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Articles of Confederation
An agreement among the 13 founding states that established the United States of America as a confederation of sovereign states and served as its first constitution. It is national because they covered all of the states. The articles were the backbone of America for 11 years. -
Constitutional Convention
In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to address problems in governing the United States of America, which had been operating under the Articles of Confederation following independence from Great Britain. This was a national issue because it directly involved every state. It was the start of their new government. -
Elastic Clause
A statement in the U.S. constitution (Article I, Section 8) granting Congress the power to pass all laws necessary and proper for carrying out the enumerated list of powers. This is national because this is a national issue. It involves the national government and not the state. -
10th Admendment
The Tenth Amendment states the Constitution's principle of federalism by providing that powers not granted to the federal government by the Constitution, nor prohibited to the States, are reserved to the States or the people. Ratified December 5, 1791. It is state because it is granting all the power to the states that the national government does not have. -
McCulloch v. Maryland
Congress chartered The Second Bank of the United States. In 1818, the state of Maryland passed legislation to impose taxes on the bank. Although this case went to the Supreme Court, it was state because it dealt with Maryland and their banks. The outcome solely affected Maryland and their bank system. -
California's Constitution
The document that establishes and describes the duties, powers, structure and function of the government of the U.S. state of California November 1849. This is state because it only regards California and their Constitution, it does not affect the national government. -
Dred Scott v. Sandford
Landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court. It held that the federal government had no power to regulate slavery in the territories, and that people of African descent (both slave and free) were not protected by the Constitution and were not U.S. citizens. -
Civil War
Was a civil war fought from 1861 to 1865 between the United States (the "Union" or the "North") and several Southern slave states that had declared their secession and formed the Confederate States of America (the "Confederacy" or the "South"). April 12th 1861 (Start). This is state because it involved individual states and their decision to fight in the war. It was a national problem but the national government did not say that it had to include every state, it was their decision. -
14th Amendment
Adopted July 9th, 1868. This gave blacks the right to citizenship in America. This is national because it affects all of the United States and not just one individual state; blacks can have citizenship in all states. -
Sherman Anti-Trust Act
A landmark federal statute on United States competition law passed by Congress in 1890. It prohibits certain business activities that federal government regulators deem to be anticompetitive, and requires the federal government to investigate and pursue trusts, companies, and organizations suspected of being in violation. This is national because it involves the federal government. -
Plessy vs. Ferguson
Landmark United States Supreme Court decision in the jurisprudence of the United States, upholding the constitutionality of state laws requiring racial segregation in public facilities under the doctrine of "separate but equal." -
Pure Food and Drug Act
The law was principally a "truth in labeling" law designed to raise standards in the food and drug industries and protect the reputations and pocketbooks of honest businessmen. This is national because every state had to follow this act. It is necessary for all foods and products to follow. -
16th Amendment
Allows the Congress to levy an income tax without apportioning it among the states or basing it on Census results. This is national because it is in the Constitution which is part of the national government. -
Institution of the federal income tax
It is a tax on the money people earn or on the profits companies make which is paid to the national, state, or local government. This is state because it is the state’s decision to decide to tax and how much. -
New Deal
The New Deal was a comprehensive series of social and economic programs enacted during the Great Depression by the Franklin D. Roosevelt Administration that have become part of our everyday lives today. Mid 1930’s. This was national because he was addressing the new deal to affect all of the states and not just one. He was the president and was doing all of this through the national government. -
1940's for Farming
When Pearl Harbor was attacked and the U.S. entered the war, only one-third of farms had electricity to run refrigerators or washing machines in the house or lights and milking machines in the barn. Only 25 percent of farms had telephones. The war affected every phase of life on the home front in Nebraska. This is state because it affected the individual states and their own farms. Nebraska had to take care of their farms themselves. -
United States vs. California
Court ruled that the federal government owned rights to the undersea land off the California coast, an area with rich oil and mineral deposits. The Court held that California's rights were limited to low and inland waters and appointed a special master to better define the limits of California's land rights. -
Brown vs. Board of Education
It was a landmark United States Supreme Court case in which the Court declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional. This is national because it affected schools all around the nation. -
Roe vs. Wade
Landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court on the issue of abortion. Decided simultaneously with a companion case, Doe v. Bolton, the Court ruled 7–2 that a right to privacy under the due process clause of the 14th Amendment extended to a woman's decision to have an abortion, but that right must be balanced against the state's two legitimate interests in regulating abortions: protecting prenatal life and protecting women's health. -
Cabell v. Chavez-Salido
Case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States that upheld a state law as constitutional that excluded aliens from positions as probation officers. The Court found that probation officers fell within the political function exception to strict scrutiny equal protection analysis because probation officers exercise discretionary power involving a basic governmental function that gives them authority over the individual. -
Americans with Disablities Act
A wide-ranging civil rights law that prohibits, under certain circumstances, discrimination based on disability. This is a national law because it affects the entire nation. -
Law Enforcement Assistant Act
enhance the ability of law enforcement and intelligence agencies to conduct electronic surveillance by requiring that telecommunications carriers and services to ensure that they have built-in surveillance capabilities, allowing federal agencies to monitor all telephone, broadband internet, and VoIP traffic in real-time. This is national government because it is enforced across the nation and all of the feed gets sent back to the federal government centers. -
United States vs. Lopez
In a 5–4 decision, the Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Court of Appeals. It held that while Congress had broad lawmaking authority under the Commerce Clause, the power was limited, and did not extend so far from "commerce" as to authorize the regulation of the carrying of handguns, especially when there was no evidence that carrying them affected the economy on a massive scale. This is national because it ended up affecting the entire nation. -
Printz vs. United States
The Petitioners, Printz and other chief law enforcement officers from the states of Montana and Arizona (Petitioner), argue the constitutionality of a congressional action compelling state officers to execute federal law. It reversed, finding none of the Act’s interim provisions to be unconstitutional. This is state because only involved Arizona and Montana and did not affect the national government. -
Alden vs. Maine
Decision by the Supreme Court of the United States about whether the United States Congress may use its Article One powers to abrogate a state's sovereign immunity from suits in its own courts, thereby allowing citizens to sue a state without the state's consent.This is national because it was regarding Congress and the national government. -
No Child Left Behind
Is a United States Act of Congress that is a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which included Title I, the government's flagship aid program for disadvantaged students. This is state because each state has their own individual standards for it. -
September 11th 2001
were a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks launched by the Islamist terrorist group al-Qaeda upon the United States in New York City and the Washington, D.C. areas on September 11, 2001. Although this directly only affected New York and Washington, the aftermath affected the whole country. It made everything and everybody more aware of their safety, and it made the country more aware of terrorists. -
Development of the Department of Homeland Security
A cabinet department of the United States federal government, created in response to the September 11 attacks, and with the primary responsibilities of protecting the United States of America and U.S. territories (including Protectorates) from and responding to terrorist attacks, man-made accidents, and natural disasters. November 25th, 2002. This is national government because it is in place in every state. The national government has made this a nation-wide security program. -
Do Not Call Law
Intended to give U.S. consumers an opportunity to limit the telemarketing calls they receive. This is state government because it is state government and not national; the states have the decision to enforce this law to the citizens.
