Term
|
Definition
| System of government where the national government and state government share some powers, derive all authority from the people, and the powers of the national government are specified in the U.S. Constitution. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Type of government where the national government derives its powers from the states; a league of independent states. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| System of government where the local and regional government derive all authority from a strong national government. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Seventeen specific powers granted to Congress under Article I, section 8, of the U.S. Constitution; these powers include taxation, coinage of money, regulation of commerce, and the authority to provide for a national defense. |
|
|
Term
| Necessary and Proper Clause |
|
Definition
| The final paragraph of Article 1, section 8, of the U.S. Constitution, which gives Congress the authority to pass all laws “necessary and proper” to carry out the enumerated powers specified in the Constitution; also called the elastic clause. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Powers derived from enumerated powers and the necessary and proper clause. These powers are not stated specifically but are considered to be reasonably implied through the exercise of delegated powers. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Portion of Article VI of the U.S. Constitution mandating that national law is supreme to all other laws passed by the states or by any other subdivision of government. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The final part of the Bill of Rights that defines the basic principle of American federalism in stating: “The powers not delegated to the united States by the Constitution, not prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” |
|
|
Term
| Reserve (or Police) Powers |
|
Definition
| Powers reserved to the states by the Tenth Amendment that lie at the foundation of a state’s right to legislate for the public health and welfare of its citizens. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Authority possessed by both the state and national governments that may be exercised concurrently as long as that power is not exclusively within the scope of national power or in conflict with national law. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A law declaring an act illegal without a judicial trial. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Law passed after the fact, thereby making previously legal activity illegal and subject to current penalty; prohibited by the U.S. Constitution. |
|
|
Term
| Full Faith and Credit Clause |
|
Definition
| Section of Article IV of the Constitution that ensures judicial decrees and contracts made in one state will be binding and enforceable in any other state. |
|
|
Term
| Privileges and Immunities Clause |
|
Definition
| Part of Article IV of the Constitution guaranteeing that the citizens of each state are afforded the same rights as citizens of all other states. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Part of Article IV that requires states to extradite, or return, criminals to states where they have been convicted or are to stand trial. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Contracts between states that carry the force of law; generally now used as a tool to address multistate policy concerns. |
|
|
Term
| McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) |
|
Definition
| The Supreme Court upheld the power of the national government and denied the right of a state to tax the federal bank using the Constitution’s supremacy clause. The Court’s broad interpretation of the necessary and proper clause paved the way for later rulings upholding expansive federal powers. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The Supreme Court upheld broad congressional power to regulate interstate commerce. The Court’s broad interpretation of the Constitution’s commerce clause paved the way for later rulings upholding expansive federal powers. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The belief that having separate and equally powerful levels of government is the best arrangement. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Authorized Congress to enact a national income tax. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Made senators directly elected by the people; removed their selection from state legislatures. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The relationship between the national and state governments that began with the New Deal. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Grant for which Congress appropriates funds for a specific purpose. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Federal/state relationship proposed by Reagan administration during the 1980s; hallmark is returning administrative powers to the state governments. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Broad grant with few strings attached; given to states by the federal government for specified activities, such as secondary education or health services. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| National laws that direct states or local governments to comply with federal rules or regulations (such as clean air or water standards) but contain little or no federal funding to defray the cost of meeting these requirements. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A concept derived from the Constitution’s supremacy clause that allows the national government to override or preempt state or local actions in certain areas. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The right of a state to be free from lawsuit unless it gives permission to the suit. Under the Eleventh Amendment, all states are considered sovereign. |
|
|
