Constitutional Amendments and Federalism - Key Terms

Vocabulary flashcards covering amendments and federalism concepts from the lecture notes.

Thirteenth Amendment

constitutional amendment that outlaws slavery.

Fourteenth Amendment

constitutional amendment that provides that persons born in the United States are citizens and prohibits states from denying persons due process or equal protection under the law.

Fifteenth Amendment

constitutional amendment that gave African Americans the right to vote.

dual federalism

a form of American federalism in which the states and the national government operate independently in their own areas of public policy.

selective incorporation

the process through which the Supreme Court applies fundamental rights in the Bill of Rights to the states on a case-by-case basis.

cooperative federalism

a form of American federalism in which the states and the national government work together to shape public policy.

unitary system

a system where the central government has all of the power over subnational governments.

confederal system

a system where the subnational governments have most of the power.

federal system

a system where power is divided between the national and state governments.

enumerated or expressed powers

powers explicitly granted to the national government through the Constitution.

exclusive powers

powers only the national government may exercise.

implied powers

powers not granted specifically to the national government but considered necessary to carry out the enumerated powers.

commerce clause

grants Congress the authority to regulate interstate business and commercial activity.

necessary and proper clause

grants the federal government the authority to pass laws required to carry out its enumerated powers. Also called the elastic clause.

supremacy clause

establishes the Constitution and the laws of the federal government passed under its authority as the highest laws of the land.

Tenth Amendment

reserves powers not delegated to the national government to the states and the people; the basis of federalism.

reserved powers

powers not given to the national government, which are retained by the states and the people.

concurrent powers

powers granted to both states and the federal government in the Constitution.

full faith and credit clause

constitutional clause requiring states to recognize the public acts, records, and civil court proceedings from another state.

extradition

the requirement that officials in one state return a defendant to another state where a crime was committed.

privileges and immunities clause

constitutional clause that prevents states from discriminating against people from out of state.