AP Government: Federalism
Chapter 3: Part II
Federalism and Democracy
Federalism contributes to
democracy by increasing
access to the
government at all levels,
but it also creates
disadvantages due to
differences in the
resources of individual
states.
These differences can
lead to inequities among
states in areas such as
education.
What are some public services that
the state of Iowa provides?
What are some inequities among
states? Local communities?
Federal-State Relationships
• Conflict and Compromise
Do federal politicians
corrupt the system or does
the system corrupt them?
Does disagreement equal disloyalty?
**Intergovernmental Relations Today
DUAL FEDERALISM:
Each level of
government has distinct
responsibilities that do
not overlap. States are
sovereign.
COOPERATIVE
FEDERALISM:
Levels of
government share
responsibilities
Layered Cake vs. Marble Cake
• Layered Cake
– Existed Prior to the New
Deal
– Each level of
government had its own
distinct role -- national,
state & local
**Marbled Cake
• Cooperative Federalism:
Elements of national and state
influence swirl around each
other, without clear boundaries
• Where does Federal
government end and State
begin?
• Growth of cooperative federalism
v. dual federalism because federal
government began to subsidize
state and local activities in hopes
of encouraging national goals
Intergovernmental Relations Today
Shared costs:
To receive
federal aid, states must pay for part
of a program.
Federal guidelines:
To
receive funding, state programs
must follow federal rules and
regulations.
Shared Administration:
Though programs must
adhere to basic federal
guidelines, they are
administered according to
the state’s directives.
4 Point Quiz—This is so Fun! 
1.
If the allocation of power under dual federalism were compared to a
cake it would be most like
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
2.
A marbled cake where the flavors blend together
An angel food cake—fluffy with little substance
New York Cheesecake—heavy and crushing under its own weight
A layer cake with two distinct layers
A cupcake
If the allocation of power in a cooperative federal system were
compared to a cake it would be most like
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
A layer cake with two distinct layers
A single layer cake
A cake walk; who gets what is random
Fifty marbled cupcakes
A layer cake with many layers
3. In Cooperative Federalism
A. States and national government remain supreme within their
own spheres
B. Responsibilities are mingles and distinctions are blurred between the
levels of government
C. Powers and policy assignments of the layers of government are
distinct
D. States are supreme over national government
E. Both A and B
4. Since the ratification of the Constitution, American federalism has gradually
changed from
A. Cooperative to dual federalism
B. State domination to national domination
C. Dual to cooperative
D. Unitary to federal
E. Federal to unitary
**Selective Incorporation!
Selective Incorporation (idea that Constitution
was just a federal document and states didn’t have to
abide by it because they had their own Constitutions)
– What rights are so important they must be selectively
incorporated into State Constitutions?
• As of 2010, ALL but the 3rd Amendment has been
incorporated into the states!
Fiscal Federalism—Federal Government holds purse
strings.
• The system of
distributing federal
money to state
governments.
• The power of the
national government
to influence state
policies through
grants
• About a quarter of
states’ fiscal spending
is derived from federal
aid
Money & Federalism
• Despite national supremacy, you still need individual
votes from individual congress people from various
states…so how do you get the support?
– Example: Federal government allocate and give to states
to spend as they want/need (GRANTS-IN-AID)
– If money is available, states go for it - spending increases!
– By ‘60s, feds want to know how money is spent - becomes
harder to get…
– Feds say programs had to benefit whole country (poor,
crime, pollution) - not as easy to get money - leads to
growth of lobbyists and interest groups.
Inter-Governmental
Revenue
Revenue distributed by
one level of
government to
another.
Comes in the form of:
**Federal Grant: (Grants-in-aid)—given to states for specific
purposes. These grants not only supply funds, but
influence states by stipulating programs and goals that the
federal government wants to achieve.
Grants-in-aid are federal funds allocated to states and local governments.
Reasons for grants: Abundant National Government Resources; Local Provision
1. **Categorical-formula Grants: Specified and funds matched by
states. Federal funds go to all the states on the basis of a formula
depending on the states wealth and usually require that the state
match the funds. Used for programs to fight crime, improve streets,
control air, special education programs, etc. Restrictive to specific
programs. (Big Federal Government)
Two Types:
Most Common is PROJECT GRANTS: Awarded on basis of competitive
applications.
Last Type is FORMULA GRANT: Distributed according to a formula. If
you fit into that formula, you automatically qualify. (Welfare)
3. **Block Grant: Large grant of money that can be used for a general
purpose such as public health or crime control. Allows states more
discretionary spending. (Small federal government)
Block grants slow down because:
A) State agencies don’t want to share money with each other
B) Feds like control over categorical grant
C) Flaws in system from bad census reports, etc - demographic qualification key to get money
Devolution—Transferring
responsibility of policies from
federal to state and local
governments
• 3 Types of Block Grant
– a) operational (run programs)
– b) capital (buildings/services)
– c) entitlements –to poor/needy/AFDC & Medicaid)
• Republicans want to devolve these so states run own
programs
• Welfare signals devolution
• Pro - end dependency on government & promote selfsufficiency
• Con - create more poverty & hurt disadvantaged
Why Has Devolution Grown?
