Chapter 4, Section 1

 

1. federalism- a system of government  in which a written constitution divides the powers of government on a territorial basis. The division is made between a central government and several regional or local governments.

division of powers- a power implied in the original Constitution and later spelled out in the 10^th Amendment. “The powers not delegated to the U.S.  by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

delegated powers- The national government is a government of delegated powers. This means it has only those powers granted to it in the Constitution. Three types exist: the expressed, the implied, and the inherent powers.

expressed powers- those powers delegated to the National Government that are spelled out expressly in the Constitution. Most of these are found in Article 1, Section 8.

implied powers- these are the powers not expressly stated in the Constitution but are reasonably implied by the powers that are. Article 1, Section 8, Clause 18 gives Congress the “necessary and proper” power.

inherent powers- these are the powers that belong to the National Government because it is the national government of a sovereign state in the world community. The Constitution does not expressly provide for them, they are powers that have been historically possessed by governments.

reserved powers- the powers held by the States in the federal system. They are those powers not given to the National Government but are not denied to the states.

exclusive powers- those powers that can only be exercised by the National Government. They include most of the delegated powers.

concurrent powers- those powers that both the National Government and the States possess and exercise. They include the power to lay and collect taxes, define crimes and set punishments for them, and to condemn private property for public use.

 

2. The advantage of the federal system is that it allows local actions in matters of local concern and national action in matters or wider concern. Federalism allows for the fact that areas and states vary from each other.
3. The National Government is the government of delegated powers because it has those powers granted to it in the Constitution. The States are governments of reserved powers because they hold powers not given to the National Government but that are not denied to the states.
4. Powers are denied to the National Government expressly like the power to levy taxes on exports, they are denied because of the silence of the Constitution, and they are denied because the Constitution established a federal system for the U.S. The Constitution does not want the government do have the power to do anything that would threaten the existence of that system. States are denied powers because of the existence of the federal system as well.
5. The “supreme law of the land” means that the Constitution states above all other forms of law in the United States. Acts of Congress and treaties stand immediately beneath them.
6. McCulloch vs. Maryland was significant because the decision was based completely on the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause. It showed the Court’s function as the umpire of the federal system.