Ch. 3 AP Gov Vocab

Federalism

A way of organizing a nation so that two or more levels of govt share formal authority over the same area and people

Unitary government

A central government that holds supreme power in a nation. Most national governments today are unitary government.

Intergovernmental Relations

The entire set of interactions among national, state, and local governments – including regulations, transfers of funds and the sharing of information – that constitute the workings of the federal system

Supremacy clause

The clause in Article VI of the Constitution that makes the Constitution, national laws, and treaties supreme over state laws as long as the national government is acting within its constitutional limits

10th amendment

The constitutional amendment stating, “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.”

McCulloch v. Maryland

An 1819 Supreme Court decision that established the supremacy of the national government over state governments. The Court, led by Chief Justice John Marshall, held that the Congress had certain implied powers. In addition to the powers enumerated in the Constitution

Enumerated powers

Powers of the federal govt that are listed explicitly in the Constitution.

(ex. article 1, section 8, specifically gives Congress the power to coin money and regulate its value and impose taxes.)

Implied powers

Powers of the federal government that go beyond those enumerated in the constitution, in accordance with the statement in the Constitution that Congress has the power to “make all laws necessary and proper for carrying into execution” the powers enumerated in Article 1

Elastic clause

The final paragraph of Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution, which authorizes Congress to pass all laws “necessary and proper“ to carry out the enumerated powers

Gibbons v. Ogden.

A landmark case decided in 1824 in which the Supreme Court interpreted very broadly the clause in Article 1 Section 8, of the Constitution, and defined the power of Congress to regulate interstate commerce as encompassing virtually every form of commercial activity

Full faith and credit

A clause in Article IV of the Constitution requiring each state to recognize the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of all other states

Extradition

A legal process, whereby a state surrenders a person charged with a crime to the state in which the crime is alleged to have been committed

Privileges and immunities

The provision of the Constitution according citizens of each state the privileges of citizens of any state in which they happen to be

Dual federalism

A system of government in which the states and the national government each remain supreme within their own spheres, each with different powers and policy responsibilities

Cooperative federalism

A system of government in which states and the national government share powers and policy assignments

Devolution

Transferring responsibility for policies from the federal government to state and local governments

Fiscal federalism

The pattern of spending, taxing, and providing grants in the federal system; it is the cornerstone of the national government’s relations with state and local governments

Categorical grants

Federal grants that can be used only for specific purposes, or categories, of state and local spending. They come with strings attached, such as non-discrimination provisions

Project grants

Federal categorical grants given for specific purposes and awarded on the basis of the merits of applications

Formula grants

Federal categorical grants distributed according to a formula specified in legislation or in administrative regulations

Block grants

Federal grants given more or less automatically to states or communities to support broad programs and areas such as community development and social services