POLI 2051 Chapter : CH 3 POLI 2051
Document Summary
Federalism: definition: at least two separate governments share responsibility for governing the same people and territory. Some lean more towards state power, and some toward national government power. We can think of federalism as a continuum. Traditional meaning of federalism: the barron v. baltimore decision (1833): Bill of rights protects individuals from bad actions of the national government, not state government. Dual citizenship - individual rights depend upon the capacity in which those rights are asserted - as a citizen of a state or a citizen of the national government. Dual powers - national and state governments have separate and distinct powers. National government has powers to promote commerce : building roads, railroads, protecting invention with patents. States have the coercive powers: to define and maintain public order through laws and regulations. These include criminal codes, health and safety codes, marriage and divorce laws, the power to define private property.
