FEDERALISM

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FEDERALISM
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Federal System - divides government authority
between a national and state governments

• Unitary System - places formal authority in the
  central government
• Confederal System - places authority in the hands
  of state governments.

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• The framers sought to create a structure that
  combined the best features of both systems
  central government strong enough to deal with the
  larger national problems, and decentralized state
  governments able to address the needs of the
  people in those territories.

Federalism Defined
Federalism is a political system in which
governmental powers are shared between a central
government with nationwide responsibilities and
nationwide powers and decentralized regional
governments with local responsibilities and local
powers in their respective regions.
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State - Centered federalism (Jefferson)vsNatio
n-Centered Federalism ( Hamilton)
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Questions for Reflection What roles should
federal and state government play in determining
medical policy? Under what circumstances should
the national government seek to impose one
overarching policy on all of the states?
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The Roots of the Federal System

• The Framers worked to create a political system
  that was halfway between the failed confederation
  of the Articles of Confederation and the
  tyrannical unitary system of Great Britain.
• The three major arguments for federalism are
• the prevention of tyranny
• the provision for increased participation in
  politics
• and the use of the states as testing grounds or
  laboratories for new policies and programs.

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Federalism Advantages and Disadvantages

• Advantages
• Ensures a greater degree of diversity among
  policies and programs in individual states, since
  they are in a better position to meet the needs
  of their citizens.
• Because there are greater opportunities for
  government to respond to the demands of the
  people, federalism minimizes policy conflict.
• Federalism disperses power and creates greater
  opportunities for political participation.
• Federalism encourages experimentation and
  innovation.

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• Disadvantages
• Dispersal of power may allow groups in certain
  regions to protect their interests while
  obstructing or ignoring national mandates.
• Inequities are inherent to a federal system.

When Congress allows states to set their own
speed limits. Source Hillers View, The Boston
Globe.
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Balancing Federal-State Relations Policy
Innovation and Protecting Rights

• State Policy Initiatives
• As laboratories of democracy (as Justice Louis
  Brandeis described them), the states are active
  in policy innovation.
• Protection of Rights
• Because some policy innovations threaten
  fundamental rights, the judiciary must still
  monitor state action.

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The Division of Powers

• The supremacy clause of the Constitution holds
  that in any conflict between national and state
  laws, the national government always prevails.
• Delegated or expressed powers are those expressly
  granted or enumerated in the Constitution.
• Implied powers are powers that, while not
  explicitly granted in the Constitution, can be
  inferred from the express powers.
• Inherent powers do not appear in the Constitution
  but are assumed because of the very nature of
  government.

Question for Reflection In considering the
dispute in both state and federal governments
over the nature of marriage, which government
should have the predominant power in determining
how people lead their lives?
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• Reserved powers are not assigned to the national
  government, but are left to the states or the
  people as directed by the Tenth Amendment.
• Police powers regulate health, safety, public
  welfare, and morals, and are generally left up to
  the states.
• Concurrent powers are shared by both the federal
  and state levels of government.
• Taxes are an example of a concurrent power.
• The Constitution also denies certain powers to
  the federal and state governments.

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The Powers of Government

• National Government - one of
  delegated powers.
• 3 types of delegated power
• - enumerated (expressed)
• - implied
• - inherent

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Enumerated powers - literally expressed

• Article I, section 8
• lay and collect taxes, duties, and imposts
• provide for the common defense and general
  welfare of the United States
• regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among
  the states, and with Indian tribes
• coin money and regulate the value thereof
• declare war

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Implied Powers- not literally stated but
reasonable implied

• Article I, Section 8, clause 18
• necessary and proper clause or
• elastic clause
• The necessary and proper clause has often been
  used to expand the powers of the national
  government.

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Inherent powers

• Powers which belong to the national government by
  virtue of their existence

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Reserved powers or State Powers (police powers)

• Most of State powers come from the Tenth
  Amendment that says "The powers not delegated to
  the United States by the Constitution, nor
  prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to
  the States respectively, or to the people."

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Concurrent powers-

• Powers shared by the national and state
  governments

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Denied Powers

• Article I, section 9 lays out powers denied to
  the central government.
• For example give preference to ports of one
  state over another
• Article I, section 10 lays out the powers denied
  to the states.
• For example enter into treaties, alliances, or
  confederations

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The Supremacy Clause

• Article IV says that federal law is supreme. (So
  if the states and federal government argue, the
  feds win.)

