Government: Vocab- Federalism

Extradition

Surrender of prisoner by one state to another. This means that if a person commited a crime in Florida but they were caught in Vermont, they would be sent back to Florida and the law that applies to the crime commited in Florida would apply, not the law that applies to the crime in Vermont.

Seventeenth Amendment

1913 constitutional amendment allowing American voters to directly elect US senators. This makes the government more of a democracy, and it gives more power to the people. By letting people vote for their senators, it lets them choose who they want to represent them.

Coercive Federalism

A form of federalism in which the federal government pressures the states to change their policies by using regulations, mandates, and conditions (often involving threats to withdraw federal funding). This type of federalism is not what we want because the powers of the national government far outweigh the powers of the state government. In a system like ours, there are enough checks and balances between the states and national government that they are not as unbalanced.

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

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. The Court invoked the Necessary and Proper Clause of the Constitution. This is important because it was a good example of how Congress can use the necessary and proper clause. It set the precedent for a way for Congress to use its power, and it was only the beginning of many situations like this.

Ex Post Facto Laws

A law which punishes people for a crime that was not a crime when it was committed. Congress cannot pass these laws. This is important because people should not get in trouble for doing something that was legal when they did it.

Federalism

A system in which power is divided between the national and state governments. Federalism is the system that we use in our government today. It separates the powers between state and national governments, which brings the power down closer to the poeple. The reserved powers and the expressed powers for the government help to separate the powers.

Cooperative Federalism

A system of government in which powers and policy assignments are shared between states and the national government. Shared powers is an important concept in our government. If the powers weren't shared and were instead given to one government, then that government would have too much authority. Shared powers limits the power of a single government and gives more power to the people.

Unfunded Mandate

Actions imposed by the federal or state government on lower levels of government which are not accompanied by the money needed to fund the action required. And unfounded mandate is not helpful to a state because the state would not have the resources it needs to carry out an action. Instead, block grants and categorical grants should be used.

Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

Allows federal control of interstate commerce under commerce clause of the Constitution. This is an example of checks and balances, because the national government has a check over the state governments. It shows how the Constitution is the supreme law of the land because it has power over what the states do.

Tenth Amendment

Amendment stating that the powers not delegated to the federal government are reserved to the states. These reserved powers give more powers to the states, and help separate powers between state and national governments.

Interstate Compact

An agreement among two or more states. Congress must approve most such agreements. This promotes the unity of the states. The fact that the compacts must be approved by Congress is an example of check and balances, and it prevents the states from conspiring against the national government.

Supremacy Clause

Article VI of the Constitution, which makes the Constitution, national laws, and treaties supreme over state laws when the national government is acting within its constitutional limits. This makes it so that the state government cannot make a law that overrides a national law, because the national law is the supreme law of the land. It also keeps the states from defying the constitution.

Full Faith and Credit Laws

Constitution's requirement that each state accept the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state. This is important because some states have given people freedoms that other states haven't, so to keep the citizens of one state free the other state has to respect the laws and rulings of the first state. This is further expressed by the Priviledges and Imunity Laws.

Delegated powers

Constitutional powers granted solely to the federal government. Delegated powers give the national government powers that the state government does not have. This separates the powers more, and that's important in our country. States also have powers that only they have, so it gives them powers over the national government.

Categorical Grants

Federal grants for specific purposes These grants are given from the federal government tot he state governments, and they are a way for the federal government to help the state government.

Block Grants

Federal grants given more or less automatically to states or communities to support broad programs. These types of grants help states build themselves up, and they allow them to work on things such as community building and social activities.

Article 1, Section 8: Necessary and Proper Clause, "Elastic Clause"

Lists specific powers of Congress and gives Congress the power to make laws that it deems "necessary and proper" This is important because this lets the government have powers that the Framers did not or could not think of. It also gives them a lot of leeway when making laws, because any law can be justified and called necessary and proper.

Enumerated/expressed powers

Powers given to the national government alone. These powers are the important ones, such as the power ti declare war and the power to raise an army, so it's important that they're given directly to the national government. These expressed powers also make it easier to understand the powers given to the government, and they are the basis for the implied powers.

Reserved powers

Powers given to the state government alone. This embodies the concept of separation of powers, because it gives the states powers that the national government does not have. It also gives the states more powers.

Concurrent powers

Powers held jointly by the national and state governments. These powers mix the powers between the government, and this is important because it lets the states do things that the national government can do, such as levy taxes.

Implied powers

Powers not specifically mentioned in the constitution. These powers are a lot more loose, and they give Congress a lot more wiggle room when it comes to determining powers. It was also a way for the Framers to not have to specifically write out everything the government could do.

Inherent powers

Powers that exist for the national government because the government is sovereign. These powers evolve with the government, and they give the government power to do things that the Framers could not have anticipated. They allow the governent to respond to the changing world and add to its list of powers.

Priviledges and Immunity Laws

States are prohibited from unreasonably discriminating against residents of other states. This is important beause you have to respect where a person comes from, and this law prevents a state from saying something like "All New Yorkers must pay $100 extra for a taxi"

Sixteenth Amendment

The constitutional amendment adopted in 1913 that explicitly permitted Congress to levy an income tax. This is an expressed power, and it gives congress the power to levy an income tax because the Framers did not give it to Congress in the Constitution. Previously, this power was reserved to the states, but it was granted to Congress through the amendment.

Devolution

The process whereby regions within a state demand and gain political strength and growing autonomy at the expense of the central government. This is not good because it means that the states would have too much power, and it would become more of a confederation than anything. Instead, there must be shared powers in a cooperative federalism in order for there to be an even balance of powers.