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The Founding Fathers worked to create a
political system that was halfway between
the failed confederation of the Articles of
Confederation and the tyrannical unitary
system of Great Britain. The three major
arguments for federalism are the prevention
of Tyranny; the provision for increased
participation in politics; and the use of the
states as testing grounds for new policies
and programs.
Federalism is a political system in which
power is divided and shared between the
national/central government and the states
(regional units) in order to limit the power of
government.
 The distribution of powers in the federal
system consists of several parts: exclusive
powers; shared powers (conjoint powers);
denied powers; enumerated powers
(Article I, sec.8); and implied powers (elastic
clause)
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This article defines the three types of
power held by the federal government.
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Those specifically mentioned in the
Constitution, the enumerated powers of the
central government include the power to lay
and collect taxes; provide for the national
defense and make regulations for the military;
regulate commerce with foreign nations,
among the states, and with Indian tribes; coin
money and regulate the value thereof;
declare war; establish political offices; issue
copyrights and patents. The powers of each
branch of government are defined. For
example, expressed powers of the Legislative
Branch are found in Article 1.

The central government may make all
laws which shall be necessary and
proper for carrying into execution the
enumerated powers. The necessary and
proper clause has often been used to
expand the powers of the national
government (elastic clause). This clause
allows Congress to make any law
necessary and proper to exercise its
powers.

Powers naturally belonging to the
federal governments of sovereign
countries.

Most State Powers come from the 10th
_Amendment that says: "The powers not
delegated to the United States by the
Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the
States, are reserved to the States
respectively, or to the people." These are
often referred to as Reserve or police
powers (affecting health, safety, and
morals).

such as the right to tax, borrow money,
establish courts, and make and enforce
laws are powers states share with
national government.
Article I, section 9 lays out powers denied to
the central government. For example: give
preference to ports of one state over
another
 Article I, section 10 lays out the powers
denied to the states. For example: enter
into treaties, alliances, or confederations
 Ex-post facto laws (laws making an action
illegal and enforced AFTER the action has
taken place) are denied to both the
federal and the state
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The Framers wanted a single country, not 13
squabbling semi-countries. Article IV
requires states to give “full faith and credit”
to each others’ laws and legal
proceedings. States are also required to
extradite criminals if asked by another state.
States recognize drivers’ and marriage
licenses, custody rulings, etc. The
constitution specifies that state’s citizens are
entitled to the rights and immunities of
citizens in other states.
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The allocation of powers in our federal
system has changed dramatically over
the years. The Supreme Court in its role
as interpreter of constitution has been a
major player in the redefinition of our
Federal system. McCulloch v. Maryland
(1819); Gibbons v. Ogden (1824); Dred
Scott v. Sandford (1857);

McCulloch was the first major decision by
the Supreme Court under Chief Justice
John Marshall about the relationship
between the states and the national
government. The Court upheld the power
of the national government to establish a
national bank and denied the right of a
state to tax the bank. “The power to tax is
the power to destroy.” The Court’s broad
interpretation of the necessary and proper
clause paved the way for later rulings
upholding expansive federal powers.

The Gibbons case centered on the conflict between
the states and the powers of Congress. Could New
York grant a monopoly concession on the navigation
of the Hudson River? The Hudson River forms part of
the border between New York and New Jersey and
the U.S. Congress also licensed a ship to sail the
Hudson. The main constitutional question in Gibbons
was about the scope of Congress' authority under
the Commerce Clause (Article I, sec. 8: “to regulate
commerce with foreign nations, and among the
several states, and with the Indian tribes”). In
Gibbons, the Court upheld broad congressional
power over interstate commerce.

The Supreme Court articulated the idea of dual
federalism in which separate but equally
powerful levels of government is preferable,
and the national government should not
exceed its enumerated powers. The Taney
Court held that Mr. Scott was not a U.S. citizen
and therefore not entitled to sue in federal
court. The case was dismissed and Scott
remained a slave. Chief Justice Roger Taney
further wrote that Congress had no power to
abolish slavery in the territories and slaves were
private property protected by the Constitution.
MO Compromise was Unconstitutional.

Dual Federalism remained the Supreme
Court's framework for federalism and the
prevailing notion in the Reconstruction
and Progressive Eras. Dual federalism
finally ended in the 1930s, when the crisis
of the Great Depression demanded
powerful actions from the national
government.

Prior to the 1930s, many scholars used the analogy of
a layer cake to describe federalism. Each layer had
clearly defined powers and responsibilities. By the
New Deal, the analogy of a “marble cake” seemed
more appropriate because the lines of authority were
much more mixed. National government becomes
major player in state and local policy. There is major
shift in money from federal government to state/local
governments. Marble cake federalism is often called
cooperative federalism and has a much more
powerful national government. States have a
cooperative role, as did cities. Federal monies
flooded states for public works projects, work
programs, relief agencies (alpabetocracy).

Federal grants that offer money or other
resources to pay for state or local
activities

Increase in Federal Grants: allocation of
federal money to the states for a specific
purpose (e.g., poverty programs, welfare,
environment). Federal leadership saw these
grants as a way to compel individual states
to behave in ways desired by the national
government. If the states refused to
cooperate with the federal government, it
would withhold funds (e.g., interstate
highway funds & speed limit)

Drastic cuts in federal domestic
programs and income taxes in an
attempt to reestablish the primacy of the
states. For the first time in thirty years,
federal aid to state and local
governments declined. His idea was
that federal government had gotten to
big. States should have more
responsibility and autonomy.

Revenue sharing & matching funds; block
grants: monies allocated to states for
broad purpose, such as education or
poverty, with few regulations on
administering funds; Unfunded mandates:
laws that direct states & localities to pass
laws with federal regulations, e.g., clean air
laws & public access for disabled; State
budgetary constraints: recession,
constitutional requirement for balanced
budget; Intergovernmental lobby groups:
NGA, USCM
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Devolution = delegation of power &
responsibility
Clinton Era reaction to growth in power of the
national government due to Republican
majority in both houses of Congress. President
Clinton: responsibility to administer federal
programs as chief executive
Goal: roll back scope of federal government
and give back of control to the states
Contract with America: shift responsibilities to
states; Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995
Gore’s Presidential Task Force on Reinventing
Government - traditional Republican issue

Poll after poll showed that Americans
began to think that the national
government was too big, too strong, and
too distant to understand their concerns.
Under Supreme Court Justice William
Rehnquist, U.S. Supreme Court limited the
size of the national government, once
again, playing a role in interpreting this new
form of federalism. Cases involving
abortion, gun control, environment, use of
commerce clause, right to sue.
Reinterpreting Federalism
 Generally handing back power to the
states; Majority pro-states’ rights; 5-4
decisions; Webster v. Reproductive Health
Services (1989) and Casey v. Planned
Parenthood (1992): states can limit
abortion laws; U.S. v. Lopez (1995): federal
law cannot regulate guns within 1000 of a
school BUT
 Bush v. Gore (2000): upheld deadline for
selection of electors; struck down FL SC
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Federalism is an important concept of the American
system of government meant to increase the power
of the national government.
The notion of Federalism has changed drastically
since the Depression in the 1930’s.
In the 1960’s and 1970’s the scope of federal
domestic policies and programs increased steadily.
In the 1980’s Reagan began a decrease of federal
funding for programs and funding to states.
In the mid-1990’s Republican Congress promised to
reduce the size of the national government and
“return power to the states.”