AP U.S. Gov: Ch. 3 Federal System

3.1 Roots of the Federal System

The Founding Fathers faced one big question: How could they possibly create a new central government that would be strong enough to meet the needs of the day and would, at the same time, preserve the already existing States?

Federalism

What is Federalism?

the system of government in which a written constitution divides powers of government on a territorial bases

What are states or provinces?

division between a national government and several regional governments

What does Federalism produce?

A dual system of government

What does dual authority provide?

2 levels of government each with its own field of authority that operate over the same people and the same territory at the same time; each level is given independent and shared responsibilities

What authority/action can Federalism provide?

National Government can provide money and pass broad, nationwide laws such as mandating education across the country and ensuring equal opportunity for all students

What is an action that can go be State/local and Federal responsibility?

Education; its primarily taken care by the State and local by the States handling the operation of public schools, establishing the curriculum, creating teaching methods, and providing instructional materials; education varies from state to state

What is Federalism's major strength?

allows local action in matters of local concern, national action for whole country concern

What varies from each States concerning the strengths of Federalism?

Local traditions, needs, and desires; Federalism allows for differing circumstances among the States

What can Federalism do for the States?

provide strength from union; ex. when hurricanes hit Louisiana, the state utilizes its own resources but also gets the help of the National Government -> they can allocate and mobilize resources from other states

What are expressed powers?

powers of the national government explicitly listed in the constitution

What is another term for expressed powers?

enumerated powers

Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution? -

expressly gives 27 powers to Congress

Article II Section 2 -

gives several powers to the President

Article III -

grants the judicial power of the U.S. to the Supreme Court

What are implied powers?

no expressly stated in the Constitution, but they are reasonably suggested by the expressed powers

Where is the constitutional basis for the implied powers found in one of the expressed powers?

Necessary and Proper Clause (the Elastic Clause)

What can Congress do with implied powers?

write laws beyond what is written in the Constitution when they believe it is needed to exert an expressed power *ex. Congress can declare war -> implied can also hold a draft

What are inherent powers?

powers that belong to the national government because it is a country (authority) and the world community

True or False: inherent powers are expressly mentioned in the Constitution

False; not mentioned but have been possessed by all national governments over time throughout the world

What are examples of inherent powers?

regulating immigration, acquiring territory, granting diplomatic recognition to other states, protecting against rebellion

What does the 10th Amendment state?

any powers that are not specifically given to the federal government, nor withheld from the States, are reserved for the States/people

What is the importance of the 10th Amendment?

several powers are denied to the National Government simply because of the silence of the Constitution

What are reserved powers?

powers kept by the States

What are exclusive powers?

powers that can only be exercised by the National Government and never the States (ex. coin money, make treaties, regulate interstate commerce)

What are concurrent powers?

belong to both National Government and States (ex. levy and collect taxes, define crimes and set punishments, take private property for public use)

Powers Denied Under the Constitution -

Article I explicitly denies some powers to the federal government or states; neither state nor national governments can take arbitrary actions affecting constitutional rights and liberties

What are some examples of powers denied under the constitution?

cannot pass bill of attainder -> law declaring an act illegal without a judicial trial; cannot pass ex post facto laws -> cannot make an act punishable if it was legal at the time

Interstate Relations Under the Constitution -

all disputes are settled directly by the Supreme Court under its original jurisdiction; Full Faith and Credit Clause, Privileges and Immunities Clause, and Extradition Clause

What is the Full Faith and Credit Clause?

mandates that states honor the laws and judicial proceedings of other states

What is the Privileges and Immunities Clause?

citizens of each state have that same rights as citizens of all other states

What is the Extradition Clause?

states must return criminals where they have been convicted or to stand trial

True or False: Local government have no expressed power under the U.S Constitution

True

What is Dillion's Rule?

states that local governments do not have nay inherent sovereignty and instead must be authorized by state governments that can create or abolish them; local governments need a charter

What is a charter?

document that specifies the basic polices, procedures, and institution that are acceptable to the state legislature

