federalism
a way of organizing a nation so that two or more levels of government have formal authority over the same land and people; a system of shared power between units of government
unitary government
a way of organizing a nation so that all power resides in the central government; most national governments today adopt this structure
confederate government
limited powers to coordinate state activities; states are sovereign, allocate some duties to central government; citizens vote for state government officials only
intergovernmental relations
the workings of the federal system; the entire set of interactions among national, state, and local governments
supremacy clause
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 constitutional bounds
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
National League of Cities v. Usery
1976 Supreme Court case in which the Court held that extending national minimum-wage and maximum hours standards to employees of state and local governments was an unconstitutional national intrusion into the states' domain
Garcia v. San Antonio Metro
1985 Supreme Court case in which the court overturned their National League of Cities decision, holding that it was up to Congress and not the courts to decide which state actions would be nationally regulated
Eleventh Amendment
prohibits individual damage suits against state officials and protects state governments from being sued against their consent by private parties in federal or state courts or before the federal administrative agencies
Board of Trustees of University of Alabama v. Garret
the Supreme Court case in which the Court voided the application of the Americans with Disabilities Act to the states, finding it a violation of the eleventh amendment
McCulloch v. Maryland
an 1819 Supreme Court decision that established the supremacy of the national government over the state governments; Maryland had tried to tax the Second Bank of the US, a federal institution; Chief Justice John Marshall held that Congress had certain imp
enumerated powers
powers of the federal government that are specifically addressed in the Constitution; for Congress, these powers are listed in Article I, Section 8, and include the power to coin money, regulate its value, and impose taxes
implied powers
powers of the federal government that go beyond those enumerated in the Constitution; made valid by the necessary and proper clause
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
Gibbons v. Ogden
a landmark case decided in 1824 in which the Supreme court interpreted very broadly the elastic clause, giving Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce, encompassing virtually every form of commercial activity
United States v. Lopez
a 1995 Supreme Court case in which the Court held that the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990, which forbade the possession of firearms in public schools, exceeded Congress's constitutional authority to regulate commerce, saying the two were unrela
United States v. Morrison
a 2000 Supreme Court case in which the Court ruled that the power to regulate interstate commerce did not provide Congress with the authority to enact the 1994 Violence Against Women Act, which provided a federal civil remedy for victims of gender-motivat
full faith and credit
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
extradition
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
privileges and immunities
a clause in Article IV, Section 2 of the Constitution according citizens of each state most of the privileges of citizens of other states
dual federalism
a system of government in which both the states and the national government remain supreme within their own spheres, each responsible for some policies
cooperative federalism
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 function poorly
devolution
transferring the responsibility for policies from the federal government to state and local governments
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
categorical grants
federal grants that can be used only for specific purposes or segments of state and local spending; they come with strings attached, such as nondiscrimination provisions
crossover sanctions
using federal dollars in one program to influence state and local policy in another, such as when funds are withheld for highway construction unless states raise the drinking age to 21 or establish highway beautification programs
crosscutting requirements
occur when a condition on one federal grant is extended to all activities supported by federal funds, regardless of their source; for example, if a university discriminates illegally in one program, like athletics, it can lose federal aid for all its prog
project grants
federal categorical grants given for specific purposes and awarded on the basis of the merits of applications
formula grants
federal categorical grants distributed according to a formula specified in legislation or in administrative regulations; _______ vary from grant to grant and can be computed based on population, per capita income, percentage of rural population, or other
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; first adopted in 1996
mandates
requirements that direct state or local governments to comply with federal rules under threat of penalties or as a condition of receipt of a federal grant