• Ideology - Republicans like it - Distrust “big” gov’t
• Cut deficit (programs) - reduce spending
• American negativity towards entitlements
4. **Mandates: Formal order given by a higher authority (federal
government) telling the state and local governments what
programs to implement. Most of these are unfunded and states
have to come up with their own money.
Mandates can create economic hardships for states when Congress
creates financial obligations for the states without providing
funding for those obligations
--Can cause states to have to spend (prisons, schools, discrimination)
--To get money, states must comply with “conditions of aid” (lower drinking
age)
--Unfounded & Unclear Criticisms - what does equal access mean? What is
a disability?
--Free money is not “free” because it signals federal power - conditions of
aid make it hard to get money
Civil Rights Act 1964
Voting Rights Act 1965
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)(1990)
No Child Left Behind Act (2002) -- note the inclusion of mandatory
military recruiters on high school campuses
Clean Air Act
5. Conditions of Aid:
Federal government will
give states money IF they
meet the conditions
given to receive the aid.
Requires states to spend grant
money in certain way in they
want to receive federal
funding.
--(Examples: Government
will give money to states if
they lower drunk driving
limit, speed limits, etc. )
Last Quiz of Federalism 
1.
The main type of federal aid to state and local governments is in the
form of
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
2.
Block grants
Formula grants
Categorical grants
Project grants
Revenue sharing
The most common type of categorical grant is
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Block grants
Rescission fund
Project grants
Disaster relief
Revenue sharing
3. Grants that are given more or less automatically to states or communities which
have discretion how to spend the money are called
A. Project grants
B. Discretionary funds
C. Formula grants
D. Categorical grants
E. Block grants
3. Programs such as Medicaid and Aid for Families with Dependent Children,
where people automatically qualify for aid if they meet the requirements are
examples of
A. Dual federalism
B. Project grants
C. Formula grants
D. Block grants
E. Welfare
Welfare Reform & the States
• Aid to Families with Dependent Children
(AFDC) was established under the Social Act of
1935.
– An entitlement program for children in poor, mostly
female-headed, families
– Eligibility rules and funding came from national
government, while the states administered the
program
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity
Reconciliation Act (1996)
• This act was a major overhaul of welfare,
requiring work rather than government
assistance, directly affected many Americans.
– gave the states much wider latitude to create
their own welfare programs
– continued federal funding of welfare programs
– *It was also passed by a Republican Congress and
signed by a Democratic president, Bill Clinton,
thus signaling the bipartisan abandonment of the
ideas that undergirded President Lyndon
Johnson’s Great Society.
No Child Left Behind
**American with Disabilities Act, 1990
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is
the most comprehensive federal civil-rights
statute protecting the rights of people with
disabilities.
It affects access to employment; state and
local government programs and services;
access to places of public accommodation such
as businesses, transportation, and non-profit
service providers; and telecommunications.
"The ADA is a mandate for equality. Any person
who's discriminated against by an employer
because of a real disability -- or because the
employer regards the person as being
disabled, whether they are or not -- should be
entitled to the law's protection
**Gun Free School Zones Act (1990)
• This law’s significance comes not from its passage, but from its being declared
unconstitutional.
• In United States v Lopez (1995) (Alfonso Lopez, Jr. was a 12th grade student at Edison
High School in San Antonio, Texas. On March 10, 1992 he carried a concealed .38 caliber
revolver, along with five cartridges, into the school. He was confronted by school authorities
and admitted to having the weapon. Eventually he was charged with violation of the federal
Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 (the "Act")
• Government argued that guns in school would lead to violent crimes and inhibit
learning and since schools affected “interstate” commerce economically, they could
regulate them.
• Court looked at question, “if the federal government could regulate any activity
that lead to violent crimes and economic commerce, where would it end?”
• The Supreme Court threw out the law as an unconstitutional exercise of power
under the Constitution’s Commerce Clause, thus curbing the long-exercised federal
power to regulate interstate commerce
• Possession of a gun near school is not an economic activity that has a substantial
effect on interstate commerce. “A law prohibiting guns near schools is a criminal
statute that does not relate to commerce or any sort of economic activity..”
So is Federal or State Government
Stronger?
• Federal Government - there are more
strings for money now
AP Free Response Question
1. The Constitution designed a system in which
various types of Powers were assigned to different
levels of government. Those types of powers are
variously described as:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Enumerated powers
Reserved powers
Concurrent powers
Inherent powers
Implied powers
Select THREE and define each of the types of powers and
explain how each of those types of powers affects the
distribution of powers between national and state
governments.
AP Free Response Question
2. Cooperative federalism is a term often used to
describe the complex fiscal relationship between
the national and state governments. In your
essay, do the following:
a. Discuss the concept of categorical grants
b. Explain an advantage and a disadvantage of
categorical grants
c. Discuss the concept of block grants
d. Explain an advantage and a disadvantage of block
grants.
AP Free Response Question
A. Define cooperative federalism as it applies to the United States
today.
B. Discuss ways that the federal government financially links itself
to the states.
C. Select one of the following policy areas and explain why a state
may not wish to accept federal funding to help support that
concern.
Education
Highways
Disabled Americans