I. CONSTITUTIONAL UNDERPINNINGS OF
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT 5 – 15%
A. Considerations that influenced the formulation
and adoption of the Constitution
B. Separation of powers
C. Checks and balances
D. Federalism
E. Theories of democratic government
JUDICIAL REVIEW
The power of the courts to decide the
constitutionality of laws and acts of government
 Marbury v. Madison

MARBURY V. MADISON (1803)
 Established
the doctrine of judicial review
 Article III - judicial powers
 Chief Justice John Marshall
 Issue of President John Adams appointing
Federalists and Thomas Jefferson’s Secretary of
State James Madison refusing to deliver
commissions.

Mr. Adams, the late President of the United States, nominated the
applicants to the senate for their advice and consent to be appointed
justices of the peace of the District of Columbia; that the senate
advised and consented to the appointments; that commissions in due
form were signed by the said President appointing them justices…
FEDERALISM
Division of government powers and functions
between national and state levels of government
FEDERALISM
The powers of government are divided between
national and state levels
 Results in a dual system of government
 Each level has some independent powers

THE CONSTITUTIONAL BASIS OF
FEDERALISM
FEDERALISM
Inherent/Exclusive Powers: Powers given to the national
government because it is the only representative of the entire
nation (i.e., war powers)
 Delegated/Expressed Powers: Powers written in the
Constitution (i.e., power to regulate trade)
 Implied Powers: Powers not exactly written in the
Constitution - based on the Necessary & Proper Clause
 Reserved Powers: Powers of the state government / 10th
Amendment (i.e., public schools, marriage laws)
 Concurrent Powers: Powers shared by both the national and
state levels of government (i.e., power to tax)

FEDERALISM
NATIONAL
GOVERNMENT
STATE
GOVERNMENTS
SHARED
POWERS
LAYER CAKE VS. MARBLE CAKE
FEDERALISM

D
UAL FEDERALISM
A constitutional theory that
the national government and
the state governments each
have defined areas of
authority, especially over
commerce



Federal government has very
limited delegate powers
States Rights- states have
vast reserved powers not
delegated to the federal
government
Each entity is sovereign
within its own powers


Powers of one can’t encroach
on the other
Article 10-US Const

Reserved Clause
1ST 150 YEARS OF U.S. HISTORY
DUAL FEDERALISM – LAYER CAKE

State Governments: Policies governing the lives of
individuals


Property laws, marriage & family laws, education,
criminal laws…
National government: commercial development
Land grants, tariffs, currency, transportation…
 Spared potential conflicts resulting from divisive
decisions

MCCULLOCH V. MARYLAND (1819)
Supremacy
Clause
Implied Powers – Necessary &
Proper Clause
MCCULLOCH V. MARYLAND (1819)
Upheld the right of implied powers based on the
Necessary and Proper Clause and the Supremacy Clause
 Called the “Bank of the United States” case
 involved the Second Bank of the United States and
the State of Maryland
 Supreme Court landmark case



unanimous decision
Chief Justice John Marshall
GIBBONS V. OGDEN (1824)
Question of NY’s right to grant a monopoly to
Aaron Ogden on waterways between New
York & New Jersey; Thomas Gibbons
obtained a license from the federal
government.
 Supreme Court upholds Gibbon’s right based
on Interstate Commerce Clause


(Article I, Sec.8)
National
supremacy in all
matters affecting interstate
commerce
SHIFT IN SUPREME COURT DECISIONS

Barron v. Baltimore (1833)
State power not subject to the U.S. Bill of Rights
 Dual citizenship defined separately as national and
state citizens


Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

Congress could not regulate slave trade in the
territories
STATE VS. NATIONAL POWER

19th Century – efforts by Congress to regulate
commerce ruled unconstitutional
Issues..fraud, child labor...(intrastate trade)
 Supreme Court defines commerce clause as barrier to
Congress interfering with states
 Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Supreme Court upholds segregation
laws
Separate but Equal doctrine

STATE VS. NATIONAL POWER

Industrial Revolution


Consolidation of great national industrial
corporations…U.S. Steele, AT&T, Standard Oil…
Interstate Commerce Act (1887)
Created the Interstate Commerce Commission
 ICC becomes first federal administrative agency


Sherman Antitrust Act (1890)

Regulation of monopoly practices
CIVIL WAR (1861-1865)

13th Amendment (1865)


Prohibits Slavery
14th Amendment (1868)
Due Process & Equal Protections for all citizens
 Bill of Rights applied to states


15th Amendment (1870)

Right to vote for former male slaves
COOPERATIVE FEDERALISM

Theory of federalism in which
federal, state, and local
governments interact
cooperatively and collectively
to solve common problems
rather than making policies
separately.

Overlapping state and federal
functions




Most federal and state functions
are cooperatively undertaken
(highways, schools, hospitals)
Feds and states have shared
powers (police, taxes)
Fragmented centers of political
power
Article VI- the supremacy
clause- the Constitution
specifically subordinates state
law to federal law
COOPERATIVE FEDERALISM (MARBLE
CAKE) FDR – NIXON
 Grants-in
Aid
 New Deal programs
 National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)
v. Jones & Laughlin Steel (1937)

Redefines interstate commerce to permit the
national government to regulate local economic
& social conditions
 Brown

v. Board of Education (1954)
Segregation ruled unconstitutional
 Voting
Rights Act (1965)
 Civil Rights Acts (1964 & 65)
NEW FEDERALISM
NIXON - REAGAN
Revenue Sharing
 Block Grants
 Criticism of unfunded mandates by national
government

Mandates are the “strings” attached to federal money
 Unfunded mandates are requirements on state & local
governments- but no money

GRANTS-IN-AID
 Federal
funds provided
to states and localities.

Typically provided for
airports, highways,
education, and major
welfare services
INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS
TODAY

Federal Grants to State and Local Governments (Figure 3.1)
INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS TODAY

The Scramble for Federal Dollars
$350 billion in grants every year
 Universalism- a little something for everybody


Fiscal Federalism:

The Grant System: Distributing the Federal Pie
Categorical Grants
 Block Grants
 Grants are given to states & local governments

CATEGORICAL GRANTS

Federal grants for specific purposes defined by
federal law
Requires the state or locality to “match” some part of
the federal grant
 Formula Grants

States and Feds share costs of a proejct
 Ex. (20% fed-80% state)


Project Grants
Money given out to states and localities for a purpose
 Applied for by state
 Usually research based- universities, agencies

BLOCK GRANTS

Grants of money from the federal government to
states for programs in certain general areas rather
than for specific kinds of programs

Money to states with few strings attached

Example: 1996 Welfare Reform Act
States have broad discretionary powers to use money as
they see fit
 Favored by Republicans/Conservatives
 Nixon and Regan: New Federalism


More Power to the states
ADVANTAGES OF FEDERALISM
Promotes diverse policies that encourage
experimentation and creative ideas.
 Provides multiple power centers – makes it difficult
for any one interest group to dominate
 Keeps government close to the people – increases
opportunities for participation

DISADVANTAGES OF FEDERALISM
Promotes inequality because state resources
differ
 Enables local interests to delay or halt majority
support for a policy
 Creates confusion – different levels of
government make it difficult for citizens to know
what different governments are doing

UNDERSTANDING FEDERALISM

Federalism and the Scope of Government
Which level of government is best able to solve the
problem?
 Which level of government is best able to fund
solutions to the problem?
