Module 2 Federalism & Civiv Engagement - PAF 112 Public Service and American Democracy Study Guide

Federalism

An institutional arrangement that creates two relatively autonomous levels of government, each possessing the capacity to act directly on behalf of the people with the authority granted to it by the national constitution.

Elastic clause

The last clause of Article I, Section 8, which enables the national government “to make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying” out all its constitutional responsibilities. It’s open-ended construction has allowed the national government to expand its authority beyond what was specified in the Constitution.

Supremacy clause (Article VI)

Article VI of the Constitution proclaimed that the Constitution, laws passed by Congress, and treaties made by the federal government were “the supreme Law of the Land.” In the event of a conflict between the states and the national government, the national government would triumph.

Immigration federalism

The gradual movement of states into the immigration policy domain, which is a domain that has traditionally been handled by the federal government.

Five characteristics of a federal system of government:

(1) Two levels of government with both elected by the people and each level assigned different functions.
(2) A written national constitution that cannot be changed without the consent of subnational governments.
(3) Legislative, judicial, and executive authority is allocated to the two levels of government to ensure each level some autonomy from the other.
(4) National courts commonly resolve disputes between levels and departments of government.
(5) Subnational governments are always represented in the upper house of the national legislature, enabling regional interests to influence national lawmaking.

Venue shopping

Refers to a strategy in which interest groups select the level and branch of government (legislature, judiciary, or executive) they calculate will be most advantageous for them.

Voting policies

Most policies that govern how people vote are determined at the state or local level rather than at the national level. 

Dual federalism

Government power is strictly divided between the state and national governments. The period of time within American history that stretches from the founding of the nation until the New Deal. Sometimes called jurisdiction.

Cooperative Federalism

Where the national government encourages states and localities to pursue nationally-defined goals. Has been the rule since the 1930s.

The Commerce Clause

“To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes.” Forms the basis of dual federalism and cooperative federalism.

Regulated federalism

type of cooperative federalism where the national governments set up regulations and rules (mandates) that the states must follow. OSHA regulations, for example.

Formula grants

a state gets aid in a certain amount of money based on a mathematical formula.

Project grants

require states to submit proposals in order to receive aid and the states compete for a limited pool of resources.

Block grants

the national government gives the state a huge chunk of money for something big, such as infrastructure, and the state can figure out how to spend the money on its own.

New Federalism (1970s)

giving more power to the states in three ways: block grants, devolution, and the 10th amendment.

Devolution

the process of giving local and state governments the power to enforce regulations, devolving power from the national level to the state level.

10th Amendment

“The powers not delegate to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the People.”

The Voting Rights Act 1965

piece of legislation that was designed to eliminate racial discrimination in voting.

Reconstruction (1865 - 1877)

a period during which state governments were reorganized before the rebellious states were allowed to be readmitted to the Union. As part of this process, the Republican Party pushed for a permanent end to slavery. This lead to the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865.

13th Amendment

“Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”

Disenfranchisement

the revocation of voting rights.

Literacy tests

called on the prospective voter to demonstrate their ability to read a particular passage of text. Used in the North since 1850s to disqualify naturalized European immigrants and blacks from voting (because they couldn’t read English well or at all).

Understanding tests

required the prospective voter to explain the meaning of a particular passage of text, often a provision of the U.S. Constitution, or answer a series of questions related to citizenship.

Grandfather clause

used to allow less literate whites to vote, and exempted those who had been allowed to vote in that state prior to the Civil war and their descendants from literacy and understand tests. Most blacks were not allowed to vote prior to the Civil Wr, but most white men had been (when there were no tests).

Poll tax

an annual per-person tax, typically one or two dollars (on the order of $20 to $50 today), that a person had to pay to register to vote. This kept poor, former slaves from voting.

White primary

primary elections in which only whites were allowed to vote.

Jim Crow laws

segregation laws, such as limiting what neighborhoods blacks and whites could live in and “whites only” restrooms. Separate, but equal.

Brown v. Board of Education 1954

the Supreme Court unanimously overturned the decision in Plessy v. Ferguson, states a separate, but equal education as a logical impossibility.

de jure segregation

segregation mandated by law.

Direct action campaigns

campaigns relying on marches and demonstrations

Civil disobedience

the refusal to obey an unjust law

Civil Rights act of 1964

outlaws government discrimination, the unequal application of voting qualifications by race, and for the first time outlawed segregation and other forms of discrimination by most businesses that were open to the public.

EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission)

monitors employment discrimination claims and help enforce this provision of the law.

Dr. Bernard LaFayette, Jr. “The Role of Religion in the Civil Rights Movement”

In this article, Dr. LaFayette, the Director of the Center for Non-Violence and Peace Studies at the University of Rhode Island, provides an overview of the significance the church, religion, and faith-based organizations played in movements for justice and equality in history and specifically in the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s.

Political engagement

When people take action about a public problem through political means such as, but not limited to, the following types of political activities: voting or otherwise engaging in elective politics, attending marches or rallies, contacting elected representatives to advocate for a specific cause.

Voting

When someone casts a ballot for a political candidate or a public policy issue through an official election.

Voter registration

Voters must register in the state in which they live. This process may involve checking a box on a driver’s license application or filling out a form. In order to be eligible to vote in the United States, a person must be a citizen, resident, and eighteen years old. States often place additional requirements.

Factors that affect voter turnout:

The following factors often influence voter turnout:

- Whether individuals are registered to vote
- Characteristics such as gender, race, age;
- Voter photo identification laws;
- The number of polling places;
- If mail-in voting is permitted;
- Apathy or its opposite, a deep interest in a policy issue or candidate.

Running for political office

Running for office often involves collecting signatures on a form or paying a registration fee. However, a potential candidate still needs to meet state-specific requirements covering length of residency, voting status, and age.

Protesting

An organized protest involves a group expressing their opinion about a particular policy, public figure, or social problem in a public manner.

Residency requirement

establishes how long a citizen must live in a state before becoming eligible to register to vote: it is often
thirty days.

Voting-age population (VAP)

persons who are eighteen and older (of age to vote)

Voting-eligible population (VEP)

citizens eighteen and older who, whether they have registered or not, are eligible to vote because they are citizens, mentally competent, and not imprisoned.

Early voting

opens polling places as much as two weeks early

Chronic minority

citizens who will never change the outcome of the state-level election, are those who vote for third parties like the Green or Libertarian Party.

The Teacher’s Strike of 2018

The teachers’ strikes of 2018 offer a good example of social engagement and political activism in creating policy changes. Teachers were organizing and mobilizing based on their common shared identities as teachers and school personnel as members of state and local associations and unions. This provides an example of the common factors that all movements share as well as the challenges of differing state policies and laws. The reading and resources illustrate how federalism affects education policy, which plays into Dr. Koppell's larger argument here about why understanding the structure of government is important when you want to work on public problems.

Strike

a collective refusal by employees to work, usually in response to grievances. Unions usually represent strikes as they are intended to force employers to comply with employee demands, such as better pay, benefits, or working conditions.

Walkout

a protest where employees leave their workplace or work meeting in protest of their working conditions or wages. A type of labor strike.