Test 1.2 Flashcards
commerce clause
Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution, which delegates to Congress the power to regulate buying and selling with foreign Nations, and among the several States and with the Indian Tribes.
concurrent powers
authority possessed by both state and national governments, such as the power to levy taxes.
cooperative federalism
a type of federalism existing since the New Deal era in which grants-in-aid have been used strategically to encourage states and localities (without commanding them) to pursue nationally defined goals.
devolution
a policy to remove a program from one level of government by delegating it or passing it down to a lower level of government, such as from the national government to the state and local governments.
dual federalism
the system of government that prevailed in the United States from 1789 to 1937, in which most fundamental governmental powers were shared between the federal and state government.
expressed powers
specific powers granted by the Constitution to Congress and to the president.
federalism
a system of government in which power is divided, by a constitution, between the central government and regional governments.
federal system
a system of government in which the national government shares power with lower levels of government, such as states.
full faith and credit clause
provision from Article IV, Section 1, of the Constitution requiring that the states normally honor the public acts and judicial decisions that take place in another state.
general revenue sharing
the process by which one unit of government yields a portion of its tax income to another unit of government, according to an established formula.
home rule
power delegated by the state to a local unit of government to allow that government to manage its own affairs.
implied powers
powers derived from the necessary and proper clause of Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution; such powers are not specifically expressed, but are suggested through the expansive interpretation of delegated powers.
necessary and proper clause
provision from Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution providing Congress with the authority to make all laws needed to carry out its expressed powers.
New Federalism
policy of Presidents Nixon and Reagan to return power to the states through block grants.
police power
power reserved to the government to regulate the health, safety, and morals of its citizens.
preemption
the principle that allows the national government to override state or local actions in certain policy areas; in foreign policy, the willingness to strike first in order to prevent an enemy attack.
privileges and immunities clause
provision, from Article IV, Section 2, of the Constitution, that a state cannot discriminate against someone from another state or give its own residents special treatment.
redistributive programs
economic policies designed to control the economy through taxing and spending, with the goal of benefiting the poor.
regulated federalism
a form of federalism in which Congress imposes legislation on states and localities, requiring them to meet national standards.
reserved powers
powers, derived from the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution, that are not specifically delegated to the national government or denied to the states.
states’ rights
the principle that the states should oppose the increasing authority of the national government; this principle was most popular in the period before the Civil War.
unfunded mandates
regulations or conditions for receiving grants that impose costs on state and local governments for which they are not reimbursed by the federal government.
unitary system
a centralized government system in which lower levels of government have little power independent of the national government.
