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Politics Paper 3 > Federalism > Flashcards

Federalism Flashcards

1
Q

Federal Powers

A
  • maintain military
  • declare war
  • establish postal system
  • set standards for weights and measurements
  • protect copyrights and patents
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2
Q

State Powers

A
  • establish local governments
  • set up schools
  • regulate state commerce
  • make marriage regulations
  • establish and regulate corporations
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3
Q

Shared Federal and State Powers

A
  • collect taxes
  • establish courts
  • regulate interstate commerce
  • regulate banks
  • borrow money
  • provide general welfare
  • punish criminals
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4
Q

How does the federal system work?

A
  • power of the states is protected by 10th amendment
  • all states have an equal level of power
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5
Q

How can amendments to state power be made?

A

only by a 2/3 majority from all the states

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6
Q

What equal power do all states have?

A

to set their own tax rates, determine own electoral rules and all have the same degree of decision making power

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7
Q

What are three ways in which federal power has grown?

A
  1. supremacy clause
  2. expanded jurisdiction
  3. federal grants
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8
Q

What is the supremacy clause?

A

it establishes that the federal constitution and federal law takes precedence over state constitution and state laws, therefore state governments must follow federal laws

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9
Q

Give an example of the supremacy clause in action

A

Cooper v Aaron - held that states had to follow Brown v Board of Education because it was a federal decision and federal law is supreme

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10
Q

What is the significance of the supremacy clause?

A
  • allows federal government to stop infringements on rights in the states
  • allows federal government to be stronger in response to crisis, therefore increasing publics confidence in government
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11
Q

How is the supremacy clause restricted?

A

federal government laws do not have supremacy over issues reserved to the states under the 10th amendment

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12
Q

How does the 10th amendment constrain federal power?

A

the states have retained control over the policy areas reserved to them under the 10th amendment

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13
Q

What two cases can we use to demonstrate how federal power was restricted by the 10th amendment?

A

United States v Butler
New York v United States

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14
Q

United States v Butler

A

Agricultural Adjustment Act unconstitutional, Agriculture reserved to the states

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15
Q

New York v. United States

A

federal requirement for states to assume liability for toxic waste generated within their borders was unconstitutional because it violates 10th amendment

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16
Q

What is meant by an ‘expanded jurisdiction’?

A

there has been a growth in federal power through broader interpretations of the elastic clause and commerce clause

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17
Q

How has the “Necessary and proper” clause caused a growth in federal power?

A
  • elastic clause being interpreted more broadly
  • allows congress to stretch its powers
  • concerns that the federal government is acting beyond its powers
  • could be seen as corrupt and tyrannical which the FF were keen to avoid
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18
Q

Give an example of when an attempt to exceed the elastic clause was declared unconstitutional

A

United States v Lopez - held that federal government’s Gun Free School Zones Act was unconstitutional because it exceeded the commerce clause

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19
Q

How does federalism differ under a republican president compared to a democrat president?

A

republican (like Bush) - traditionally sought to shrink the size and scope of federal government
democrat (like Obama) - sees an increase in federal government activity

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20
Q

How have presidents increased federal power?

A

through the use of executive agencies

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21
Q

Give examples of executive agencies

A
  • medicare
  • obama care
  • homeland security
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22
Q

Give examples of Bush expanding federal power

A

education - No Child Left Behind
economy - 2008 economic crisis
national security - homeland security and defence (response to 9/11)

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23
Q

How did Bush expand federal power during 2008 economic crisis?

A

Bush intervened by nationalising two mortgage companies and bailing out banks

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24
Q

Gonzales v Raich

A

determined that Congress did have the power to regulate local activities, such as personal medical marijuana use, through its commerce clause power

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25
Q

Give examples of Obama expanding federal power

A

economy - economic stimulus package 2009
healthcare - Obamacare and Medicaid

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26
Q

In what policy area did Obama increase federal power the most in?

A

vastly increased federal power over healthcare - Obamacare and Medicaid

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27
Q

How have federal grants increased federal power?

A

state governments rely on federal funding

28
Q

What is the purpose of federal grants?

A

to help local and state governments finance many public services e.g. education, health care, social services, infrastructure, public safety

29
Q

What is a categorical grant and how has this led to an increase in federal power?

A

categorical grants give federal government significant power to impose regulations on the state in return for funds

30
Q

Give examples of a categorical grant

A

Social Security Act and other New Deal schemes - granted money to the states for providing welfare aid but this money was accompanied by strict guidelines and standards

31
Q

What in an unfunded mandate and how has this led to an increase in federal power?

A

used to expand federal power by imposing regulations on the states but not providing funds for them

32
Q

Give an example of an unfunded mandate

A

clean air act - required states to meet federal standards for air quality

33
Q

What is the significance of the role of categorical federal grants?

A
  • could be seen as corrupt by voters
  • could decrease confidence in federal government
  • could result in federal government more used to getting its own way
  • tyrannical dictatorship with FF keen to avoid
34
Q

How has the states relationship on federal grants differed in recent years?

