Why Federalism Matters
Shelby County v. Holder meant a recently passed voter identification law did not require federal approval.
Republicans: passed to reduce fraud
Democrats: not to reduce almost nonexistent voter fraud
Understanding Federalism
Federalism: a system of government in which power is divided between regional governments and a central government
40% of the world’s population live in countries that are organized around a federal principle where there is a national government and regional governments. maintain order make laws spend money provide services
Sovereign: possessing supreme political authority within a geographic area.
Dual Federalism
Reconstruction: the period after the Civil War when much of the South was under military occupation.
Dual federalism: the system of
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Layer-cake federalism: a way of describing the system of dual federalism in which there is a division of responsibilities between the state and the national governments marble-cake federalism: a way of describing federalism where the boundaries between the national government and state government have become blurred
Cooperative federalism: type of federalism existing since the New Deal Era in which grants-in-aid have been used to encourage states and localities to pursue nationally defined goals categorical grants: congressionally appropriated grants to states and localities on the condition that expenditures be limited to a problem or group specified by law
New Federalism: the transfer of certain powers from the U.S. federal government back to the states
Block grants: grants from the federal that allow states considerable discretion on how they spend funds
Coercive Federalism
Coercive federalism: to achieve national goals federal policies force states to change their policies
Unfunded mandates: federal requirements that states or local governments pay the costs of federal