American
Federalism
Looking at the Relationships
Between the State and Federal
Government
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Defining Federalism
Federalism is a form of government in which a
constitution distributes power between a
central government and subdivisional
governments – usually called states,
provinces, or republics – giving to both the
national government and the regional
governments substantial responsibilities and
powers.
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Why Federalism?
Federalism checks the growth of tyranny.
– Americans tend to associate freedom with federalism; if
one party loses power in the federal government, it is still
likely to hold office in a number of states.
Federalism allows unity without uniformity.
– National politicians and parties do not have to iron out ever
difference on every issue that divides us; these issues are
debated locally (state legislatures, county courthouses,
etc.)
– Problem is that many issues that start locally become
national issues (same-sex marriage).
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Federalism encourages experimentation.
– State governments provide laboratories for public
policy experimentation; Georgia was the first state to
allow 18 year olds to vote.
Federalism keeps government closer to the people.
– Everyday thousands are serving on city councils,
school boards, etc. and are more informed on local
issues than those in Washington.
– We should be cautious about thinking that state and
local government are closer to the people than national
or international affairs.
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Constitutional Structure of American Federalism:
Powers of the National Government
The formal constitutional framework of our federal system may be stated
relatively simply:
– The national government has only those powers delegated to it by the
Constitution.
– Within the scope of its operations, the national government is supreme.
– The state governments have the powers not delegated to the central
government, except those denied to them by the Constitution.
– Some powers are specifically denied to both the national and state
governments; others are specifically denied to only the states; still others
are denied to the national government.
The Constitution delegates legislative, executive, and judicial powers to the
national government; in addition to these expressed powers, Congress has
assumed constitutionally implied powers, such as the power to create banks,
which are inferred by the expressed powers (Necessary and Proper Clause).
In the field of foreign affairs, the Constitution gives the national government
inherent power.
– The national government has the same authority in dealing with other
nations as if it were the central government in a unitary system.
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Constitutional Structure of American Federalism:
Powers of the National Government (Constitutional Pillars)
The National Supremacy Article:
– One of the most important pillars is found in Article VI
– States may not override national policies; this restriction also applies to local
units of government
The War Power:
– The national government is responsible for protecting the nation from external
aggression, whether from other nations or international terrorism.
– The government must be able to strengthen troops in the field, but also
mobilize the industrial force.
The Power to Regulate Interstate and Foreign Commerce:
– Congressional authority extends to all commerce that affects more than one
state.
– The commerce clause packs a tremendous constitutional punch, giving
Congress the power to regulate all business activities that cross state lines or
affect more than one state or other nations.
– The broad authority of Congress over interstate commerce came in the landmark ruling in Gibbons v. Ogden.
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Constitutional Structure of American Federalism:
Powers of the National Government (Constitutional Pillars, Cont.)
The Power to Tax and Spend:
– Congress lacks constitutional authority to pas laws solely on the grounds that
they will promote the general welfare, but it may raise taxes and spend money
for its purpose.
For example, Congress lacks the power to regulate education directly, yet it
does have the power to appropriate money to support education.
– When Congress puts up the money, it determines how the money will be spent.
By withholding or threatening to withhold funds, the national government can
influence or control state operations and regulate individual conduct.
– Congress frequently requires states to do certain things – provide services to
clean up their air and water. These requirements are called federal mandates.
– Sometimes Congress does not require the funds to carry out these mandates –
“unfunded mandates.” The Supreme Court has ruled that Congress may not
compel states through unfunded mandates to enact particular laws or require
state officials to enforce federal laws, such as requiring checks on the
backgrounds of handgun purchases.
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Constitutional Structure of American Federalism:
Powers of the State
The Constitution reserves for the states all powers not granted to
the national government, subject only to the limitations of the
Constitution (reserved powers).
Powers not given exclusively to the national government by
provisions of the Constitution or by judicial interpretation may be
exercised concurrently by the states, as long as there is no conflict
with national law (concurrent powers).
– Power to levy taxes and regulate commerce internal to each
state
In general, a state my levy a tax on the same item as the national
government, but a state cannot, by a tax, “unduly burden”
commerce among the states, interfere with the function of the
national government, complicate the operation of a national law, or
abridge the terms of a treaty of the United States.
