Chapter 3 Federalism

Question 1

block grant

Answer 1

Money given to states for general programs within a broad category; provides states w/ more autonomy.

Question 2

categorical grant

Answer 2

Federal grants in which the recipient has little discretion over how the money is spent. The national government sets narrowly defined rules for use of funds and often requires the states or local governments to provide matching funds. These grants account for 90% of federal aid dollars. Examples include Head Start, Food Stamps, Medicaid, and the Interstate Highway System

Question 3

confederation

Answer 3

a political system in which a weak central government has limited authority, and the states have ultimate power.

Question 4

cooperative federalism

Answer 4

Cooperation among federal, state, local govts; “marble cake” federalism

Question 5

dual federalism

Answer 5

A system of government in which both the states and the national government remain supreme within their own spheres, each responsible for some policies.

Question 6

enumerated powers

Answer 6

Powers specifically given to Congress in the Constitution; including the power to collect taxes, coin money, regulate foreign and interstate commerce, and declare war.

Question 7

ex post facto law

Answer 7

a law that makes an act criminal although the act was legal when it was committed

Question 8

extradition clause

Answer 8

part of Article IV of the Constitution that requires states to extradite, or return, criminals to states where they have been convicted or are to stand trial

Question 9

federalism

Answer 9

a system in which power is divided/shared between the national and state governments

Question 10

full faith & credit clause

Answer 10

Clause in the Constitution (Article IV, Section 1) requiring each state to recognize the civil judgments rendered by the courts of the other states and to accept their public records and acts as valid

Question 11

Gibbons v. Ogden

Answer 11

A landmark case in 1824 in which the Supreme Court expanded Congress’s power to regulate interstate commerce, encompassing virtually every form of commercial activity; dispute between NJ & NY w/ steamboats on Hudson River

Question 12

interstate compacts

Answer 12

contracts between states that carry the force of law; generally now used as a tool to address multistate policy concerns

Question 13

McCulloch v. Maryland

Answer 13

Maryland was trying to tax the national bank and Supreme Court ruled that federal law was stronger than the state law; affirmed the Supremacy Clause

Question 14

New Federalism

Answer 14

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

Question 15

preemption

Answer 15

the judicial principle asserting the supremacy of federal over state legislation on the same subject

Question 16

17th Amendment

Answer 16

Passed in 1913, this amendment to the Constitution calls for the direct election of senators by the voters instead of their election by state legislatures.

Question 17

16th Amendment

Answer 17

Amendment to the United States Constitution (1913) gave Congress the power to tax income.

Question 18

sovereign immunity

Answer 18

the rule that a citizen cannot sue the government without the government’s consent, The right of a state to be free from a lawsuit unless it gives permission to the suit. Under the Eleventh Amendment, all states are considered sovereign.

Question 19

devolution

Answer 19

the transfer of powers and responsibilities from the federal government to the states

Question 20

bill of attainder

Answer 20

a law that punishes a person accused of a crime without a trial or a fair hearing in court

Question 21

Unitary government

Answer 21

All powers reside in the central government

Question 22

Articles of Confederation

Answer 22

It provided a legal symbol of the thirteen states by giving the central government no coercive power over the states or their citizens.

Question 23

Intergovernmental relations

Answer 23

The entire set of interactions among national, state, and local governments in a federal system

Question 24

Supremacy clause

Answer 24

Article vi three items: constitution, laws of national gov, and treaties

Question 25

Tenth amendment

Answer 25

States that the national gov has only those powers specifically assigned by the constitution

Question 26

Eleventh amendment

Answer 26

Prohibits individual damage against state officials and protects state govs from being sued against consent

Question 27

Enumerated powers

Answer 27

The powers explicitly given to Congress in the Constitution

Question 28

Extradition

Answer 28

When one state must return a prisoner to another state

Question 29

Layer cake federalism

Answer 29

Used to describe dual federalism because the powers and policy assignments of the layers of gov are distinct

Question 30

Marble cake federalism

Answer 30

American federalism is portrayed as a system with mingled responsibilities and blurred distinctions between the levels of government

Question 31

Fiscal federalism

Answer 31

The pattern of spending, taxing, and providing grants in the federal system

Question 32

Grants in aid

Answer 32

The main instrument the national gov uses to both aid and influence states and localities

Question 33

Project grant

Answer 33

Awarded on the basis of competitive applications

Question 34

Formula grants

Answer 34

Are distributed according to a formula based on factors such as population, per capita income, and percentage of rural population