Milan Gov Chapter 4 Part 1 and 2

Which of the following powers would you categorize under state government?

• Administer elections

• Govern U.S. territories

• Regulate interstate commerce

• Appoint foreign ambassadors

Administer elections

What was the main reason that the the Framers created Federalism?

• To make elections of government officers more fair

• To put all power in the hands of a central government

• To protect citizens from an all-powerful central government

• To prevent a takeover from England or France

To protect citizens from an all-powerful central government

Which of the following is a denied power to both federal and state governments?

• Establishing criminal codes

• Protecting the public health

• Granting someone a title of nobility

• Setting tax rates and tax bases

Granting someone a title of nobility

Which of the following is the best example of a concurrent power of the state and national governments?

• Conduct foreign relations

• Levy taxes (seizure of property/income to satisfy unpaid taxes)

• Provide an army and a navy

• Declare war

Levy taxes

What is the main reason that federal land-grant schools were created?

• To encourage land conservation practice

• To give more Americans access to a college education

• To increase both state and federal revenues

• To give elites more educational opportunities

To give more Americans access to a college education

What is an obligation each state has to the national government?

• To allow representatives from each state to serve in congress

• To provide troops to other states in times of civil unrest

• To provide relief to other states in the aftermath of a natural disaster

• To conduct and pay for presidential elections

To conduct and pay for presidential elections

What is the main reason that one state might receive more in a block grant than another state?

• One may have more roads

• One may have more population

• One may have more schools

• One may have more need

One may have more population

Enumerated powers, such as the power to coin money and collect taxes, are __

• Reserved powers granted to state governments

• Delegated powers granted to state governments

• National powers directly expressed in the Constitution

• National powers implied by the constitution

National powers directly expressed in the Constitution

What was the main result of the Supreme Court decision in McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)?

• In questions of national versus state powers, national authority is supreme

• The Supreme Court established a trend of ruling in favor of increasing state sovereignty

• The federal government has sovereignty only in times of crisis

• In questions of national versus state powers, start authority is supreme

In questions of national versus state powers, national authority is supreme

Enabling act

An act that allows the people of a territory interested in becoming a state to prepare a constitution

Federal grants

The sum of money given to state or local governments for specific purposes

Preemption

The federal government’s ability to take over a state government function

Federalism

A system of government in which two or more governments exercise power over the same people and the same territory (power is split)

Authority

The right to command for lead

Delegated powers

The powers the Constitution grants to the national government

Why does the constitution divide power between the national and state governments?

To ensure that neither government becomes overpowered and leads to tyranny/corruption.

How did past experiences and an understanding of human nature influence the Founding Father's establishing a federalist government?

The Founders saw firsthand what can happen when a central government has too much power over the people. They wanted a change from King George's way of ruling. They also understood power can make people crave even more power. By creating checks and balances, they believed they could prevent any one branch from gaining too much power.

Why does the Constitution divide power between the national and state governments?

By dividing power over the levels, no one level has the power to take away citizens' civil liberties.

What effect does the supremacy clause have on concurrent powers?

The supremacy clause gives power to the federal/national government over the state government when a state law conflicts with a national law. Essentially, all national laws are supreme based on the supremacy clause.

Summarize the relationship between the expressed and implied powers held by the national government.

Expressed powers and implied powers fall under the category of delegated powers. The expressed powers were directly granted to the national government in the Constitution (ex: Levy taxes/collect taxes).

The implied powers are not directly stated and are dependent on the expressed powers. The implied powers are the powers needed to use the expressed powers because the constitution cannot predict every solution or law needed to run a government.

Based on the Constitution, what guarantees does the federal government make to the states?

The federal government guarantees a republican form of government (power rests with the people and is exercised through elections).

Secondly, the national government must protect states from foreign invasion or domestic unrest.

Finally, they must respect the territorial integrity and admission of each state.

What are the main obligations of the states to the national government?

The states/local gov’t must conduct/run and pay for national elections, aid federal law enforcement, and take part in the process of amending the Constitution.

How does the federal government influence the state and local governments?

By attaching conditions to federal funding

passing mandates that require states to meet minimum national mandates on services (simpler words: they set a baseline rule that every state must follow for specific public programs like Medicaid.)

passing restraints that limit a state's ability to regulate an area

and through preemption, which takes away some state and local authority to make their own laws and policies.

What role has the Supreme Court played in settling disputes between the federal and state governments?

The Supreme Court plays the role of umpire (makes final decisions, acts as a neutral third party) in settling disputes between the federal and state governments.

