Federalism

What does it mean when stated that each state has a unitary government?

Each of the 50 states has a unitary form of government - a central government that creates local units of government for its own convenience.

Where does the local governments get their power to provide services, regular activities, collect taxes, and do many other things local governments do?

Each state has created a Constitution and in it's laws each state has created these units.

What other document besides the United States Constitution denies powers to the states?

Each state has their own state constitution that also denies many powers to the states

Why is the necessary and proper clause, article 1, section 8, clause 18, Sometimes called the elastic clause?

Elastic can be stretched to cover more than its original size. The necessary and proper clause can be used by the government to cover so many situations that were not expressed in the constitution.

What are the exclusive powers of the national government?

Most of the powers that the Constitution delegates to the national government are exclusive powers. These powers can be exercised by the national government alone. These powers cannot be exercised by the states under any circumstances.

Name the two basic levels of the United States government?

National government and the state government's.

What is an example of powers denied to the states inherently?

No state (and no local government) can tax any of the agencies or functions of the national government.

What does the supremacy clause, article VI, section 2, of the constitution state?

"The constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, Under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, and thing in the Constitution or laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding.

How broad the reserved powers really are can be understood by what two facts?

1) most of what government does in this country today is done by the states (and their local governments), not by the national government; 2) reserved powers include The vitally important public power - the power of a state to protect and promote the public health, the public morals, and the Public Safety, and the general welfare.

What is the 10th amendment and how does it provide for the division of powers?

10th amendment: 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. - If the Constitution does not grant the power to the national government, nor for bid that power to the states, then the powers given to the states, or to the people of each state.

In what three ways does the Constitution deny certain powers to the National Government?

1st - the Constitution denies some powers to the National Government in so many words - expressly; 2nd because of the silence of the Constitution; 3rd because of the federal system itself.

In anticipation of these conflicts the framers of the constitution wrote the supremacy clause into the constitution. What is the supremacy clause?

Article VI, Section 2 of the Constitution states that the constitution stands above all other forms of law in the United States.

What stands just below the constitution as supremacy over other laws?

Acts of Congress and treaty stand immediately beneath the constitution.

Where do the over 87,000 units of local government's fit into the government system of the United States?

All of these thousands of local governments are parts - subunits dash of the various state governments. Each of these local units is located within one of the 50 states.

What are examples of the reserved powers of the states?

Any state can for bed person under 18 to marry without parental consent, or those under 21 to buy liquor. I can't ban the sale of pornography, outlook prostitution, and permit some forms of gambling and prohibit others. A state can require that doctors, lawyers, hairdressers, and plumbers be licensed in order to practice in the state.

What does article 1, section 8, Klaus 18 state and what powers imply that Congress has?

Article 1, section 8, clause 18 says The Congress has the power "to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers and two other powers vested by the constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer there of."

What are other examples of expressed enumerated powers?

Article 2, section 2 gives power to the president; article 3 grants powers to the Supreme Court; various amendment to the constitution grant powers to the federal government like the 16th amendment which gives Congress the power to levy and income tax.

Explain why the regulation of interstate commerce is not expressly denied to the states but is among the exclusive powers of the federal government.

Because of the nature of the power to regulate interstate commerce (trade between the states) so important, it is an exclusive power of the federal government. If the states could exercise that power, trade between and among the states would be as best chaotic and at worst impossible.

Where do the inherent powers of the national government come from?

Because the United States is a sovereign state in the world community, overtime, all national governments possess inherent powers. Does it stand to reason that the framers of the constitution intended the national government they created would hold these powers.

Explain: The concurrent powers are held in exercise separately and simultaneously by the two basic levels of government.

Concurrent powers are those powers that the Constitution does not grant exclusively to the national government and that, at the same time, does not denied to the states. The concurrent powers are those powers that make it possible for a federal system to government to function.

What are examples of the constitution expressly denying the national government certain powers?

Constitution expressly denies the national government the power to levy duties on exports; to take private property for public use without the payment of just compensation; to prohibit freedom of religion, speech, press, or assembly; to conduct illegal searches or seizures; and to deny to any person accused of a crime a speedy and public trial.

