Ch.

1: An Introduction to American Government

Section 2: What is Government?

• Know the names of the following institutions:
o The legislatures of the federal government and Georgia:
- GEORGIA: A legislative branch (or legislature) called the Georgia General Assembly
consists of a Senate and a House of Representatives.
- FEDERAL: A legislative branch (or legislature), called Congress, which is composed of a
Senate and a House of Representatives.
o The heads of the executive branches of the federal government and Georgia
government
- GEORGIA: The institutions of the executive branch including the offices of Governor and
Lieutenant Governor, as well as dozens of bureaucratic agencies;
- FEDERAL: An executive branch, including the offices of the President and Vice
President, as well as hundreds of bureaucratic agencies

o The highest courts in the judicial branches of the federal government and Georgia
government
- GEORGIA: A judicial branch (or courts), including the Supreme Court of Georgia and
many lower courts.
- FEDERAL: A judicial branch (or courts), including the Supreme Court of the United
States and many lower federal courts
o The upper and lower chambers of those two legislatures
- Upper chambers: Senators (total of 100 members, two from each state)
- Lower chambers: House of Representatives (total of 435 members based on state’s
population)
o Which branch of government are bureaucratic agencies a part of: legislative, executive,
or judicial?
- The Executive
o What does the “power of the sword” mean? According to the textbook, do all
governments claim to have legitimate authority to wield this power, or is it only certain kinds of
government that claim that power?
- The government’s ability to influence behavior by using, or threatening to use, physical
force through the police or military. In the American government, the executive branch
wields the power of the sword. (Contrast with the Power of the Purse, controlled by the
legislative branch)
- Although governments vary greatly in how often they resort to physical force and under
what conditions they claim doing so is justified, all governments claim to have
preeminent legitimate authority to use physical/violent force.
o All governments claim sovereignty over a particular territory. What does “sovereignty”
mean in this context?
- The right of government to govern its territory without interference from other
governments and to use military force to defend itself and its territory for foreign
aggression.
Section 3: Two More Ways Governments Exercise Power over the People
• What does “relational power” mean (as in “A has power over B”)?
- The ability to get a person or group to do what they otherwise would not do. For any
possible two-way power relationship, if the individuals or groups who are part of the
relationship are called “A” and “B”, then A has power over B to the extent that A can get
B to do what B would not otherwise do.
• What does “power of the purse” mean?
- The government’s ability to influence behavior by using money - through taxing and/or
spending - as a Positive and/or Negative Incentive. In the American government, the
legislative branch controls the power of the purse. (Contrast with the Power of the
Sword, which is wielded by the executive branch)
o How is it different from “Power of the Sword”?
- The power of the purse relates to money (think instituting trade limits/sanctions) while
the power of the sword relates to military might or violent action (think declaring war or
sending in a peace-keeping force)
o Be able to recognize the difference between the government using the power of the
purse as “positive incentives” versus as “negative incentives.”
- A positive incentive is a promise to provide a benefit in exchange for behaving in a
desired way
- A negative incentive, by contrast, is a threat to impose a burden if one does not behave
in a desired way
o Why is using the power of the purse not a part of the definition of government?
- Because governments are far from being the only human organizations that use money
to exercise power over others.
• What does it mean for the government to seek to exercise power by “affecting hearts
and minds”?
o Why is affecting hearts and minds not a part of the definition of government?
- Because governments are far from alone in attempting to exert power over people in this
way.
o What does “propaganda” mean? According to political philosopher Jason Stanley, is it
necessarily a bad thing?
- A form of persuasive communication that urges people to support or act to advance a
political goal by manipulating their irrational biases and concealing from them things they
reasonably should consider. It can be used for both good and bad purposes.
Section 4: A Universal Purpose of Government: Providing Public Goods
• Know the definition of these concepts and how they relate to each other: “private goods,”
“public goods,” “free riding,” and “collective action problems.”
- Private goods: goods that individuals within a group can be excluded from enjoying
(contrast with public goods)
- Public goods: goods that, once provided, no one in a group can be excluded from
enjoying (for everyone and anyone)
- Free riding: individuals enjoy the benefits of a public good without contributing toward
the cost of providing it
- Collective action problems: when free-riding threatens the provision of a public good.
• The textbook asserts there are certain public goods that ALL governments provide. What
are these public goods?
- Peace and security within a country, security from foreign military threats.

