AP Gov Chap 3

Federalism

A way of organizing a nation so that two or more levels of government have formal authority over the same land and people. It is a system of shared power between units of government.

Unitary Government

a central government that holds supreme power in a nation

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 of 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.

Tenth 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. In deciding this case, Chief Justice John Marshall and his colleagues held that Congress had certain implied powers in addition to the enumerated powers found in the Constitution.

enumerated powers

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

implied powers

powers of the federal government that go beyond those enumerated in the Constitution

elastic clause

Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution, which allows Congress to make all laws that are "necessary and proper" to carry out the powers of the Constitution.

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. Pair with Lopez & Morrison cases (limiting commerce power).

Full Faith and Credit Clause

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 an alleged criminal offender is surrendered by the officials of one state to officials of the state in which the crime is alleged to have been committed.

Privleges 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 both the states and the national government remain supreme within their own spheres, each responsible for some policies.

Cooperative Federalism

A system of government in which powers and policy assignments are shared between states and the national government. They may also share costs, administration, and even blame for programs that work poorly.

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.

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 in areas such as community development and social services

categorical grants

Federal grants for specific purposes, such as building an airport

Brutus No. 1

Written by Robert Yates, An Anti-federalist article that argued for a small decentralized republic

The Great Depression

Changed federalism in a big way

mandate

Rules the federal government set up for the state governments

unfunded mandates

Programs that the Federal government requires States to implement without Federal funding.

Equal Protection Clause

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

Necessary and Proper Clause

Clause of the Constitution (Article I, Section 8, Clause 3) setting forth the implied powers of Congress. It states that Congress, in addition to its express powers, has the right to make all laws necessary and proper to carry out all powers the Constitution vests in the national government