Federalism

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Federalism

• AP Government Politics
• Unit 1

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Federalism

• System of government where political authority
  divided between national (federal) government,
  and its political subdivisions.
• In this system, national and state govts each
  have defined powers, with some being share by
  both and some being denied both.

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Types of Governments

• 1. Democracy literally means "rule by the
  people. The people govern.
• 2. Republic Literal democracy is impossible in
  political system containing more than a few
  people. All "democracies" are really republics.
  In a republic, people elect representatives to
  make and enforce laws.
• 3. Monarchy rule by a king/queen. Sometimes king
  called an "emperor," especially if there is a
  large empire, such as China before 1911. No large
  monarchies today. UK is really a republic because
  queen has virtually no political power.
• 4. Aristocracy rule by wealthy, educated people.
  Many monarchies have really been ruled by
  aristocrats.

• 5. Dictatorship rule by one person or a group of
  people. Very few dictators admit they are
  dictators almost always claim to be leaders of
  democracies. Dictator may be 1 person, such as
  Castro in Cuba or a group of people, such as the
  Communist Party in China.
• 6. Democratic Republic Usually, a "democratic
  republic" is not democratic and is not a
  republic. Usually a dictatorship. Communist
  dictatorships have been especially prone to use
  this term. For example, the official name of
  North Vietnam was "The Democratic Republic of
  Vietnam." China uses a variant, "The People's
  Republic of China."

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Three Ways Power is Shared Between National
Government and States/Sub-Units

• Unitary
• One strong national government
• Example Great Britain
• Most of world uses this type
• Confederal
• Strong states or regions with weak national
  government
• Example Articles of Confederation, the
  Confederacy
• Federal
• Strong central government that shares power with
  states or regions
• Example US

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Federalism

• Final authority divided between sub-units and a
  center.
• Refers to apportioning of power between federal
  government and states.
• In federal system, national government holds
  significant power, but smaller political
  subdivisions also hold significant power. EX US,
  Canada, Australia, and Brazil

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True or False??

• Most governments in the world have both state and
  national governments, as in the U.S..

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True or False??

• The powers of the state and national governments
  were clearly established in the Constitution.

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True or False??

• Under federalism, states surrender their power to
  the national government.

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True or False??

• The Framers themselves had a hard time agreeing
  on what was meant by federalism.

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True or False??

• The nature of federalism has remained consistent
  throughout U.S. History.

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True or False??

• The complexity of federalism tends to discourage
  citizen participation in government.

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Discuss

• What reasons exist for the states to continue
  exercising independent power?

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Discuss

• The speed limits vary across the nations roads
  and highways.
• Could the national government legally intervene
  to rectify these conflicting state laws ?
• Should it?

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Discuss

• Gay marriage is allowed in 13 states
  (Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, New Hampshire,
  Vermont, New York, Maryland, Maine, Washington,
  Delaware, California, Rhode Island, Minnesota)
  and Washington, D.C.
• The Coquille Indian Tribe in Oregon also grants
  same-sex marriage.
• Could the national government legally intervene
  to rectify the conflicting state laws ?
• Should it?

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Discuss

• Certain areas in Nevada permit prostitution.
• Could the national government legally intervene
  to forbid such practices?
• Should it?

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Discuss

• Alaska and Colorado have held referendums
  concerning the private possession of small
  amounts of marijuana.
• Could the national government legally intervene
  to forbid such practices?
• Should it?

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Discuss

• California has laws allowing for the distribution
  and use concerning the medical marijuana.
• Could the national government legally intervene
  to forbid such practices?
• Should it?

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Discuss

• Georgia, Texas, and other states have laws that
  allow the death penalty. Massachusetts and others
  have laws forbidding it.
• Could the national government legally intervene
  to rectify these conflicting state laws ?
• Should it?

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Federalism Terms to Know

• Dual Federalism
• Cooperative Federalism
• AKA Creative Federalism
• New Federalism

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Models of Federal Governments
Cooperative Federalism
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Dual Federalism

• Fed. And state governments co-equals
• Constitution interpreted very narrowly.
• Fed. limited to only powers explicitly listed
• Ex 10th Amendment, Supremacy Clause, Necessary
  and Proper Clause, and Commerce Clause.

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AKALayer Cake Federalism"
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Examples of Dual Federalism

• Laissez faire or hands off business
• Gilded Age
• Dred Scott decision
• States can decide about slave laws
• Jim Crow laws
• States can decide about segregation/integration
• Plessey v Ferguson

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Switch from Dual to Cooperative Federalism

• Steady from New Deal to late 20th century.
• Dual federalism not completely dead, but branches
  of government operate under cooperative
  federalism.

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Cooperative Federalism

• Fed. gov supreme over states
• Broad interpretation exemplified by Necessary and
  Proper Clause aka Elastic Clause.

