PSC 102 - Chapter 2 (Federalism: The Power Plan) Notes, Quiz, and Knowledge Checks

PSC 102 - JSU - Chapter 2 Notes, Quiz, and Knowledge Checks

Federalism

A political system in which national and regional governments share powers and are considered independent equals.

True

True or False:
Something that is not guaranteed by the federal Constitution can still be guaranteed—or banned completely—by state constitutions and state laws authorized by those same constitutions.

trigger laws

Statutes that automatically outlaw something as soon as it is constitutionally permissible to do so.

Federalism

__________ inevitably means the dividing line between what is and is not legally permissible depends on not just what you do but where you do it.

federal system

The United States is in theory a ____________, meaning power is shared between the federal government based in Washington and the state governments.

federal system

Having a ___________ in the US means power is shared between the federal government based in Washington and the state governments.

sovereign government

A government that depends on no other government for its political authority or power.

Unitary systems

Nations in which legal authority is held exclusively by a central government.

Unitary systems

___________ typically have regional and/or local governments, but these can exercise only the powers and responsibilities granted them by the central government. In other words, these governments are not sovereign; how much or how little power they are allowed to wield is up to the central government, not the citizens of the particular localities.

unitary

In ______ systems, how much or how little power the central government is allowed to wield is up to the central government, not the citizens of the particular localities.

unitary

The United Kingdom’s central government is the Parliament. The United Kingdom has a _____ system that can expand or contract the powers and responsibilities of these lower governments or even shut them down entirely.

unitary

In a _____ system, the central government grants powers to the regional governments.

confederal

In a _____ system independent states or governments grant legal authority to the central government.

federal

In a _____ system responsibilities and powers are divided between the central government and regional governments or states; neither level is dependent on the other for its power.

confederacy

A voluntary association of independent, sovereign states or governments.

Confederal

_______ systems concentrate power in regional governments.

confederacy

In a _________, the central government depends on the regional governments for its legal authority.

True

True or False:
The Articles of Confederation was the first constitution of the United States.

Articles of Confederation

The ____________ was the first constitution of the United States.

True

True or False:
The Articles of Federation were replaced by a new constitution drafted at the Constitutional Convention of 1787. The product of that gathering in Philadelphia—the U.S. Constitution—was ratified in 1788 and replaced the Articles of Confederation as the basis of the U.S. political system.

True

True or False:
The Articles of Confederation were replaced by the U.S. Constitution, which was ratified in 1788 and became the basis of the U.S. political system.

Articles of Confederation

The ____________ were replaced by the U.S. Constitution, which was ratified in 1788 and became the basis of the U.S. political system.

U.S. Constitution

The Articles of Confederation were replaced by the __________, which was ratified in 1788 and became the basis of the U.S. political system.

1788

The Articles of Confederation were replaced by the U.S. Constitution, which was ratified in _____ and became the basis of the U.S. political system.

federal

The ______ system’s defining feature is that neither level of government is dependent on the other for its power.

federal ; state

In the United States, the two levels of government considered sovereign are the ______ government and ______ governments.

True

True or False:
Although required to operate within the rules laid down by the U.S. Constitution, states are considered sovereign because their power and legal authority are drawn not just from the U.S. Constitution but also from their own citizens as codified in their own state constitutions.

unitary

In a(n) ______ system, legal authority is held by a single central government.

federal

unitary

proprietary

confederal

Neither level of government is dependent on the other for its power.

Which of the following characteristics is considered the defining feature of the federal system of government?

Power for both levels of government is drawn solely from the U.S. Constitution.

The federal government is dependent on the state governments for its legal authority.

Neither level of government is dependent on the other for its power.

Regional and/or local systems can only be granted power by the federal government.

True

True or False:

An association of independent states or governments who maintain their own sovereignty is known as a confederacy.

Representative government

A form of government in which citizens exercise power indirectly by choosing representatives to legislate on their behalf.

