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Chapter 3
Federalism
20
Civics
12th Grade
10/22/2012

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Term
Federalism
Definition
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.
Term
Unitary Governments
Definition
A way of reorganizing a nation so that all power resides in the central government. Most governments today are unitary governments. 
Term
Intergovernmental Relations
Definition
The workings of the federal system - the entire set of interactions among national, state, and local governments.
Term
Supremacy Clause
Definition
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 consitutional limits.
Term
Tenth Amendment
Definition
The constitutional amendment stating that "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."
Term
McCulloch v. Maryland
Definition
An 1819 Supreme Court decision that established the supremacy of the national government over state governments. In deciding this case, Chief Justice John Marshall and his colleagues held that Congress had certain implied powers in addition to the enumerated powers found in the Constitution.
Term
Enumerated Powers
Definition
Powers of the federal government that are specifically addressed in the Constitution, for Congress; for Congress, these powers are listed in Article I, Section 8, and include the power to coin money, regulate its value, and impose taxes.
Term
Implied Powers
Definition
Powers of the federal government that go beyond those enumerated in the Constitution. The Constitution states that Congress has the power to "make all laws necessary and proper for carrying into execution" the powers enumerated in Article 1.
Term
Elastic Clause
Definition
The final paragraph of Article 1, Section 8, of the Constitution, which authorizes Congress to pass all laws "necessary and proper" to carry out the enumerated powers.
Term
Gibbons v. Ogden
Definition
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, encompassing virtually every form of commercial activity.
Term
Full Faith and Credit Clause
Definition
A clause in Article IV, Section 1, of the Constitution requiring each state to recognize the official documents and civil judgements rendered by the courts of other states.
Term
Extradition
Definition
A legal process whereby an alleged criminal offender is surrendered by the officials of one state to officials of the state in which the crime is alleged to have been committed.
Term
Priveleges and Immunities
Definition
A clause in Article IV, Section 2, of the Constitution according citizens of each state most of the priveleges of citizens of other states.
Term
Dual Federalism
Definition
A system of government in which both the states and the national government remain supreme within their own spheres, each responsible for some policies.
Term
Cooperative Federalism
Definition
A system of government in which powers and policy assignments are shared between states and the national government. They may also share costs, administration, and even blame for programs that work poorly.
Term
Fiscal Federalism
Definition
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.
Term
Categorical Grants
Definition
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.
Term
Project Grants
Definition
Federal categorical grants given for specific purposes and awarded on the basis of the merits of applications.
Term
Formula Grants
Definition
Federal categorical grants distributed according to a formula specified in legislation or in administrative regulations.
Term
Block Grants
Definition
Federal grants given more or less automatically to states or communitites to support broad programs in areas such as community development and social services.
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