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AKAMarble Cake Federalism"
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Examples of Cooperative Federalism

• New Deal
• Government programs to end Great Depression
• Great Society
• Government programs to end discrimination AND to
  provide for those less fortunate
• NCLB and Race to the Top
• Federal government regulation and grants
  concerning K-12 education

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Cooperative Federalism Grants

• Explosion of grants reached beyond states
• Established intergovernmental links at all
  levels, often bypassing states entirely.
• AKA picket fence federalism"
• AKA Creative Federalism
• Started with Morrill Land Grant of 1862
• Fed. gave each state 30,000 acres of public land
  for each representative in Congress
• from sale of lands establish/support
  agricultural and mechanical arts colleges (UGA,
  Texas A M, Michigan State)

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New Federalism

• Devolutionary objective attempt to limit powers
  of fed. gov to impose its policies on states
• Idea began starting with Nixon and Reagan
• Included decentralization of national programs to
  regions
• Included efforts to reduce national control over
  grants-in-aid programs
• Revise character of federal involvement in
  general welfare spending. 

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Federal Mandates (the stick)

• Direct state/local governments to comply with
  rules/regulations
• Federal Clean Air Act
• Sometimes mandates may not make up full costs of
  program.
• Unfunded Mandate
• Endangered Species Act (1973)
• NO CHOICE but to follow whether or not money is
  supplied by feds

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Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995

• Prevented Congress from passing costly federal
  programs along to states with at least debate on
  how to fund them
• Devolution Origindesigned to make it more
  difficult for fed. government to make state/local
  governments pay for programs and projects that it
  refuses to pay for itself.
• Proven to be case of promises unfulfilled

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Federal Grants (the carrot)

• Fed. government transfers payments/shares
  revenues with lower levels of government via
  federal grants.
• Its all about the money!!!!
• Who has it (the national government)
• Who wants it (the states)
• And who gets it (the states who jump through the
  right hoops)
• Federal governments use power to enforce national
  rules/standards by opening and closing its purse
  strings for states

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Revenue Sharing

• Transfer of tax revenue to states
• Congress gave an annual amount of federal tax
  revenue to states and their cities, counties and
  townships.
• Revenue sharing extremely popular w/state
  officials, but lost fed. support during Reagan
  Administration.
• 1987 revenue sharing replaced with block grants
  in smaller amounts to reduce federal deficit

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2 Types of Grants-in Aid

• Block grants
• Grants provided to states from fed. government
  with few strings attached
• Ex a grant for transportation but state can
  decide which roads will be built/where they will
  be located
• Categorical grants
• Grants provided to states from fed. government
  with many strings attached
• Ex a grant for roads but fed. government decides
  where road will go/which road can be widened

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Welfare Act of 1996

• AKA Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity
  Reconciliation Act
• Signed August 22, 1996 (Clinton)
• Required work in exchange for time-limited
  assistance.
• Law contained
• strong work requirements
• performance bonus to reward states for moving
  welfare recipients into jobs
• state maintenance of effort requirements
• comprehensive child support enforcement
• supports for families moving from welfare to work
  (increased funding for child care and guaranteed
  medical coverage)

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Important Supreme Court Cases Concerning
Federalism

• South Dakota v Dole
• U.S. v Lopez
• Printz v U.S.
• District of Columbia v. Heller
• MacDonald v Chicago
• Boumediene v. Bush
• Bush v Gore

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South Dakota vs. Dole (1987)

• Fed. government required states to raise drinking
  age to 21 in order to receive highway funds
• SD claimed law unconstitutional because 21st
  amendment gave power to states for regulating
  alcoholic beverages.
• State filed suit against Secretary of
  Transportation Elizabeth Dole
• Can Congress withhold federal funding in order to
  force a state to pass legislation it deems
  useful?

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Decision and Importance

• Decision Yes!
• Why important? Provision designed to serve
  general welfare
• Non-requirement aspect was valid exercise of
  Congress' spending power

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United States vs. Lopez (1995)

• 1st modern Supreme Court case to set limits to
  Congress's lawmaking power.
• Alfonso Lopez, Jr. carried handgun and bullets
  into his high school.
• Charged with violating Section 922(q) of Gun-Free
  School Zones Act of 1990.
• Government believed that possession of firearm at
  school falls under jurisdiction of Commerce
  Clause.

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Decision and Importance

• Court said, NO! to Commerce Clause in Lopez
• Fed. government overstretched its boundaries
• Forced states to create gun laws themselves.
• Why important? Interstate commerce, gun-free
  school zones cannot be federally mandated (states
  rights)
• Was this a change in the direction of Court?

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Printz vs. United States (1997)

• Reagans press secretary, James Brady seriously
  injured during assassination attempt
• Lobbied for stricter gun controls and background
  checks passed, known as Brady Bill
• Printz (a sheriff) challenged Brady Bill charging
  that it violated 10th Amendment
• Did the federal mandated law take it too far??

