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Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation has impacted the countries Constitutions greatly. With the weak powers the Articles had, it created a gateway for the creation of the US Constitution. Therefore, the Articles of Confederation limited the power of the federal government and increased power for the state governments. -
Elastic Clause or Necessary and Proper Clause
The Necessary and Proper Clause of the Constitution supports the federal law making process as long as the laws are enforcing the Constitution. So with this clause, the state governments do not have much say with those laws. Therefore the Necessary and Proper Clause is in favor of the federal government. -
Supremacy Clause
In issues where the federal and state laws conflict the Supremacy Clause comes into play. It states that in the conflict between the laws, the federal law with be supreme over the state law as long as it is supported by the Constitution. As a result the Supremacy Clause supports federal laws over state laws. -
Constitutional Convention
The Constitutional Convention was a meeting to revise the Articles of Confederation because of the limited federal power. It helped create the Constitution and gave the states less power. -
10th Amendment
The 10th Amendment is part of the Bill of Rights and gives states power that is not given to the federal government. It allows states to have more power over things the federal government doesn't have power over. -
McCulloch v. Maryland
McCulloch v. Maryland ruled in favored of the federal government because of the Necessary and Proper Clause. The outcome states that the states cannot tax any federal bank or institution. -
Gibbons v. Maryland
This court case gave power to the federal government when it comes to regulating interstate commerce between states. The outcome favored federal power over state power. -
Civil War
During the Civil War, both sides fought for their rights and in the ending the federal government won. The federal government gained more power of the states and lead to the addition of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments. -
14th Amendment
The 14th Amendment gave equal protection right under the law to every citizen. It gave power to the federal government because they had to enforce this within the states that disagreed with the Amendment. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Plessy v. Ferguson led to the federal government proving that "separate but equal" is constitutional. It was in favor of those states that wanted to keep the separation but it was more in favor of the federal government because it is supreme over any state law. -
Pure Food and Drug Act
The federal government created the Pure Food and Drug Act to protect the consumers. The federal government had right to create this act because of their power with interstate commerce. -
16th Amendment
The 16th Amendment allows the federal government to collect taxes from Americans. The Constitution gives the federal government power over the states if they had problems with it. -
Gitlow v. New York
This court case made it a crime to advocate the unlawful overthrow of the government. Courts wanted to review the case because it could violate the Constitution. -
The New Deal
Franklin Roosevelt proposed the New Deal during his presidency. It gives more power to the federal government because it gives aid to states in need and allows the federal government to make laws when needed. -
Brown v. Board of Education
This case gave power to the federal government to override the previous case, Plessy v. Ferguson. It states that the idea of "separate but equal" is unconstitutional. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act outlaws discrimination based on race, color, sex, or religion and ended segregation in public places. It gives powers to the state to enforce this act within schools and other facilities. -
Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade ruled that women have the right to have an abortion under the 14th Amendment. It impacts the state governments because they have to abide by the new ruling, -
Election of Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan brought up the idea of "new federalism". It gave power from the federal government back to the states. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
Americans with Disabilities Act prohibited discrimination based on disability. It allowed the federal government power to protect people in the US. -
Planned Parenthood v. Casey
Planned Parenthood v. Casey ruled that the previous court case Roe v. Wade was constitutional and stated that the states in prohibited from banning abortions. -
United States v. Lopez
This court case ruled that the supreme court has exceeded its power to regulate interstate congress. It gave power back to the states. -
104th Congress Devolution
It was a meeting between the Senate and House of Representatives. It influenced the federal government with making and passing laws for the US. -
Printz v. United States
Printz v. United States ruled that the Brady Act was unconstitutional. It gave power to the states because they decided that federal statues did not have power to direct the actions of state executive officials. -
United States v. Morrison
United States v. Morrison limited the rights of the federal government and ruled that sections of the Violence Against Women Act are unconstitutional. -
September 11, 2001
9/11 was and still is a traumatic day in Americas history. Based on the events the federal government gained power to protect the people of America. The government created National Security Agency and cracked down on the crime in order to protect US from future attacks.