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The Evolution and Development of Federalism

• The allocation of powers in our federal system
  has changed dramatically over the years.
• The Supreme Court in its role as interpreter of
  constitution has been a major player in the
  redefinition of our Federal system.
• McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
• Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
• Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

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McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

• McCulluch was the first major decision by the
  Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Marshall
  about the relationship between the states and the
  national government.
• The Court upheld the power of the national
  government and denied the right of a state to tax
  the bank.
• The Courts broad interpretation of the necessary
  and proper clause paved the way for later rulings
  upholding expansive federal powers.

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Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

• The Gibbons case centered on the conflict between
  the states and the powers of Congress.
• Could New York grant a monopoly concession on the
  navigation of the Hudson River? The Hudson River
  forms part of the border between New York and New
  Jersey and the U.S. Congress also licensed a ship
  to sail the Hudson.
• The main constitutional question in Gibbons was
  about the scope of Congress' authority under the
  Commerce Clause.
• In Gibbons, the Court upheld broad congressional
  power over interstate commerce.

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Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

• The Supreme Court articulated the idea of
  concurrent powers and dual federalism in which
  separate but equally powerful levels of
  government is preferable, and the national
  government should not exceed its enumerated
  powers.
• The Taney Court held that Mr. Scott was not a
  U.S. citizen and therefore not entitled to sue in
  federal court.
• The case was dismissed and Scott remained a
  slave.
• Taney further wrote that Congress had no power to
  abolish slavery in the territories and slaves
  were private property protected by the
  Constitution.

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The Civil War and Beyond

• Dual federalism remained the Supreme Court's
  framework for federalism even after the adoption
  of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments.
• Dual federalism finally ended in the 1930s, when
  the crisis of the Great Depression demanded
  powerful actions from the national government.

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The Changing Nature of Federalism

• Prior to the 1930s, many scholars used the
  analogy of a layer cake to describe federalism.
• Each layer had clearly defined powers and
  responsibilities.
• After the New Deal, the analogy of a marble cake
  seemed more appropriate because the lines of
  authority were much more mixed.
• This marble cake federalism is often called
  cooperative federalism and has a much more
  powerful national government.
• States have a cooperative role, as did many
  cities.

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Federalism and the Supreme Court

• By the 1980s and 1990s, many Americans began to
  think that the national government was too big,
  too strong, and too distant to understand their
  concerns.
• The Supreme Court, once again, played a role in
  this new evolution of federalism.

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Presidents and Federalism

• Roosevelt, Truman, and Eisenhower The Era of
  Cooperative Federalism, 19301963
• Grants-in-aid became a major tool used by the
  national government to respond to state problems.
  
• Lyndon Johnson The Era of Creative Federalism,
  19631968
• Grants shifted focus from needs the states
  pressed on the national government to needs the
  national government pressed on the states.
• Richard Nixons New Federalism, 19691974
• Nixon sought to return fiscal power to the states
  by developing general revenue sharing and special
  revenue sharing programs that did not come with
  the sort of restrictions imposed by the Johnson
  Administration.

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Creative Federalism Returns under Jimmy Carter,
19771980

• Carter targeted federal aid to hard-pressed
  communities.
• He also sought to encourage private investment to
  solve certain problems.

Ronald Reagans New New Federalism, 19811988.

• Fulfilling a campaign promise to restore power to
  the states, Reagan reordered national spending
  priorities and gave state and local governments
  more flexibility and control.

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• The George H.W. Bush Years, 19891992
• Although he tried to downsize the role of the
  national government, federal grants to the states
  actually increased under Bush.
• Bill Clinton and New(t) Federalism, 19932001
• Clinton took office at a time of escalating
  budget deficits.
• Although federal grant funding to the states
  increased during his term in office, Republican
  control of the Congress forced him to sign a
  reform bill that gave states much more control
  over welfare.
• George W. Bush, 2001Present
• With the exception of the No Child Left Behind
  Act, the war against terrorism has largely
  diverted funding and attention away from Bushs
  domestic agenda.

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The Rehnquist Court and the Future of Federalism

• Siding with the states, the Rehnquist Court
  curbed congressional power in several significant
  rulings during the 1990s.
• With the appointment of conservatives Chief
  Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito,
  the Court may favor state power further.

Federalism and Approaching Democracy in the
Twenty-First Century
While the question persists regarding which level
of government is best suited for dealing with the
problems of our day, it is clear that both the
national government and state government are
necessary to fully approach democracy.
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Continuity and Change

• Federalism as outlined at Philadelphia in 1787
  has evolved considerably over time.
• Initially, the states remained quite powerful,
  and the national government was small and weak.
• Over time the national government became
  progressively stronger.
• However, we have a Court today that is more
  interested in reinvesting power in the Tenth
  Amendment and in the states.