Section 5: American Government: A Liberal Democracy

• The textbook says the American government is a “liberal democracy,” defined as “A
system of government that combines democracy with the rule of law, constitutional protections
for human rights, the separation of powers, checks and balances, and other institutional devices
aimed at promoting limited government.” Make sure you know and understand the definitions of
the underlined terms and the definition of liberal democracy.

• What’s the difference between a “representative democracy” and a “direct democracy”?

What kind of democracy is the American government?
- Direct democracy: A form of democratic government in which all the citizens directly
participate in making and enforcing laws (Contrast with Representative Democracy)
- Representative Democracy: A form of democratic government in which the citizens make
and enforce laws are accountable to - however, the majority of citizens do not directly
make and enforce laws.
- The American government is a representative democracy.
• What does it mean to say a government is “authoritarian” (or “autocratic”)? How is an
authoritarian/autocratic government different from a democratic government?
- This term is used interchangeably with Autocratic Government and Non-democratic.
- A label for non-democratic governments - that is, governments that are uncontrolled by
the people because the people are not empowered by institutions and legal rights to
exercise such control.
• Make sure to know the definitions of the following terms and what they have to do with
the democratic components of American democracy: “interest group” and “political party”.
- Interest Group: An association that seeks to influence government to benefit members of
the association or advance a cause they share a belief in.
- Political Party: An organization that seeks to influence government by getting members
elected to office and by coordinating the actions of elected officials in government.
• What is a “constitutional government”? Is a country with a “sham constitution” a
constitutional government? Why or why not?
- Constitutional government: A government that is effectively bound by fundamental laws.
- Sham constitutions: Document with fundamental “laws” that allegedly bind a particular
government, but that, in reality, are routinely violated by the government.
- Measuring the gap between what countries’ constitutions say and what their
governments actually do.
- A country with a sham constitution is not a constitutional government because it violates
fundamental laws. (Example: Russia Federation)
• In the American system of separation of powers, which branch of government wields the
power of the sword, and which branch has the power of the purse?
- Executive - the power of the sword
- Legislative - the power of the purse
• What is “federalism”?
- The principle of government that means authority is partly divided and partly shared
between the federal (aka “central” or “national”) government and state governments.
(Contrast with Unitary National System.)

