Study your flashcards anywhere!

Download the official Cram app for free >

  • Shuffle
    Toggle On
    Toggle Off
  • Alphabetize
    Toggle On
    Toggle Off
  • Front First
    Toggle On
    Toggle Off
  • Both Sides
    Toggle On
    Toggle Off
  • Read
    Toggle On
    Toggle Off

How to study your flashcards.



H key: Show hint (3rd side).h key

A key: Read text to speech.a key


Play button


Play button




Click to flip

85 Cards in this Set

  • Front
  • Back
List the 3 levels of gov't. most involved in determining how to pay the monetary price for rebuilding New York City after 9/11 ?
1. New York City
2. New York state
3. US Gov't.
List the 3 elected gov't representatives who were left to the negotiations debating how to spend the money Congress provided for the rebuilding of New York City?
1. Pres. George Bush
2. New York Gov. George Pataki
3. New York City's newly elected Mayor Michael Bloomburg
Define states' rights
Those rights that have neither been granted to the national gov't. nor forbidden to the states by the US Constitution.
Define federalism:
A political system in which 2 or more distinct levels of gov't share and exercise power over the same body of citizens.
What is the system of gov't in which all of the power is vested in a central authority that could complet the state gov'ts. to respond.
A unitary system.
What is the system of gov't in which the power to govern is decentralized among sovereign state, and the national gov't. has such limited powers that it must respond to state dictates?
A confederation system.
LIst the 2 basic systems of democratic systems of gov't rejected by the origianl framers of the Const.?
1. A unitary system
2. A confederation system.
List 4 Major advantages to federalism:
1. Diversity among policies & programs is ensured by the large number of different gov'ts.
2.Policy diversity also minimizes policy conflict.
3. It results in a healthy dispersal of power.
4. Enhances the prospects for governmental experimentation & innovation.
List 2 Disadvantages to federalism:
1.Groups in certain regions will work to protect their interests sometimes obstructing and ignoring national mandates.
2. Governmental programs at the local level can vary dramatically.
List the 3 constitutional provisions that make up the "Triad of Powers" found in the Const.
1. The Interstate Commerce Clause
2. The General Welfare Clause
3. 10th Amendment:powers not delegated to the US by the Const. nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved for the States.
What is the function of the "Interstate Clause" of the Const.
Sought to rectify the inability of the national gov't. under the Articles of Confederation to control the movement of goods across the state lines.
List examples of the national policies resulting from broad interpretations of the "Interstate Commerce Clause"
1. regulates minimum wages and max. work hours.
2. apportionment of scholarships between men & women on college sports teams
3. campus housing regulations
4. food you eat
Define the function of the "General Welfare Clause" of the Const.
"lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts, and Excises, to pay the Debt and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the US."
Which of the Triad Powers expanded the national gov't's reach into the pocketbook of the states with "carrot-and-stick" programs?`
General Welfare Clause
Cite an example of a public policy resulting from the result of a "carrot-and-stick" program?
The tying of federal funds to highway funds and forcing the states to raise mandatory minimum drinking ages to 21.
Which Triad Power kept the national gov't from dominating the federal structure from the very beginning?
The 10th (Tenth) Amendment.
Which Triad Power states: "The powers not delegated to the US by the Const., nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
The Tenth (10th) Amendment.
Which Triad Power found in the Const. has been used freguently in the recent past to create a "devolution" of power from the national gov't to the states?
The 10th (Tenth) Amendment.
What is the clause in Article VI (6) of the Constitution holding that in any conflict between federal laws & treaties & state laws, the will of the nationial gov't always prevails.
The Supremacy Clause
What powers are delegated specifically in the Const. to the national government.
Delegated Powers
What powers are not specifically stated in the Const. but can be inferred from the delegated powers?
Implied Powers
What powers do not appear in the Constitution but are assumed because of the nature of gov't.
Inherent Powers
What powers are not assigned by the Const. to the national gov't but are left to the state or the people, according to the Tenth (X) (10th) Amendment?
Reserved powers
What is the name of the group of reserved powers guaranteed in the Tenth Amendment that regulate the health, morals, public safety and welfare of state citizens?