Federalists

The loose coalition of professional men who called for a stronger central government in the 1780s adopted which name for themselves?

Federalists

Confederals

Loyalists

Patriots

separated powers and checks and balances

Some convention delegates were concerned that a powerful national government would lead to tyranny. Which of the following was created to address these concerns?

bicameral legislature

separated powers and checks and balances

representative government

confederation

rewrite the Articles of Confederation

After Shays’s Rebellion, the Continental Congress authorized a meeting at Philadelphia in 1787, known as the Constitutional Convention, ostensibly to ______.

create a system of checks and balances

construct a new form of representative government

rewrite the Articles of Confederation

divide the national government into three branches

Allows for flexibility among state laws and institutions

Reduces conflict because states can accommodate citizens’ interests.

Allows for experimentation at the state level

Enables the achievement of national goals.

What are the advantages of Federalism?

Increases complexity and confusion.

Sometimes increases conflict when jurisdictional lines are unclear.

Duplicates efforts and reduces accountability.

Makes coordination difficult.

Creates inequality in services and policies.

What are the disadvantages of Federalism?

State

______ governments constitute ready-made centralized regulatory bodies geographically distributed across the nation.

True

True or False:
The quality of public schools and welfare services more generally also depends heavily on the choices state and local governments make

False

True or False:
In comparison to unitary and confederal systems of government, federalism has the most advantages and least disadvantages in terms of governmental authority, separation of powers, and equity for citizens.

False

True or False:
One of the advantages of federalism is that it allows the federal government to use a one-size-fits-all approach to policy issues.

duplicate efforts and reduced accountability

Which of the following issues can arise from federalism’s increased flexibility and experimentation?

increased inequality in services and policies

difficult coordination

increased complexity and confusion

duplicate efforts and reduced accountability

enumerated ; implied

The Constitution grants the federal government both _________ and ______ powers.

Enumerated powers

Grants of authority explicitly given by the Constitution.

National supremacy clause

Constitutional clause that states that federal law takes precedence over all other.

True

True or False:
Federal law takes precedence over all other laws.

Federal

_______ law takes precedence over all other laws.

Preemption

The process of the federal government’s overriding areas regulated by state law.

Exclusive powers

Powers given by the Constitution solely to the federal government.

Exclusive

_______ powers allow the federal government to regulate commerce, to declare war, and to raise and maintain an army and navy.

Concurrent

________ powers are those granted to the national government but not denied to the states. Both levels of government are free to exercise these prerogatives. These powers include the power to tax, borrow, and spend

Concurrent

_______ powers include the power to tax, borrow, and spend.

Implied Powers

Broad, but undefined, powers given to the federal government by the Constitution.

General welfare clause

Constitutional clause that gives Congress an implied power through the authority to provide for the “general welfare.”

Necessary and proper clause

Constitutional clause that gives Congress an implied power through the right to pass all laws considered “necessary and proper” to carry out the federal government’s responsibilities as defined by the Constitution.

Article I, Section 8

Where is the commerce clause found in the US Constitution?

Article I, Section 8

Where is the necessary and proper clause found in the US Constitution?

Article IV, Section 3

Where is the admissions of new states provision found in the US Constitution?

Article IV, Section 4

Where is the enforcement of republican form of government found in the US Constitution?

Article VI

Where is the supremacy clause found in the US Constitution?

Tenth Amendment

Guarantees that a broad, but undefined, set of powers be reserved for the states and the people, as opposed to the federal government

Fourteenth Amendment

Prohibits any state from depriving individuals of the rights and privileges of citizenship, and requires states to provide due process and equal protection guarantees to all citizens

Sixteenth Amendment

Enables the federal government to levy a national income tax, which has helped further national policies and programs

Seventeenth Amendment

Provides for direct election of U.S. senators, rather than election by each state’s legislature

Full faith and credit clause

Constitutional clause that requires states to recognize each other’s public records and acts as valid.

full faith and credit clause

What clause requires all states to grant “full faith and credit” to each other’s public acts and records?

