AP United States Government and Politics

## Learning Outcomes

- Define **concurrent powers** and explain how they fit into federalism
- Distinguish concurrent powers from **enumerated powers** and **reserved powers**
- Identify common examples of concurrent powers, including taxation and court systems
- Explain how the **Tenth Amendment** and **Supremacy Clause** shape shared power
- Apply **McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)** to conflicts between state and national authority
- Use precise evidence and distinctions in AP multiple-choice and free-response answers

## AP United States Government and Politics Syllabus

For the AP United States Government and Politics, you are expected to understand concurrent powers shared within federalism, with a focus on the following syllabus points:

- Know that **concurrent powers** are powers shared by both the national and state governments
- Identify standard examples of concurrent powers, especially **levying taxes**, **borrowing money**, and **establishing courts**
- Explain the difference between **enumerated/delegated powers**, **reserved powers**, and **concurrent powers**
- Understand how the **Tenth Amendment** reserves undelegated powers to the states or the people
- Understand how the **Supremacy Clause** in Article VI means valid federal law prevails in conflicts
- Explain how **McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)** reinforced federal supremacy while clarifying limits on state action
- Recognise that shared authority does not mean equal authority in a direct conflict between state and federal law

## Test Your Knowledge

_Attempt these questions before reading this article. If you find some difficult or cannot remember the answers, look more closely at that area during your revision._

1. What are concurrent powers in the U.S. system of federalism?
2. How are concurrent powers different from enumerated powers and reserved powers?
3. Name two common examples of concurrent powers.
4. How does the Supremacy Clause affect shared powers when state and federal laws conflict?
5. Why is **McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)** important for understanding concurrent powers?

## Introduction

Federalism divides power between the national government and the state governments. But the division is not perfectly separate. Some powers belong only to the national government, some belong mainly to the states, and some are shared by both. Those shared powers are called **concurrent powers**.

This matters a lot on the AP exam because students often memorize lists of powers without understanding how they work together. The exam is more likely to reward students who can explain the relationship: both levels of government may act in the same broad area, but they do not always have equal authority when conflict appears.

> **Key Term: concurrent powers**
> Constitutional powers shared by both the national government and state governments.

### What concurrent powers are and why the Constitution allows them

Concurrent powers exist because the United States is a **federal** system, not a unitary one. In a unitary system, the central government can simply hand out or take back local authority. In the American system, states are not just administrative branches of Washington. They are governments with their own authority. At the same time, the national government must also be able to govern the whole country.

That creates a practical problem. Some functions are necessary at every level of government. Governments need money, courts, and borrowing power. If only one level could tax or only one level could run courts, the other level would be too weak to do its job. Concurrent powers solve that problem.

> **Key Term: federalism**
> The constitutional division and sharing of power between the national government and state governments.

The safest AP examples of concurrent powers are:

- **levying and collecting taxes**
- **borrowing money**
- **establishing courts**
- **making and enforcing laws**

Some texts also include powers like building roads, chartering banks and corporations, or using eminent domain. Those are real examples in broader civics study, but for AP Gov, taxation and courts are the strongest, least risky examples.

Why is taxation the clearest example? Because both governments visibly do it every year. The federal government collects federal income tax. States may collect state income tax, sales tax, fuel tax, or property-related taxes through local systems. This is not an exception or loophole. It is built into the structure of federalism.

Why are courts also such a strong example? Because the United States has both a **federal court system** and separate **state court systems**. These do not duplicate each other exactly. Federal courts hear cases involving federal law, constitutional questions, and certain disputes between states or citizens of different states. State courts hear most criminal law, family law, contract disputes, and questions under state law. The shared power is “establishing courts,” but each level uses that power in its own sphere.

> **Key Term: federal supremacy**
> The principle that valid federal law takes priority over conflicting state law.

A common mistake is to think “shared” means the two governments are doing the exact same thing. Usually they are not. They share authority in the same broad field, but they may apply it to different kinds of cases, different territories, or different policy needs.

> **Test Tip:** If a multiple-choice question asks for a clear example of concurrent power, choose **taxation** or **establishing courts** before riskier examples like marriage licensing, which is mainly a state power.

