POLISCI 101 Chapter Notes -Pipeline Transport, Commerce Clause, Supremacy Clause
Document Summary
Federalism seeks to limit government by dividing it into two levels, national and state, each with sufficient independence to compete with the other, thereby restraining the power of both, assigns agenda setting power, decision making power, veto powers to the federal government and the 50 states, separation of powers seeks to limit power of national government by dividing government against itself; by giving the legislative, executive, and judicial branches separate functions, thus forcing them to share power, gives federal institutions control over the agenda, power to affect decisions, ability to block actions of others. National and state governments both share some power to regulate commerce and affect currency (chartering banks, granting or denying corporate charters, regulating quality of products, labor conditions: state"s obligations to one another, full faith and credit clause state normally honors the public acts and judicial decisions that take place in another state.