A Blueprint for Government
A basic principle of the American system of government, that the executive, legislative, and judicial powers are divided among three independent and coequal branches of government.
Separation of Powers
An official change to the Constitution.
Amendment
A system in which power is divided between the national and state governments
Federalism
_______ are not specifically mentioned in the Constitution, but they belong to the states because the Constitution neither delegated these powers to the national government nor prohibited them to the states.
Reserved Powers
Returning power to the states, a concept known as
Devolution
A system of spending, taxing and providing aid in the federal system. American Federalism today.
Fiscal Federalism
All political power resides in the people. The people are the only source for any and all government power.
Popular Sovereignty
First ten amendments
Bill of Rights
A group of individuals with broad common interests who organize to nominate candidates for office, win elections, conduct government and determine public policy.
Political Party
powers the Constitution grants or delegates to the national government.
Expressed Powers
The belief that both the national and state governments were sovereign within their own spheres
Dual Federalism
National grants that state and local governments use for specific purposes
Categorical Grants
Concept of limited government that holds that government and its officers are always subject to the law
The law applies to everyone, even those who govern no special treatment
Rule of Law
Formal approval of the Constitution.
Ratification
A group of advisers to the president.
Cabinet
Those powers that the national government may exercise simply because it is a government
Inherent Powers
The belief that all levels of government should work together to solve problems
Cooperative Federalism
The national government uses to set demands on states to carry out certain policies as a condition of receiving grant money
Federal Mandates
The principle of it holds that no government is all-powerful. That government may do only those things that the people have given it the power.
Limited Government
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 limits.
supremacy clause
A formal agreement between the U.S. president and the leaders of other nations that do not require Senate approval.
Executive Agreement
The powers, not specifically listed, that the national government requires to carry out the powers that are expressly defined in the Constitution
Implied Powers
The idea that states had the right to separate themselves from the Union
Doctrine of Sucession
A grant that provides a wide range of ability for the states to spend money
Block Grants
System of overlapping the powers of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches to permit each branch to check the actions of the others. In other words, each branch has certain powers with which it can check the operations of the other two.
Checks and Balances
A majority that is larger than a simple majority like three-fifths, two-thirds, or three-fourths.
Supermajority
The way in which the president is elected. A certain number of electors from each state proportional to and seemingly representative of that state's population.
Electoral College
the powers that both the national government and the states have. An example would be the power to tax.
Concurrent Powers
In the 1800s, politicians in some southern states believed that states had the right to cancel out national laws that they believed clashed with state interests.
Doctrine of Nullification
Includes money and other resources that the national government provides to pay for state and local activities
Grants-in-Aid
Declare illegal, null and void, of no force and effect - a government action found to violate some provision in the Constitution
Unconstitutional
To ________ a law is to cancel or revoke it by a legislative act.
Repeal
The inability to govern effectively due to the separation of powers is called
Gridlock
The clause that states a state must recognize the laws and legal proceedings of the other states
full faith and credit clause
Decreased national spending and returning power to the states
New Federalism
The three tools of Fiscal Federalism.
Categorical grants, Block grants, Federal Mandates.
President (executive's power) to reject any act of Congress.
Veto
How many amendments have been added to the Constitution?
27
The power of a court to determine the constitutionality of government action.
Judicial Review
What are the main reasons that the Framers chose a federal system rather than a confederation?
A confederation had failed, so the Framers tried a system in which the national government had more power than the state government.
The national government funded state and local programs that met national goals, such as fighting poverty
Creative Federalism
The event that changed the American government from New Federalism to Fiscal Federalism.
September 11, 2001
List the 6 basic principles of the Constitution
Popular sovereignty
Limited government
Separation of powers
Checks and balances
Judicial review
Federalism
What are the 2 basic forms of Constitutional change?
Formal Amendment
Informal means
What was the difference between an executive agreement and a treaty?
An executive agreement has the force of a treaty but does not require ratification.
Name three powers of the National Government
Borrow and coin money; Levy taxes; Conduct foreign relations; Raise armies, declare war, and make peace; Regulate commerce with foreign nations and between states; Establish Post offices; Establish federal court system; Make laws necessary and proper to execute national powers.
Which president is associated with cooperative federalism?
FDR
What trend do you think will characterize federalism in the near future--an expansion in national power or a return of power to the states? Explain your answer.
An expansion in national power because of the increased need for national security. Other answers possible
How do checks and balances in the Constitution control the powers of government and lead to the development of democratic government?
Each branch can change or negate acts of the other branch.
Where is the proposal and ratification process located in the Constitution?
Proposed by Congress
Ratified by conventions
What are the three criticisms of the Constitution?
Creates gridlock; Falls short of true democracy; electoral college sometimes undemocratic.
Name three powers of the State Governments.
Draw electoral district lines; Conduct elections; Maintain state militias; Regulate commerce within the state; Establish and operate state court systems; Levy taxes; Ratify amendments to the Constitution; Exercise powers not specifically delegated to the nation or prohibited to the states.
Which event had a greater impact on federalism: the Civil War or the Great Depression? Explain why.
Possible answers: Civil war-reconstruction Amendments established supreme national power. Great Depression-led to more national government programs.
Name three issues in Federalism today.
Poverty, Homeland Security, Environment, Immigration, Health Care
Why is it important to maintain a balance between state and national authority in a federal system?
Why was the Bill of Rights considered to be critical to the passage of the Constitution?
Because without it, the constitution would not have the constitution approved.
How does each of the three branches of government apply the Constitution to its job responsibilities?
The legislative branch makes laws; the executive branch makes executive agreements similar to treaties, and the judicial branch has the power to determine the constitutionality of laws or executive actions.
Name three powers shared by the Nation and the States.
Collect taxes; Provide for the health and welfare of the people; build roads; conduct commerce; establish courts; borrow money; take private property for public use; pass and enforce laws; charter banks and corporations; regulate education.
Put all four Eras of American Federalism in chronological order.
Dual Federalism (1789-1930s), Cooperative Federalism (1930s-1960s), Creative Federalism (1960s-1980s), New Federalism (1980s-2001)
Which type of federal aid do states generally prefer? Why?
Block grants, because they are provided for general purposes. States have more control over them.