Federalism

Question 1

Federalism

Answer 1

form of government in which different levels of government act relatively autonomously and have the power to act directly on people within their jurisdictions

Question 2

Levels of Federalism within the US?

Answer 2

National (federal) government and the state (territorial) governments

Question 3

Enumerated Powers of Congress

Answer 3

• collect taxes and duties
• borrow money
• coin money
• establish national courts inferior to the Supreme Court
• regulate interstate and foreign commerce
• raise and support armed forces
• declare war

Question 4

Reserved Powers

Answer 4

• Constitution did not enumerate powers of state gov
• framers believed the states possessed reserved powers; all powers not prohibited to the states by the Constitution or delegated to the national govt
• 10 AMENDMENT

Question 5

Restrictions on State Power; Caused by the Constitution

Answer 5

CANNOT:
- enter treaties with foreign govts
- coin money
- levy taxes
- suspend the writ of habeas corpus, passing bills of attainder, or passing ex post facto laws

Question 6

Restrictions on State Power; Caused by Constitutional Amendments

Answer 6

14TH AMENDMENT: prohibits states from denying individual rights granted by the Constitution

15/19/26 AMENDMENTS: important protections of individual civil rights; prohibit states from abridging the right of citizens to vote based on race, sex, age

Question 7

Concurrent Powers

Answer 7

powers enjoyed by both the state and federal government. EX:
- collecting taxes
- borrow
- budget and spend
- create courts
- create and enforce laws

Question 8

Supremacy Clause

Answer 8

The Constitution, federal laws, and treaties are the “supreme Law of the Land”
- national laws trump conflicting state laws as long as the federal gov was acting within its constitutional authority

Question 9

Distribution of Finances

Answer 9

• federal/state/local gov rely on taxation powers to raise revenue to fund their expenditures
• 16TH AMENDMENT: authorized Congress to tax the income of individuals without apportioning it to the states on the basis of population
• federal govt raises 1/2 of revenue from individual income taxes ; 1/3rd of its revenue from payroll taxes

Question 10

How States Raise Revenue

Answer 10

• TAXES: income, property, sales taxes and fees
• 1/2 of revenue raised through taxes
• States receive 30% of revenue from federal grants ; local receive over 1/3rd of revenue from federal and state grants

Question 11

Elastic Clause (“Necessary and Proper”)

Answer 11

authorizes Congress to employ any means that are appropriate and plaining adapted to the permitted end (passed by the Supreme Court)

• applied to the power of Congress to REGULATE INTERSTATE COMMERCE

Question 12

National VS State Powers

Answer 12

• Elastic Clause
• states sought to curb growing national power by asserting states had the power to nullify laws viewed as unconstitutional

Question 13

Nullification

Answer 13

states had the right to reject national laws they deemed unconstitutional
- created by the Nullification Crisis (emerged from President Jackson’s Sedition Act and Tariff Acts)

Question 14

Marbury v. Madison

Answer 14

• Chief Justice John Marshall
• principle of judicial review
• reinforced the influence and independence of the judiciary branch of the US government

Question 15

Slavery

Answer 15

• greatest conflict between national and state power
• culminated in the Civil War

Question 16

Post Civil War Power Stuggles

Answer 16

• states no longer asserted a perceived right to challenge constitutionally enacted federal laws
• 14/15 AMENDMENT: defined the citizenship and rights of freedmen

Question 17

Dual Federalism

Answer 17

political arrangement in which the national and state governments act with distinct areas of jurisdiction
- post Reconstruction
- layered cake federalism

Question 18

Cooperative Federalism

Answer 18

the federal gov expanded its power; both levels of government coordinated their actions to solve national problems

• caused by the Great Depression
• The New Deal and Great Society
• used during civil rights struggles
• marble cake federalism

Question 19

New Federalism

Answer 19

idea that the decentralization of policies enhances administrative efficiency, reduces public spending, and improves policy outcomes

• introduced by President Nixon; attempted to restore state power where national gov had taken over in Cooperative Federalism
• Continued by President Reagan through the “devolution revolution”

Question 20

President Reagan & New Federalism

Answer 20

• decentralizing national power
• increasing revenue sharing with state and local gov
• giving greater discretion to state and local gov over spending federal grants

less national involvement = more grants to state/local gov

Question 21

Unfunded Mandates

Answer 21

federal laws/regulations that require state or local gov to undertake certain obligations without the federal gov providing full compensation to comply with the mandate

Question 22

Use of Unfunded Mandates

Answer 22

used to compel state or local action and promote national objectives on education, environmental protection, civil right protection, and homeland security

Question 23

Competitive Federalism

Answer 23

national, state, and local levels clash and battle with each other caused by overlapping powers and responsibilities

Question 24

Competitive Federalism Cause and Effect

Answer 24

CAUSE: federal and state/local policy do not align
EFFECT: conflict on issues such as immigration, same-sex marriage, and the legalization of marijuana

Question 25

Examples of Competitive Federalism

Answer 25

• COVID
• Gun Control
• Civil Rights
• Roe v. Wade / Dobbs v. Jackson
• Immigration