Which powers did the Founders reserve for state governments?

Can regulate and promote business

Preserving natural resources

Making and enforcing criminal laws

Protect individual rights

And provide for public health, education, and welfare.

Why have issues over which the states exercise their power changed over time?

As society changes over time, the needs of the people change. States now pass laws to prevent things that were not issues when the Constitution was written.

How do states cooperate and resolve conflicts with one another?

The states provide the same fundamental rights to their residents and nonresidents and enter into interstate compacts on issues that effect more than one state.

Congress must approve of these compacts, once they do they are binding and are enforceable by Supreme court.

How is public policy created at different levels of government?

Local and state authorities create policies that affects their citizens. Sometimes these policies spread to other states or become national policies.

The national government sets policies that affect all citizens of the country and the states follow.

Why does federalism increase opportunities for political participation?

Federalism spreads power over many layers, which results in elections at every level. This gives citizens more opportunities to vote on issues, to run for office, and to participate in special interest groups to develop public policy.

Why might it be easier to influence policy on the local level than on the national level?

The local governments are close to the people and better reflect the unique needs and wishes of their residents. And so, they are more likely to listen to peoples concerns than national which focuses on matters that have to deal with the U.S. as a whole rather than a specific county.

Explain the main method that Congress has established to provide assistance to the states.

The main method the federal government uses to assist states is federal grants.

Administer

To manage or supervise the execution, use, or conduct of

Extradite

To return a fugitive who flees across state lines back to the original state

Interstate compact

A written agreement between two or more states

Policy

A plan that includes general goals and procedures

Sunshine law

A law prohibiting public officials from holding meetings not open to the public

Nationalist position

A position that favors national action in dealing with problems

Federal system

The central/national government has some special powers over all citizens, the states have certain powers reserved for them, and the two (national and state) share some powers.

(constitution grants both expressed and implied powers to the national gov) Examples of expressed powers

power to Levy and collect taxes, coin money, make war, raise an army/navy, and regulate commerce among states.

Reserved powers

The Constitution says that states will have any powers not delegated to the national government so long as they are not also prohibited to the states.

Essentially, states have authority over matters not found in the Constitution. Traditional reserved powers include: powers to conduct elections, establish and support local schools, and to regulate businesses and trade within the state.

Concurrent powers examples

power to tax, maintain courts and define crimes, and to take private property for public use.

Denied power to both national and state examples

pass retroactive laws (punish actions that occurred before a law was passed), tax exports, hold or sentence a person to jail without fair trials, pass any law that violates the constitution, grant titles of nobility

Mandates

A law that requires states to take on an activity or provide a service that meets minimum national standards.

Congress is not required to pay for new mandates and can pass this responsibility to the states.

Sunset law

A provision in a law that sets an automatic end date for the law

Collect taxes

Concurrent Powers

To enter into treaties

Power denied to all state governments

To regulate the sale of alcoholic beverages

State powers

To regulate interstate commerce

National power

To make treaties

National power

To license professionals

A state power

To raise an army

is a National power directly expressed in the consitution

To tax federal government agencies

 

is a power denied to all State governments.

To regulate gambling

 

is a State power.

To create post offices

 

is a National power.

To fund and regulate education

 

is a Concurrent power.

To regulate marriage and divorce

 

is a State power.

To make traffic regulations

 

is a State power.

To deny due process of law

 

is a power denied to BOTH governments.

To fix standard weights

 

is a National power.

To regulate trade within a state

 

is a State power.

To change state boundaries without permission of the states

 

is a power denied to the National government.

To enforce laws

 

is a Concurrent power.

To naturalize citizens

 

is a Concurrent power.

To change the Bill of Rights

 

is a power denied to BOTH governments.

To suspend writ of habeas corpus (When the accused is denied due process of law, such as knowing the charges against them.)

 

is a power denied to BOTH governments.

To punish counterfeiters

 

is a National power.

To pass ex post facto laws (A law that makes illegal an act that was legal when committed, increases the penalties for an infraction after it has been committed, or changes the rules of evidence to make conviction easier.)

 

is a power denied to BOTH governments.

To tax exports

 

is a power denied to the BOTH governments

To coin money

 

is a power denied to all State governments.

To coin money

National power

To declare war

 

is a National power.

To pass bills of attainder (An act of a legislature declaring a person or group of persons guilty of some crime and punishing them without a trial.)

denied to BOTH governments

To grant copyrights

 

is a National power.