The National Government and the 50 States

1. The National Government and the 50 States Chapter 4, Section 2

2. The National Government’s Obligations • Guarantee to every state in the Union a Republican form of government • Representative government • Protect each of the states from invasion • An invasion on any state would be seen as an attack on the United States • Protect states from internal disorder (unrest among a state’s residents) when the state cannot control the situation itself

3. The National Government’s Obligations - Continued • Respect and recognize the legal and physical boundaries of each state • No state can be deprived of its equal representation in the U.S. Senate without its own consent

4. Adding New States • Northwest Ordinance (1787) – provided for the statehood of any sector in the Northwest Territory with a population of at least 60,000 • Local self-government • Civil and political rights • Support for education • Only Congress has the power to admit new states to the Union • A new state cannot be created by taking territory from one or more of the existing states without consent of the legislatures of the states involved

5. Adding New States • Enabling Act – directs the people of a territory requesting statehood to frame a state constitution • Act of Admission – If Congress approves statehood after reviewing a territory’s proposed constitution, they pass an Act of Admission creating the new state. • If the President signs the Act, the new state enters the Union

6. Conditions for Admission • Although Congress can set certain conditions for new states (i.e., outlawing polygamy in Utah), it cannot impost conditions of a political nature • President Taft denied statehood to Arizona because we allowed the recall of judges (we can remove judges from office). Arizona removed the recall item from their constitution, became a state in 1912, and almost immediately amended their constitution to allow for the recall of judges

7. Cooperative Federalism

8. Cooperative Federalism • Federalism produces a dual system of government • Two basic levels of government operate over the same people at the same time • Examples: taxes (both federal and state) • Federalism can lead to a complex relationship between the federal and state governments

9. Federal Grants-in-Aid • Intergovernmental cooperation via grants-in-aid programs (money from the federal government to the states, cities, counties) • Grants help local governments perform everyday functions (schools, colleges, roads, canals, flood control, etc.) • More than 500 grants-in-aid programs in operation today, totaling about $300 billion (25% of all state and local government spending) each year

10. Federal Grants • Categorical Grants • Made for a specific, closely-defined purpose (i.e., school lunches, construction of airports, water treatment plants, etc.) • Usually made with strings (conditions) attached • Use the federal monies for the specific purpose involved • States must make its own monetary contribution (often matching but sometimes much less) • Provide an agency to administer the grant • Obey a set of guidelines

11. Federal Grants - Continued • Block Grants • Used for much broader things such as health care, social services, welfare, etc. • Fewer strings attached • State and local governments have greater freedom in deciding how and on what to spend the grant money on • Project Grants • States can apply for these grants for a variety of reasons/uses

12. Other Ways the Federal Government Helps the States… • FBI gives help to state and local police • The Army and Air Force equip and train each state’s National Guard units • Census Bureau counts the population and the data is used for state and local uses • How do states help? • Conduct national elections financed with state and local funds • Legal process for naturalization takes place in state courts