A
  • states are now less reliant on federal funds due to revenue sharing and block grants
  • unfunded mandates have been limited so that states have more control
35
Q

What is the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act?

A

merged 77 categorical grants into 9 block grants
allowing states to decide how to spend federal funds

36
Q

What limits have been placed on unfunded mandates?

A

Unfunded Mandate Reform Act - unfunded mandates of over 50,000 for state or local governments needed a majority vote in Congress for the bill to continue

37
Q

Federalism and Marriage

A

Obergefell v Hodges - same sex marriage legal nationwide, ruled that state level bans on same sex marriage was unconstitutional

38
Q

Federalism and Abortion

A

Roe v Wade - overturned in 2022, abortion laws now reserved to the states, eliminated federal standards on abortion access, currently 12 states banned

39
Q

What was the first state to put abortion rights up to vote since SC overturned Roe v Wade?

A

Kansas - voted to continue to protect abortion in the state constitution

40
Q

Federalism and Euthanasia

A

Oregan permits doctor assisted suicide

41
Q

What are the policy consequences of federalism?

A

states can act as ‘policy laboratories’ - experimenting with policy initiatives to see if they work before being implemented at a national level

42
Q

How did states act as ‘policy laboratories’ in terms of women’s suffrage?

A

20 states had given women’s suffrage in state elections by 1918
this then led to federal government giving women the right to vote in the 19th amendment

43
Q

How did states act as ‘policy laboratories’ in terms of same sex marriage?

A

in 2008 California legalised same sex marriage
37 other states then followed California’s example
then it was legalised nationwide by Obergefell v Hodges in 2015

44
Q

What is the significance of states acting as ‘policy laboratories’?

A
  • reduces harmful policies being implemented nationwide
  • allows policies to be tested in appropriate states (such as liberal policies in liberal states)
45
Q

What is a challenge to the significance of states acting as ‘policy laboratories’ ?

A

marijuana legalisation in Colorado and Washington has been successful however the federal government refuses to legalise it nationwide

46
Q

What was the response to California legalising marijuana?

A
  • federal government claimed that this was a federal responsibility not a state one
  • the legalisation of production of marijuana in individual states would have an impact on the supply and demand of the drug across the US thus affecting interstate commerce
47
Q

Federalism and minimum wage

A

federal minimum wage = $7.25 per hour
Arizona, New Mexico, California - higher minimum wage than federal

48
Q

How does federalism better protect individual rights?

A

it creates more checks and balances and separation of powers

49
Q

How does the 10th amendment better protect individual rights?

A

protects state power, prevents federal government from enacting any laws it likes and infringing on rights

50
Q

How does United States v Butler better protect individual rights?

A

protects rights of individuals in the agricultural sector

51
Q

How does the supremacy clause better protect individual rights?

A

prevents states from infringing on rights

52
Q

How does Cooper v Aaron better protect individual rights?

A

protects the rights of African Americans

53
Q

Give examples of when federalism has not always protected individual rights

A
  • Overturning of Roe v Wade - abortion rights now reserved to states
  • African Americans Voting Rights - for nearly 100 years the federal government did not stop the states preventing African Americans from voting
54
Q

How does federalism sustain separation of powers?

A

it creates more access points by dividing government

55
Q

What is the effect of federalism on interest groups?

A
  • interest groups have more access points
  • if a group fails at one level of government they have several more to choose from
  • gives interest groups more chances to affect policy
56
Q

How does federal government act as an access point?

A
  • it has ultimate control over policy areas under supremacy clause
  • more likely to act on issues that are in the national interest
  • more likely to act on protecting civil rights
57
Q

How does state government act as an access point?

A
  • control over the policy areas reserved to them under 10th amendment
  • more likely to act on issues that are specific to their own state
  • may be sympathetic to an individual or pressure group from their own state
58
Q

How does federalism uphold democracy?

A
  • promotes pluralist democracy
  • helps increase public engagement and participation in the political process (access points)
59
Q

How does federalism increase adversarial politics?

A
  • causes federal-state government conflict
  • one singular federal policy may not be appropriate for all the individual diverse areas of the USA
60
Q

Give an example of a state worker who refuses to follow Obergefell v Hodges

A

Kim Davis in Kentucky

61
Q

How does federalism make it harder to respond to national crisises?

A
  • a strong federal government is needed to respond to national crisis
  • may be hard if the federal government’s power was limited by state governments
62
Q

How did COVID affect federalism?

A
  • the pandemic challenged a workable american federalism
  • states and their local governments suffered from a significant lack of resources and inter-jurisdictional competition during major emergencies
63
Q

Federalism and Education

A

education is a district board responsibility

64
Q

What do public schools not teach?

A

creationism

65
Q

What is taught in schools in Tennessee?

A

intelligent design
an attempt to bring an alternative theory of evolution into public education

66
Q

What is the ‘critical race theory’ and in which schools is this taught?

A
  • looks at topics to do with race and the social construction of race
  • taught in public schools in ‘progressive states’

Politics Paper 3 (13 decks)

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