AP Government & Politics - Chapter 2: Federalism

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the concepts, constitutional clauses, historical evolution, landmark Supreme Court cases, and funding mechanisms of American federalism.

Federalism

The sharing of power between a central government and equally sovereign regional governments to secure liberty while dividing respective powers (e.g., USA, Canada, Australia, Germany).

Unitary System

A system of government with a single governing authority in a central capital and uniform laws throughout the land (e.g., United Kingdom, France, Italy, Japan).

Article I, Section 8

The constitutional provision that lists the enumerated powers of Congress, including coining money, regulating interstate and international commerce, and the Necessary and Proper Clause.

Article I, Section 9

The constitutional section outlining powers denied to Congress, including barring the regulation of the slave trade before 1808 and mandating that states be treated uniformly.

Article I, Section 10

The constitutional section listing powers denied to the states, such as entering into treaties or impairing contracts.

Full Faith and Credit Clause

An Article IV clause requiring each state to recognize and respect the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state.

Privileges and Immunities Clause

An Article IV provision stating that citizens of each state are entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several states, preventing states from unfairly discriminating against out-of-state residents.

Extradition Clause

An Article IV requirement that obligates states to deliver captured fugitive criminals back to the state where the crime was originally committed.

Supremacy Clause

An Article VI provision establishing that the U.S. Constitution and national laws are the supreme law of the land, placing national law above state authority.

Tenth Amendment

Constitutional amendment establishing that powers not delegated to the federal government by the Constitution are reserved to the states, or to the people.

Police Powers

Powers retained by state governments to create and enforce laws safeguarding public health, safety, and morals (e.g., speed limits, seat belts, law enforcement, and funding hospitals).

Delegated Powers (Expressed Powers)

Powers specifically and directly assigned to the federal government by the text of the Constitution.

Reserved Powers

Powers not specifically listed or granted to the federal government in the Constitution, which remain exclusively with the states.

Concurrent Powers

Powers that are held and exercised simultaneously by both federal and state governments, such as levying taxes, defining crimes, and operating court systems.

Obergefell v. Hodges

The Supreme Court decision settling the dispute between Article IV and the Tenth Amendment by ruling that the right to same-sex marriage is protected under the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Loose Constructionist

A philosophy of constitutional interpretation, championed by Alexander Hamilton, that favors a broad reading of the Constitution and the use of implied powers to establish institutions like a national bank.

Strict Constructionist

A philosophy of constitutional interpretation, championed by Thomas Jefferson, that advocates for a narrow, literal reading of the Constitution limiting federal actions strictly to enumerated powers.

Whiskey Rebellion

A tax revolt by whiskey farmers against federal excise taxes that was suppressed by President George Washington, demonstrating the strength of the new federal government.

Alien and Sedition Acts

Federal laws passed under President John Adams empowering the federal government to deport foreigners deemed dangerous and jail political dissenters who criticized the government.

Compact Theory

A theory advanced by Thomas Jefferson holding that the 13 sovereign states created the federal government through a compact or contract and thus retain the authority to judge federal overreach.

Nullification

The doctrine asserting that individual states hold the constitutional right to declare null and void any federal statute that they deem unconstitutional.

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

A landmark Supreme Court case ruling (6:0) that Congress has implied powers under the Necessary and Proper Clause to create a national bank and that states cannot tax federal entities under the Supremacy Clause.

Dual Federalism

A doctrine common from the Civil War until the New Deal (often described as 'layer cake federalism') wherein the national and state governments operate as supreme within distinct, clearly divided spheres of authority.

Selective Exclusiveness

A constitutional doctrine asserting that only Congress may regulate commerce when a particular commodity or trade issue requires a uniform national rule.

Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938

New Deal legislation using the Commerce Clause to establish a federal minimum wage of $\$0.25$ per hour and prohibiting the interstate shipment of goods produced by non-compliant businesses.

Grants-in-Aid

Federal funds directed to state and local governments that qualify for aid to help address national concerns such as crime, public safety, education, and civil rights.

Morrill Land-Grant Act of 1862

Federal legislation granting large parcels of federal land to states to encourage the founding and construction of public colleges.

Cooperative Federalism

A system (often described as 'marble cake federalism') where powers, responsibilities, and policy assignments are shared and intermingled across national, state, and local governments.

Fiscal Federalism

The pattern of spending, taxing, and providing grants by the federal government to influence, direct, and control state and local policies.

Categorical Grants

Federal funds distributed to states for specifically defined purposes, accompanied by strict conditions of aid and federal guidelines.

Block Grants

Federal grants offering larger, more flexible sums of money to states for broad, overarching functional areas with fewer federal restrictions.

Conditions of Aid

Specific strings and regulatory requirements attached to federal grants that state governments must comply with in order to receive federal funding.

New Federalism

A political movement initiated by President Ronald Reagan that sought to return authority, power, and distinct lines of responsibility from the federal government back to the states.

National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984

A federal law that used fiscal federalism by conditioning federal highway upkeep grants on states increasing their minimum legal drinking age to $21$.

Mandates

Direct federal orders and requirements that state and local governments must meet regardless of whether or not they receive federal grant money.

Unfunded Mandates

Direct federal requirements or regulations imposed on states that do not come with federal funds to offset the cost of compliance.

Devolution

The effort to transfer powers, responsibilities, and original reserved powers from the federal government back to state and local authorities.

United States v. Lopez (1995)

A landmark Supreme Court decision (5:4) ruling that Congress exceeded its authority under the Commerce Clause when passing the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990, reaffirming state sovereignty over local public schools.

No Child Left Behind Act (2002)

Federal education legislation setting high standards and measurable performance goals for public schools, which faced criticism for establishing unrealistic benchmarks.

Every Student Succeeds Act (2015)

Federal education law replacing No Child Left Behind that eliminated unrealistic federal benchmarks and returned power to states to determine their own standards for educational achievement.