Constitutional Underpinnings II
Chapter 4:
Federalism

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I. What is federalism and where did it come from?
A. The delegates who met in Philadelphia wrote a new constitution and invented a new political form—federal government—that combined the features of a confederacy with features of a unitary government
1.
Confederacy: think Articles of Confederation with
State power
2.
Unitary: think Centralized government with National power

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B. Federalism: the division of power between a central government and regional governments
1. National government did not intrude explicitly into the states’ domain
2. Citizens’ fears that majorities with different interests and values would rule them were calmed by the creation of federalism
3. Two or more governments exercise power and authority over the same people and the same territory

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C. Dual Federalism (layer-cake federalism): a view that holds the
Constitution is a compact among sovereign states, so that the powers of the national governments and the states are clearly differentiated
1.
The national government rules by enumerated powers only
2.
The national government has a limited set of constitutional purposes
3.
Each government unit—nation and state—is sovereign within its sphere
4.
The relationship between nation and states is best characterized by tension rather than cooperation
• States’ rights: the idea that all rights not specifically conferred on the national government by the Constitution are reserved to the states (10 th amendment!!)

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D. Cooperative Federalism (marble-cake federalism): a view that holds that the Constitution is an agreement among people who are citizens of both state and nation, so there is much overlap between state powers and national powers
1. The components are cooperative federalism include:
• National and state agencies typically undertake government functions jointly rather than exclusively
• The nation and states routinely share power
• Power is not concentrated at any government level or in any agency
• Fragmentation of responsibilities gives people and groups access to many venues of influence
• Critical difference between dual and cooperative federalism lays in interpretation of the elastic clause and the Tenth Amendment

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• Inclass Activity
– National, concurrent and State Powers (use your
Constitution)
– Why did the Framers fail to centralize all powers in the national government?
– Why did the Framers select specific
National/State?
– Why the concurrent?
– Why the denial of some powers?

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II. History of the changing relationship between the National and State government.
A. A general timeline can be witnessed through the following history
1.
Dual federalism: 1789-1937
• National centered view  1789-1833
• State centered view  1833-1937
2.
Cooperative federalism: 1937-1994
3.
Devolution Revolution? State centered return

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B. Dual Federalism (1789-1937)
National Government centered
ELASTIC CLAUSE and COMMERCE CLAUSE
1. 1791: 10 th amendment (reserves power to
States)
2. 1798: Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions (protect citizens within states by making state a protector)
3. 1819: McCullough v. Maryland
4. 1824: Gibbons v. Ogden

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State Government centered
5. 1833: Barron v. Baltimore (5 th amendment and essentially BofR do not apply to states!)
6. 1857: Dred Scott v. Sanford(slavery= State issue)
7. 1870s-1890’s: National gov’t rules COMMERCE, while
State gov’t rules CIVIL RIGHTS/LIBERTIES
• Interstate Commerce Act (1887), Sherman Anti-Trust
Act (1890)
• Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
States get power of voting rights, so although 14 th /15 th amendments, states still have power over some Civil
Liberties/Rights

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C. Cooperative Federalism (1937-1994)
National Crises and Demands led to an ever increasing role of the National government in State powers.
• Congress often uses the Elastic Clause to increase the scope of the national government
1. 1933-1938: New Deal with the Great Depression
2. 1954: Brown v. Board
3. 1963-1968: Johnson’s Great Society
4. 1964-1965: Civil and Voting Rights Acts
5. 1973: Roe v. Wade
6. 1990: Americans with Disabilities Act

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D. Devolution Revolution? (1995-today)
1. 1995:United States v. Lopez : inclass reading
2. 1999: President Clinton’s take on Federalism
? 2002: US PATRIOT ACT

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E. Grants-in-Aid (Coercive Federalism??)
Federal incentives such as the Grant-in-Aid, money provided by one level of government to another to be spent for a given purpose, have influenced the federal government’s control over states.

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• Categorical Grants: grants-in-aid targeted for a specific purpose by either formula or project
– Formula Grants: categorical grants distributed according to a particular set of rules, called a formula, that specify who is eligible for the grants and how much each eligible applicant will receive
– Project Grants: categorical grants awarded on the basis of competitive applications submitted by prospective recipients to perform a specific task or function (RACE TO
THE TOP)
• Block Grants: grants-in-aid awarded for general purposes, allowing the recipient great discretion in spending the grant money
Which do you think States Like??

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Federalism and Policy… in theory
1. According to Conservatives? Dual
2. According to Liberals? Cooperative
Who should be in control??
Hurricane Katrina?

• Conservative
– State control
– No unfunded mandates
– States no their people
– Less financial costs
– Block grants good
– States control programs

• Liberal
– States cant do the job
– Feds are watchdog
– States don’t care about nation needs
– States don’t have the $
– States unbalanced in pursuits
– Categorical grants are good

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Liberal POTUS
Johnson: Great Society
Carter: did not support block grants
Clinton:thoughts on federalism
Obama: Obamacare
Conservative POTUS
Nixon: New Federalism
(block grants)
Reagan:restore dual
Bush 1: state rights
Bush 2: continued

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Federalism in practice??
1. Preemption: power of Congress to enact laws by which national gov’t assumes total/partial responsibility for state gov’t function
- USA PATRIOT ACT
- Mandate:requirement for state undertaking an activity/service to meet national standards
HEALTHCARE??
- Restraint: req. by act of Congress prohibiting state to exercise certain power
IS THIS COERCIVE??

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Federalism and Electoral Politics…
1. States serve as grounds for politicians to aspire to national office
2. Congressional redistricting: redrawing political boundaries to reflect changes in population
- State legislatures draw lines for Federal congressional districts.

2010 new districts
We have 16!
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QuickTime™ and a
decompressor are needed to see this picture.

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Federalism and intergovernmental system
1 federal, 50 states, more than 87500 local
Home rule: brings people closer to government
Creates issues with standardization and funding

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• Advantages and disadvantages of Federalism….
Advantages:
1. Permits diversity
2. Local gov handles local problem better
3. More political participation
4. Protects individuals
5. Experimentation
6. Suits a large country with diversity

• Disadvantages
1. Makes national unity difficult
2. State gov might resist policies
3. May permit inequalities (econ/racial)
4. Law enforcement uneven
5. States may lack $ and expertise
6. May promote local dominance/special interest