Ch. 2: America’s Polarized Politics

Section 1: Introduction
• How does the textbook define “politics”?
- The activities democratic citizens engage in as they struggle to exercise power over and
within government.
• In the introduction (and again, later, in Section 4), the textbook distinguishes between
two modes of political conflict: one that is “a sign of healthy democratic politics” and one that
puts “democracy at risk of dying.” What is the difference between the two modes?
- “A sign of healthy democratic politics” is widespread trust in the process, a willingness to
abide by the rules of the game, and acceptance of the legitimacy of one's opponents.
- “Democratic at risk of dying” when politics is characterized as being not only deeply
divided, which political scientists refer to as being polarized, but divided in such a way
that the contending sides view each other with mutual distrust and enmity, a condition
known as pernicious polarization.
Section 2: Lefts versus Right: Ideological Conflict in American Politics
• Know and understand the definitions of these terms: ideology, ideological spectrum, Left
side of ideological spectrum, and Right side.
- Ideology: A set of ideas about government's proper role emanating from the core values
and beliefs about human nature and society.
- Ideological Spectrum: The idea that political ideologies range from the extreme left to the
extreme right.
- Left Side of Ideological Spectrum: The side of the ideological spectrum that advocates
for the change in the direction of greater social, political, and/or economic equality.
- Right Side of Ideological Spectrum: The side of the ideological spectrum that resists
efforts at change toward greater equality and accepts traditional social, political, and/or
economic hierarchies.
o In American politics today, which political party is “on the Left”? What color is associated
with that party/ideological orientation? What other two ideological labels are commonly used to
refer to that ideological orientation?
- Liberals and Progressives are on the Left, associated with the color blue, and tend to be
Democrats
o In American politics today, which party is “on the Right”? What color is related to that
party/orientation? What other ideological label is commonly used to refer to that orientation?
- Conservatives are on the Right, associated with the color red, and tend to be
Republicans (also known as the GOP)
• Make sure to understand how, in general, the Left and Right differ in their perspectives
on social issues.
 - The Left advocates for changes but The Right resists changes.
• Know and understand the definitions of these economic concepts as discussed in the
textbook: market capitalism, communism, social democracy, welfare state, libertarianism.
- Market Capitalism: An economic system based on market exchanges and the private
ownership of the means of production, and in which the private owners of the means of
production purchase labor hours from workers in exchange for wages.
- Communism: Extreme left political economic system that aims to enjoy the economic
benefits of industrial capitalism while avoiding its downsides by having the state own the
means of production and centrally command the economy to assure an equal distribution
of resources.
- Social Democracy: Type of mixed economic system favored by the ideological left that
involves democratic governments playing a significant role in their economies in an effort
to retain the advantages of capitalism (economic efficiency, productivity, and innovation)
while achieving the left’s aspirations for less economic inequality and non-oppressive
relations inn the economic sphere.
- Welfare State: Name given to a set of federal government programs that seek to
promote the economic security, health and well-being of citizens, especially those in
financial or social need, which began to develop in the United States in the 1930s.
- Libertarianism: American ideology with the overriding goal of having government play a
minimal role in the economy and society. It does not fit well on the left or right side of the
ideological spectrum because its main priority is minimizing government influence even if
that means neglecting the concerns that animate both the lef and the right. Since the
1950s, libertarian economics has been highly influential in mainstream conservatism and
in the Republican Party.
o In general, do Republicans and Democrats agree with critiques of communism and
accept some form of market capitalism? Or does one party, or both parties, embrace
communism?
- Both do not embrace communism as a political system.
o Which ideological label (liberal or conservative) describes the Democratic Party’s
approach to economic issues? Which of those two labels describes the Republican party’s
approach?
- Liberal - Democratic
- Conservative - Republic
o Which party (Democrats or Republicans) is most in line with a social democratic form of
capitalism and acceptance of the welfare state?
- Democratic
o Which party (Democrats or Republicans) is most in line with economic libertarianism and
a rejection of the welfare state?
- Republic
Section 3: Ideological Differences within Parties
• Make sure to know and understand the definitions of these concepts: globalization,
populism, right-wing populism, left-wing populism, economic nationalism, tariffs, and democratic
socialism.
 - Globalization: The increasing interdependence of countries' economies and cultures
due to international trade in goods and services and the free flow across borders of
investments, people. and information
- Populism: Anti-elite ideology that views ordinary people as virtuous and unerring and
the economically and politically powerful as irredeemably evil and corrupt
- Right-wing populism: Form of populism marked by hostility toward immigration and a
racially and culturally exclusive understanding of who counts as "the people".
- Left-wing populism: Form of populism that directs its hostility toward the economic elite
and those in the political establishment who are viewed as corrupted by that elite, which
is a trait they share with right-wing populists. Left-wing populists, unlike right-wing
populists, typically do not harbor resentment toward immigrants or religious or racial
minorities.
- Economic Nationalism: Approach to economic policy that places a higher priority on
serving American national interests than on meeting the desires of American consumers
for low cost imported goods or seeking to forge greater interdependence and
cooperation with other countries.
- Tariffs: Tax paid on imported goods
- Democratic Socialism: Label used by those on the left wing of the Democratic Party
who, compared to center-left liberals, favor a more expansive welfare state and the
government more aggressively seeking to reduce economic inequality, break-up large
corporations, and restructure the market capitalist economy so it better serves the needs
of middle- and working-class Americans.
• Which kind of populism is most influential in the U.S. and around the world today:
right-wing populism or left-wing populism?
- Right-wing populism is more common and influential.
• Right-wing populism and economic nationalism are emerging ideological camps within
which of the two major American political parties?
- Republican
• Democratic socialism is an emerging ideological wing within which of the two major
American political parties?
- Democratic
Section 4: Us versus Them: Pernicious Polarization in American Politics Today
• What is the difference between mere “ideological polarization” and “pernicious
polarization.” According to the textbook, are both forms of polarization necessarily a threat to
democracy? Why or why not?
- Ideological polarization is compatible with healthy politics but pernicious polarization is
looking at the opposite side as enemies
• Make sure to understand the definitions of these terms: social identity theory, ingroups,
outgroups, ingroup favoritism, and outgroup derogation.
- Social Identity Theory: theory in which the formation of a person's identity within a
particular social group is explained by social categorization, social identity, and social
comparison
- Ingroups: A group to which one belongs or with which one identifies.
- Outgroups: A group to which one does not belong and with which one does not identity.
 - Ingroup favorism: The tendency to see one's ingroup favorably and treat members of it
better than members of outgroups. (Contrast with Outgroup Derogation)
- Outgroup derogation:The tendency see outgroups negatively and treat members of them
less well than members of ingroups.
• Have political leaders become more or less likely to refer to their political rivals as
“enemies” rather than mere “opponents”? According to the textbook, what if anything does this
have to do with the rise of pernicious polarization?
- Pernicious polarization makes it hard for the political parties to cooperate to enact
policies in the public interest, makes political violence more likely, threatens to create a
condition in which democracy erodes into an autocracy, and negatively impacts
nonpolitical familial and economic relationships.
• What’s the difference between partisanship based on “cross-cutting social identities”
versus partisanship that is a “mega-identity”? Which best describes partisanship today? What
does this have to do with pernicious polarization?
- Cross-cutting social identities: A situation in which one's different social identities do not
map easily onto a single party and so one is pulled toward both parties or toward neither
- Mega-identity: Form of partisan identity that is reinforced and magnified by multiple
social identities
- Pernicious polarization is less likely when citizens have cross-cutting social identities
than when they have partisan mega-identities
• According to the textbook, what is the major obstacle to forging a common American
national identity to overcome pernicious polarization?
- Americans are partly polarized over what it means to be an American, a fact that makes
it difficult for political leaders to achieve depolarization by forging a stronger American
national identity.
• How, according to the textbook, does polarized trust in news sources perpetuate and
deepen pernicious polarization?
- Polarized trust in information sources leads Republicans and Democrats to essentially
occupy different political realities. This makes them seem even more like strangers to
each other, thus driving them further apart and fueling even greater mutual distrust.

