In many cases it is hard to decide whether a state has power to do a certain thing.  Whenever the question turns on the interpretation of the Federal Constitution, it is decided by the United States courts.  The Federal Constitution and the laws and treaties made in accordance with it are supreme in case of any conflict with a state constitution or law.

The powers of government exercised by the states are more numerous, and affect the individual citizen in more ways, than those of the nation.  The force of contracts; the relations of employer and employed, husband and wife, parent and child; the administration of schools; and the punishment of most crimes, are matters controlled by the state.  A much larger amount of taxes is imposed by the states than by the nation.

Local Governments.—­Moreover, the local government of counties, towns, and cities is entirely under the control of the state.  State constitutions contain many provisions in regard to this local government, but the legislature can make laws affecting it more or less greatly in the various states.  In the local government of a city, town, or county there is to some extent a distribution of powers among legislative, executive, and judicial officers.  The legislative function is exercised by the city council or board of aldermen, the town trustees (or by the whole body of voters), and the county board of supervisors or commissioners; the executive, by the city mayor, the county sheriff, and other officers; and the judicial, by various city courts, justices of the peace, and county courts.

Political Rights and Duties.—­The political rights and duties of citizens depend chiefly on the state constitutions and laws.  Elections, both state and national, are conducted by state officers.  The state prescribes who shall have the right to vote, and the various states differ greatly in this respect.  Congress grants citizenship by a uniform rule of naturalization; but some states allow aliens to vote (on certain conditions), and some provide that a naturalized citizen can not vote until a certain period has elapsed after his naturalization.  In some states women may vote; in some only those men who have certain property or educational qualifications.

The right to vote is the qualification for holding most offices; additional qualifications are prescribed for very important offices, in the Federal and state constitutions.  Thus, none but a native may be a President or Vice President of the United States, nor may a citizen under thirty years of age be a member of the United States Senate.  Besides voting and office holding, the most important political rights and duties of citizens are to sit on juries and to serve in the army.  The qualifications of jurors in state courts are prescribed by state authority, and in national courts by national authority.  Congress has the exclusive power to raise armies, and in the Civil War hundreds of thousands of citizens came under national authority in connection with the duty to bear arms.  The militia, however, is commanded by state officers, and in time of peace is under the control of the separate states.