Police Powers.
Cite examples of a delegated power of the national gov't.
1.Only national gov't can declare war
2.Raise & support an army
3. Make treaties with other nations
4. Coin money
Cite an example of implied powers of national gov't.
1. Power to tax & spend to cover construction of nation system of roads
Cite examples of an inherent power of the national gov't.
1, Conduct foreign relations
2. Make war even in the absence of a formal declaration
3. Protect national gov't officials against bodily harm or threats.
What is the title of powers that are shared b y both levels of gov't?
Concurrent Powers
Cite examples of concurrent powers that both national & state gov'ts share?
1. regualte commerce
2. levy taxes
3. run a road system
4. estalish their own elections
5. maintain their own judicial structures
Cite examples of powers denied to the national gov't.
1. cannot pass legislation in areas of freedosm of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, and defendent rights.
Cite examples denied to both state & national gov'ts:
1. may not grant titles of nobility
2. may not pass bills of attainder ( which legislate the guilt of an individual without the benfit of a trial.
3. may not pass ex post facto laws which declare an action to be a crime after it has been committed.
When did the first debate begin about national vs. states const. powers?
The creation of a national bank during George Washington's administration.
Describe Alexander Hamilton's position regarding the establishment of a national bank.
By chartering a national bank the national gov't could build on its power to coin money, operate uniform currency system, and regulate commerce.
Describe Thomas Jefferson's position regarding the chartering of a national bank:
He opposed, arguing that since no explicit power to charter banks was written into the Const., that power was reserved to the states.
Describe how Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall explained his opinion in McCulloch v. Maryland.
He turned to the necessary & proper clause of the Const. finding there the implied power for the national gov't to do what was convenient to carry out the powers delegated to it in Art. #, Section 8.
Describe Supreme Ct. Chief Justice John Marshall's basic philosophy of the role of a national gov't.
He advocated a strong, centralized national power.
Describe what the case McCulloch vs. Maryland was about.
State of Maryland attempted to tax the national's banks operations.
Describe briefly the case, Gibbons v. Ogden
Did the central gov't's. power over interstate commerce predominate over an individual state's power to regulate intrastate commerce (within a state's boundary.)
Who were the initial proposers of "nullification?"
Thomas Jefferson and James Madison
Describe the theory of nullification
the notion that states faced with unacceptable national legislation could declare such laws null and void and refuse to observe them.
List 2 examples when the notion of nullification was gaining popularity amongst the states
1. in the 1820'and 1830's when the national gov't raised tariffs on raw material and manufactured goods, therby protecting the northern industries but forcing southerners to pay high prices.
2. when the national gov't attempt to restrict slavery.
What ws the prevailing view of federalism following the Civil War?
Dual federalism
Describe "dual federalism"
Each level of power remains supreme in its own jurisdiction, thus keeping the states separate and distinct from the national gov't.
What was one of the causes that created an economic environment opposed to gov't interference and regulation?
industrial expansion during the years between 1877 and 1937.
What caused the eventual end to dual federalism?
The Great Depression
What motivated Roosevelt's plan to "pack" the Supreme Ct. with a new justice for each one over the age of 70 years old up to a total of 15 justices?
The Supreme Ct's initial response in case rulings to Roosevelt's "New Deal"
The "New Deal " era ushered in what new form of federalism?
Cooperative federalism.
Describe "cooperative federalism"
Solutions for various state & local problems are directed and sometimes funded by the national gov't and are then administered by the state gov'ts according to national guidelines.
Cite an example of a "cooperative federalism" based program:
The rebuilding of New York City after the attack of 9/11.
What type of federalism is characterized by shared pwoer and shared responsibilities between the national gov't and the states' governments?
cooperative federalism.
What 3 constitutional protections help create a balance of power between the state and national levels of gov't.?
1. Regulation of commerce
2. Right to Collect taxes
3. !0th Amendment.
What was the result of the rise of "cooperative federalism"?
