Chapter Two: Federalism

Question 1

Federalism

Answer 1

central feature of American government - division and sharing of powers between national government and the states

Question 2

Unitary political system

Answer 2

concentrates all policymaking powers in one central geographical place (China, Britain, France)

Question 3

Confederal political system

Answer 3

spreads the power among many sub-units (states) with weak central government (U.S. under articles)

Question 4

Federal political system

Answer 4

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

Question 5

Delegated powers

Answer 5

specifically granted to federal government by the Constitution (war powers, tax and spend, commerce)

Question 6

The War Power

Answer 6

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

Question 7

Power to Regulate interstate and foreign commerce

Answer 7

Congress must regulate commerce between U.S. and other nations and between states (most of everything nowadays)

Question 8

Power to tax and spend

Answer 8

Congress appropriates money and how it will be spent - can withhold funds if a program doesn’t meet federal guidelines

Question 9

Concurrent powers

Answer 9

all powers not granted in Constitution are reserved for the states e.g. establishing and maintaining separate court systems

Question 10

Reserved powers

Answer 10

reserved powers are those held by the states alone - not listed, but guaranteed by 10th amendment

Question 11

Prohibited powers

Answer 11

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

Question 12

Necessary and Proper Clause

Answer 12

Congress has the power to make laws that are “necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers.”

Question 13

McCulloch v. Maryland

Answer 13

states can’t tax federal bank because of supremacy clause and power to tax and spend

Question 14

Nullification controversy

Answer 14

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

Question 15

Commerce Clause and Gibbons v. Ogden

Answer 15

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.

Question 16

The definition of commerce in Gibbons v. Ogden

Answer 16

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

Question 17

National government powers over intrastate commerce

Answer 17

Does the national government have the right to control any commerce within state boundaries? Yes according to John Marshall

Question 18

State government powers over interstate commerce

Answer 18

Is interstate commerce a concurrent power that is shared by states and the national government? no according to john Marshall

Question 19

Expansion of the Commerce Clause

Answer 19

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

Question 20

Commerce Clause and Civil Rights

Answer 20

The prohibition of discrimination on public transport between states in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was upheld by the Supreme Court

Question 21

Dual federalism

Answer 21

the federal government and state governments remain supreme in each’s own sphere

Question 22

Cooperative federalism

Answer 22

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

Question 23

Coercive federalism

Answer 23

central government dominates relationship but gives some authority to states through block grants

Question 24

Grants-in-Aid System

Answer 24

national government provides millions of dollars for federal grants to states

Question 25

Categorical grants

Answer 25

appropriated by Congress for specific purposes

Question 26

Block grants

Answer 26

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

Question 27

Mandate

Answer 27

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)

Question 28

Devolution revolution

Answer 28

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