Chapter 3: American Federalism Flashcards | Knowt (2024)

How does federalism divide power?

the federal design spelled out in the Constitution divides powers between two levels of government—the states and the federal government—and creates a mechanism for them to check and balance one another.

How does American federalism balance the forces of centralization and decentralization?

We see decentralization when we cross state lines and encounter different taxation levels, welfare eligibility requirements, and voting regulations. Centralization is apparent in the fact that the federal government is the only entity permitted to print money, to challenge the legality of state laws, or to employ money grants and mandates to shape state actions.

How does American democracy divide governmental power?

The first and more common mechanism shares power among three branches of government—the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary. The second, federalism, apportions power between two levels of government: national and subnational.

What is federalism?

an institutional arrangement that creates two relatively autonomous levels of government, each possessing the capacity to act directly on behalf of the people with the authority granted to it by the national constitution.

What are the characteristics of federal systems?

- all federal systems establish two levels of government, with both levels being elected by the people and each level assigned different functions. - a written national constitution that cannot be changed without the substantial consent of subnational governments. - the constitutions of countries with federal systems formally allocate legislative, judicial, and executive authority to the two levels of government in such a way as to ensure each level some degree of autonomy from the other. - national courts commonly resolve disputes between levels and departments of government. - subnational governments are always represented in the upper house of the national legislature, enabling regional interests to influence national lawmaking.

What powers does the national government exercise? What powers are exercised by the states?

The national government is responsible for handling matters that affect the country as a whole. Subnational, or state governments, are responsible for matters that lie within their regions.

How are conflicts between the national government and the states resolved?

conflicts between states and the federal government are adjudicated by federal courts.

Do states have influence on the governmental decisions of the national government? How?

federal laws are shaped in part by state interests, which senators convey to the federal policy-making process.

What is a unitary system?

subnational governments dependent on the national government, where significant authority is concentrated.

What is devolution?

power gradually being decentralized

What were the main drawbacks of the Articles of Confederation?

it maximizes regional self-rule at the expense of effective national governance.

Where are the enumerated powers located in the Constitution?

Article I, Section 8

What are some examples of the enumerated powers?

To provide for the general welfare of the populace, it can tax, borrow money, regulate interstate and foreign commerce, and protect property rights

What is the elastic clause?

enables Congress "to make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying" out its constitutional responsibilities.

What is the significance of the commerce clause?

empowers the federal government to regulate interstate economic transactions.

What is the Tenth Amendment?

affirms the states' reserved powers: "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."

What are concurrent powers?

Shared and overlapping powers

What is a writ of habeas corpus?

enables someone in custody to petition a judge to determine whether that person's detention is legal.

What is a bill of attainder?

a legislative action declaring someone guilty without a trial.

What is an ex post factor law?

which criminalizes an act retroactively.

What are the main provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment?

prohibits the states from denying citizens the rights to which they are entitled by the Constitution, due process of law, or the equal protection of the laws

What is the Full Faith and Credit Clause?

requires the states to accept court decisions, public acts, and contracts of other states.

What is the Privileges and Immunities Clause?

states are prohibited from discriminating against out-of-staters by denying them such guarantees as access to courts, legal protection, property rights, and travel rights.

What is the significance of the Sixteenth Amendment?

authorized Congress to impose income taxes without apportioning it among the states on the basis of population

What is the most important source of federal revenue?

individual income taxes

What services do motor fuel taxes finance in most states?

state highway transportation projects, although some states do use it to fund non-transportation projects.

What is the most important source of state revenue?

State Taxes

What is the most important source of local revenue?

Local taxes

How did the Great Recession affect tax revenues?

tax receipts dropped as business activities slowed, consumer spending dropped, and family incomes decreased due to layoffs or work-hour reductions.

What was the purpose of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act?

provided immediate economic-crisis management assistance such as helping local and state economies ride out the Great Recession and shoring up the country's banking sector.

What are the largest expenditure categories of the federal government?

Social Security; Medicare, Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program, and marketplace subsidies under the Affordable Care Act; and defense and international security assistance.

What is the largest expenditure category for state governments?

Public welfare (health care, income support, and highways)

What is the largest expenditure category for local governments?

Higher education

Did Alexander Hamilton favor or oppose the establishment of a national bank? Why?

Favor; he hoped the bank would foster economic development, print and circulate paper money, and provide loans to the government.

Did Thomas Jefferson favor or oppose the establishment of a national bank? Why?

Opposed; he believed the national government had no authority to create such an instrument.

What was the constitutional significance of McCulloch v. Maryland?

The standoff raised two constitutional questions: Did Congress have the authority to charter a national bank? Were states allowed to tax federal property?

Why did the Supreme Court rule in McCulloch v. Maryland that Congress has authority to charter a national bank?

the bank was an appropriate instrument that enabled the national government to carry out several of its enumerated powers, such as regulating interstate commerce, collecting taxes, and borrowing money.

What is the doctrine of implied powers? In which case was it established?

Congress has a vast source of discretionary power to achieve its constitutional responsibilities; McCulloch v. Maryland

What was the constitutional significance of Gibbons v. Ogden?