What are examples of exclusive powers that are expressly denied to the states?

Examples include the power to coin money, to make treaties with foreign states, Italy duties, and taxes on imports.

What is federalism?

Federalism is a system of government in which a written constitution divides the powers of government on a territorial basis between Central, or nation, government and several regional governments, usually called states or provinces.

What was the first major case in which the Supreme Court based its decision squarely on the constitution supremacy clause?

In 1819, in the McCulloch versus Maryland case, the Supreme Court upheld the supremacy clause, the supremacy of the constitution. In this landmark case the courts function as the umpire of the federal system became very clear.

What are examples of powers denied to the national government because of federal system it's self?

In the exercise of its power to tax, congress cannot text any of the states or other local units and the caring out of the governmental functions if it could, it would have the power to destroy - tax out of existence - one or more, or all, of the states

What are examples of expressed powers that denied powers to the states?

No state can enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation. Nor can I stay print or coin money or deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.

The Constitution does not grant expressed powers to the states, with one exception. What is that exception?

Section 2 of the 21st amendment gives the states a virtually unlimited power to regulate the manufacture, sale, and consumption of alcoholic beverages

What are examples of denying the national government power to silence the constitution?

Since the national government is a government of delegated powers; it has only those powers the Constitution gives to it. The national government does not have the power to create a public school system for the nation, to an act uniform marriage and divorce laws, and to set up units of local government

What powers are local governments exercising when they act?

State powers!

What are the reserved powers of the state governments?

The 10th amendment declares that the states are governments of reserved powers. The reserve powers are those powers of the Constitution does not grant to the national government and does not, at the same time, denied to the states

How did the constitution of the United States create a division of power when it made a design for federalism?

The Constitution provides for division of powers between the national government and the states. It assign certain powers to the national government and certain powers to the states.

What did the ruling in the Supreme Court case Fletcher versus peck, 1810, do for the first time?

The Supreme Court found that a Georgia state law was unconstitutional. Since then the Supreme Court is found more than 1100 state laws unconstitutional and has upheld the constitutionality of thousands of others.

What role does the Supreme Court play in the American federal system?

The Supreme Court is the empire in the federal system. One of its chief duties is to apply the supremacy clause to the conflicts that the dual system of government in evitable he produces.

What are concurrent powers delegated to the national government?

The concurrent powers are those powers that both the national government and the states possess an exercise.

Why is the division of power in arrangement that is found to result in conflict?

The division of powers in the American federal system produces a dual system of government, one in which to basic levels of government operate over the same territory in the same people at the same time.

What are the expressed powers of the national government found?

The expressed powers are delegated to the national government in so many words - spelled out. There are sometimes called enumerated powers. Most of the expressed powers are in article 1, section 8 of the Constitution were 18 clauses expressly gives 27 powers to Congress.

What are the implied powers given by the constitution?

The implied powers are not expressly stated in the constitution but are reasonably suggested or implied - by the expressed powers. In particular in article 1, section 8, clause 18, Congress is given the "necessary and proper power."

What are the major inherent powers of the national government?

The major inherent powers of the national government could the power to regulate immigration, deport aliens, do you acquire territory, the grant diplomatic recognition to other states, and to protect the nation against rebellion or other attempts to overthrow the government by force or violence.

How was the national government delegated power?

The national government only has those powers that are delegated are granted to it in the constitution. There are three distinct types of delegated powers; expressed, implied, and inherent.

What are examples of concurrent powers?

The power to levy and collect taxes, to define crimes and set punishments for them, and to condemn (take) private property for public use.

Why can the states do all these things and many, many more?

The scope of the reserved powers is huge for two reasons 1) the Constitution does not give the national government the power to take these actions and 2) the Constitution does not denied to the states the power to take them.

Why has the supremacy clause been called the "linchpin of the Constitution"?

The supremacy clause joins the national government and states into a single government unit, a federal government. The supremacy clause holds together the complex structure that is the American federal system.

Where is it stated that the powers are to be divided?

This division of powers are found in two places. 1) The division of power is implied in the original constitution. 2) The division of power is spelled out in the Bill of Rights and the 10th amendment.