Gopo chapter 3

federalism

The division of power across the local, state, and national governments.

sovereign power

The supreme power of an independent state to regulate its internal affairs without foreign interference.

police powers

The power to enforce laws and provide for public safety.

concurrent powers

Responsibilities for particular policy areas, such as transportation, that are shared by federal, state, and local governments.

unitary government

A system in which the national, centralized government holds ultimate authority. It is the most common form of government in the world

confederal government

A form of government in which states hold power over a limited national government.

intergovernmental organizations

Organizations that seek to coordinate policy across member nations.

full faith and credit clause

Part of Article IV of the Constitution requiring that each state's laws be honored by the other states. For example, a legal marriage in one state must be recognized across state lines.

privileges and immunities clause

Part of Article IV of the Constitution requiring that states must treat nonstate residents within their borders as they would treat their own residents. This was meant to promote commerce and travel between states.

doctrine of interposition

The idea that if the national government passes an unconstitutional law, the people of the states (through their state legislatures) can declare the law void. This idea provided the basis for southern secession and the Civil War.

states' rights

The idea that states are entitled to a certain amount of self-government, free of federal government intervention. This became a central issue in the period leading up to the Civil War.

dual federalism

The form of federalism favored by Chief Justice Roger Taney in which national and state governments are seen as distinct entities providing separate services. This model limits the power of the national government.

cooperative federalism

A form of federalism in which national and state governments work together to provide services efficiently. This form emerged in the late 1930s, representing a profound shift toward less concrete boundaries of responsibility in national-state relations.

picket fence federalism

A more refined and realistic form of cooperative federalism in which policy makers within a particular policy area work together across the levels of government.

fiscal federalism

A form of federalism in which federal funds are allocated to the lower levels of government through transfer payments or grants.

categorical grants

Federal aid to state or local governments that is provided for a specific purpose, such as a mass-transit program within the transportation budget or a school lunch program within the education budget.

block grants

Federal aid provided to a state government to be spent within a certain policy area., but the state can decide how to spend the money within that area.

general revenue sharing (GRS)

A type of grant used in the 1970s and 1980s in which the federal government provided state governments with funds to be spent at each state's discretion. These grants gave states more control over programs.

unfunded mandates

Federal laws that require the states to do certain things but do not provide state governments with funding to implement these policies.

coercive federalism

A form of federalism in which the federal government pressures the states to change their policies by using regulations, mandates, and conditions (often involving threats to withdraw federal funding).

federal preemptions

Impositions of national priorities on the states through national legislation that is based on the Constitution's supremacy clause.

competitive federalism

A form of federalism in which states compete to attract businesses and jobs through the policies they adopt.

remedial legislation

National laws that address discriminatory state laws. Authority for such legislation comes fro Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment.

states' sovereign immunity

Based on the Eleventh Amendment, immunity that prevents state governments from being sued by private parties in federal court unless the state consents to the suit.