Ch. 3: The U.S. Constitution

Section 3: Constitution Making during the Revolutionary War

• What was “the great and radical vice” in the design of the Articles of Confederation
according to Alexander Hamilton? Why did this “vice” contribute so greatly to the weakness of
the Articles of Confederation?
- The problem was that the central government was unable to effectively exercise power
over the state governments.
o What does the term “requisition” mean? How did it function under the Articles of
Confederation? Why did the central government’s reliance on requisitions for raising revenue
contribute to the weakness of the government?
 - Requisitions: orders to contribute money to central government instituted by Congress.
Created a weakness because states could choose not to pay.

Section 4: Creation of the Founders’ Constitution

• According to the textbook, what was the primary obstacle to amending the Articles of
Confederation?
- The only way to amend the Articles was by unanimous consent of the state legislature
• And how did the Founders get around this obstacle in order to establish the U.S.
Constitution in 1787-88? (hint: the idea of “popular sovereignty” was important here)
- The Founders decided to submit the Constitution to a special popularly elected ratifying
convention in each state. To make things even easier, instead of requiring all thirteen
states to ratify, they only required that nine out of thirteen state conventions ratify.
- The most important factor was that by appealing directly to the people through
conventions for approval, they were able to invoke the principle of popular sovereignty to
justify their actions. When opponents of the Constitution protested that the ratification
process disregarded the law of the Articles of Confederation, the supporters of the
Constitution countered that the people, not the constitutions, are the highest authority in
the land. Thus, if a majority of the people preferred the new proposed Constitution over
the Articles of Confederation, then the proposed Constitution should become the new
fundamental law.
- Popular sovereignty: the principle that the leaders of a state and its government are
created and sustained by the consent of its people, who are the source of all political
legitimacy. Popular sovereignty, being a principle, does not imply any particular political
implementation.
• According to the textbook, what were the two most heated points of contentions at the
Constitutional Convention that made it difficult to create a constitution acceptable to the people
of every state in the union?
- Needed to compromise the interests of states with large and small population sizes
- Needed compromise between Northern and Southern states for slave rules
• What was “the Great Compromise”?
- The Great Compromise: sought to solve disagreement between large and small states at
the Constitutional Convention over how to apportion seats in Congress
• Why was the Constitutional Convention in a stalemate before it?
• What were the names of the two main plans that were being debated before the Great
Compromise broke the stalemate? What was the scheme of representation in each of those two
main plans?
- LARGE STATE PLAN, another name for the VIRGINIA PLAN, proposed having the
number of representatives allocated to each state in Congress to be based on the size of
each state's population. Larger states would have more representatives than small
states would in Congress.
-
- SMALL STATE PLAN, another name for the NEW JERSEY PLAN, proposed retaining
the Articles of Confederation's scheme of representation wherein each state had an
equal number of votes.
• The Original Constitution protected slavery in at least four different ways.
- (1) Three Fifths Clause
- (2) Electoral College
- (3) Slave Trade Clauses - guaranteed that Congress would not ban the slave trade
before 1808 one of two unamandable sections of the constitution.
- (4) Fugitive Slave Clause -
o Why did anti-slavery delegates want slaves to NOT be counted at all for purposes of
calculating each state’s number of representatives?
- Because it gave people more of an incentive to own more slaves.
o Why did slave-state delegates want each slave to be counted as at least three-fifths of a
person (if not as a whole person)?
- It would guarantee slave states a majority of seats in the House of Representatives.
o What’s the name of the compromise that was reached over how to count slaves?
- The Three-Fifths Compromise
o What is the Electoral College? And how did it give slave states an extra voice in the
selection of the President?
- A system established for selecting presidents by each state being allocated a number of
individuals called electors equal to the number of members each state is allocated in
Senate and HOR.
- Electoral College system used the Three-Fifths Clause which means the more slaves a
state had, the more seats they would get in the House and, by extension, the more
Electors they would get for selecting the President.
o What did the Original Constitution establish about the Atlantic Slave Trade?
- Abolish the slave trade right away, while many slave state delegates would have
preferred that the Constitution prohibit Congress from ever interfering with the slave
trade.
o What did the Fugitive Slave Clause do?
- Granted slave owners a right to recapture runaway slaves who had fled to other states
where slavery was illegal. And it took away the right of states to pass laws to protect or
free runaway slaves.
• Make sure to know and understand the six design principles of the original U.S.
Constitution (as discussed in the textbook chapter). (See all below with additional guiding
questions)

