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AP U.S. Government and Politics > Federalism > Flashcards

Federalism Flashcards

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1
Q

three systems of govt

A

unitary, confederate, and federal

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2
Q

unitary govt

A
  • centralized system of govt in which all power is vested in a central govt
  • Great Britain, France, and China
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3
Q

confederate govt

A
  • decentralized system of govt in which weak central govt has limited power over the states
  • US began as this under AoC
  • United Nations
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4
Q

federal govt

A

system of fort in which power is dived by a written constitution between a central got and regional govts (2+ levels of govt have formal authority over the same area and people)
-US, Mexico, Canada, Germany, and India

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5
Q

expressed powers (enumerated powers)

A

granted to federal govt by the constitution

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6
Q

Congress’s expressed powers

A

Article 1, Section 8 (27 different powers)

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7
Q

President’s expressed powers

A

Article 2, Section 2

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8
Q

Supreme expressed powers

A

Article 3

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9
Q

key expressed powers

A
  • power to regulate interstate and foreign commerce
  • power to tax and spend
  • war power
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10
Q

implied powers

A
  • not expressly stated in the Constitution
  • Article 1, Section 8, Clause 18 (elastic clause) - all laws necessary and proper to execute powers
  • enables the national govt to meet probe the Framers could not anticipate (insured growth of national power by enabling federal govt to extend powers beyond the Constitution)
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11
Q

inherent powers

A
  • derive from the fact that the US is a sovereign nation

- international law: all nation-states have the right to make treaties, wage war, and acquire territory

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12
Q

reserved powers

A
  • held solely by states
  • 10th amendment (not delegated to US, nor prohibited to states - reserved to the states/people)
  • ex) licensing doctors, establishing public schools and local govts
  • ex)police power - authority of a state to protect and promote the public morals, health, safety, and general welfare
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13
Q

concurrent powers

A
  • exercised by both national and state govts

- power to tax, borrow money, and establish courts

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14
Q

prohibited powers

A
  • denied to national govts, states, or both

- federal govt cannot tax exports, and states cannot make treaties with foreign countries

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15
Q

“the cardinal question”

A
  • the relationship between the national govt and the states is the “cardinal question of our constitutional system” (Wilson)
  • a new question emerges every generation b/c development occurs
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16
Q

background of the McCulloch v. Maryland case

A
  • Congress chartered the Second National Bank of the US in 1816
  • 1818 - Maryland legislature passed a law imposing a substantial tax on the operation of the Baltimore branch of the bank
  • James McCulloch refused to pay tax (cashier of Baltimore branch)
  • Maryland state courts ruled against him, but McCulloch appealed to US Supreme Court
17
Q

constitutional questions raised by McCulloch case

A
  1. Does the Constitution permit Congress to charter a bank?

2. Does a state have a constitutional right to tax an agency of the US govt?

18
Q

McCulloch court’s decision

A
  • led by Chief Justice John Marshall
  • creating a national bank was within the implied powers of Congress
  • but “bank” is not in the constitution
  • uses the necessary and proper clause to say that creating a bank carried out its enumerated powers of imposing taxes, issuing a currency, and borrowing money
  • however, Maryland law was unconstitutional bc violated the supremacy of the national govt to level a tax
19
Q

significance of McCulloch case

A
  • confirmed right of congress to use implied power to carry out expressed powers
  • ex) build interstate highways, regulate labor-management relations, and inspect food and drugs
  • supremacy of national govt over states (states cannot interfere with or tax the legitimate activities of the federal govt)
20
Q

nullification

A

John Calhoun of SC - state can nullify or refuse to recognize an act of Congress that it considered unconstitutional

21
Q

the Civil War and its effect on nullification

A
  • conflict over slavery and a dispute over the relationship between the Southern states and the national govt
  • refuted the doctrine of nullification while also confirming that the federal union is indissoluble
22
Q

Background of Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

A
  • NY legislature granted Aaron Ogden an “exclusive license” to run ferry service on the Hudson River between NY and NJ
  • Thomas Gibbons obtained a license from the federal govt to operate a competing NY-NJ ferry service
  • Ogden claimed Gibbons infringed on the monopoly rights granted to him by the NY legislature
  • NY courts ruled against him; Gibbons appealed to SC
23
Q

constitutional questions of the Gibbons v. Ogden case

A
  • Did the NY law violate the Constitution by attempting to regulate interstate commerce?
  • Does Congress have the exclusive right to regulate interstate commerce?
24
Q

Court’s decision in Gibbons case

A
  • commerce: all commercial business dealings (includes production, buying, selling, renting, and transporting of goods, service, and property)
  • because congress regulates all interstate com mere, the Court upheld Gibbons’s right to operate a ferry service in competition with Ogden
25
Q

Significance of Gibbons case

A

-broad def of commerce enabled Congress to promote economic growth by supporting the construction of roads, canals, and railroad lines

26
Q

expansion of commerce clause

A
  • led to expansion of federal govt
  • govt now regulates commercial activities such as radio signaling, telephones messages, and finical transactions
  • SC upheld the 1964 Civil Rights Act forbidding discrimination in places of public accommodation such as hotels on the basis of its power to regulate interstate commerce
27
Q

school desegregation

A
  • Brown v. Board of Education: SC unanimously held that school segregation = unconstitutional
  • Eisenhower sent troops to Little Rock’s Central High School to enforce this decision
  • national standards of racial equality ultimately prevailed
28
Q

dual federalism

A
  • system of govt in which the national and state govts remain supreme within their own spheres (i.e. federal govt = foreign policy, state govt = public schools)
  • characterized relationship between federal govt and states until New Deal in 1930’s
  • “layer cake”
29
Q

cooperative federalism

A
  • a system of govt in which the national and state govts work together to complete projects (i.e. interstate highway program features a partnership in which national and state govts share costs and administrative duties)
  • “marble cake”
30
Q

fiscal federalism

A
  • refers to the pattern of spending, taxing, and providing grants in the federal system
  • 2010 - $480 billion in federal grants (accounted for 21% of all funds spent by state and local govts)
31
Q

types of federal grants

A
  • categorical grants: specific, defined purposes (money spent to build highways)
  • block grants: broadly defined purpose, give states leeway (homeland security)
32
Q

mandate

A

rule telling states what they must do to comply with federal guidelines

33
Q

What are the most common mandates?

A

Civil rights and environmental protection - state programs may not discriminate against people bc of their race, sex, age, or ethnicity

34
Q

unfunded mandate

A
  • requires state and local govts to provide services without providing resources for these service
  • Handicapped Children’s Protection Act: public schools access to ramps and special buses, but no federal funds
35
Q

devolution

A
  • refers to a movement to transfer responsibilities of governing from the federal got to state and local govts
  • Welfare Reform Act of 1996 - gave states money to run their own welfare programs
36
Q

advantages of federalism

A
  • promotes diverse policies that encourage experimentation and creative ideas
  • provides multiple power centers, making it difficult for any one faction or interest group to dominate govt policies
  • keeps the govt close to people by increasing opportunities for political participation
37
Q

disadvantages of federalism

A
  • promotes inequality because states differ in the resources they can devote to providing services
  • enables local interests to delay or even thwart majority support for a policy
  • creates confusion bc the different levels of govt make it difficult for citizens to know what different govts are doing

AP U.S. Government and Politics (20 decks)

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