1. An increase in the power of the national go'vt.
2. A drive to achieve uniformity of programs throughout the country, often at the expense of state power & innovation.
What was a major feature of the judical movement of the 1950' and 1960's?
It created a new role of the national gov't as a protector of personal rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
What is the term used to describe the process used by the Supreme Ct to ensure uniformity of personal rights and legal protections from one state to another
"Incorporation of the Bill of Rights."
What makes up the Bill of Rights?
The first 10 amendments to the Constitution.
Cite examples of actions taken by the Supreme Ct influenced the uniformity of judicial process in both levels of governments:
1. Rights to counsel (Scottsborro)
2. Social equality (Brown v. Board of Ed)
3. Economic equality (War on Poverty)
Name the term for money paid to state & localities to induce them to implement policies in accordance with federally mandated guidelines
Name the term for the payment by the national government to a state to be spent in certain policy areas.
Name the term for the national requirement that is attached to a grant-in-aid program
Condition of aid
T or F
The number of grant-in-aid programs has been declining for the last decade.
False. They grew from 594 to 660 in the years 1993-1999 alone.
Describe catregorical grants
are given for specific purposes, usually with strict rules
List the 3 types of categorical grants
1. formula grants
2. project grants
3. formula/project grants
Describe what is a formula grant
allocations of federal money to states & localities based on a prescribed legislative distribution formula for continuing activities which are not confined to a specific project.
Which grant is an allocation of federal money to states and localities based on a prescribed legislative distribution formula for continuing activities whish are not confined to a specific project.
formula grant
Describe what is a project grant?
Not based on a formula, it is distributed for specific purposes after a competitive application & approval process for a fixed period of time.
What type of grant is not based on a formula but is distributed for specific purposes after a competitive application & approval process for a fixed period of time.
Project grant
What are project grantst also known as?
Discretionary grants
Why are project grants also known as discretionary grants?
they are distributed at the discretion of a designated legislator or administrator.
Describe what is a formula/project grant?
a competitive grant that is awarded but that is also retricted by the use of a formula
Define what is a block grant:
A group of consolidated grants into one large grant that provides money for broad functional program areas & that the funds may be used at the recipient governmental level's discretion.
What is a federal mandate:
A direct order from Congress to the states to fulfill.
By 1995, what percentage of state budgets were spent on federal mandates?
25 %.
When was the Era of Creative Federalism?
The Johnson years 1963-1968
What is the term for an intiative that expanded the concept of the partnership between the national government and the states under Pres. Johnson in the 1960's?
Creative federalism
List examples of grants awarded during the Era of Creative Federalism:
1.improving quality of life for handicapped, migrant workers, and neglected children
2. bilingual
3. desegregation
List 3 programs that still exist that originated during the Era of Creative Federalism:
1. Head Start
2. Free legal services for the poor
3. Food stamps to feed the poor
What was the cornerstone to Nixon's "New Federalism"?
General revenue sharing (GRS)
Describe general revenue sharing:
money is given to the states with no restriction on how it can be spent.
Describe what is "specific revenue sharing":
groups of categorical grants-in-aid in related policy area such as crime control or health care are consolidated into a single block grant.
What was a problem with revenue sharing programs?
Lists of expenditures can be so general that rather than using the money to replace on old grant-in-aid programs, states began using the money to cover their basic operating expenses including state public officials' salaries.
Why did Congress abolish revenue sharing?
Because there was a lack of control over both the amount and the nature of the spending.
When did Congress abolish revenue sharing to the states?
When did Congress abolish revenue sharing to localities?
HOw did Jimmy Carter attempt to distribute fed dollars?
By attempting to combine the best aspects of Johnson's creative federalism and Nixon's New Federalism to more precisely target federal aid to the most hard-pressed communities.
What ws Pres. Reagan's campaign pledge?
Restore the power and aurthority to the state governments.