Unit 1: Foundations - Federalism

Commerce Clause

Regulate trade among states and foreign nations

Necessary and Proper Clause

To make all laws which shall be necessary for carrying into execution the foregoing powers as outlined in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution.

Full Faith and Credit Clause

Court judgements, licenses, contracts, records, and civil acts should be accepted from one state to another

Privileges and Immunities Clause

Your rights are protected in all of the states. (police protection, right to the states courts, etc.)

Separation of Powers

Principle where power is divided among legislative, executive, and judicial branches

Checks and balances

Structure where each of the three branches has some oversight and control over each other

Federal System

System in which national and state governments share power. There must be protections for region/state power in this system.

Enumerated Powers

Powers of the government specifically granted to it in the Constitution

Implied Powers

Powers the federal government receives from the "Necessary and Proper Clause"

Judicial Review

Ability of the Judicial Branch to interpret what laws mean and their Constitutionality

Block grants

$$$ from the national government that states can spend with either very broad guidelines or no specific purposes.

Categorical grants

federal grants for specific purposes

Devolution

effort to transfer responsibility for many public services and programs from the federal government to the states

Dual federalism

layer cake federalism; very clearly defined powers and no interactions between levels of government.

Cooperative federalism

marble cake federalism, many shared powers among the levels of government.

Mandates

terms set by the national government that states must meet whether or not they accept federal grants. States may face penalties or must follow these as a condition of receiving a federal grant.

Concurrent powers

held by both Congress & the states

McCulloch v. Maryland

established principle of national supremacy and validity of implied powers (confirmed the "necessary and proper" clause)

Decentralized Power

Power is dispersed among institutions and levels of government so that no one body or group has too much influence over policy making.

Pluralism

The policy making process is open to participation by many interest groups, with no single group dominating. Compromise and public interest prevails in this theory of democracy.

Elite Theory (Elitism)

The upper-class elite (primarily the wealthy) holds the power and makes policy, regardless of the formal governmental organization.

Reserved Powers

Powers given exclusively to the states; powers established by the 10th Amendment.

Initiative

A state or local process that permits voters to put legislative measures directly on the ballot, bypassing the legislature.

Referendum

A state or local process that permits a legislature to put forth a proposed policy in which people can vote and directly accept or reject the proposed policy.

Republicanism

A philosophy of limited government with elected representatives serving at the will of the people. The government is based on consent of the governed.

Participatory Democracy

a theory of democracy that holds that citizens should actively and directly control all aspects of their lives

US vs. Lopez (1995)

the Supreme Court ruled that Congress had exceeded its constitutional authority under the Commerce Clause when it passed a law prohibiting gun possession in local school zones.

10th Amendment

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.

14th Amendment

Declares that all persons born in the U.S. are citizens and are guaranteed equal protection of the laws in all states

Federalism

A system in which power is divided between the national and state governments

Exclusive / Enumerated Powers

Those powers that can be exercised by the National Government alone

inherent / implied powers

Powers the Constitution is presumed to have delegated to the National Government because it is the government of a sovereign state within the world community

Extradition Clause Article IV, §2, clause 2

A person charged in any state with treason, felony, or other crime, who shall flee from justice, and be found in another state, shall on demand of the executive authority of the state from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the state having jurisdiction of the crime.

Article VI of the Constitution

"The Constitution, and the Laws of the United States…shall be the Supreme Law of the Land."

Supremacy Clause

Article VI of the Constitution, which makes the Constitution, national laws, and treaties supreme over state laws when the national government is acting within its constitutional limits.

Fiscal Federlism

the federal government's use of grants-in-aid to influence policies in the states

fiscal policy

Government policy that attempts to manage the economy by controlling taxing and spending.

revenue sharing

the distribution of a portion of federal tax revenues to state and local governments.

grants-in-aid

federal money provided to states to implement public policy objectives

Gibbons v. Ogden

Commerce clause case (1824). Decision greatly enlarged Congress' interstate commerce clause power by broadly defining the meaning of "commerce" to include virtually all types of economic activity.

Equal Protection Clause

14th amendment clause that prohibits states from denying equal protection under the law, and has been used to combat discrimination

Due Process Clause

14th amendment clause stating that no state may deprive a person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law

policy making

The process by which authorities decide which actions to take to address a problem or set of problems.

Stakeholders

any persons or groups who will be affected by an action