Chapter 3:

reserve vs concurrent powers

A reserved power is a power specifically reserved to the states. Powers include setting up local governments and determining the speed limit. A concurrent power is a power that is given to both the states and the federal government

dual federalism

Dual federalism, also referred to as divided sovereignty, is doctrine holding that state governments and the federal government have almost completely separate functions. A political arrangement in which power is divided between the federal and state governments in clearly defined terms, with state governments exercising those powers accorded to them without interference from the federal government.

confederal vs unitary systems

In a unitary system, the central government has all the power. In confederal systems, citizens can influence their local government but have little influence on the national government. In a federal system, some powers are given to the central government and other powers are given to the lower levels of government (provinces or states).

nullification

Nullification, in United States constitutional history, is a legal theory that a state has the right to nullify, or invalidate, any federal law which that state has deemed unconstitutional. Courts at the state and federal level, including the U.S. Supreme Court, repeatedly have rejected the theory of nullification.[2] The courts have decided that under the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution, federal law is superior to state law, and that under Article III of the Constitution, the federal judiciary has the final power to interpret the Constitution. Therefore, the power to make final decisions about the constitutionality of federal laws lies with the federal courts, not the states, and the states do not have the power to nullify federal laws.

self-government

Rule by the people

McCulloch v Maryland (1819)

Supreme Court decision upholding the right of Congress to create a bank. McCulloch v. Maryland, 17 U.S. 316 (1819), was a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of the United States. The state of Maryland had attempted to impede operation of a branch of the Second Bank of the United States by imposing a tax on all notes of banks not chartered in Maryland. This case established two important principles in constitutional law. First, the Constitution grants to Congress implied powers for implementing the Constitution's express powers, in order to create a functional national government. Second, state action may not impede valid constitutional exercises of power by the Federal government.

commerce clause

The Commerce Clause describes an enumerated power listed in the United States Constitution (Article I, Section 8, Clause 3). The clause states that the United States Congress shall have power "To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes."

fugitive slave clause

The Fugitive Slave Clause of the United States Constitution, also known as either the Slave Clause or the Fugitives From Labor Clause, is Article IV, Section 2, Clause 3, which required a "person held to service or labor" (usually a slave, apprentice, or indentured servant) who flees to another state to be returned to the owner in the state from which that person escaped. The passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which abolished slavery except as punishment for a crime, made the clause mostly moot.

supremacy clause

The Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution (Article VI, Clause 2) establishes that the Constitution, federal laws made pursuant to it, and treaties made under its authority, constitute the supreme law of the land. ***Makes federal law supreme over state laws.