State issue charters -

establish the authority and procedures defining a municipality

Charters of local governments vary widely -

typically included: public health and safety, education, jobs, zoning land, and any kind of assistance to those in need

What are counties/parishes/boroughs?

the basic administrative unit of local government

What are the responsibilities of counties/parishes/boroughs?

have broad responsibilities and are used by state governments for welfare and environments programs, courts, and the registration of land, births, and deaths; also generally responsible for law enforcement

What are municipalities?

city governments created in response to the emergence of densely populated areas

Municipalities -

municipality boundaries often overlap with counties; state actions have merged city and county into a consolidated government in several areas

What is a town?

small community run by a mayor and town council; definition of town varies considerably from state to state

Towns and municipalities may be what in some states?

virtually indistinguishable

What is a special district?

local government that is restricted to a particular function

Special Districts -

most numerous of the forms of government; exists for services such as libraries, sewage, water, and parks; most common form of special districts are school districts

3.2 The Evolution of Federalism

How has Federalism dramatical changed since the U.S ratified the Constitution?

has changed in the rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court and from major crises throughout American history

Who was John Marshall?

he was one of the most famous leaders/chief justice of the Supreme Court in U.S history from 1801-1835; significantly impacted the federal - state relationship

What were two rulings particularly important from John Marshall?

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) and Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

What was the McCulloch v. Maryland case?

the first major Supreme Court decision to define the relationship between the national and state governments

What does Congress do in the McCulloch v. Maryland case?

begins with Congress chartering the Second Bank of the United States in Maryland -> Maryland state legislature levies a tax against all banks not chartered by the state of Maryland 2 years later

Who was James McCulloch?

head cashier of the Baltimore branch of the bank, refused to pay the taxes

McCulloch v. Maryland result -

Maryland files a suit following McCulloch's refusal; McCulloch loses in a Maryland state court but appeals the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court

What two central questions does the court have to answer in relation to McCulloch v. Maryland?

1. Did Congress have the authority to charter a bank?

2. If it did, could the State tax this U.S. bank?

What were the SC's answer?

"Bank" does not appear in the Constitution, but the Constitution lists powers that give Congress the authority to levy and collect taxes, issue currency, and borrow funds

What did John Marshall demonstrate with his decision?

the doctrine of implied powers

Why was the SC's answer reasonable?

it implies that Congress has the power to charter a bank from these enumerated powers -> consider Necessary and Proper to carry out power to levy taxes

What did the SC rule in McCulloch v. Maryland?

the state government could not tax the federal bank; the state tax violated the supremacy clause according to Marshall -> individual states cannot interfere with operations of the National Government who's laws are supreme; NG depended on the people for power, not the states

Background of Gibbons v. Ogden case -

dispute occurred after the NY State Legislature gave Robert Fulton the exclusive right to operate steamboats on the Hudson River while Congress licensed a ship to sail on the same water at the same time

What did Gibbons v. Ogden affirm?

McCulloch v. Maryland ruling in favor of a broad interpretation of the scope of national power

Gibbons v. Ogden brings into question...

the scope of Congress's authority under the Commerce Clause

What did the SC rule in Gibbons v. Ogden?

Congress's power to regulate interstate commerce included the power to regulate commercial activity as well

What could NY not grant in the Gibbons v. Ogden case?

a monopoly to a single steamboat operator -> this interferes with interstate commerce

Gibbson v. Ogden: States unsuccessfully argued...

"commerce" as mentioned in the Constitution should be interpreted narrowly

How has the cases contributed to Federalism?

it expanded Federal Power

The Civil War -

National crisis began over the division of power between the states and the federal government in the mid-1800s

What did Chief Justice Roger B. Taney do?

saw the SC as an arbiter of competing state and nationalist views; began to articulate the notions of concurrent power and dual federalism

What is dual federalism?

posit that having separate and equally powerful State and National Governments is the best Constitutional agreement

What is nullification?

belief in the right of the State to create a void??