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#States

70 entries

Departments (6)
Bureau of Reclamation
The Interior Department agency that built the great western dams and remains the largest wholesaler of water in the country
Economic Development Administration
The Commerce Department agency that makes grants to economically distressed communities for infrastructure and job creation
National Guard Bureau
The federal office that links the states' National Guard forces to the Army, the Air Force, and the Pentagon
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
The Commerce Department agency that advises the President on telecommunications, manages federal spectrum, and runs the national broadband program
Power Marketing Administrations
The four Energy Department agencies that sell electricity from federal dams to public utilities and cooperatives across 34 states
USDA Rural Development
The USDA mission area that lends and grants money for rural housing, utilities, broadband, and businesses
Agencies (3)
Appalachian Regional Commission
The federal-state partnership that funds economic development across 13 Appalachian states, from New York to Mississippi
Freedmen's Bureau Dissolved
The Reconstruction agency that aided formerly enslaved people with food, schools, labor contracts, and legal help in the South from 1865 to 1872
Legal Services Corporation
The congressionally created nonprofit that funds civil legal aid for low-income Americans through local legal aid organizations
Processes (7)
Certification and the Electoral Count
The steps between Election Day and Inauguration Day: state certification, the meeting of electors, and the counting of electoral votes in a joint session of Congress on January 6
Federal Grants to States
The more than $1 trillion a year that the federal government sends to state and local governments for health care, transportation, education, and other programs, and the conditions attached
Primaries and Caucuses
How parties choose their nominees, through state-run primary elections and party-run caucuses, including the calendar and delegate rules for presidential nominations
Redistricting and Gerrymandering
How states redraw congressional districts, the rules that constrain them, and the fight over drawing lines for partisan advantage
Special Elections
Elections held outside the regular calendar to fill vacancies in Congress and other offices, which can shift narrow majorities and serve as signals of the national mood
Term Limits
The limits on how long officials may serve, from the two-term presidential limit of the Twenty-second Amendment to state limits on governors and legislators, and the debate over limits for Congress
Voter Registration and Eligibility
Who may vote in U.S. elections, how the right expanded through constitutional amendments and federal laws, and how states register voters and maintain voter rolls
Principles (12)
Dual vs. Cooperative Federalism
Two models of how national and state governments share power: separate spheres, like a layer cake, or intertwined programs, like a marble cake
Federal Preemption
When federal law overrides state law, and the three ways it happens
Federalism
How power is divided between the national government and the states, and how that balance has shifted
Full Faith and Credit
The Article IV requirement that each state respect the public acts, records, and court judgments of every other state
Home Rule
The authority of cities and counties to govern their own local affairs, granted by state constitutions and laws, as opposed to Dillon's Rule, and its special form in Washington, D.C.
Interstate Compacts
Binding agreements between states, often approved by Congress, that create shared agencies and rules for rivers, ports, transit, licensing, and other cross-border matters
Nullification
The theory that a state may declare a federal law unconstitutional and void within its borders, tested in the 1832 crisis and consistently rejected by the courts
Reserved and Concurrent Powers
How the Constitution divides authority: powers delegated to the national government, powers reserved to the states by the Tenth Amendment, and powers both may exercise
States' Rights
The political and constitutional argument that states hold powers the federal government may not override, invoked across American history for very different causes
The Guarantee Clause
The Article IV promise that the United States will guarantee every state a republican form of government and protect each against invasion and domestic violence
The Tenth Amendment in Practice
How courts have applied the Tenth Amendment, from a truism in 1941 to the anti-commandeering doctrine that today shapes sanctuary policies, sports betting, and federal programs
Unfunded Mandates
Federal requirements that state and local governments must carry out without federal money to pay for them, and the 1995 law meant to limit them
Documents & Cases (18)
Allen v. Milligan (2023)
The case that reaffirmed the Voting Rights Act test for vote dilution and required Alabama to draw a second district where Black voters could elect their candidate
Article IV: The States
The article that governs relations among the states and between the states and the national government, from full faith and credit to new states and territories
Article V: The Amendment Process
The article that sets the two-step process for amending the Constitution, requiring supermajorities in Congress or the states and ratification by three-fourths of the states
Article VII: Ratification
The final article, which made the Constitution effective once conventions in nine states approved it, bypassing the Articles of Confederation's unanimity rule
Baker v. Carr (1962)
The case that opened federal courts to challenges against malapportioned legislative districts and defined the modern political question doctrine
Help America Vote Act of 2002
The law passed after the 2000 Florida recount that funded new voting machines, required provisional ballots and statewide voter lists, and created the Election Assistance Commission
Louisiana v. Callais (2026)
The 2026 decision that struck down a majority-Black congressional district and sharply limited when the Voting Rights Act can justify race-based districting
Moore v. Harper (2023)