(1) Federalism
o What is federalism? Did the federal system created by the U.S. Constitution give state
governments more or less power and independence compared to what they had under the
Articles of Confederation?
- A system in which power is divided between the national and state governments.
- Gave more power to both central and state gov but ultimately established the
Constitution as the Supremacy Clause
o What is the name of the clause in the Constitution that grants federal laws superior
authority over state laws?
- Supremacy Clause: A provision in the US Constitution that declares the US Constitution
(and all lawful treated and other federal laws)

(2) Popular Sovereignty

o How does the Constitution’s Preamble reflect the principle of “popular sovereignty.”
- It reflects the principle of popular sovereignty because it's all about giving people
freedom, voices, and sustaining their rights. It begins with 'we the people' and is based
on the people
(3) Representative Democracy
o What is the difference between a direct democracy and a representative democracy?
-
In a representative democracy, people elect representatives to make political decisions
and pass laws for them. In a direct democracy, people make all political decisions and
pass laws themselves.
Which of those two kinds of democracy did the Founders create with the U.S. Constitution?
- Direct and Representative Democracy.
(4) Bicameralism
o Why did the Founders choose a bicameral legislature instead of a unicameral one?
-The Founders chose a bicameral legislature over a unicameral one to balance the
interests of both large and small states.
(5) Separation of Powers / Check and Balances
o What purposes were the system of checks and balances intended to serve?
- To make sure no one branch would be able to control too much power
(6) Small List of Civil Liberties
• Which group—the Federalists or the Antifederalists—supported ratification of the U.S.
Constitution? Which opposed ratification?
- Those who supported ratification of the Constitution were known as Federalists and
those who opposed ratification were known as Antifederalists.
• What were the Federalist Papers and why were they written?
- 85 separate essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay. Their
primary purpose was to persuade New Yorkers to vote to ratify the Constitution, but they
were instantly recognized for being of remarkably high quality.
• What are the first ten amendments to the Constitution called? What did the
Antifederalists have to do with the origin of those amendments?
- The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution became known as the Bill of Rights.
• What is the general subject matter of Article I of the Constitution?
- Its primary topic is the legislative branch of the federal government.
What is the subject matter of Article II?
- It focuses on the executive branch.
How about Article III?
- It establishes that there is to be a federal court system composed of "one supreme
Court" and also "inferior Courts" that can be created by Congress.
• Article V establishes four pathways for the sovereign people to amend the Constitution.
 - Two ways that amendments can be proposed and two ways they can be ratified
Section 5: Development of the Modern Constitution: The Second Founding and
Beyond
• Which three amendments are referred to as the Reconstruction Amendments?
- Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments
o What did each of those amendments declare? In what ways did these transform the
Founders’ Constitution—particularly with respect to slavery and white supremacist views of
American citizenship?
- The 13th Amendment (ratified in 1865) abolished slavery everywhere in the United
States.
- The 14th Amendment affirms birthright citizenship and prohibits state governments from
passing laws to abridge any fundamental rights.
- The 15th Amendment declared it is unconstitutional for anyone to be deprived of the
right to vote based on race.
- The 13th Amendment categorically bans slavery everywhere. the Reconstruction
Amendments gave the federal government a new responsibility for protecting the
fundamental liberties and freedoms of individuals against abuse by state governments.
14th and 15th Amendments each in their own way make it clear that the U.S.
Constitution enacts the principle that "all men are created equal" everywhere in the union
and rejects white supremacist views of American citizenship.

