Download The Federal System:

The Federal
System:
National and State
Powers
The Division of Powers
• The Constitution divided government
authority by giving the national
government specified powers, reserving
all other powers to the states or the
people.
• The national and state governments share
some powers.
• The Constitution specifically denied some
powers to each level of government.
National Powers
• The Constitution grants 3 types of
powers to the national government:
expressed, implied, and inherent
powers.
• Collectively, these powers are known as
the delegated powers.
Expressed powers
• Powers that are directly expressed or stated
in the Constitution.
• Most are found in the first 3 articles.
• Examples: power to coin money, declare
war, collect taxes, and regulate commerce.
• Expressed powers are also known as
enumerated powers.
Implied Powers
• Powers that the national government requires to
carry out the powers that are expressly defined in
the Constitution.
• Example: the power to draft people to the army is
an implied power from the power to raise an
army.
• The basis of implied powers comes from the
elastic clause, which allows Congress to “stretch”
its powers.
Inherent Powers
• Powers that the national government
exercises just because it is a government.
• Example: National government must
control immigration and establish
diplomatic relations with other countries,
even though these powers are not spelled
out in the Constitution.
The States and the Nation
• The Constitution reserves certain powers to the
states, known as reserved powers.
• Even though it does not list the reserved powers,
in the 10th Amendment it states those powers
“not delegated to the US by the Constitution,
nor prohibited by the states.”
• Examples: education, establish local
government, administer elections, hunting and
fishing laws, protect the public’s health and
welfare, and intrastate commerce.
Supremacy Clause
• Article VI, Section 2 of the Constitution
makes acts and treaties of the US
supreme law.
• No state law or state constitution may
conflict with any form of national law.
Concurrent Powers
• Powers that both the national and state
governments have.
• Each level exercises these powers
independently.
• Examples: power to tax, borrow money,
maintain courts and define crimes, and
appropriate private property for public use.
Denied Powers
• Article I, section 9 of the Constitution
enumerates powers the national
government cannot do.
– Example: Cannot tax exports
• Section 10 presents a long list of powers
denied to the states.
– Example: No state can make alliances or
treaties with foreign nations.
Guarantees to the States
• Outlined in Article IV, Sections 3 and 4
• Guarantees each state a republican form of
government.
• The only extensive use of this guarantee was
after the Civil War when southern states would
not ratify the Civil War amendments that
granted citizenship rights to African Americans.
They were refused seats in the House and the
Senate until they changed their laws to
recognize these rights.
Protection
• The national government must
protect states from invasion and
domestic violence. An attack by
a foreign power on one state is
considered an attack on the US.
• Congress has given the president
authority to send federal troops
to put down domestic disorders.
• Examples: rioting in the 1960s or
the blocking of integration of
schools. It also has been
extended to national disasters
such as floods and hurricanes.
Territorial Integrity
• The national government has the duty
to respect the territorial integrity of each
state.
• They cannot use territory from an
existing state to create a new state
unless the national government has the
permission from the legislature of the
state involved.
Admission of New States
•
37 states have joined the union since the
original 13 formed the nation.
• Congress has the power to admit new states.
• There are 2 restrictions on this power.
1. No state can be formed by taking territory
from another state without its consent.
2. Acts of submission are subject to
presidential veto.
• The procedure for admission begins when
Congress passes an enabling act. When the
president signs this act, it enables the people of
the territory to prepare a constitution. After the
constitution has been drafted and approved by
popular vote in the area, it is submitted to
Congress.
• If Congress is still agreeable, it passes an act
admitting the territory as a state.
• West Virginia was said to be a violation of the
Constitution because 40 counties from Virginia
had broke away and the state legislature did not
consent.
Equality of the States
• Once admitted to the Union, each
state is equal to all other states and
has rights to control its internal
affairs.
Obligations of States
• States perform 2 functions for the national
government.
• State and local governments conduct and pay
for elections of all national government
officials.
• The state also plays a key role in the
amending process. For an amendment to be
ratified, ¾ of the states must agree to it.
The Supreme Court as an Umpire
• Since powers are divided between the levels
of government, conflicts frequently arise.
Disputes are settled in federal courts,
especially in the Supreme Court.
• The landmark case of McCulloch v.
Maryland was an issue dealing with conflict
between the state and national government.
The decision of the court established that
the national government is supreme.