Gov. Chapter 6 Vocabulary

Endangered Species Act in 1973

Endangered Species Act in 1973

Concern over the dwindling population of once common animals such as the gray wolf led Congress to pass the ______________. This law gave control of endangered animals to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Expressed Powers

____________ are powers specifically granted to the national government.

The powers given specifically to the national government by the U.S. Constitution. These are also known as enumerated or delegated powers.

Dual Federalism

Political Scientists sometimes refer to this system as ___________, or "layer cake" federalism. In such as system, the two levels of government are part of the whole, but each has its own clearly delineated responsibilities.

McCulloch v. Maryland

For example. in ____________ (1819), a case involving the creation of a national bank, the Court made it clear that federal laws took precedent over state laws when the two came into conflict.

Gibbons v. Ogden

The case of ___________ (1824) arose when the New York State legislature granted Aaron Ogden a monopoly on steamboat operations between New York and New Jersey.

Cooperative Federalism

Political scientists refer to this new era as one of ____________, or "marble cake" federalism. Political scientists Morton Grodzins wrote of the federalists system during this period.

Grant-in-aid

A key ingredient in marble cake federalism was a mix of federal ___________ programs. These are funds given by the federal government to state and local governments for specific programs, such as aid to the unemployed.

Regulated Federalism

Johnson called his partnership with state and local governments creative federalism. Political scientists, however, prefer the more descriptive term _____________.

Unfunded Mandates

They were even less happy about the rapid growth of _________ that began in the 1960s. These programs and regulations imposed on state and local governments by Congress without adequate funding, if any, attached to them.

A regulation or policy imposed by the federal government on state and local governments without adequate federal funds to carry out the policy.

New Federalism

Nixon called his pledge to return power to the states the __________.

Devolution

Political scientists called these more recent efforts to return power to the states __________.

The transfer of power from a central government to a regional or local government. In the United States, the term usually refers to the delegation of power from the national to the state governments.

Block Grant

The federal government continued to provide "ingredients" in the form of __________ to the states. But unlike the highly regulated grants-in-aid that funded Great Society programs, _________ left states free to decide how best to spend the money they received.

U.S. v. Lopez

In __________ (1995), the Supreme Court agreed with Lopez and voted 5-4 to strike down the 1990 act as an unconstitutional expansion of federal power

U.S. v. Morrison

The Supreme Court also limited federal power in ______________ (2000), a case involving a federal law that gave victims of gender-motivated crimes the right to sue in federal courts. In another split decision, the Court ruled that Congress did not have the authority to enact this law.

No Child Left Behind (Act of 2001)

For example, President Bush signed the _____________ into law. Under this act, states must provide students with qualified teachers and administer annual standardized tests in federally funded schools.

Apportionment

State lawmakers are also responsible for __________, or the distribution of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and in state legislatures.

The distribution of seats in a legislature according to law. The U.S. Constitution requires that seats in the House of representatives be apportioned according to the population of each state.

Baker v. Carr

___________ reached the Supreme court in 1961. He asked the court to prevent him and other state officials from holding elections in Tennessee until district lines were redrawn.

Arizona v. U.S.

However, in _____________ (2012), the court determined that states do not have the authority to arrest illegal aliens.

Interstate Commerce

The national government controls ___________, or trade among the states.

Trade that takes place between two states or among several states.

Intrastate Commerce

The states control ____________, or trade within their borders.

Trade that takes place within the borders of a state.

Quorum

The constitution of Texas, like that of most states, requires a _________ to be present for the legislature to vote on bills. A __________ is a fixed number of people, often a majority, who must be present for an organization to conduct business. The purpose of a ________ is to prevent an unrepresentative minority from taking action in the name of the full organization.

Gerrymandering

Often, lawmakers tried to draw district boundaries to benefit themselves or other members of their party, a practice known as _____________. The term was coined in 1811 to describe a salamander-shaped legislative district in Massachusetts.

Drawing the boundaries of a legislative district with the intent of giving one party or group a significant advantage.

Redistricting

In the past, the Court had treated _________, or the redrawing of voting districts to reflect population changes, as a political question.

The process of redrawing the geographic boundaries of legislative districts after a census to reflect population changes.

County Seat

Traditionally, county governments were headquartered in the _______. This was often the largest or most centrally located town in the county. It was no more than a day's wagon journey from any county resident.

Commission System

Galveston adopted this new ____________. However, criticism that it was undemocratic soon led to the election, rather than appointment, of commissioners.

Council-Manager System

In the 1950s and 1960s, many cities switched to a third form of local government known as the _____________. In this system, citizens elect a city council, but day-to-day job of running the city government is handled by a hired city manager.

Special-Purpose-Districts

These ___________ may overlap the geographic boundaries of counties and cities, but they operate independently from those other local units of government.