-
Block Grant
- A grant given by the federal (national) government to
- the states for use in a particular area rather than for a specific
- program. Ex. – Congress gives $50
- million to Virginia
- to use for education
-
Categorical Grant
- A grant given by the federal
- (national) government to the states for use on a particular program. Ex. – Congress gives $50 million to Virginia to buy
- computers for high schools.
-
Conditions
- – Rules that states must follow in
- order to receive a grant from the federal government.
-
Confederation
- – A type of government wherein the people created
- state governments and the states then create a larger government. In this system, the smaller governments can
- always tell the larger government what to do.
- Ex. – United Nations
-
Contract
With America
- –– Platform of
- Congressional Republicans in the 1990s that emphasized giving states more
- responsibility and fewer mandates. For
- example, in the mid-1990s Congress gave states more decision-making power over
- welfare
-
Cooperative
(Marble Cake) Federalism
- . –
- A doctrine in which the national and state governments share responsibility and
- power on many issues. For example,
- states operate Medicaid programs which provide health care for the poor, and
- the federal government pays a percentage of the cost. This has been the operative model during the
- 20th and 21st centuries
-
Devolution
- – Shifting power and
- responsibility from the national government to the states.
-
Dual
(Layer Cake) Federalism
- –..–
- A doctrine in which the national government is supreme in its sphere, the
- states are supreme in their sphere, and the two spheres should and could be
- kept separate. This model became
- outdated in the 20th century.
-
Enumerated / Express Power
- – A power specifically granted to the United States government by the
- United States Constitution. Ex. –
- Congress has the express power to declare war.
-
Federalism
- – A type of government wherein
- the people created both the state and national governments and gave them
- different responsibilities. In this type
- of system, the national government is the final decision maker in some areas
- and the states are the final decision maker in others. Ex. – United States.
-
General Welfare Clause (Tax and Spend Clause
- ) – The clause found in Article I
- Section 8 that allows Congress to spend money on anything it wants.
-
Grants
- – Money given to state or local governments by the
- federal (national) government
-
Implied
power
- .– A power which – although not
- specifically granted by the Constitution – is impliedly granted because it is
- related to one of the enumerated powers.
- Ex. – Congress has the implied power to establish a national bank
- because it has the enumerated power to tax, borrow and spend money.
-
John Marshall
- – The third Chief Justice of the
- Supreme Court; the Marshall Court
- consistently decided in favor of the national government and against the
- states.
-
Mandates
- – Rules imposed by the federal government on the
- states
-
Necessary and Proper / Elastic Clause
- - The clause found in Article I section 8 that grants
- Congress implied powers to execute its express powers. Ex. – Congress has the implied power to
- establish a national bank because it has the specific power to borrow and spend
- money.
-
Public Good
- – Goods, such as clean air and water, that everyone
- shares. Some argue that the national
- government does a better job of providing and protecting public goods than the
- states do
-
Reserved
Power
- . . - A power that is not mentioned in the Constitution
- and which, therefore, belongs to the states.
-
Revenue Sharing
- – A grant given by the federal
- government to the states that the state may spend on anything it chooses. Ex. – Congress gives $50 million to Virginia with no
- restrictions on its use.
-
Supremacy Clause
- – A clause found in Article Six of
- the Constitution which states that national law is supreme over state law, for
- so long as the national government is acting within its sphere.
-
Tenth Amendment
- – States that if the Constitution
- is silent about a governmental power, the states may exercise it and the
- federal government may not. Ex. – The
- Constitution is silent about schools so education is a state power, not a
- federal one.
-
Unfunded Mandates
- – Rules imposed by the federal
- government on the states which require the state to pay the cost of compliance.
-
Unitary Government
- – A governmental system wherein
- the people created the national government and the national government then
- created the states. In this system, the
- national government is the supreme governmental decision maker on all issues
- and can always tell the states what to do.
- Ex. – France.
-
Civic Duty
- – A belief that one has an
- obligation to vote and participate in government and other community affairs.
-
Motor Voter Law
- – A 1993 law designed to increase
- voter registration by requiring states to allow voters to register at the DMV.
-
Political Efficacy
- – A belief that if you vote and take part in
- politics, you can make a difference.
-
Primary Election
- - An election
- in which voters decide who will be a party's nominee for office.
-
Retrospective Voting
- - Voting for or against the candidate or party in
- office because you like or dislike how things have gone recently
-
Suffrage
– The right to vote
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