Ch. 4: Federalism

Section 2: Federalism versus the Alternatives

• What is the key feature of a confederacy? How does this feature contrast with federalism
and unitary national government?
- They claim authority over governments, not individuals.
- Federalisms have authority over smaller govs. AND individuals.
- Unitary has authority over everyone.
• What are the key differences between a federal system and unitary national
government?
- Federal:
- Gov. authority is divided and partly shared between a central gov and member state
govs.
- The central gov. does not have unilateral authority to alter legal powers/jurisdiction of
member state govs.
- Unitary:
- Either there are no separate member states, or the central gov can alter the legal
powers/jurisdiction of member state govs. at will.
• What does “reserved power” entail in terms of state authority in the U.S. federal system?
- Areas of Public Policy over which only the state governments have authority
(Contrast to concurrent authority)
Section 3: Why Federalism?
What Kind of Union?
Be sure to understand these five arguments made by proponents of greater national
government authority:

(1) Preserving the Union:

- When states are allowed to have too much independent authority and power, they can
threaten the stability of the union. Since the union is the basis of peace, prosperity,
cooperation, and so on, it follows that a strong national government (and weaker,
subordinated states) is necessary for attaining all of those benefits.

(2) Reducing Compliance Costs Through Standardization and Uniformity of Rules

- Uniform national rules and standards can reduce the costs associated with complying
with laws and regulations. The argument made for greater national government authority
is that the national government is best positioned to create these uniform national rules
and standards and, thus, to provide the benefit of reduced compliance costs.

(3) Providing National Public Goods and Reducing Negative Externalities

- The national government is more likely than state governments to identify and provide
nationwide public goods. The states are too limited in their views and/or too selfish in
their motives to overcome the temptation to free-ride.
- The reduction of negative externalities (pollution or infectious disease) is a type of public
good that the national government is better positioned to provide than state
governments.
(4) Protecting Minority Rights:
- The greater national government is more likely to protect minority rights than state
governments (James Madison).
(5) Preventing Races to the Bottom
- Large business corps. use the threat of relocating to different states to try to lead state
and local governments to enact laws they want, such as special tax breaks and
favorable regulatory standards. State/local gov. have a hard time resisting b/c state/local
economies can be severely damaged if large corps. decide to relocate their
headquarters and/or large manufacturing factories to other states.
- Race to the bottom: When economic competition between states leads them to try to
outdo one another by enacting socially suboptimal regulations to attract or retain
business investment.
- Strong national government plays a leading role in regulating large corporations. is that it
can uphold higher standards than the states can due to its not being caught up in the
interstate competition that leads to races to the bottom. The U.S. government is not
involved in competition across states, so it is thought to be better positioned than states
to enact socially optimal regulations.
Be sure to understand these five arguments made by proponents of greater state government
authority. (See below)

(1) Protecting Liberty

 - If power were fully centralized in the national government, that government would
become highly oppressive. National gov. would need to develop the capacity to enforce
all of the laws that are currently enforced by state and local governments. If state
governments don't retain a certain amount of independence and autonomy, then they
can't serve as a check on the power and influence of the national government. Without
state governments serving as a check on the national government's power, the argument
goes, that the national government will dominate the people and strip them of their
freedom.

