FEDERALISM
Beginning of Unit 2
The Roots of Federalism
• The Framers 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
• 3 Major arguments for federalism are:
– Prevention of tyranny by all powerful government
– Ability for citizens to participate in many ways and
at many levels
– Use of the states as testing grounds for new
policies or procedures that work for their
populations
FEDERALISM DEFINED
• 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
one government. Now there are many
governments.
The Powers of the Government in the
Federal System
• The distribution of powers:
– Exclusive powers (only for the federal OR state)
– Shared powers (concurrent powers)
– Denied Powers (located in Article I, Section 9 of US
Constitution)
– Enumerate federal powers (Article I, Section 8)
– Implied Powers/Necessary & Proper Clause
(“elastic clause” Article I, Section 8, Clause 18)
– 10th Amendment- “those powers not given to the
federal government, nor denied to the states, are
reserved for the states”
DENIED POWERS
• Article I, Section 9 denies certain powers to
the federal government
– i.e. cannot suspend writ of habeas corpus or pass
bills of attainder
• Article I, section 10 denies certain powers to
states
– i.e. cannot declare war or interstate commerce
Relations Among the States
• The Framers wanted a single country, not thirteen
squabbling semi-countries (remember, the Articles of
Confederation DID NOT WORK!)
• Article IV requires states to
– Give “full faith and credit” to each others’ laws and legal
proceedings i.e. recognizing driver’s licenses, custody
rulings, marriages, etc.)
– Extradite (return) those accused of crimes in other states
– Guarantee privileges and immunities to all citizens in all
states (i.e. someone from New York can travel freely to
New Jersey or Pennsylvania; someone in VA can own
property in North Carolina or Kentucky; someone from VA
can go to Delaware and purchase tax-exempt products
2 C’s: Write something cool and
something confusing from this lecture:
• Cool:
• Confusing:
On a left page to the notes:
• Make a Venn diagram. One circle should be
called “reserved powers of the states.” The
other should be “delegated powers to the
federal government.” The center is what?
• Fill in Venn Diagram.
• This will be checked next class!
HOMEWORK:
Chapter 4, Section 1 Questions: 1, 2, 4