Government in America 2012 Election Edition: Chapter 3 Federalism Key Terms Flashcards

Murphy Comparative Government Chapter 3 Study Guide Key Terms

4839977085	Federalism	A way of organizing a nation so that two or more levels of government have formal authority over the same land and people. It is a system of shared power between units of government.	0
4839977086	Unitary Governments	A way of organizing a nation so that all power resides in the central government. Most national governments today are unitary governments.	1
4839977087	Intergovernmental Relations	The workings of the federal system--the entire set of interactions among national, state, and local governments, including regulations, transfers of funds, and the sharing of information.	2
4839977088	Supremacy Clause	The clause in Article VI of the Constitution that makes the Constitution, national laws, and treaties supreme over state laws as long as the national government is acting within its constitutional limits.	3
4839977089	Tenth Amendment	The constitutional amendment stating, "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."	4
4839977090	McCulloch v. Maryland	An 1819 Supreme Court decision that established the supremacy of the national government over state governments. The court, led by Chief Justice John Marshall, held that Congress had certain implied powers in addition to the powers enumerated in the Constitution.	5
4839977091	Enumerated Powers	Powers of the federal government that are specifically addressed in the Constitution; for Congress, including the powers listed in Article I, Section 8, for example, to coin money and regulate its value and impose taxes.	6
4839977092	Implied Powers	Powers of the federal government that go beyond those enumerated in the Constitution, in accordance with the statement in the Constitution that Congress has the power to "make all laws necessary and proper for carrying into execution" the powers enumerated in Article I.	7
4839977093	Elastic Clause	The final paragraph of Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution, which authorizes Congress to pass all laws "necessary and proper" to carry out the enumerated powers.	8
4839977094	Gibbons v Ogden	A landmark case decided in 1824 in which the Supreme Court interpreted very broadly the clause in Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution giving Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce as encompassing virtually every form of commercial activity.	9
4839977095	Full Faith and Credit	A clause in Article IV of the Constitution requiring each state to recognize the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of all other states.	10
4839977096	Extradition	A legal process whereby a state surrenders a person charged with a crime to the state in which the crime is alleged to have been committed.	11
4839977097	Privileges and Immunities	The provision of the Constitution according citizens of each state privileges of citizens of other states.	12
4839977098	Dual Federalism	A system of government in which both the states and national government remain supreme within their own spheres each responsible for some policies.	13
4839977099	Cooperative Federalism	A system of government in which powers and policy assignments are shared between states and national government.	14
4839977100	Fiscal Federalism	The pattern of spending, taxing, and providing grants in the federal system; it is the cornerstone of the national government's relations with state and local governments.	15
4839977101	Categorical Grants	Federal grants that can be used only for specific purposes, or "categories," of state and local spending. They come with strings attached, such as nondiscrimination provisions.	16
4839977102	Project Grants	Federal categorical grant given for specific purposes and awarded on the basis of the merits of applications.	17
4839977103	Formula Grants	Federal categorical grants distributed according to a formula specified in legislation or in administrative regulations.	18
4839977104	Block Grants	Federal grants given more or less automatically to states or communities to support broad programs in areas such as community development and social services.	19
4839978538	Devolution	Transferring responsibility for policies from the federal government to state and local governments	20