Block Grants
Block grants are an intergovernmental reform that gained momentum in the 1970's during the Nixon administration as a strategy for dealing with the fragmentation…
Revenue Sharing
Revenue sharing is a type of fiscal federalism whereby the federal government allocates revenue to state and local governments with little or no strings…
Reynolds v. Sims (1964)
Baker v. Carr (1962), the U.S. Supreme Court overruled prior decisions and held that the apportionment of legislative districts was a justiciable question (i.e.,…
Black Codes
The term “Black Codes” refers to bodies of laws passed by southern legislatures during the era of Presidential Reconstruction (1865–66) that sought to delineate…
Bingham, John A.
John A. Bingham (1815–1900) was a Republican congressman from Ohio who served eight terms between 1855 and 1873, but with an interruption of two…
Bill of Rights
The first draft of the first amendments to the Constitution of the United States was the work of James Madison, who moved his proposed amendments in an…
Elections
The success of a federal system depends to some degree on maintaining the autonomy of its federal and constituent units of governments, and nothing,…
Benton v. Maryland (1969)
See Incorporation of the Bill of Rights
Barron v. Baltimore (1833)
During the course of paving streets and performing other civic improvements, the City of Baltimore diverted streams so that they emptied into the city’s…
Eminent Domain
See Takings Clause: Fifth Amendment
Baldwin v. Montana Fish and Game Commission (1978)
In Baldwin v. Montana Fish and Game Commission 1978), the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Montana’s substantially higher elk-hunting license fee for nonresidents over objections…
Toomer v. Witsell (1948)
In Toomer v. Witsell (1948), the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated South Carolina’s policy of requiring state residents to pay a $25 per boat license…
