Chapter Two: Federalism Flashcards
Federalism
central feature of American government - division and sharing of powers between national government and the states
Unitary political system
concentrates all policymaking powers in one central geographical place (China, Britain, France)
Confederal political system
spreads the power among many sub-units (states) with weak central government (U.S. under articles)
Federal political system
compromise between unitary and confederal - divides power between the central government and sub-units (United States, Canada) major building block for preserving freedoms and maintaining order
Delegated powers
specifically granted to federal government by the Constitution (war powers, tax and spend, commerce)
The War Power
federal government is responsible for protecting the nation from foreign attacks and declaring war if necessary - maintaining army, navy, air force and mobilizing industry and scientific to back military efforts
Power to Regulate interstate and foreign commerce
Congress must regulate commerce between U.S. and other nations and between states (most of everything nowadays)
Power to tax and spend
Congress appropriates money and how it will be spent - can withhold funds if a program doesn’t meet federal guidelines
Concurrent powers
all powers not granted in Constitution are reserved for the states e.g. establishing and maintaining separate court systems
Reserved powers
reserved powers are those held by the states alone - not listed, but guaranteed by 10th amendment
Prohibited powers
powers denied to national government, state governments, or both e.g. federal government and state government can’t tax exports, only state government can’t tax imports or make treaties with or declare war on foreign nation
Necessary and Proper Clause
Congress has the power to make laws that are “necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers.”
McCulloch v. Maryland
states can’t tax federal bank because of supremacy clause and power to tax and spend
Nullification controversy
Madison and Jefferson defined states rights point of view as the right to declare federal government action unconstitutional - nullification. John C. Calhoun pushed for this in Civil War but after Union won, nullification was determined to not be a power of the states
Commerce Clause and Gibbons v. Ogden
State of New York gave Ogden a monopoly over steamboat company of Hudson River - went between New York and New Jersey - Gibbons got license from United States and Ogden sued Gibbons.
The definition of commerce in Gibbons v. Ogden
When New York highest court ruled agaisnt Gibbons, they narrowly defined commerce as only shipment of goods, not human transportation. John Marshall finally defined it as all business dealings, not just shipment of goods
National government powers over intrastate commerce
Does the national government have the right to control any commerce within state boundaries? Yes according to John Marshall
State government powers over interstate commerce
Is interstate commerce a concurrent power that is shared by states and the national government? no according to john Marshall
Expansion of the Commerce Clause
During Industrial Revolution, interstate and intrastate commerce were attempted to be separated, which was hard because some goods went outside of the state, while some of the same good went inside. Therefore, it was hard to apply different regulations to the same shipment of the same good, and the clause has been interpreted more and more loosely, so that the national government has control over a wide range of commercial activities
Commerce Clause and Civil Rights
The prohibition of discrimination on public transport between states in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was upheld by the Supreme Court
Dual federalism
the federal government and state governments remain supreme in each’s own sphere
Cooperative federalism
After New Deal Era, separation became virtually impossible, which lead to cooperative federalism - state and federal governments cooperated in solving the complex, common problems presented by the Great Depression
Coercive federalism
central government dominates relationship but gives some authority to states through block grants
Grants-in-Aid System
national government provides millions of dollars for federal grants to states
Categorical grants
appropriated by Congress for specific purposes
Block grants
Consolidate several categorial grants into a single “block” for prescribed broad activities. They give states wide control of how and where the money is spent. Promoted by Ronald Reagan
Mandate
Rule for the states from the federal government that tells states what they must do in order to comply with federal guidelines (Americans with Disabilities Act, Social Security Amendments)
Devolution revolution
A movement that began in recent years to devolve more responsibilities back to the states - began as Republican initiative shortly after 1994 elections when Republicans became majority in both houses of Congress
