GED Social Studies
Federalism & State Powers
Federalism splits power between one national government and fifty state governments. Some powers belong only to Washington, some only to the states, and some to both. The questions hand you a power and ask whose it is — there is a short sorting rule.
The words first
- federalism
- power divided between national and state levels
- enumerated powers
- listed national powers: war, money, foreign policy, interstate commerce
- reserved powers
- everything not given to Washington stays with states (10th Amendment)
- concurrent powers
- shared: taxing, courts, building roads
- supremacy clause
- when valid national law and state law conflict, national wins
The method
THE SORTING RULE
Does the power cross state or national borders?
war · treaties · printing money · immigration ·
trade BETWEEN states → NATIONAL only
Is it daily life inside one state?
schools · driver's licenses · marriage rules ·
local police · elections' mechanics → STATE (reserved)
Could both reasonably do it?
taxes · courts · roads → SHARED (concurrent)
CONFLICT? THE SUPREMACY CLAUSE
valid federal law beats contrary state law
WHY IT EXISTS: the founders had just escaped one distant
all-powerful government, but the Articles of Confederation
proved a national government too WEAK also fails —
federalism is the split-the-difference answer
Worked all the way through
The problem
Sort these powers: issuing driver's licenses, declaring war, collecting taxes.
- Step 1 — Driver's licenses.Daily life inside a state; nothing crosses borders. Reserved to the states — which is why each state's licenses differ.
- Step 2 — Declaring war.The nation acts as one toward the outside world. National only — Congress declares.
- Step 3 — Collecting taxes.Both levels fund themselves; you pay federal AND state taxes. Concurrent.
On the board
licenses → in-state daily life
state (reserved)
war → the nation facing outward
national (enumerated)
taxes → both levels collect
concurrent
borders test sorts all three
Answer
Licenses: state. War: national. Taxes: shared.
A second one, in a different form
A state law contradicts a valid federal law on the same subject. Which controls, and under what clause?
direct conflict, both claim to govern
supremacy clause: federal wins
state law is void where it conflicts
Answer
The federal law — under the supremacy clause
The usual mistake
Forgetting that states run elections, even federal ones.
Check yourself
Run the borders test: crossing state lines or facing other nations is national; daily life inside a state is state; funding-and-infrastructure basics are usually shared. Memorizing lists is optional once the test is automatic.
Practice it
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