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Importance

• Court said YES!
• Ruled in favor of Printz
• Congress may not require States to administer
  federal regulatory program and violated 10th
  Amendment to Constitution
• Decision overturned requirements for local
  enforcement of background checks
• Why important? States no longer subordinates in
  all power disputes involving unfunded mandates

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Amendment II

• Well regulated militia, being necessary to
  security of a free state, right of people to keep
  and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
• What exactly does that mean???

Huh????
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District of Columbia v. Heller (2008)

• Regarding meaning of II Amendment and relation to
  gun control laws.
• After DC passed legislation barring registration
  of handguns, requiring licenses for all pistols,
  and mandating all legal firearms be kept unloaded
  and disassembled or trigger locked, group of
  private gun-owners brought suit claiming laws
  violated 2nd Amendment right to bear arms.
• Do local government have right to impose such
  strict laws concerning guns?

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District of Columbia v. Heller (2008)

• Decision No!
• In a 5-4 decision, Court held that 2nd Amendment
  protects individual right to possess a firearm
  unconnected with service in militia, and to use
  that firearm for traditionally lawful purposes,
  such as self-defense at home.

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McDonald v. Chicago, 2010

• Facts of the case
• Several suits were filed against Chicago and Oak
  Park in Illinois challenging their gun bans after
  Supreme Court issued its opinion in District of
  Columbia v. Heller.
• Here, plaintiffs argued that 2nd Amendment should
  also apply to states.

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McDonald v. Chicago, 2010

• Ruling and Importance (5-4)
• Supreme Court ruled that 14th Amendment makes 2nd
  Amendment right to keep and bear arms for purpose
  of self-defense applicable to states
• Court reasoned rights that are "fundamental to
  Nation's scheme of ordered liberty" or that are
  "deeply rooted in Nation's history and tradition"
  are appropriately applied to states through 14th
  Amendment.

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Habeas Corpus You have the Body

• Writ of habeas corpus judicial mandate to prison
  official ordering inmate be brought to court to
  determine if imprisonment is lawful
• Prisoners often seek release by filing petition
  for writ of habeas corpus.
• Filed with court by person who objects to own or
  another's detention or imprisonment.
• Petition must show that court ordering
  detention/imprisonment made legal/factual error.

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Boumediene v. Bush (2008)

• Facts of the Case 
• 2002 Lakhdar Boumediene and 5 other Algerian
  natives seized by Bosnian police when U.S.
  intelligence officers suspected involvement in
  plot to attack U.S. embassy there. U.S. gov.
  classified men as enemy combatants in war on
  terror and detained them at Guantanamo Bay Naval
  Base (GITMO), located on land U.S. leases from
  Cuba.

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Boumediene v. Bush (2008)

• Questions of Law
• Should the Military Commissions Act of 2006 be
  interpreted to strip federal courts of
  jurisdiction over habeas petitions filed by
  foreign citizens detained at U.S. Naval Base at
  Guantanamo Bay, Cuba?
• If so, is Military Commissions Act of 2006 a
  violation of Suspension Clause of Constitution?
• Are detainees at Guantanamo Bay entitled to
  protection of 5th Amendment right not to be
  deprived of liberty without due process of law
  and of Geneva Conventions?
• Can detainees challenge adequacy of judicial
  review provisions of Military Commissions Act?

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Importance

• No and Yes to questions (5-4 split decision)
• Court ruled in favor of detainees in each
  question.
• Procedures laid out in Detainee Treatment Act not
  adequate substitutes for habeas writ.
• Detainees not barred from seeking habeas or
  invoking Suspension Clause because had been
  designated as enemy combatants/held at Guantanamo
  Bay.

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Bush v. Gore (2000)

• Facts of the Case 
• FL Supreme Court ordered Circuit Court manual
  recount of 9000 contested ballots from Miami-Dade
  County.
• Recount all "under-votes" (ballots which did not
  indicate a vote for president)
• Gov. George Bush and Richard Cheney sought
  emergency petition to reverse FL Supreme Court's
  decision.

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Bush v. Gore (2000)

• Questions of Law 
• Did FL Supreme Court violate Article II Section 1
  Clause 2 of Constitution by making new election
  law?
• Do standardless manual recounts violate Equal
  Protection and Due Process Clauses of
  Constitution?

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Importance

• In 5-4 decision Supreme Court ruled for. Bush and
  Cheney
• 1. Yes, FL Supreme Ct. acted incorrectly
• Equal Protection clause guarantees ballots cant
  be devalued by "later arbitrary and disparate
  treatment
• 2. Yes, manual recounts were unconstitutional
• Recount fair in theory, unfair in practice.

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Read Your Chapters!!(Many) More Supreme Court
cases to come? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?