Federalism and Politics
Unit 5 Part 3
Federalism and Public Policy
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A public policy is a stated course of action.
Announcing a policy means that a person or an
organization has decided upon a conscious,
deliberate way of handling similar issues.
Federalism and Public Policy
Federalism affects public policy making in two
ways.
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1. It affects how and where new policies are made
in the United States.
2. It introduces limits on government policy making.
New Ideas develop! (how?)
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Federalism permits states and special
locations to serve as a place where new
polices can be developed and tested.
For example, Georgia was the first state to
allow 18 year-olds to vote. That right was
made universal to all states in the 26th
amendments.
New Ideas develop cont’d
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In 1976, Colorado pioneered the use of the sunset
laws.
Sunset laws require periodic checks of government
agencies to see if they are still needed.
In California local interest groups concerned with the
environment were able to get the state to start new air
– pollution control programs. California laws became a
model for national air – pollution laws. In 1967, Florida
passed a sunshine law prohibiting public officials from
holding closed meetings.
New Ideas develop! (how?)
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Policies can also originate at the national level.
Sometimes when the national government
imposes new policies on states local people and
groups resist the changes
Some great political struggles in the nation’s
history have occurred over nationally imposed
policies.
Example: In the late 1950’s and 1960’s, African
American struggled to win voting and other civil
rights.
Federalism and Political Parties
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Rival political parties are key elements of a
democratic government. Each political party
has a chance to win an election.
Federalism helps maintain an equal possibility
for any political party to win an election by
lessening the risk of one political party from
gaining a monopoly on political powers.
The Democratic Party controlled the White
House for only 5 of the 12 presidential terms
between 1952 and 2000.
Political Participation
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Federalism increases opportunities for citizens
of the United States to participate in politics at
the national, state, and local levels.
Federalism also increases the possibility that a
person’s participation will have some practical
effect on the government.
Now…

Please continue to work on your Study Guide
for the midterm next Friday. These notes
should help you as well.
Unit 5 Part 4 notes
– Test on
Unit 5 Wednesday and
Midterm on Friday!!!
Remember
Many Opportunities
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Because federalism provides for several levels of
government, people have easier access to a political
office. The road to a national office can begin at the
local or state level. Federalism preserves political
organization from the bottom up.
American federalism opens access to the government
and increases every day citizen’s opportunities for
influencing public policy (through voting)
Federalism’s Professional
Politicians
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The large increase in federal programs in the
mid- 1930’s called for an increase in
bureaucracy to carry out the newly formed
legislation (organization of government
administrators)
The increase in federal programs changed the
political relationship of the state and federal
officials.
Federalism’s Professional
Politicians
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Mayors, state officials, and others took
advantage of the new federal programs and
began to work more closely with the federal
officials.
Example: Organizations like the United States
Conference of Mayors established
headquarters in Washington, D.C., to keep up
with events and to stay in touch with
lawmakers.
Differences Among the States
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Federalism allows for real economic and political
difference among the states because it permits
each state freedom in arranging its own internal
affairs.
As a result, some states do more than others to
regulate business and industry, while some
provide more health and welfare services.
Among the individual states, some have stricter
criminal law and some have higher taxes.
Differences Among the States
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Because states can create different economic
and political environments, Americans have a
wide range of choices regarding the conditions
under which they want to live, depending upon
which state they live in.
This also means that when people cross a
state boundary, they become members of a
different political system.
The Direction of Federalism
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From the beginning of our country there has
been a debate on how the country should
divide governmental powers {between the
national government and state government}.
In recent decades, Democrats have generally
supported and favored the nationalist position.
Republicans have favored states’ rights and
prefer relying on the judgment of the states and
local authorities rather than the national.