### How concurrent powers differ from enumerated and reserved powers

Students lose easy points by mixing up the three major categories of power.

**Enumerated powers** are powers specifically granted to the national government, mainly in Article I, Section 8. These include declaring war, regulating interstate commerce, coinage, and establishing post offices.

**Reserved powers** are powers kept by the states because the Constitution does not give them to the national government and does not deny them to the states. These include running elections, establishing local governments, regulating intrastate business, and setting many rules involving health, safety, and welfare.

**Concurrent powers** sit in between. They are not exclusive to either level. Both governments may use them.

> **Key Term: enumerated powers**
> Powers specifically granted to the national government in the Constitution, especially in Article I, Section 8.
>
> **Key Term: reserved powers**
> Powers kept by the states because they are not delegated to the national government nor denied to the states.

This is where the **Tenth Amendment** matters. It says that powers not delegated to the United States, nor prohibited to the states, are reserved to the states or the people. Some students wrongly think this means most powers belong only to the states. That is too simple. The Tenth Amendment protects state authority, but it does not erase shared powers. Concurrent powers still exist because some governmental functions are used by both levels.

> **Key Term: Tenth Amendment**
> The amendment stating that powers not delegated to the United States nor denied to the states are reserved to the states or the people.

A useful way to remember the categories is:

- **Enumerated = national**
- **Reserved = states**
- **Concurrent = shared**

But be careful: this memory aid helps classify powers, not settle disputes. If a state and federal government both act in a shared area, the next question is whether the state action conflicts with valid federal law.

For example:

- **Declaring war** is not concurrent because only the national government can do it.
- **Issuing marriage licenses** is not a standard concurrent example because it is primarily a state function.
- **Taxing** is concurrent because both levels can tax.
- **Operating courts** is concurrent because both levels maintain court systems.

A second common confusion is between concurrent powers and implied powers. Implied powers are powers the national government claims under the **necessary and proper clause** to carry out enumerated powers. Concurrent powers are shared by structure, not merely inferred for one government.

> **Key Term: necessary and proper clause**
> The constitutional clause allowing Congress to make laws needed to carry out its enumerated powers.

### Why shared power does not mean equal power: the Supremacy Clause

The Constitution does not simply divide and share power; it also ranks law when conflict appears. Article VI contains the **Supremacy Clause**, which states that the Constitution and laws of the United States made under it are the supreme law of the land.

This means a state may exercise a concurrent power only so long as it does not violate the Constitution or conflict with valid federal law.

> **Key Term: Supremacy Clause**
> The part of Article VI establishing that the Constitution and valid federal laws are the supreme law of the land.

This is the distinction students often miss. Concurrent powers show **shared authority**, but the Supremacy Clause shows **final authority in conflict**.

Take taxation. Both governments can tax, but a state cannot use taxation to undermine a legitimate federal institution. Take courts. Both governments can maintain courts, but state judges are still bound by the U.S. Constitution and valid federal law.

This rule stops federalism from collapsing into chaos. Without it, every state could simply cancel national law by passing contradictory laws in the same policy area. The Constitution rejects that outcome.

The AP exam likes this distinction because it tests whether you can move beyond memorized definitions. If a question asks how concurrent powers and the Supremacy Clause work together, the best answer is not just “both share power.” The stronger answer is: both may act, but federal law prevails when direct conflict exists.

> **Test Tip:** When an FRQ asks you to explain federalism, go one step further than definition. Write that powers can be shared, **but valid federal law controls in conflict because of Article VI**.

### McCulloch v. Maryland (1819): the key case behind the rule

**McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)** is one of the required Supreme Court cases for AP Gov. It is not the definition of concurrent powers, but it is a major case about the federal-state relationship.

Congress had chartered the Second Bank of the United States. Maryland tried to tax the Baltimore branch of that national bank. James McCulloch, who worked for the bank, refused to pay the state tax. The case reached the Supreme Court.

The Court ruled for the national government.

First, Chief Justice John Marshall held that Congress had the constitutional authority to create the national bank under the necessary and proper clause. The Constitution did not explicitly list “create a national bank,” but the bank was a reasonable means of carrying out enumerated powers such as taxing, borrowing, and regulating money.

