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John Marshall
The Supreme Court Justice leader and a judge with strong nationalist learnings. During the case of McCulloch V. Maryland in 1819, Marshall argued that the bank's charter was justified by the Constitution's necessary and proper clause, which gives Congress the power to take actions necessary and proper to carrying out its expressed powers. -
McCulloch V. Maryland
The bank dispute that reached the Supreme Court in 1819. The court was under John Marshall at the time. The court ruled decisively in favor of the nation's authority to start a bank. -
Doctrine of Nullification
Politicians in some southern states believed that states had the right to nullify national laws that they believed contradicted or clashed with state interests. -
Doctrine of Secession
The idea that states had the right to seperate themselves from the Union. This was the most extreme option for those who believed in state sovereignty. -
Reconstruction Amendments
These were the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments and these were significant because they set national standards that states had to follow. -
Interstate Commerce Act
Passec by Congress in 1887 in order to regulate the railroad industry. As new railroad lines crisscrossed the nation, railroad companies gained unprecedented power. This act set restrictions on the rates these companies could charge in order to keep transportation reasonably priced. -
Sherman Antitrust Act
Passed by Congress in 1890 to prevent monopolies, or the exclusive control of a good or service in a particular market, and to encourage fair competition in all industries. This act was also used to break up a number of large monopolies, such as the American Tobacco Company. -
United States V. E.C. Knight Company
A clear example of a Supreme Court case which limited the national power of the government. In 1895 the court ruled that since the sugar companies operated locally, they could not be regulated by the national government. -
Dual Federalism
The first Era of American Federalism which lasted from about 1789 to the 1930s. Under Dual Federalism both the state and national governments were equal authorities operating within their own spheres of influence, as defined by a strict reading of the Constitution. Dual Federalism was lead by the idea that both national and state governments were sovereign within their own spheres. Leader of the Supreme Court Justice John Marshall, helped to gradually increase the power of the national Gov. -
Cooperative Federalism
Marked by the belief that all levels of government should work together to solve problems, such as poverty. This idea lasted from the 1930s to the 1960s -
The New Deal
A response by newly elected President Franklin Roosvelt to the Great Depression caused by an economic crisis. This plan was supposedly going to bring immediate relief by creating a series of national programs to address the needs of Americans. An example of one of these programs is the Social Security program which would assist the unemployed and the elderly. Other programs dealt with providing food, protecting homeowners, and creating jobs. -
Creative Federalism
During this era, the national government funded the state and local programs that met national goals, such as fighting poverty. In the 1960s First Lady Lady Bird Johnson visited a school program funded by national grants. -
Lyndon B. Johnson
President of the 1960s who further expanded the powers of the national government with his Great Society program. This program was supposed to eliminate poverty and social inequality, which was just one of his approaches to solving national problems. -
The Great Society
President Lyndon B. Johnson's program with the initiative to eliminate poverty and social inequality, this was part of his approach to solve national problems. This program involved the releasing of national funds in the form of grants to state and local communities, to achieve national goals. -
The Reagan Years
During the 1980s President Ronald Reagan was for returning power to the states. He believed that the national government was less effective than state governments in providing services to the people. In his first inaugural address, Reagan promised to change the American federal system. -
New Federalism
In the 1990s supporters of New Federalism such as Newt Gingrich argued that decreased national spending and returning power to the states would improve government. -
Contract with America
Republican candidates in the 1994 congressional elections ran with a political message known as the Contract with America. This contract was a promise to achieve specific goals within 100 days of taking office. This contract pledged to reduce the size of power of the national government by eliminating costly federal programs and by combining others. -
Devolution
This was the concept that was central to the Contract with America which was the idea of returning power to states.
