- Americans With Disabilities Act (a law passed in 1990)
- This act intended to give more protections and opportunities for the disabled such as making public buildings more accessible. Also disabled cannot be be discriminated against in the workforce. This act increased the power of the federal government because it forced the states to give these equal opportunities that it didn't have to do before to all disabled citizens.
- preemption (a practice that the U.S. Congress has followed with the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and in other laws).
- A preemption is the invalidation of a state law when it conflicts with a Federal law. If a state comes up with a law and the federal law does not approve of it, it can make that law invalid and it cannot function in the state which increases the power of the federal government because they decide whether the state can do something or not.
2) Describe how EACH of the following has decreased the power of the federal government over the states:
- U.S. v. Lopez (a Supreme Court decision made in 1995)
- This court case involved Alfonso Lopez Jr.who brought an unloaded gun to school and was put on trial for violating a federal law about interstate commerce. The ruling was that the federal government can't do anything because they were stretching their power too far under the Commerce Clauses of the U.S Constitution. This decreased the power of the federal government because Congress could not rule over the states in this situation.
- devolution (a practice that the U.S. Congress has followed with the Welfare Reform Act of 1996 and in other laws)
- Devolution is power given to the state or local governments from the national government. When power is given to the smaller level governments, like in the power to tax, the national government loses its influence in that area because it doesn't have all of the power.
