Chapter 3

Executive branch checks

It can nominate judges to all federal courts (including the Supreme Court), approve laws, command the armed forces, and make treaties.

Article 6

Supremacy Clause: The Constitution is the law of the land Loyalty Clause: Oath of Office No religious qualifications

Checks and balances

limits imposed on all branches of a government by vesting in each branch the right to amend or void those acts of another branch

concurrent powers

the authority possessed by both state and national governments, such as the power to levy taxes and borrow money

Reserved powers

powers set aside by the constitution for that states of for the people (not mentioned in the constitution) examples: - create a public school system, enact uniform marriage, establish local gov, divorce law, give licenses

expressed powers

powers specifically granted to one of the branches of the national government by the constitution

State and Local Budgets

dependent on federal dollars

judicial branch checks

It can declare laws unconstitutional and define the jurisdiction of federal courts.

unfunded mandates

An unfunded mandate is a statute or regulation that requires a state or local government to perform certain actions, yet provides no money for fulfilling the requirements. When a federal government imposes a law or regulation without necessary funding, it becomes the responsibility of the state or local government to pay for the implementation of the law. In the end, it is local taxpayers who end up footing the bill.

Federalism

Constitution divides power between the central and regional governments Checks and balances Federalism divides power into two levels: national and state (vertically) Federalism is the division of powers and functions between the national government and state governments. The Constitution provides "expressed powers" and "implied powers" to the federal government. The Tenth Amendment reserves the rest of governmental power for the states.

New Federalism

Efforts to craft national policies to return more discretion to the states Unfunded Mandates Reform Act Use of block grants, which have fewer federal restrictions Efforts by the courts to interpret the interstate commerce clause more narrowly

formula grants

Federal categorical grants distributed according to a formula specified in legislation or in administrative regulations.

block grants

Federal grant given more or less automatically to states or communities to support broad programs in areas such as community development and social services

project grants

Federal grants given for specific purposes and awarded on the basis of the merits of applications. A type of categorical grants available to states and localities.

Legislative branch checks

It can collect taxes, declare war, write laws, and approve and impeach presidential nominations, judges, or officials.

The republican revolution

Goals of the Republicans: Reduce federal government, increase state and local control Reduce unfunded mandates Welfare reform act

grants in aid

Grants-in-aid come in many forms: Categorical grants are funds given by Congress to states and localities ear-marked by law for specific categories, such as education or crime prevention. Project grants are grant programs in which state and local governments submit proposals to federal agencies and for which funding is provided on a competitive basis. Formula grants are grants-in-aid where a formula is used to determine the amount of federal funds a state or local government will receive.

institutions at work

Here we see the government providing a division of labor and specific rules regarding the processes by which decisions are made. The Constitution also sets which political actors have the authority and responsibility to act in certain situations. Over time, political actors have found ways to expand their institutional influences and overcome the obstacles posed by institutions - we'll see more examples of this in Unit 2.

Dual federalism

Layer cake National gov state gov Powers were shared between the federal and state governments. States exercised the most important powers. Called "dual federalism" because the duties and operations of the different levels of government remained more strictly separated.

Local Govs

Local governments (counties, cities, towns, etc.) are not granted any power in the Constitution as they are creations of the state legislatures and state constitutions. Most states have given larger cities in their states home rule: a guarantee of noninterference in local affairs.

Article 3

Murburry v Madison: Judicial review Original Jurisdiction: Cases that are heard by the federal jurisdiction (Supreme Court) right away

state obligations

Remember from the last chapter that there are important clauses in the Constitution that speak to state interactions The Full Faith and Credit Clause: states are to recognize actions and decisions taken in other states as legal and proper. This clause was at the heart of the debate over the recognition of gay marriage in states. The Privileges and Immunities Clause: a state cannot discriminate against someone from another state or give special privileges to its own residents.

separations of power

Separation of powers divides each level of government against itself (horizontally)

Article 4

Sets up relationship between the states and the federal government Full Faith and Credit Clause: states have to recognize the public acts, court proceedings, and records of other states Republican vs republican Democrat vs democrat

Federalists v. Anti-Federalists

The balance of power between the federal government and state governments was at the heart of the struggle over the ratification of the Constitution. While Federalists won the battle over ratification, the Anti-Federalists won important concessions during the ratification debate: The Bill of Rights, including the Tenth Amendment, which reserves powers not expressly granted to the federal government for the states) Anti-Federalist ideas about local control remain a major part of the American dialogue. The modern Tea Party movement, which is fighting for a smaller and more restrained federal government among other things, is an example of the strong echo of Anti-Federalist thought.