It further granted that interstate commerce was a federal matter and the supremacy clause would always win

What was the constitutional significance of Dred Scott v. Sandford?

the Supreme Court ruled that the national government lacked the authority to ban slavery in the territories.

Which president is associated with the Emancipation Proclamation?

Abraham Lincoln

How did the Civil War and its aftermath affect the relative balance of power between the national government and the states?

First, the Union victory put an end to the right of states to secede and to challenge legitimate national laws. Second, Congress imposed several conditions for readmitting former Confederate states into the Union

What is dual federalism?

the states and national government exercise exclusive authority in distinctly delineated spheres of jurisdiction.

Why did Congress enact the Interstate Commerce Act?

To curtail widespread anticompetitive practices in the railroad industry

What was the Sherman Antitrust Act?

illegal to monopolize or attempt to monopolize and conspire in restraining commerce

What was the significance of United States v. E. C. Knight?

the Supreme Court ruled that the national government lacked the authority to regulate manufacturing.

What was the significance of Lochner v. New York?

the Supreme Court ruled this state regulation that capped work hours unconstitutional

What was cooperative federalism? What major event led to its development?

it erodes the jurisdictional boundaries between the states and national government, leading to a blending of layers; The Great Depression

Which president was associated with the New Deal?

FDR

Which president was associated with the court packing plan?

FDR

What programs did government adopt during the New Deal era?

old-age pensions (Social Security), unemployment insurance, agricultural subsidies, protections for organizing in the workplace, etc.

What government programs were enacted during the administration of President Lyndon Johnson?

Medicaid, Medicare, school nutrition programs, The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (1965), the Higher Education Act (1965), the Head Start preschool program (1965), The Clean Air Act (1965), the Highway Safety Act (1966), the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act (1966), the Civil Rights Act (1964) and the Voting Rights Act (1965).

What was New Federalism?

With which presidents was it most closely associated? New federalism is premised on the idea that the decentralization of policies enhances administrative efficiency, reduces overall public spending, and improves policy outcomes; Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan

What was the goal of New Federalism?

reverse the process of nationalization—that is, to restore states' prominence in policy areas into which the federal government had moved in the past.

What is devolution?

the president pledged to return authority to the states according to the Constitution.

What is marble cake federalism?

an inseparable mingling of differently colored ingredients, the colors appearing in vertical and diagonal strands and unexpected whirls. As colors are mixed in the marble cake, so functions are mixed in the American federal system

What are federal grants?

Intergovernmental grants offer positive financial inducements to get states to work toward selected national goals.

What are categorical grants? What are some examples?

federal transfers formulated to limit recipients' discretion in the use of funds and subject them to strict administrative criteria that guide project selection, performance, and financial oversight, among other things; medicaid and food stamps

What are the largest federal programs?

Social security and medicare

What are block grants?

less stringent federal administrative conditions and provide recipients more flexibility over how to spend grant funds.

Which are more common—categorical grants or block grants? Why?

Categorical; elected officials who sponsor these grants can take credit for their positive outcomes and categorical grants afford federal officials greater command over grant program performance.

Why do many Republicans want to convert categorical grants, such as Medicaid, into block grants?

It would have capped federal Medicaid spending

What is creeping categorization?

a process in which the national government places new administrative requirements on state and local governments or supplants block grants with new categorical grants.

What are unfunded mandates?

federal laws and regulations that impose obligations on state and local governments without fully compensating them for the administrative costs they incur.

What is a crosscutting mandate?

One type of mandate threatens civil and criminal penalties for state and local authorities that fail to comply with them across the board in all programs, while another provides for the suspension of federal grant money if the mandate is not followed.

Why does Congress enact so many unfunded mandates?

mandates allow the federal government to fulfill its national priorities while passing most of the cost to the states, an especially attractive strategy for national lawmakers trying to cut federal spending.

Which functions are carried out by the national government? Which are carried out by state and local governments?

National security is a federal matter, the issuance of licenses is a state matter, and garbage collection is a local matter.

Are the issues of immigration and marriage addressed by the federal government or state governments?

Both (previously immigration- feds, marriage- state)

What is immigration federalism?

the gradual movement of states into the immigration policy domain.

What is the significance of Obergefell v. Hodges?

the Supreme Court gave same-sex marriage a constitutional basis of right nationwide

What is MADD? What issue is its foremost concern?

Mothers Against Drunk Driving; raise the drinking age and impose tougher penalties

What is venue shopping?

a strategy in which interest groups select the level and branch of government they calculate will be most advantageous for them

What is the significance of Roe v. Wade?

abortion legal nationwide

Why are states sometimes called "laboratories of democracy?"

states could harness their constitutional authority to engage in policy innovations that might eventually be diffused to other states and at the national level.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of federalism?

A: promotes policy innovation and political participation and accommodates diversity of opinion, failure to attain a desired policy goal at one level can be offset by successfully securing the support of elected representatives at another level, and The system of checks and balances in our political system often prevents the federal government from imposing uniform policies across the country. D: economic disparities across states, race-to-the-bottom dynamics, and the difficulty of taking action on issues of national importance.

What is the race-to-the-bottom dynamic?

states compete to attract business by lowering taxes and regulations

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