Vocabulary Devolution: the transfer of powers and responsibilities from the federal government to the states Block Grants: Federal grants given more or less automatically to states or communities to support broad programs in areas such as community development and social services. Federalism: A way of organizing a nation so that two or more levels of government have formal authority over the same land and people. It is a system of shared power between units of government. Sovereignty: Unitary System:A way of organizing a nation so that all power resides in the central government. Most national governments today are unitary governments. Federal System: Confederation: a political system in which a weak central government has …show more content…
Maryland:An 1819 Supreme Court decision that established the supremacy of the national government over state governments. In deciding this case, Chief Justice John Marshall and his colleagues held that Congress had certain implied powers in addition to the enumerated powers found in the Constitution. Necessary and Proper Clause: authorizes Congress to pass all laws "necessary and proper" to carry out the enumerated powers. Nullification: the doctrine that a state can declare null and void a federal law that, in the state's opinion, violates the constitution Local Federalism:a system of government in which entities such as cities and counties share power with a national government. Interstate Commerce: trade that involves more than one state, and therefore is, under the Constitution, a proper subject of federal law Intrastate Commerce: trade or business between companies or individuals in the same state, and therefore, under the Constitution, not a proper subject for federal law US v. Lopez: A supreme court case that ruled that the Gun Free School Zones Act exceeded Congress' authority to regulate interstate …show more content…
Maine: A supreme court case that decided whether Congress may use its Article One power to abrogate a state’s sovereign immunity from suits in its own courts Police Power: the capacity of the states to regulate behavior and enforce order within their territory for the betterment of the health, safety, morals, and general welfare of their inhabitants Initiative: allows voters to petition to propose legislation and then submit it for a vote by qualified voters Referendum: a general vote by the electorate on a single political question that has been referred to them for a direct decision Recall: officially order someone to return to a place Grants in Aid: an amount of money given to a local government, an institution, or a particular scholar Categorical Grants: grants issued by Congress, which may be spent only for narrowly defined purposes Conditions of Aid: a transfer of money from the federal government to a state government, local government or individual person for the purposes of funding a specific project or program Mandates: an official order of commission to do something Unfunded Mandates: a statute or regulation that requires a state or local government to perform certain actions, with no money provided for fulfilling the