| A | B |
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| Devolution Revolution | The effort to slow the growth of the federal government by returning many functions to the states. |
| Federalism | Constitutional arrangement whereby power is distributed between a central government and subdivisional governments, called stated in the United States. The national and the subdivisional governments both exercise direct authority over individuals. |
| Unitary System | Constitutional arrangement in which power is concentrated in a central government. |
| Confederation | Constitutional arrangement in which sovereign nations or states, by compact, create a central government but carefully limit its power and do not give it direct authority over individuals. |
| Express Powers | Powers specifically granted to one of the branches of the national government by the Constitution. |
| Implied Powers | Powers inferred from the express powers that allow Congress to carry out its functions. |
| Necessary and Proper Clause | Clause of the Constitution (Article 1, Section 8, Clause 18) setting forth the implied powers of Congress. It states that Congress, in addition to its express powers, has the right to make all laws necessary and proper for carrying out all powers vested by the cnstitution in the national government. |
| Inherent Powers | The powers of the national government in the field of foreign affairs that the Supreme Court has declared do not depend on constitutional grants but rather grow out of the very existence of the national government. |
| Commerce Clause | The clause in the Constitution (Article I, Section 8, Clause 3) that gives Congress the power to regulate all business activities that cross state lines or affect more than one state or other nations. |
| Federal Mandate | A requirement imposed by the federal government as a condition for the receipt of federal funds. |
| Concurrent Powers | Powers that the Constitution gives to both the national and state governments, such as the power to levy taxes. |
| Full Faith and Credit Clause | Clause in the Constitution (Article IV, Section 1) requiring each stae to recognize the civil judgements rendered by the courts of the other states and to accept their public records and acts as as valid. |
| Extradition | 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. |
| Interstate Compact | An agreement among two or more states. The Constitution requires that most such agreements be approved by Congress. |
| National Supremacy | Constitutional doctrine that whenever conflict occurs between the constitutionally authorized actions of the national government and those of a state or local government, the actions of a federal government prevail. |
| Preemption | The right of a federal law or regulation to preclude enforcement of a state or local law or regulation. |
| Centralist | People who favor national action over action at the state and local levels. |
| Decentralists | People who favor state or loval action rather than national action. |
| States' Rights | Powers expressly or implicitly reserved to the states and emphasized by decentralists. |
| What is Dual federalism? | It views the Constitution as giving a limited list of powers-primarily foreign policy and national defense-to the national government and leaving the rest to sovereign states. |
| What is Cooperative federalism? | It stresses federalism as a system of intergovernmental relations in delivering governmental goods and services to the people and calls for cooperation among various levels of government. |
| What is Marble cake federalism? | It conceives of federalism as a marble cake in which all levels of government are involved in a variety of issues and programs. |
| What is Competitive federalism? | It views the national government, 50 states, and thousands of other units as competing with each other over ways to put together packages of services and taxes. |
| What is Permissive federalism? | It includes that the states' share rests upon the permission and permissiveness of the national government. |
| What is "Our Federalism"? | It presumes that the power of the federal government is limited in favor of the broad powers reserved to the states. |
| What advantages does federalism have for the United States? | It checks the growth of tyranny, allows unity without uniformity, encourages experimentation, and keeps the government closer to the people. |
| What is the formal framework of our federal system? | The national government only has those powers delegated to it by the Constitution, national government is supreme, state governments have powers not delegated to the central government except those denied to them by state/national constitutions, and some powers are denied to national and state governments. |
| What is the National Supremacy article? | It states that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land and that states may not override national policies, also applicable to local governments. |
| What is the War Power? | The national government is responsible for protecting the nation from external aggression, whether from other nations or international terrorism. |
| What is the power to regulate interstate and foreign commerce? | Congressional authority extends to all commerce that affects more than one state. |
| What is the power to tax and spend? | Congress may raise taxes and spend money to promote the general welfare. |
| What is the significance of Gibbon v. Odgen 1824? | It promoted a national economic common market in holding that states may not discriminate against interstate transportation and out-of-state commerce. |
| Can the federal government mandate state laws without providing funding? | Yes, often Congress does not supply the funds required to carry out these mandates-called "unfunded mandates"-and its failure to do so has become an important issue as states face growing expenditures with limited resources. |
| What are the interstate privelages and immunities? | States must extend to citizens of other states the privelages and immunities granted to their own citizens. Ex. protection of the laws, the right to engage in peaceful occupations, access to the courts and freedom from discriminatory taxes |
| What is the importance of McCulloch v. Maryland? | The supreme court has the chance to define the division of power between the national and state governments. |
| What are Categorical-Formula grants? | Congress appropriates funds for specific purposes, such as schoool lunches or the building of airports and highways. |
| What are Project grants? | Congress appropriates a certain sum, which is allocated to state and local units and sometimes to nongovernmental agencies, based on applications from those who wish to participate. |
| What are Block grants? | They are broad grants to states for prescribed activities-welfare, child care, education, social services, preventive health care, and health services-with only a few strings attached. |
| What type of grants to the Republicans favor? | They favor Block grants, with fewer strings, less federal supervision, and the delegation of spedning discretion to the state and local governments. |
| What type of grants do the Democrats favor? | They are less supportive of Block grants, favoring more detailed, federally supervised spending. |
| What is the purpose of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act? | It requires the Congressional Budget Office and federal agencies to issue reports about the impact of unfunded mandates. It imposed mild restraints on Congress. |
| Why has the government historically grown in size over time? | Many of our problems have become national in scope, powerful interests as a result of industrialization made demands on the national government, and the growth of the national economy and the creation of a national transportation and communications networks altered people's attitudes toward the national government. |
