Chapter 3- Federalism

Question 1

Federalism

Answer 1

a system of government in which power is divided, by a constitution, between a central government and regional governments

Question 2

Unitary system

Answer 2

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

Question 3

intergovernmental relations

Answer 3

the processes by which the three levels of American government (national, state, local) negotiate and compromise over policy responsibility

Question 4

Expressed powers

Answer 4

specific powers granted by the Constitution to Congress (Article I, Section 8) and to the president (Article II)

Question 5

Implied powers

Answer 5

powers derived from the necessary and proper clause of Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution; such powers are not specifically expressed but are implied through the expansive interpretation of delegated powers

Question 6

necessary and proper clause

Answer 6

Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution, which provides Congress with the authority to make all laws “necessary and proper” to carry out its expressed powers

Question 7

Reserved powers

Answer 7

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

Question 8

police power

Answer 8

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

Question 9

concurrent powers

Answer 9

authority possessed by both state and national governments, such as the power to levy taxes

Question 10

Full faith and credit clause

Answer 10

provision from Article IV, Section 1, of the Constitution requiring that the states normally honor the public acts and judicial decisions that take place in another state

Question 11

privileges and immunities clause

Answer 11

provision, from Article IV, Section 2, of the Constitution, that a state cannot discriminate against someone from another state or give its own residents special privileges

Question 12

home rule

Answer 12

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

Question 13

dual federalism

Answer 13

the system of government that prevailed in the United States from 1789 to 1937 in which most fundamental governmental powers were shared between the federal and state governments

Question 14

commerce clause

Answer 14

Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution, which delegates to Congress the power “to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes”; this clause was interpreted by the Supreme Court in favor of national power over the economy

Question 15

grants-in-aid

Answer 15

programs through 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 16

categorical grants

Answer 16

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

Question 17

cooperative federalism

Answer 17

a type of federalism existing since the New Deal era in which grants-inaid have been used strategically to encourage states and localities (without commanding them) to pursue nationally defined goals; also known as intergovernmental cooperation

Question 18

regulated federalism

Answer 18

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

Question 19

preemption

Answer 19

the principle that allows the national government to override state or local actions in certain policy areas; in foreign policy, the willingness to strike first in order to prevent an enemy attack

Question 20

states’ rights

Answer 20

the principle that the states should oppose the increasing authority of the national government; this principle was most popular in the period before the Civil War

Question 21

devolution

Answer 21

a policy to remove a program from one level of government by delegating it or passing it down to a lower level of government, such as from the national government to the state and local governments

Question 22

block grants

Answer 22

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

Question 23

new federalism

Answer 23

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

Question 24

general revenue sharing

Answer 24

the process by which one unit of government yields a portion of its tax income to another unit of government, according to an established formula; revenue sharing typically involves the national government providing money to state governments

Question 25

unfunded mandate

Answer 25

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