How does the overall power
of the national government
compare to that of the
states?
The Division of Powers
• The Constitution preserves the basic
design of federalism—the division of
government powers.
• It divides government authority between
the national and state governments.
• The national and state governments also
share some powers.
What type of laws prohibit public officials
from holding closed meetings?
B
A
A. A
B. B
C. C0%
0%
0%
C
A. sunshine laws
B. twilight laws
C. sunset laws
Returning a criminal who has crossed state
lines to escape justice is called
0%
D
0%
C
B
A. A
B. B
C. C
0%
0%
D. D
A
A. an interstate compact.
B. immunity.
C. extradition.
D. full faith and credit.
The organization of government
administrators that carries out legislation
is called:
B
A
A. A
B. B
C. C0%
0%
0%
C
A. bureaucracy.
B. federalism.
C. technocracy.
The Constitution divides government
authority by giving certain specified powers
to the national government and to
0%
D
0%
C
B
A. A
B. B
C. C
0%
0%
D. D
A
A. the states and the
people.
B. the people and
foreign diplomats.
C. allied countries.
D. the judicial branch.
The federal government’s ability to take over
a state government function is called
0%
D
0%
C
B
A. A
B. B
C. C
0%
0%
D. D
A
A. allocation.
B. preemption.
C. extradition.
D. regulation.
National Powers
• The powers the Constitution grants the
national government are called delegated
powers.
• The three types of delegated powers are:
– Expressed powers—those powers
directly expressed or stated in the
Constitution by the Founders. Most of
these powers are found in the first three
articles of the Constitution.
National Powers (cont.)
– Implied powers—the authority that the
national government requires to carry
out the powers that are expressly
defined in the Constitution.
• The elastic clause is the basis for the
implied powers because it allows the
powers of Congress to stretch.
– Inherent powers—those powers that
the national government may exercise
simply because it is a government.
The States and the Nation
• The powers the Constitution reserves
strictly for the states are called reserved
powers.
• States have authority over some matters
not found in the Constitution.
• The supremacy clause—Article VI,
Section 2—makes the acts and treaties of
the United States supreme.
Division of Federal and State Powers
The States and the Nation (cont.)
• Concurrent powers are those powers
that the national government and states
both have.
• Concurrently with the national government,
the states may exercise any power not
reserved by the Constitution for the
national government given state actions do
not conflict with national laws.
• Denied powers are those powers denied
to all levels of government by Article I,
Section 9 of the Constitution.
Guarantees to the States
• The Constitution obliges the national
government to do three things for the
states:
– The national government must guarantee
each state a republican form of government.
– The national government must protect
states from invasion and domestic violence.
– The national government has the duty to
respect the territorial integrity of each state.
The national government is obliged to
protect the states from
0%
D
0%
C
B
A. A
B. B
C. C
0%
0%
D. D
A
A. invasion.
B. natural disasters.
C. domestic violence.
D. all of the above.
Admission of New States
• The Constitution gives Congress the power
to admit new states to the Union. There are
two restrictions on this power:
– No state may be formed by taking
territory from one or more states without
the consent of the states involved and of
Congress.
– Acts of admission are subject to
presidential veto.
Admission of New States (cont.)
• An enabling act, when signed by the
president, enables the people of a territory
interested in becoming a state to prepare a
constitution.
• The territory’s constitution is submitted to
Congress who, if agreeable, passes an act
admitting the territory as a state.
• Congress or the president may impose
certain conditions before admitting a new
state, including requiring changes in the
drafted constitution submitted by a territory.
Admission of New States (cont.)
• Once admitted to the Union, each state is
equal to every other state and has rights to
control its internal affairs.
• All states in the Union are bound to support
the Constitution.
Which of the following is NOT true about
new states?
0%
C
B
A. A
B. B
C. C0%
0%
A
A. It has equal rights
with other states.
B. It does not get
representation in
Congress for the first
year.
C. It is bound to uphold
the Constitution.
