AP GOV UNIT 3 — FEDERALISM STUDY GUIDE / FLASHCARDS

Funded Mandates

Definition: Federal requirements imposed on states with money provided to help carry them out.
Purpose: Ensures states comply by giving financial support.
Example:
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) provided some federal funds to help public facilities become accessible.

Unfunded Mandates

Definition: Federal requirements imposed on states without money to support implementation.
Purpose: Forces compliance even when states must pay the cost.
Example:
The No Child Left Behind Act required states to meet testing standards without guaranteed full federal funding.

Categorical Grants-in-Aid

Definition: Federal funds given to states for a specific, narrowly defined purpose. Comes with conditions (“strings attached”).

Example:
Medicaid funding for low-income healthcare.

Block Grants

Definition: Federal funds given for a broad policy area with fewer restrictions.

Example:
Community Development Block Grants for housing and infrastructure.

Revenue Sharing

Definition: Federal money distributed to states with no conditions attached (very rare today).
Purpose: Gives maximum state flexibility.

Example:
General Revenue Sharing programs in the 1970s-1980s under Nixon.

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

Issue: Could Congress create a national bank? Could Maryland tax it?
Holding: Yes, Congress can; No, states cannot tax it.
Significance: Strengthened federal power; upheld implied powers via Elastic Clause.

Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

Issue: Who regulates interstate commerce—state or federal gov?
Holding: Congress controls interstate commerce.
Significance: Expanded federal power under the Commerce Clause.

United States v. Lopez (1995)

Issue: Can Congress ban guns near schools using the Commerce Clause?
Holding: No.
Significance: Limited federal power; said gun possession near schools isn’t economic activity.

NLRB v. Jones and Laughlin Steel (1937)

Issue: Can Congress regulate labor relations under Commerce Clause?
Holding: Yes.
Significance: Expanded federal power; labor issues affect interstate commerce.

Heart of Atlanta Motel v. US (1964)

Issue: Can Congress force businesses to desegregate using Commerce Clause?
Holding: Yes.
Significance: Upheld Civil Rights Act; movement of people = interstate commerce.

Enumerated Powers

Definition: Powers explicitly listed in the Constitution for the federal government.

Expressed Powers

Definition: Another term for enumerated—specifically written in the Constitution.

Delegated Powers

Definition: All powers given to the federal government (enumerated, implied, inherent).

Concurrent Powers

Definition: Powers shared by both the federal and state governments.
Example: Taxing, building roads, establishing courts.

Implied Powers

Definition: Powers not written but reasonably inferred from the Elastic Clause.
Example: Creating a national bank.

Inherent Powers

Definition: Powers naturally belonging to any sovereign nation.
Example: Foreign policy, immigration control.

Reserved Powers

Definition: Powers kept by the states under the 10th Amendment.
Example: Education, elections, marriage laws.

Elastic Clause (Necessary and Proper Clause)

Definition: Allows Congress to pass laws needed to carry out enumerated powers.
Significance: Basis of implied powers.

Interstate Commerce Clause

Definition: Gives Congress power to regulate trade between states.
Significance: Major source of expanded federal authority.

Tenth Amendment

Definition: All powers not given to the federal government are reserved to states/people.
Significance: Basis for state power.

Dual Federalism (“Layer Cake”)

Definition: Federal and state governments operate in separate, clearly defined areas.
Time Period: 1790s–1930s.

Cooperative Federalism (“Marble Cake”)

Definition: Federal and state governments work together with overlapping roles.
Time Period: New Deal era.

Creative Federalism

Definition: Federal government bypasses states and gives funding directly to local governments or programs.
Time Period: Great Society (1960s).

Coercive Federalism

Definition: Federal government pressures states through mandates, regulations, or withholding funds.
Example: Raising drinking age to 21 tied to federal highway funds.

Fiscal Federalism

Definition: System of spending, taxing, and grants used to influence state policies.
Tools: Categorical grants, block grants, mandates.