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Constitutional Structure of American Federalism:
Constitutional Limits and Obligations
In order to ensure that federalism works, the Constitution imposes certain restraints on
both the national and the state governments: States cannot:
– Make treaties with foreign governments
– Authorize private persons to prey on the shipping and commerce of other nations
– Coin money, issue bills of credit, or make anything but gold and silver coin legal
tender in payment of debts
– Tax imports or exports
– Tax foreign shipping
– Keep troops or ships in time of peace (except the National Guard)
– Engage in war, unless invaded or in such imminent danger as will not admit of delay
The national government, in turn, is required by the Constitution to refrain from
exercising its powers, especially its powers to tax and to regulate interstate commerce
that would prevent the states from carrying out their responsibilities.
Constitution requires the national government to guarantee each state a “republican
form of government.”
National government is obliged to protect states against domestic insurrection.
– President can dispatch troops to put down insurrection if requested by state
authority.
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Constitutional Structure of American Federalism:
Interstate Relations
Full Faith and Credit (Article IV, Section 1):
– Requires state courts to enforce the civil judgments of the courts of other states
and accept their public records and acts as valid.
Interstate Privileges and Immunities (Article IV, Section 2):
– States must extend to citizens of other states the privileges and immunities granted
to their citizens, including the protection of laws, the right to engage in peaceful
occupations, access to the courts, and freedom from discriminatory taxes.
Extradition (Article IV, Section 2):
– When individuals charged with crimes have fled from one state to another, the
state to which they have fled is to deliver them to the proper officials upon the
demand of the executive authority (usually the governor) of the state from which
they fled.
Interstate Compacts:
– The Constitution requires states to settle disputes with one another without the use
of force.
– Interstate compacts often establish interstate agencies to handle problems
affecting an entire region; must be approved by Congress.
– Environmental protection, crime control, water rights, or higher education
exchanges
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The Role of the Federal Courts:
Centralists vs. Decentralists
From the beginning of the Republic, there has been an ongoing debate about the
“proper” distribution of powers, functions, and responsibilities between the national
government and the states (slavery, segregation, sale of firearms, etc.).
Decentralist Position: States’ Rights
– Contend the Constitution is basically a compact among sovereign states that
created the central government and gave it very limited authority.
– Justice Clarence Thomas argued, “The ultimate source of the Constitution’s
authority is the consent of the people of each individual State, not the consent
of the undifferentiated people of the Nation as a whole.”
– Decentralists hold that the national government should not interfere with
activates reserved for the states; Tenth Amendment.
Centralist Position: National Action
– Reject the whole idea of the Constitution as an interstate compact; it is the
Supreme law established by the people.
– Argue that the national government is a government of all the people; whereas,
each state speaks only for some of the people.
– The supremacy of the national government restricts the states; governments
representing part of the people cannot interfere with government representing
all.
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Regulatory Federalism:
Types of Federal Grants
Categorical Grants:
– Used for specific purposes. There is little independence on how the money will
be spent.
– Two types of Categorical Grants:
Formula Grants – a formula is used to determine who is eligible and how
much they will get. Some things to consider should be state per-capita
income, number of school-age children, and number of families below the
poverty line.
Project Grants – grants awarded on the basis of competitive applications
(spousal abuse, homelessness, AIDS, etc.)
Block Grants:
– Have a broad purpose; recipients have considerable freedom in how to allocate
the money (community service, criminal justice, etc.)
Grants-in-aid are a method to redistribute income, to move gross inequality among
states and its people.
Sometimes the use of formulas to determine who benefits from grants becomes
political in Congress (each Congressman wants to make sure his/her state receives
as much as possible).
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Ideology, Policymaking, & American
Federalism
Citizens, interest groups and officials inside government who attempt to persuade
others to accept a particular view of the proper balance between freedom, order
and equality and who champion particular policy ideas are known as policy
entrepreneurs.
Conservatives are often associated with the layer-cake metaphor because they are
frequently portrayed as believing that different states have different problems and
resources and that returning control to state governments would actually promote
diversity.
– The layer-cake approach of dual federalism aims to maintain important powers
in the states and to protect those powers from an aggressive or assertive
national government.
Liberals, associated more with the marble-cake approach, believe the states
remain unwilling or unable to protect the rights or to provide for the needs of their
citizens.
– The marble cake of cooperative federalism sees relations between levels of
government in more fluid terms and is willing to override state standards for
national ones, depending upon the issues at stake.
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