The case rejecting the independent state legislature theory and confirming that state courts may review congressional maps under state constitutions
National Voter Registration Act of 1993
The motor voter law requiring states to offer registration at driver license and public assistance offices, accept a national mail form, and follow rules for removing voters
Reynolds v. Sims (1964)
The case establishing one person, one vote for state legislatures, requiring both chambers to be apportioned by population
The Articles of Confederation Dissolved
The first national constitution, in force from 1781 to 1789, which created a league of sovereign states with a weak Congress and no executive or national courts
The Fifteenth Amendment
The 1870 amendment barring federal and state governments from denying the right to vote on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude
The Nineteenth Amendment
The 1920 amendment barring federal and state governments from denying the right to vote on account of sex
The Twenty-first Amendment
The 1933 amendment that repealed Prohibition and gave states broad power to regulate alcohol within their borders
The Twenty-fourth Amendment
The 1964 amendment banning poll taxes and other taxes as a condition of voting in federal elections
Thornburg v. Gingles (1986)
The case that set the test for when the Voting Rights Act requires districts in which minority voters can elect their candidates of choice
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The landmark law that ended literacy tests, sent federal examiners into the South, and still bars voting rules that discriminate by race
Watson v. RNC (2026)
The 2026 case holding that federal Election Day laws do not stop states from counting mail ballots that arrive after Election Day
States & Local (24)
Ballot Initiatives and Referendums
Forms of direct democracy that let voters propose and approve state laws and constitutional amendments, available in about half the states
Council-Manager Government
The form of local government in which an elected council sets policy and hires a professional manager to run day-to-day operations
Counties
The roughly 3,000 county governments that administer state functions locally, from courts, jails, and elections to roads, health, and property records
Federal-State Relations
How the national, state, and local governments work together and clash in practice, through grants, mandates, preemption, joint programs, and lawsuits
Governors
The elected chief executives of the fifty states, who propose budgets, sign or veto laws, command the National Guard, and lead in emergencies
Gubernatorial Succession
How states fill the governor's office after a death, resignation, or removal, and who acts as governor when the governor is absent or disabled
Lieutenant Governors
The state officials first in line to succeed the governor in most states, whose duties range from presiding over the state senate to almost nothing
Mayors and City Councils
The elected leaders of American cities, and the strong-mayor and weak-mayor systems that divide power between them
Municipalities and Cities
The roughly 19,000 incorporated cities, towns, and villages that provide policing, water, zoning, and other services where most Americans live
Property Taxes and Local Finance
How counties, cities, school districts, and special districts pay for services, through property taxes, fees, state aid, and municipal bonds
Recall Elections
Elections that let voters remove state or local officials before their terms end, available for state officials in about 19 states
School Boards and School Districts
The roughly 13,000 local school districts and elected boards that run public education, funded mainly by local property taxes and state aid
Secretaries of State
State officials who in most states run elections, register businesses, and keep official records, a role that drew national attention after 2020
Sheriffs and Local Police
The roughly 18,000 local law enforcement agencies, from elected county sheriffs to city police departments, that carry out most American policing
Special Districts
The nearly 40,000 single-purpose local governments that provide water, fire protection, transit, hospitals, and other services, the most numerous type of local government
State Agencies
The departments, boards, and commissions that carry out state law, from transportation and health to universities and utility regulators
State Attorneys General
The chief legal officers of the states, who defend state laws, protect consumers, and increasingly sue the federal government and major industries together
State Budgets and Taxes
How states raise and spend money, from balanced budget rules and sales and income taxes to Medicaid and schools, the largest items in state spending
State Constitutions
The fundamental laws of the fifty states, generally longer, more detailed, and far more often amended than the U.S. Constitution, and an independent source of rights
State Court Systems
The fifty state judiciaries, which handle the vast majority of American court cases and choose judges by election, appointment, or merit selection
State Governments
How the fifty state governments are organized, what they do, and how they relate to the federal government
State Legislatures
The lawmaking bodies of the fifty states, with 99 chambers and more than 7,000 members, ranging from full-time professional bodies to citizen legislatures
The National Guard
The state-based reserve military forces that answer to governors in peacetime but can be called into federal service by the President
Towns and Townships
The roughly 16,000 town and township governments of the Northeast and Midwest, from New England town meetings to rural road districts
All Tags
Executive Branch 148 Legislative Branch 110 Separation of Powers 110 Economy 108 Cabinet Department 105 Constitution 94 Budget 80 Supreme Court 77 Elections 76 Federalism 75 States 70 Judicial Branch 65 National Security 62 Law Enforcement 59 Administrative State 58 Oversight 49 Military 45 Foreign Policy 40 Health 39 Environment 36 Independent Agency 35 Statute 31 Civil Service 30 Data & Statistics 29 Regulatory Commission 28 Former Agency 24 Emergency Management 24 Transportation 24 Intelligence 22 Education 22 Immigration 22 Taxation 21 Government Corporation 15 Territories 12 Veterans 9 Tribal 8