(2) Representing the Diversity of Local Community Values and Interests

- The diversity of local community values and interests around the country can often make
uniform national standards undesirable. According to this argument, since there is much
diversity in values and interests throughout the country, it can be better to allow
decisions to be made at the most local level possible.

(3) Learning from Policy Experimentation (“Laboratories of Democracy”)

- Federalism allows states to conduct their own policy experiments and this allows
everyone to learn what works best and what does not work. Federalism promotes
progress toward better approaches to public policy by allowing us to learn from the state
laboratories of democracy.

(4) Benefiting from “Foot Voting”

- If individuals or businesses dislike the package of policies enacted by their state or city
governments, they can "vote with their feet" by moving to states or cities with policies
they find more acceptable. Even better, the argument goes, the mere possibility that
people and businesses might relocate can serve as a powerful deterrent against state
governments enacting unjust or inefficient public policies in the first place.

(5) Fostering Democratic Citizenship

- A great advantage of leaving significant authority to the state and local level is that it
increases the number of opportunities for citizens to participate in democratic
government and thereby practice and develop the skills, habits, and dispositions
essential for democratic citizenship.
Section 4: Constitutional Basics of American Federalism
• What is judicial review?
- It refers to the authority of courts to decide whether an act of government is
constitutional or not.
• Why has judicial review been important for the development of federalism over time?
- It allows the Supreme Court to interpret laws of Government.
Basics of American Federalism Derived from the Constitutional Text

• Make sure to know and understand how the Article VI Supremacy Clause and the Tenth
Amendment help to define American federalism.
 - Establishes that all federal laws—including those of the U.S. Constitution, congressional
statutes, executive orders, and treaties—are supreme over state and local laws.
o What is the Supremacy Clause?
- Establishes that all federal laws-including those of the U.S. Constitution, congressional
statutes, executive orders, and treaties-are supreme over state and local laws.
o What are the two important principles found in the Tenth Amendment?
- 1.) The authority of the federal government is limited to only those legal powers that are
delegated to it by the U.S. Constitution.
- 2.) Unless the U.S. Constitution (or state's constitution) prohibits a state from exercising
a particular power, then the state is presumed to have that power.
Federal Powers
• The U.S. Constitution “delegates” powers to the federal government in two ways:
- Through enumerated powers and implied powers.
o Where in the Constitution are most of Congress’ enumerated powers listed?
- Article I, Section 8.
o What do these terms—enumerated/implied powers—mean?
- A complete, ordered listing of all the items in a collection.
- Implied: Understood by the text of the constitution but not specifically listed.
o What is the Necessary and Proper Clause? What are “amendment-enforcing
provisions”? How are the sources of implied powers?
- Congress has the authority to make laws that are necessary and proper for executing
the enumerated powers.
- Amendment-enforcing provisions: Implicate that Congress has the power to enact laws
that are "appropriate" for assuring an amendment is being upheld.

