AP Gov Unit 1 Test Review: Devolution and Decentralization, 10th and 14th Amendments, Commerce Clause, McCulloch v. Maryland, U.S v. Lopez, Katzenbach v. McClung

What is devolution?

Taking power from the federal government and giving it back to the state and local governments.

What is decentralization?

The transfer of authority and responsibility for public functions from the central government to subordinate or quasi-independent government organizations and/or the private sector.

What does decentralization encompass?

Decisions can be made locally as well as nationally, reduces conflict in D.C, local and state governments may interfere with national goals.

What does the 10th amendment say?

Power not specifically delegated to the federal government in the Constitution are left to the states.

What does the 14th amendment say?

No state can take away your rights and it grants citizenship, equal protection, and due process under the law to all people born in the U.S.

What does the commerce clause do?

Gives Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce.

What is the summary of McCulloch v. Maryland?

Congress wanted to incorporate a Bank of the United States. Maryland wanted to tax the back, but James W. McCulloch refused to pay.

What was the decision of McCulloch v. Maryland?

The Court held that Congress had the power to incorporate the bank and that Maryland could not tax instruments of the national government employed in the execution of constitutional powers.

Why was McCulloch v. Maryland important?

It declared that Congress has implied powers necessary to implement its enumerated powers and established supremacy of the U.S. Constitution and federal laws over state laws.

What is the summary of U.S. v. Lopez?

Alfonzo Lopez carried a concealed weapon into his high school. He was charged under Texas law with firearm possession of school premises. Congress tried to use the commerce clause to arrest him.

What was the decision of U.S. v. Lopez?

The possession of a gun in a local school zone is not an economic activity that might, through repetition elsewhere, have a substantial effect on interstate commerce. Held that the federal Gun-Free School Zone Act of 1990 exceeded Congress's constitutional authority to regulate commerce.

Why was U.S. v. Lopez important?

It held that Congress may not use the commerce clause to make possession of a gun in a school zone a federal crime, introducing a new phase of federalism that recognized the importance of state sovereignty and local control.

What is the summary of Katzenbach v. McClung?

Ollie McClung argues that his restaurant could not be prohibited from discriminating against African Americans because Congress did not have the power under the Commerce Clause to enact the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

What was the decision of Katzenbach v. McClung?

The Civil Rights Act was a rational way to protect interstate commerce because it could be expected to reduce the discrimination that undermined it.

How does Katzenbach v. McClung relate to U.S. v. Lopez?

It also argued whether or not the Commerce Clause can be used to punish people for things that might not actually be related to commerce.

How can the national government affect state policy?

Through the distribution of grants, incentives, and aid. The federal government can encourage the adoption of policies at the state-level through federal aid programs.

How does sharing power between the state and federal government impact the federal government?

The federal government is able to sort of manipulate the state into doing what it wants them to do, but at the end of the day, unless stated directly in the Constitution, most powers are left to the states.

Does the scope of the federal government reach beyond the original intent of the Constitution?

A little bit, yes. For example, U.S. v. Lopez and Katzenbach v. McClung and the federal government's use of the commerce clause. For the most part, though, it is kept in check by the courts.