Chapter 3: Federalism: States and Nation

Question 1

federalism

Answer 1

A system in which governmental powers are divided between a central government and smaller units, such as states.

Question 2

confederation

Answer 2

A loose association of states or territorial divisions in which very little power or no power at all is lodged in a central government.

Question 3

unitary system

Answer 3

A system in which a central government has complete power over its constituent units or states.

Question 4

supremacy clause

Answer 4

The provision in Article VI of the Constitution which states that the Constitution and the laws and treaties of the United States are the supreme law of the land, taking precedence over state laws and constitutions.

Question 5

Tenth Amendment

Answer 5

Part of the Bill of Rights, the Amendment says that those powers not given to the federal government and not prohibited to the states by the Constitution are reserved for the states and the people.

Question 6

reservation clause

Answer 6

Part of the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution that says powers not given to Congress are reserved to the states or to the people.

Question 7

concurrent powers

Answer 7

Powers under the Constitution that are shared by the federal government and the states.

Question 8

horizontal federalism

Answer 8

Term used to refer to relationships among the states.

Question 9

interstate compacts

Answer 9

Agreements among states to cooperate on solving mutual problems; requires approval by Congress.

Question 10

nationalist position

Answer 10

The view of American federalism that holds that the Constitution created a system in which the national government is supreme, relative to the states, and that it granted that government a broad range of powers and responsibilities.

Question 11

necessary and proper clause

Answer 11

Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution, also known as the elastic clause; gives Congress the authority to make whatever laws are necessary and proper to carry out its enumerated powers and the responsibilities mentioned in the Constitution’s preamble.

Question 12

states’ rights position

Answer 12

The view of American federalism that holds that the Constitution created a system of dual sovereignty in which the national government and the state governments are sovereign in their own spheres.

Question 13

dual federalism

Answer 13

An interpretation of federalism in which the states and the national government have separate jurisdictions and responsibilities.

Question 14

nullification

Answer 14

An attempt by states to declare national laws or actions null and void.

Question 15

preemption

Answer 15

Exclusion of the states from actions that might interfere with federal authority or statutes.

Question 16

Civil War Amendments

Answer 16

The Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution, adopted immediately after the Civil War, each of which represented the imposition of a national claim over that of the states.

Question 17

due process clause

Answer 17

The section of the Fourteenth Amendment that prohibits states from depriving anyone of life, liberty, or property “without due process of law,” a guarantee against arbitrary or unfair government action.

Question 18

equal protection clause

Answer 18

The section of the Fourteenth Amendment requiring states to provide equal treatment to all people within their boundaries.

Question 19

devolution

Answer 19

The delegation of power over and responsibilities for federal programs to state and/or local governments.

Question 20

cooperative federalism

Answer 20

Federalism in which the powers and responsibilities of the states and the national government are intertwined and in which they work together to solve common problems; said to have characterized the 1960s and 1970s.

Question 21

fiscal federalism

Answer 21

That aspect of federalism having to do with the federal grants to the states.

Question 22

grants-in-aid

Answer 22

Funds from the national government to state and local governments to help pay for programs created by the national government.

Question 23

categorical grants

Answer 23

Federal aid to states and localities clearly specifying what the money can be used for.

Question 24

block grants

Answer 24

Federal grants to the states to be used for genera activities.

Question 25

general revenue sharing

Answer 25

Federal aid to the states without any conditions on how the money is to be spent.

Question 26

conditional grants

Answer 26

Federal grants with provisions requiring that state and local governments follow certain policies in order to obtain funds.

Question 27

mandate

Answer 27

A formal order from the national government that the states carry out certain policies.