National Governors’ Association
• The National Governors’ Association
(NGA) supports federalism by helping
governors in state policy making and in
influencing national policy.
• Through the NGA, states share ideas on
how to solve problems.
• By joining together, the governors have
become a bigger part of national policymaking.
State governors can influence national
policy.
A. True
B. False
A. A
B. B
0%
B
A
0%
Obligations of the States
• State and local governments conduct and
pay for elections of all national government
officials.
• States play a key role in the process of
amending the Constitution. According to
the Constitution, no amendment can be
added to it unless three-fourths of the
states approve it.
Which of the following is an obligation of the
states?
0%
0%
D
B
A
A. A
B. B
C. C
0%
0%
D. D
C
A. coining money
B. conducting elections
C. providing an army
D. regulating interstate
commerce
The Courts as Umpire
• Because federalism divides the powers of
government, conflicts often arise between
national and state governments.
• By settling such disputes, the federal court
system, particularly the Supreme Court, plays
a key role of umpire for our federal system.
• Through the years, the Court’s view of how
power should be divided between state and
national governments has shifted in response
to national trends and according to the
makeup of the Court.
Who settles most disputes between national
and state governments?
0%
D
0%
C
B
A. A
B. B
C. C
0%
0%
D. D
A
A. the president
B. the Supreme Court
C. state governors
D. the Senate
Interstate Relations
• Article IV of the Constitution requires that
states must give “full faith and credit” to
the laws, records, and court decisions of
other states.
• This clause applies only to civil law, or
laws relating to disputes between
individuals, groups, or with the state.
• Judicial decisions in civil matters in one
state will be honored and enforced in all
states.
Interstate Relations (cont.)
• One state cannot discriminate
unreasonably against citizens of another
state—they must have the same privileges
and immunities as citizens of that state.
• The states must extradite—return to a
state—criminals and fugitives who flee
across state lines to escape justice.
• States must settle their differences with
one another peacefully.
Interstate Relations (cont.)
• Interstate compacts are written
agreements between two or more states.
• Suits among two or more states are heard
in the U.S. Supreme Court.
Examples of Interstate Compacts
Academic Vocabulary
• convince
• subordinate
• allocate
Which of these provisions has contributed
most to the growth in power of the national
government?
B
A
A. A
B. B
C. C0%
0%
0%
C
A. the war powers
B. the power to regulate
interstate commerce
C. the power to tax and
spend
States’ Rightists and Nationalists
• The states’ rights position is the view of
federalism that favors state and local
action in dealing with problems.
• This view is that the Constitution is a
compact among the states.
• States’ rightists believe state governments
are closer to the people and can better
reflect their wishes than the national
government.
States’ Rightists and Nationalists (cont.)
• The nationalist position rejects the idea
of the Constitution as a compact among
the states.
• This view argues that because the people
created both the national and state
governments, the national government is
not subordinate to the states.
States’ Rightists and Nationalists (cont.)
• Nationalists believe the powers delegated
to the national government should be
expanded as necessary to carry out the
people’s will.
• Nationalists also believe the national
government stands for all the people, while
each state speaks for only part of the
people.
Which position rejects the idea of the
Constitution as a compact among the
states?
A. A
B. B
0%
B
0%
A
A. nationalist position
B. states’ rights position
Growing National Government
• To meet the needs of a modern nation, the
Supreme Court, Congress, and the president
have stretched the powers of the central
government using three provisions of the
Constitution:
– The war powers—the national government
has been given the authority to wage war.
– The power to regulate interstate
commerce.
Growing National Government (cont.)
– The power to tax and spend—the
Sixteenth Amendment gave Congress
the power to levy an income tax.
• Sometimes Congress uses taxes to
regulate businesses.
• Congress can use taxes to influence
states to adopt certain programs.
Which constitutional provision is supported
by the Sixteenth amendment?
