Conflict Case Studies
This 1832 event saw South Carolina attempt to ignore a federal tariff.
What is the Nullification Crisis?
This word describes Congress having two chambers.
What is bicameral?
This clause requires states to recognize public acts, records, and court decisions from other states.
What is the Full Faith and Credit Clause?
This federal agency enforces immigration law but cannot compel local police to assist.
What is ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement)?
This constitutional structure divides governing power between national and state governments.
What is federalism?
This case upheld federal control over medical marijuana laws.
What is Gonzales v. Raich?
This compromise counted slaves as part of a state’s population.
What is the Three-Fifths Compromise?
This clause guarantees that citizens of each state are entitled to the same rights as citizens in other states.
What is the Privileges and Immunities Clause?
his state-level restriction on transgender healthcare has sparked federal civil rights investigations.
What are gender-affirming care bans?
This legal doctrine says a federal law overrides a conflicting state law, even if the state disagrees.
What is preemption?
This case allowed the federal government to control immigration over state objections.
What is Arizona v. United States?
Only this chamber can start revenue (tax) bills.
What is the House of Representatives?
This clause ensures treaties made by the federal government are as binding as federal laws.
What is the Treaty Clause (part of the Supremacy Clause structure)?
Some state laws have been accused of suppressing access to this basic democratic right.
What is voting?
This structural feature of the U.S. government allows for conflicts between state and federal laws.
What is divided power (or separation of powers in a federal system)?
This older case upheld the federal bank and denied state power to tax it.
What is McCulloch v. Maryland?
Only this chamber confirms presidential appointments and treaties.
What is the Senate?
This clause gives Congress the power to call forth the militia to enforce laws and suppress insurrections.
What is the Militia Clause?
This term describes the ongoing tension when states pass laws that test the limits of federal authority.
What is a federalism conflict?
This part of Article I gives Congress powers like declaring war, regulating commerce, and coining money.
What is Section 8 (Enumerated Powers)?
This case reversed federal protection for abortion rights and returned power to the states.
What is Dobbs v. Jackson?
This chamber holds impeachment trials.
What is the Senate?
This clause gives Congress the power to tax, spend, and provide for the general welfare of the United States.
What is the Taxing and Spending Clause?
These legal battles often center on whether a federal law invalidates a newer or conflicting state law.
What is preemption?
This power allows Congress to regulate trade that crosses state lines, limiting what individual states can control.
What is the power to regulate interstate commerce?