Chapter 3 Flashcards
Federalism
A system of government in which power is divided between a central government and regional governments, page 83
Sovereign
Possessing supreme political authority within a geographic area, page 87
Supremacy clause
A provision and article VI of the constitution that provides that the US Constitution, federal laws, and treaties are superior to state constitutions and laws and provides that state courts must adhere to the US Constitution and federal laws, page 87
10th amendment
A provision in the constitution’s bill of rights that says, “the powers not delegated to the United States by the constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, or reserved to the states respectively, or to the people”; used by states to challenge actions of the national government, page 88
Elastic clause
Clause in article by the constitution that gives Congress power “to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers are vested by the constitution in the government of the United States“; the source of implied powers for the national government, page 88
Full faith and credit clause
A constitutional requirement that each state must generally recognize the law and judicial actions of other states, page 88
Public policy exception
The concept that states do not have to give full faith and credit to the actions of other states where those actions violate state’s public policy, page 88
Reconstruction
The period after the Civil War when much of the south was under military occupation, page 90
Civil War amendments
The 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments, ratified after the Civil War, page 91
14th amendment
Ratified in 1868, the amendment that protects a persons from state action the name of due process with the equal protection of the laws, page 91
Incorporation of the Bill of Rights
The Supreme Court ruling that writes that are deemed to be fundamental rights are considered part of “liberty” in the 14th amendment and apply to the states as well as the national government, page 91
“Separate but equal“
An interpretation of the 14th amendment’s equal protection clause that held the states could segregate races as long as equal facilities were provided’ it was overturned in 1954, page 91
Dual federalism, or a layer cake federalism
A form of federalism in which the powers and responsibilities of the state and national governments are separate and distinct, page 92
Dual Sovereignty
The principle that states in national government have the power to pass laws and in the case of overlapping laws, both of the state and national government can enforce their laws, peas 93
Police Power
The power of states to pass laws to promote health, safety, and public welfare, page 93