Privileges and immunities clause

Constitutional clause that prohibits states from discriminating against citizens of other states.

Electoral College

A presidential candidate needs a majority of the _________ requires the votes of at least 270 of the 538 state electors, to be named the winner.

True

True or False:
Other than these responsibilities and explicitly granting the states the right to enter into compacts, or binding agreements, with each other on matters of regional concern, the Constitution is virtually silent on the powers of the states.

Bill of Rights

The first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, which set limits on the power of the federal government and set out the rights of individuals and the states.

Tenth

The _______ Amendment specifies: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

Fourteenth

The _______ Amendment is the most important in terms of specifying state powers.

Fourteenth

Ratified in 1868, the _________ Amendment is one of the so-called Civil War Amendments that came in the immediate wake of the bloody conflict between the North, or the Union, and the South, or the Confederacy.

Fourteenth

The __________ Amendment prohibits any state from depriving individuals of the rights and privileges of citizenship and requires states to provide due process and equal protection guarantees to all citizens.

Fourteenth

Which amendment prohibits any state from depriving individuals of the rights and privileges of citizenship and requires states to provide due process and equal protection guarantees to all citizens?

The Constitution

________ provides a basic framework for solving the sibling-rivalry squabbles between the states and the federal government.

U.S. Supreme Court

The ___________ is repeatedly thrust into the role of referee in power disputes between.

Tenth Amendment

Which amendment was the first to address the power of states in the U.S. Constitution?

Fourteenth Amendment

First Amendment

Tenth Amendment

Eleventh Amendmen

False

True or False:
In the United States, the presidential candidate who wins the most popular votes wins the presidency.

enumerated powers

grants of authority explicitly given by the Constitution

exclusive powers

grants of authority that belong solely to the national government

concurrent powers

powers granted to the national government but not denied to the states

implied powers

powers granted to the national government but not specified in the Constitution

Alexander Hamilton

_____________, secretary of the treasury under President George Washington, believed a central bank was critical to stabilizing the national economy, but there was nothing in the Constitution that specifically granted the federal government the authority to create and regulate such an institution.

implied

Lacking a clear enumerated power, Hamilton justified his proposal for a national bank by using an ______ power.

dual federalism, cooperative federalism, centralized federalism, and New Federalism

Federalism developed into four distinct stages. What are those four stages?

dual federalism

The idea that state and federal governments have separate and distinct jurisdictions and responsibilities.

states’ rights

The belief that states should be free to make their own decisions with little interference from the federal government.

compact theory

The ___________ argued that if sovereignty ultimately rested with the states, then the states rather than the Supreme Court had the final say in how the Constitution should be interpreted.

compact theory

The idea that the Constitution represents an agreement among sovereign states to form a common government.

nullification

The process of a state’s rejecting a federal law and making it invalid within state borders.

secession

The process of a government’s or political jurisdiction’s withdrawal from a political system or alliance.

nation-centered federalism

The belief that the nation is the basis of the federal system and that the federal government should take precedence over state governments.

state-centered federalism

The belief that states are the basis of the federal system and that state governments should take precedence over the federal government.

cooperative federalism

The notion that it is impossible for state and national governments to have separate and distinct jurisdictions and that both levels of government must work together.

federal grants-in-aid

Cash appropriations given by the federal government to the states.

centralized federalism

The notion that the federal government should take the leading role in setting national policy, with state and local governments helping implement the policies.

categorical grants

Federal grants-in-aid given for specific programs that leave states and localities with little discretion over how to spend the money.

general revenue sharing grants

Federal grants-in-aid given with few constraints, leaving states and localities almost complete discretion over how to spend the money.

crosscutting requirements

Constraints that apply to all federal grants.

crossover sanctions

Federal requirements mandating that grant recipients pass and enforce certain laws or regulations as a condition of receiving funds.