Implied powers

This "Necessary and Proper Clause" (sometimes also called the "Elastic Clause") grants Congress a set of so-called implied powers—that is, powers not explicitly named in the Constitution but assumed to exist due to their being necessary to implement the expressed powers that are named in Article I. powers inferred by the express powers that allow congress to carry out its functions (powers not expressly stated in the constitution but are reasonably suggested, implied by the expressed powers)

Federalism: Powers delegated to the national government

declare war create and maintain armed forces establish foreign policy regulate interstate and foreign trade make patent laws establish postal offices coin money

the elastic commerce clause

Three important cases heard by the Supreme Court during this time: McCullough v. Maryland - does Congress have the power to charter a federal bank? If so, can Maryland tax that bank? Gibbons v. Ogden - can New York state grant a monopoly to a steamboat company to operate an exclusive service between NY and NJ? i.e., can NY regulate interstate commerce? McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) and Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) are important early cases that established the national government's power, vis-á-vis the states, through interpretation of the interstate commerce clause, the necessary and proper clause, and the national supremacy clause. But beyond the effort to improve the economy, congressional efforts to regulate the economy through its power to regulate commerce among the states were consistently struck down during this period. National Labor Relations Board v. Jones and Laughlin Steel Co. - the Supreme Court expands its definition of what constitutes "interstate commerce" in this case, and, in turn, expands the range of issues that the national government can regulate in the US This caused BIG CHANGES after 1937, taking us into our next federalist period.

Article 5

Ways to ratify an amendment

Four stages of federalism

We can categorize our history into four distinct phases of federalism: Dual federalism (1789-1937) Cooperative federalism (1937-1960s) Regulated federalism (1960s-1990s) New federalism (1990s-Present) For some reason, political scientists like to talk about cakes when discussing federalism. The diagrams will be helpful for you to remember the separation between state and federal government in each phase.

why is being vp lame?

We know that the VP is relatively powerless now - the power of the office has increased over time, but it still lacks sufficient authority for independent action. The VP in the 18th and 19th centuries was even less powerful than the office is today. Can you even name any of them? They objected mainly to the VP's role as the President of the Senate - they couldn't tell if the VP was part of the executive or legislative branch.

Federalist 51

What is the main question Madison is addressing here? "To what expedient, then, shall we finally resort, for maintaining in practice the necessary partition of power among several departments as laid down in the Constitution?" How is one branch prevented from dominating over the others? The Constitution sought to co-mingle the powers of the branches and establish institutional checks that prevent any one branch from dominating another. The interior parts of government, by mutual relations, will keep each other in place. "Ambition must be made to counteract ambition." What does Madison say about the equality of the branches? One branch in particular should dominate the others. Which one? What is the main question Madison is addressing here? How is one branch prevented from dominating over the others? What does Madison say about the equality of the branches? What are the main goals of a republic? Two main goals? 1. Guard society against oppression by its rulers. If the government can balance itself, then there should not be oppression of the masses. Governments will control themselves and each other. 2. Guard one part of society against injustices by others. [This is arguably the more interesting of the two ideas]. We want to keep the majority from having power over the minorities. There are different ways in which we can prevent this, which we will learn more about later when we discuss factions, interest groups, and Federalist 10.

Federalism: powers of the states

established local governments establish and maintain schools regulate trade within states conduct elections provide for public safety

Cooperate fed

marble cake national and state Marked by supportive relations, sometimes partnerships, between the national government and the state and local governments. A rise of "grants-in-aid": funds given by Congress to state and local governments to be spent for a particular purpose Grants-in-aid serve to begin "blending" the functions of the federal and state and local governments. As the federal government begins giving more and more money to state and local governments, the federal government is working more in partnership with the states on various policy goals from education to crime prevention to housing to transportation.

separation of powers

the institutional arrangement that assigns judicial, executive, and legislative powers to different persons or groups, thereby limiting the powers of each they have made it self enforcing by giving each branch of gov the means to participate in the working of other branches provides the system of shared power known as checks and balances