursue their own objectives
The power of national government is limited by second layer of regional governments
(states)
b. These limitations are known as Expressed Powers and the 10th Amendment in the Bill
of Rights
Expressed Powers
Powers explicitly listed in the constitution
Constitution, Article 1: Section 8
Examples:
Borrow money on credit of the US
Establish and maintain a navy
Regulate commerce with foreign nations
Reserved Powers
10th Amendment
Reserved Powers: Any powers not given to the federal government by the constitution
are reserved for states
State, Federal, and Concurrent Powers examples
National Powers
National Defense
Foreign Affairs
Concurrent Powers
Taxation
Law Enforcement
State Powers
Education
Public Safety
Implied Powers
Constitution, Article 1: Section 8
o Known as the Necessary and Proper Clause
Supremacy Clause
Constitution, Article 6
The US Constitution, Laws of the US, all Treaties, and Federal
Court decisions have supremacy over state constitutions, state laws, state court decisions,
etc
Conflict resolving Amendments
10th & 14th
10th- reserved powers
14th- priviliges and immunitites- THE 14TH AMENDMENT, SECTION 1 PROTECTS US FROM STATE AND
LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
Amendments against slavery and discrimination
13th Amendment
1 – Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for
crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United
States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction
2 – Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation
b. 14th Amendment (See Above)
c. 15th Amendment
1 – The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or
abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous
condition of servitude.
2 – The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation
Full Faith and Credit Clause
Constitution, Article 4, Section 1:
Full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the
public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state. And the Congress may
by general laws prescribe the manner in which such acts, records, and proceedings shall
be proved, and the effect thereof
Examples:
-Marriages, drivers licenses
DOMA
Defense of Marriage Act- 1996
banned federal recognition of same-sex marriage
signed by President Clinton (partly declared
unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 2013)
negates the Full Faith and Credit Clause and the Privileges
and Immunities Clause, but affirms reserved powers of the 10th
Amendment
Privileges and Immunities Clause
Constitution, Article 4, Section 2 (Also known as the Comity Clause)
Two Federalism Periods
(Dual Federalism) 1800-1937: Obvious line between federal and state
Heavy on state rights
(Cooperative Federalism) 1937-Now: Increasingly difficult to say where
federal government ends and state government begin
Hoover (GD) - Roosavelt transition-
federal programs
2 types of grants
Grants – In – Aid
[$$$ for Jobs] [Trade Off: States Get Money, but Must Provide
Jobs by Administering Federal Programs]
Categorical Grants
[$$$ to States] [Trade Off: States Get Money, but Must use
Money for a Problem or Group Specified by
Federal Law]
Devolution
Power gained by federal government since 1937 was being slowly given back to the
states
Republicans took control of Congress in 1995 and began the devolving power to the states
3. Supreme Court began to rule in favor of states in cases involving the 10th Amendment
and the Commerce Clause
Preemption
Government can take-over or preempt state regulations
b. Examples:
Blocked internet access taxes by states, cities and counties
Blocked internet commerce taxes by states, cities and counties
1996 Telecommunications Act gave the Federal Government jurisdiction over cell
towers and their construction to create a uniform grid across the nation
Unfunded Mandates
Federal laws which states must follow, but which there is no federal funding for (no
grants)
Medicaid – some Medicaid programs there is no funding for
Federal Real ID Act – Federal Drivers Licenses
Health Care Bill (Obamacare) contained many programs which there was no
funding for
Block Grants
Allowed states much leeway in deciding how funds should be spent. Low federal
regulation compared to categorical grants
b. General Revenue Sharing was a block grant which came about in the 1980s which
allowed states to spend funds anyway they wished
