Federalism and the Sharing of Powers in the U.S. Government

Vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts, terms, and cases related to federalism, constitutional provisions, and major policy milestones from the lecture notes.

Federalism

The sharing of power between a central government and equally sovereign regional governments.

Unitary government

A system with a single governing authority in a central capital and uniform law across the land.

Enumerated powers

Powers of Congress listed in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution (e.g., coin money, regulate commerce, declare war).

Necessary and Proper Clause (Elastic Clause)

Gives Congress the authority to make laws needed to exercise its enumerated powers; allows stretching powers.

Supremacy Clause

National law is supreme over state law when Congress acts within its constitutional powers.

Full Faith and Credit Clause

States must recognize the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of other states.

Privileges and Immunities Clause

Citizens of each state are entitled to the privileges and immunities of citizens in the other states.

Extradition

States must return captured fugitives to the state where the crime occurred.

Tenth Amendment

Powers not delegated to the United States are reserved to the states.

Concurrent powers

Powers shared by both federal and state governments (e.g., taxing, defining crimes, running courts).

Delegated (expressed) powers

Powers specifically granted to the federal government in the Constitution (Article I, Section 8).

Commerce Clause

Gives Congress power to regulate interstate commerce; foundational for federal authority, later tested in Lopez.

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

Established implied powers via the elastic clause and federal supremacy; upheld a national bank.

Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

Expanded federal power to regulate interstate commerce under the commerce clause.

Dual Federalism

System in which the national government and states operate in distinct spheres (layer cake).

Selective Exclusiveness

Doctrine that only Congress may regulate certain areas when a national uniform rule is needed.

Cooperative Federalism

Intermingled relations among national, state, and local governments to deliver services (grants-in-aid).

Marble Cake Federalism

Metaphor for the intermingling of federal, state, and local responsibilities.

Fiscal Federalism

Pattern of taxation, spending, and providing federal grants to state and local governments.

Grants-in-aid

Federal funds given to states with conditions or requirements.

Categorical grants

Grants with specific purposes and strings attached.

Block grants

Large sums of money given with fewer strings to give states broader discretion.

Revenue sharing

Unrestricted federal funds given to states (briefly used in the 1960s–70s).

Mandates

Federal directives requiring states to comply, sometimes with funding and sometimes unfunded.

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

Law limiting unfunded federal mandates on states.

New Federalism

Policy to return power to the states; emphasized by Reagan.

Devolution

Returning powers and responsibilities from the federal government to the states.

No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)

2002 federal education law requiring testing, accountability, and qualifications for teachers.

Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)

2015 law replacing NCLB; gives states more control over standards while maintaining accountability.

Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA, 1965)

Johnson-era act providing federal funding to improve education in underfunded schools.

Hammer v. Dagenhart (1918)

Ruled manufacturing was not within the federal commerce power (later overturned).

United States v. Lopez (1995)

Held that gun possession near schools is not intrinsic to interstate commerce; limited federal commerce power.

Compact Theory

Jefferson’s idea that states formed a union by entering into a compact; basis for states’ rights views.

Nullification

States’ claimed right to declare federal laws void; not upheld in federal courts; linked to Civil War tensions.

Whiskey Rebellion

1794 federal government suppression of a whiskey tax rebellion, demonstrating federal authority.

Bank of the United States (First Bank, 1791)

Central issue in early power debates; an example of implied powers under the elastic clause.