Sara Luois
AP Government
McElroy
September 1, 2014
Pre-test 32%
Post-test 84%
1. Federalism: is a way of organizing a nation so that two or more levels of government have formal authority over the same area and people. It is a system of shared power between units of government.
a. Most nations do not have federalism as a common form of government: more nations usually have a Unitary Government:
i. In which all power resides in the central government ii. American governments are unitary In respect to their state governments, where local governments receive authority from states iii. States, in contrast, receive authority not from the national government but from the constitution
b. The third form of governmental structure is a confederation
i. The united states started out as a confederation in the Article’s of Confederation ii. In a confederation, the national government is weak, and most of its power is held in its country’s components
Unitary
Confederate
Federal
Central Government
Holds primary authority regulates activities of states
Limited powers to coordinate state activities
Shares power with states
State Government
Few or no powers duties regulated by central government
Sovereign allocates some duties to central government
Shares power with central government
Citizens
Vote for central government officials
Vote for state government officials
Vote for both state and central government officials
2. The Division of Power:
a. In general states have responsibility for a wide range of policies and may largely organize themselves and their governments as they wish
b. National Supremacy:
i. When the national government places prohibitions or requirements on the states, issues arise I which the courts decide: ii. Supremacy Clause: states the following three items are the supreme law of the land
1. The constitution
2. Laws of the national government
3. Treaties
c. Judges in every state are specifically directed to obey the constitution , even if there are state constitutions or state laws made to contradict it.
Ex. The tenth amendment: 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. This is called a constitutional truism- a mere assertion that the states have individual powers of their own
Implied powers- powers that are necessary and proper to carry out expressed powers (ie. Highways)
Enumerated powers: powers specifically listed in the constitution including coining money, regulating value and imposing taxes
Elastic cause: A strict grasp of the constitution that involve powers specifically not mentioned in the constitution
Commerce power: power to regulate interstate commerce
States’ obligation to each other-Full faith and credit: requires this from states to the public acts, records and civil judicial proceedings of every other state. Extradition: the constitution says that states are required to return a person charged with crime in another state to that state for trial or imprisonment. Privileges and immunities: to prohibit states from discriminating against citizens of other states
3. Intergovernmental Relations:
a. Dual federalism- the national government and the states remain supreme within their own spheres. The national government is responsible for some responsibilities and the states for some others
b. Cooperative Federalism- the national government and the states share powers and policy assignments
c. Devolution- the transferring of responsibility for policies from the federal government to state and local governments
d. Fiscal federalism- federal funds appropriated by the congress for distribution to state and local governments, serve as an instrument through which the national government both aids and influences states and localities
e. Categorical grants- is the main source of federal aid to state and local governments. These grants can be used only for specific purposes, or categories, of state