State Powers
• The police power is the other Supreme Court doctrine fundamental to American
federalism. What is meant by “the police power”? (HINT: It is not about police officers.) What
does it have to do with the constitutional law of American federalism? Are there any
constitutional limits on the police power of the state governments?
- Refers to the idea that a government has inherent authority to make laws and
regulations to promote the health, safety, welfare, and morals of the people.
- State governments have the police power whereas the federal government does not.
- The federal government does not have inherent police power. Instead, the federal
government only has the authority delegated to it (explicitly or implicitly) by the
Constitution.
- Although states may enact laws to promote the health, safety, welfare, and morals of the
people, they may not in the process violate constitutionally protected civil liberties or civil
rights.
Section 5: Development of American Federalism over Time
• Generally speaking, has the power and authority of the national government increased
or decreased over time?
- Yes, The government has had more increased authority since 1789.
1787-1877: Era of Dual Federalism
o Why is this system of dual federalism termed ‘layer cake’ federalism?
- Because the distinct division of government powers is clear, as are the layers of a cake.
1877-1929: Dual Federalism During the Progressive Era
• Be sure to know and understand how the 16th Amendment impacted American
federalism in these ways:
o What is meant by “progressive income tax”?
- A progressive income tax charges people with more income a higher tax rate.
o What has the impact of the progressive income tax been in the U.S. since 1894?
- Shifted tax burden from falling hardest on low-income citizens to high-income citizens.
Declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1895. Ratified as the 16th
amendment in 1913 by Congress.
o Is income tax a major revenue source for the federal government or is it less important?
- Yes, revenue from income tax has allowed the gov. to spend than state and local
combined since 1940
o Using the power of the purse, how has the federal government influenced state
governments?
- Got state governments. to implement national programs that the federal gov. couldn't
feasibly (or constitutionally) implement on its own.
1929-1940: The Great Depression and FDR’s New Deal Federalism
• What was FDR’s New Deal? How did the Supreme Court initially react to FDR’s efforts?
- The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and
regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt
- The US Supreme Court used the power of judicial review to overturn six key New Deal
programs and close one government agency in 1935 and 1936, in the early years of
Roosevelt's New Deal.
- Although the President had succeeded in gaining Congressional support for his novel
approach to solving the United States' economic problems, the Supreme Court thwarted
(cản trở) his plans. The nine justices Roosevelt inherited when he entered office were
staunch conservatives who considered many aspects of the new government programs
unconstitutional.
• Among other things, changes in how the Supreme Court interpreted the Constitution
beginning in 1937 paved the way for the modern welfare state. What is meant by “welfare
state”? How has it impacted American federalism?
- Welfare State: a system in which the government provides money, free medical care,
etc… for people who are unemployed, ill, or too old to work → social security.
- Provided constitutional basis for modern welfare state Expanded federal regulatory
authority under the commerce clause
1940-1968: Post-New Deal Cooperative Federalism
• What was the “Great Society”? Which president proposed it?
- A set of domestic programs proposed or enacted in the United States on the initiative of
President Lyndon B. Johnson. Two main goals of the Great Society social reforms were
the elimination of poverty and racial injustice.
• What is meant by “grants-in-aid”? What are categorical grants? And what kind of impact
did they have on the growth of the federal government?
 - Grants in the form of money or land provided by the federal gov. to stat and/or local
governments. on the condition that the funds be used for purposes defined by the
federal gov.
- Categorical grants: A type of federal grant-in-aid that provided relatively strict and
specific guidelines on how the state or local gov. receiving the money must spend it. By
accepting these funds in the '60s, states allowed the fed gov. to define and oversee the
implementation of many aspects of public policy that had previously been carried out
with little or no federal government involvement.
• Be sure to know and understand the differences between cooperative federalism and
dual federalism.
- Cooperative federalism: Increased intermingling of federal and state functions with the
federal government using categorical grants to induce states to implement national
policy priorities in areas that had previously been handled solely by the states. Known as
marble cake federalism to highlight how the functions and roles of federal and state
gov's. under it are less clearly demarcated and involve much more intermingling,
- Dual federalism: Federalism is marked by a clear division of authority and responsibility
between the federal and state governments. States focused on providing social services,
regulating individual behaviors, etc. Fed gov. focused on foreign affairs, regulating
relations between the states, and coordinating efforts an internal improvements. (Layer
cake federalism).
1968-2000: The Conservative Backlash Against Liberal Cooperative Federalism
• What are block grants? And what is meant by “devolution”? How are these terms related
to Richard Nixon and the conservative backlash against the liberal federalism of FDR and LBJ?
- Block grants is a federal grant-in-aid that specifies a purpose but give state/local gov
freedom on how to spend the money
- Devolution is the process of federal government returning functions and powers to state
and local gov
- Nixon spearheaded the strategy of converting categorical grants to block grants in order
to reduce federal government spending and influence. This process of “devolution”
would accelerate with the presidency of Ronald Reagan and continue during the
presidency of Bill Clinton.

• How did Ronald Reagan try to reign in the size and influence of the federal government?
Were these measures successful?
- Reagan tried to "starve the beast"(drastically reduced taxes and forced the Federal gov.
to cut spending to balance the budget). Then, tried to reduce grant-in-aid spending.
- There were some clear successes.
(a reduction in spending on federal government grants-in-aid to state and local
governments. Overall, it is estimated that spending on grants to the state and local
governments declined by 33% during Reagan’s time in office.)
Why, after three decades of decline, did the national debt double during the 1980s (when
Reagan was president)?
- The tax cuts significantly reduced revenue to the federal gov. but spending increased.
2001-Present: The End of Principled Federalism?
• What is principled federalism? According to the textbook, is either political party
committed to principled federalism today? If so, which one?
- Principled federalists refer to a preference for a particular allocation of authority between
national/state govs that one consistently adheres to even if one dislikes the policy
outcomes.
- Conservatives