Second, the Court held that Maryland could not tax the national bank. Marshall’s famous logic was that “the power to tax involves the power to destroy.” If states could tax federal institutions at will, they could weaken or eliminate national authority.

> **Key Term: McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)**
> Supreme Court case holding that Congress had implied powers under the necessary and proper clause and that states could not interfere with legitimate federal actions through taxation.

This case matters for concurrent powers because it shows both the reality and the limit of shared authority.

- States do have taxing power.
- The national government does too.
- But the state’s concurrent power to tax cannot be used against a valid federal institution.

That is exactly the kind of reasoning AP examiners like. Shared power is real, but it is not unlimited.

It is also important not to overstate the case. McCulloch does not mean states have no meaningful power. It means they cannot override federal supremacy by targeting legitimate federal actions.

A good worked-through explanation would sound like this:

1. Taxation is a concurrent power.
2. Maryland therefore normally has power to tax within its borders.
3. But the national bank was a legitimate federal instrument.
4. Under the Supremacy Clause, Maryland could not use its taxing power to interfere with that federal institution.
5. Therefore federal authority prevailed.

That is a stronger AP answer than simply writing “federal law is supreme.”

### How concurrent powers appear in real government

Concurrent powers are not abstract. They shape ordinary government every day.

Both levels tax:

- the federal government funds national defence, Social Security, Medicare, and federal agencies
- state governments fund schools, roads, policing, and public health systems

Both levels borrow:

- Congress authorizes federal borrowing to finance government operations
- states and localities borrow, often through bonds, to finance infrastructure and large projects

Both levels maintain courts:

- federal courts interpret federal law and constitutional issues
- state courts handle most routine legal disputes and criminal prosecutions

Both levels make and enforce laws:

- Congress passes national statutes
- state legislatures pass state laws
- both are enforced through their own executives and court systems

This is why concurrent powers are best understood as part of **shared policymaking**. The national government handles broad national concerns, while states handle many direct daily concerns, but both need some common governing tools.

At times, conflict becomes politically important. For example, immigration is mainly a federal issue, but states may still try to use their police powers or policy tools in ways that touch it. Education is mainly state and local, but federal funding and conditions can pull the national government into the same field. These cases remind students that the line between categories of power is not always neat in practice.

Still, on AP questions, use the cleanest constitutional examples first. That keeps your answer accurate.

### How this subtopic appears on the AP exam

Concurrent powers are usually tested in three ways.

First, simple definition questions:

- define concurrent powers
- identify an example
- distinguish them from reserved or enumerated powers

Second, application questions:

- explain how concurrent powers illustrate federalism
- explain why both state and federal governments can act in the same broad area

Third, analysis questions:

- explain what happens when shared powers conflict
- connect concurrent powers to the Supremacy Clause or McCulloch v. Maryland

A strong short answer would be:

> Concurrent powers are powers shared by both the national and state governments in a federal system. Common examples include taxation and establishing courts. These powers show that federalism divides authority rather than placing all power at one level, but the Supremacy Clause means valid federal law prevails if state and federal actions conflict.

That answer defines, gives examples, explains, and adds the critical conflict rule.

## Key Point Checklist

_This article has covered the following key knowledge points:_

- Concurrent powers are powers shared by both the national and state governments
- Federalism divides and shares authority between the national and state governments
- Standard AP examples of concurrent powers include taxation, borrowing money, establishing courts, and making and enforcing laws
- Enumerated powers belong to the national government under the Constitution
- Reserved powers belong to the states under the Tenth Amendment
- The Tenth Amendment does not eliminate concurrent powers
- The Supremacy Clause means valid federal law takes priority over conflicting state law
- Shared power does not mean equal power in a direct conflict
- McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) held that Congress had implied powers and that Maryland could not tax the national bank
- Taxation is the clearest example of a concurrent power
- Federal and state court systems show another major example of shared authority
- AP answers score better when they distinguish concurrent power from federal supremacy

## Key Terms and Concepts

- concurrent powers
- federalism
- federal supremacy
- enumerated powers
- reserved powers
- Tenth Amendment
- necessary and proper clause
- Supremacy Clause
- McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)


Relationship Between the States and National Government - Concurrent powers shared