The Supreme Law of the Land, Part II Guided Reading Activity – Answer Review

Concurrent Powers Concurrent powers are powers that are shared by both the federal government – or national government – and the state governments. For example, here in Virginia we have a 5 percent sales tax. The state is allowed to tax Americans for their purchases. There are also income taxes, though, which go to the federal government. The 16th Amendment to the Constitution allowed income taxes to be collected. The state of Virginia uses tax dollars to repair roads and fund our public school system. The United States government uses money collected from income taxes in order to pay our military and fund public welfare programs like Social Security or Medicare.

Powers of the National Government The Power to Maintain an Army and a Navy; military. The Power to Declare War (Congress) The Power to coin money – states lost this power. The Power to regulate trade between the states and between the United States and foreign nations. The Power to establish a post office. The Power to tax imports and imports (regulate commerce.) The Power to establish and protect patent rights. The Power to make any laws “necessary and proper” in order to carry out it’s responsibilities.

Concurrent Powers – Shared Between the National and State Governments The Ability to make and enforce laws – by the Executive branches of the federal or state governments. The Ability to create courts – as by the Judiciary Act of 1790 or in the Virginia State Constitution. The Ability to borrow money. The Ability to protect the safety of the people – using groups like the US Military, the National Guard, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) or Virginia State Troopers. The Ability to construct roads. The Ability to collect taxes (sales taxes and income taxes.) Regulation of banks. The establishment of welfare programs for the public good.

Powers of the State Government The ability to conduct elections – although this is controlled to some extent by the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The ability to establish schools. The ability to regulate commerce and business within the state. The ability to establish local governments. The ability to regulate marriage law. Establishing health care facilities for the public safety. Creating and enforcing laws to ensure moral public conduct. The ability to assume any other powers which are not given to the national government or expressly denied to the states.

Reciprocity The concept of reciprocity is built into the Constitution of the United States. It states that each state must honor the laws of other states. For example, if a couple is married in the state of Vermont, they can move to Alabama and expect for their marriage license to remain valid there. This concept only becomes controversial when states pass controversial laws. Recently, many states have decided to allow gay marriage, and some states have refused to acknowledge these marriage certificates. Moreover, some states have made the use of marijuana legal. Could a police officer from Wyoming arrest a student growing and using marijuana in Colorado? Could a member of the federal Drug Enforcement Agency? Why?

Amendments to the Constitution Article Five of the Constitution allows the Congress or the states to make changes to the Constitution, or amendments. The Bill of Rights was passed in 1791, including ten amendments specifically listing individual rights which all Americans were entitled to. Today, there are a total of twenty-seven (27) Amendments to the Constitution, including amendments which: Ended Slavery (13th) Gave African-American Men the Right to Vote (15th) Gave women the right to vote (19th) Ended the poll tax, allowing the poor to cast ballots (24th) Allowed young people, eighteen or older to vote (26th)

Article Six – Sovereignty of the United States Constitution In all instances where the federal (or national) law comes into conflict with state or local laws, the laws of the United States Constitution reign Supreme. The Constitution states that it is “the supreme law of the land.” Federal laws always take priority; therefore, if a federal law forbids the growing, sale, or use of marijuana, IT IS ILLEGAL, no matter what the state of Colorado or Oregon says.

Ratification of the Constitution In order for the United States Constitution to officially become the law of the land, it had to be ratified, or approved by nine of the original thirteen states in the United States. Delaware was the first to do so. Larger states like New York and Virginia were slower to accept the document. Eventually all thirteen states ratified it, but Rhode Island and North Carolina insisted that the Bill of Rights be added before they would approve of the document.

The Bill of Rights The First ten amendments to the Constitution are known as the Bill of Rights. Today there are a total of Twenty-Seven amendments to the Constitution.