0%
D
0%
C
B
A. A
B. B
C. C
0%
0%
D. D
A
A. the direct election of
Senators
B. the right for all
citizens to vote
C. the power to tax
D. the limit on
presidential terms
Federal Aid to the States
• Congress has two major ways to influence
the policies of state and local governments:
– by providing federal grants of money, and
– by mandating state and local governments
to follow certain policies.
Federal Revenue Returns to the States, 2005
Federal Aid to the States (cont.)
• The national government provides money
to the states through federal grants—
sums of money given to state or local
governments for specific purposes.
• Taxes are collected by the federal
government from the states and then
allocated through grants to people in many
states.
Federal Revenue Returns to the States, 2005
Federal Aid to the States (cont.)
• Since the mid-1960s, Congress has used
preemption—the federal government’s
ability to take over a state government
function.
• Preemption laws can limit state and local
authority by restraining their power or by
mandating them to do certain things.
Federal Revenue Returns to the States, 2005
Federalism and Public Policy
• When a government settles on a course of
action, it is called public policy.
• Federalism influences public policy in two
ways:
– It influences how and where policies are
made.
– It places certain limits on policy making.
Federalism and Public Policy (cont.)
• A sunset law is a provision in a law that
sets an automatic end date for the law.
• Lawmakers are forced to review the need
for continuing law beyond that date.
• Sunshine laws prohibit public officials
from holding closed meetings.
Federalism and Political Parties
• Federalism makes it possible for different
political parties to be victorious in state,
local, and federal elections.
• This lessens the risk of one party having a
monopoly of political power.
By allowing different political parties to be
victorious in state, local and federal elections
federalism lessens the risk of
0%
D
0%
C
B
A. A
B. B
C. C
0%
0%
D. D
A
A. two parties having
equal political power.
B. creating new political
parties.
C. one party having all of
the political power.
D. disputes between
political parties.
Political Participation
• Federalism provides for political participation
of citizens by allowing them to:
– run for local office,
– lobby the state government, and
– campaign for a candidate for national
office.
Political Participation (cont.)
• American federalism gives citizens many
points of access to government leaders
and increases their opportunities for
influencing public policy.
• Americans have the chance to vote often
for governors, state lawmakers and many
other state and local officials.
• Americans may work with special-interest
groups to influence national policies and
state and local government agencies.
Political Participation (cont.)
• Federalism provides an increased chance
that one’s political participation will have
some practical impact on policy.
Federalism encourages citizen participation
in politics by allowing them to
0%
D
0%
C
B
A. A
B. B
C. C
0%
0%
D. D
A
A. run for local office.
B. lobby the state
government.
C. campaign for a
national candidate.
D. all of the above.
Federalism’s Bureaucrats
• The great increase in federal programs in the
mid-1930s called for a large bureaucracy, or
organization of government administrators, to
carry out legislation.
• The increase in federal programs has
changed how state and federal officials
relate to one another.
Government Employees
Differences Among the States
• Federalism allows for real economic and
political differences among the states
because it permits each state considerable
freedom in arranging its own internal affairs.
• Because states create different economic
and political environments, Americans can
choose among a range of conditions under
which they want to live.
Federalism provides for economic
differences among the states by
B
A
A. A
B. B
C. C0%
0%
0%
C
A. passing federal laws
that require it.
B. imposing interstate
commerce laws.
C. giving states freedom
to arrange its internal
affairs.
Federal System
• The Constitution delegates certain powers to
national government
• Some powers are shared by the federal
government and states
• All other powers are reserved to the states or
the people
Developing Federalism
• States’ rights position favors the power of
states over national government
• Nationalist position favors supremacy of
national government over states
• Size and power of national government
expanded over the years to meet the needs
of a modern industrial nation
• Today states are gaining responsibility as
federal government loosens regulations
Federalism and Politics
• Federalism determines whether public policy
originates at local, state, or national level
• Federalism lessens the risk of one political
party monopolizing power
• Federalism gives citizens greater
opportunities to participate in politics