CHAPTER 4:
FEDERALISM
DAILY DILEMMA: BASED ON YOUR
READING AND YOUR EXPERIENCES, IS OUR
GOVERNMENT MORE SIMILAR TO
COOPERATIVE OR DUAL FEDERALISM?
ARIZONA
IMMIGRATION LAW
Is immigration a national
or state issue?
ARIZONA V. UNITED STATES
In June 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled
on the case Arizona v. United States,
upholding the provision requiring
immigration status checks during law
enforcement stops but striking down three
other provisions as violations of the
Supremacy Clause of the United States
Constitution.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2012/06/26/exp-eb-immigration-rulingdiscussion.cnn
I. THEORIES & METAPHORS
Federalism– Two or more governments
exercise power and authority over the same
people and the same territory.
DUAL FEDERALISM
(LAYER CAKE FEDERALISM)
Dual federalism is a view holding that the
Constitution is a compact among sovereign states,
so that the powers of the national government and
the states are clearly differentiated
4 ESSENTIALS TO THE THEORY
1. The national government rules by enumerated powers
only.
2. The national government has a limited set of
constitutional purposes.
3. Each government unit— nation and state– is
sovereign within its own sphere
4. The relationship between nation and states is best
characterized by tension rather than cooperation
A RIGID WALL SEPARATES THE NATION AND THE
STATES
COOPERATIVE FEDERALISM
(MARBLE CAKE FEDERALISM)
A view holding that the Constitution is an agreement
among people who are citizens of both state and
nation, so there is much overlap between state
powers and national powers
The national and state
governments do not act
in separate spheres;
they are intermingled
3 ESSENTIALS TO THE THEORY
1. National and state agencies typically
undertake government functions jointly
rather than exclusively
2. The nation and states routinely share
power
3. Power is not concentrated at any
government level or in any agency; the
fragmentation of responsibilities gives
people and groups access to many
venues of influence
THE TENSION OF
INTERPRETATION
Elastic Clause Article I, Section 8: after listing the
enumerated powers, gives Congress the power to
“make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper
for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers”
(necessary and proper clause)
Tenth Amendment: reserves for the states or the
people powers not assigned to the national
government or denied to the states by the
Constitution
How would dual and cooperative federalists feel
about these two concepts?
Dual federalism believes in an inflexible
elastic clause and a extensive Tenth
Amendment
Cooperative federalism believes in flexible
elastic clause and sees the Tenth
Amendment as a self-evident truth
II. FEDERALISM’S DYNAMICS
While the Constitution establishes a kind of federalism, the
actual balance of power in the U.S. is more a matter of
debate than formal theory because…
1. American federalism is a flexible and dynamic system
2. Because of this flexibility, both elected and appointed
officials across levels of government often make policy
decisions based on pragmatic considerations without
regard to theories of what American federalism should
look like
3. There is general agreement that public problems cut
across governmental boundaries
NATIONAL CRISES AND DEMANDS
Congress has been able to increase the scope of the
national government tremendously during the previous
two centuries
THE GREAT DEPRESSION
Great Depression: The problems of the Depression were too
extensive for either state governments or private businesses to
handle, so the national government assumed responsibility for
providing relief and pursuing economic relief. Through regulation it
attached to funds and shared responsibilities, the national
government extended power and control over the states
9/11
Concerns over terrorist attacks
expanded national power
following 9/11. Congress quickly
passes the PATRIOT Act that expanded
surveillance and investigative powers of the
Department of Justice. President Bush also
got permission to wiretap phones without
warrants
JUDICIAL INTERPRETATION
The interpretation of the Constitution by federal
courts has also influenced the relationship between
the national government and the states
1800s-1900s: The court found in favor of the states
1937-1995: The court almost always sided with the
national government
1997 The conservative court has generally favored
states’ rights with a few exceptions
ENDS AND MEANS
McCulloch v. Maryland. The court was asked to
decide whether Congress had the power to establish
a national bank, and, if so, whether states had the
power to tax that bank. In a unanimous opinion, the
Court decided based on the “necessary and proper”
clause that Congress had the power to charter a
bank but the states could not tax the bank because
the bank represented the interests of the whole
nation and the state cannot tax those they do not
represent.
 Embraced cooperative federalism
COMMERCE CLAUSE
The third clause of Article I, Section 8. Gives
Congress the power to regulate commerce
among states.
Major factor in increasing the national government’s
power from 1930-1990s.
Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857) – The Supreme Court
decided that the Congress had no power to prohibit
slavery in the territories
GRANTS-IN-AID
Since the 1960s, the national government’s use of
financial incentives has rivaled its use of legislation
and court decisions as a means of influencing its
relationship with state governments
Grant-in-aid: money paid by one level of
government to another level of government to be
spent for a given purpose
DAILY DILEMMA
What concepts do you need to talk more
about from Chapters 1-4 to be ready for
the test on Friday?
TYPES OF GRANTS-INAID
Categorical grants target specific purposes and restrictions on
their use typically leave the recipient government relative little
formal discretion
Formula grants are distributed according to specific rules that
define who is eligible for the grant and how much each eligible
applicant will receive
Project grants are awarded through a competitive application
process
Block grants are for broad, general purposes and allow
governments considerable freedom to decide how to spend the
money
BOTTOM LINE…
Grant money comes with strings attached. Some
strings are there to make sure the government
spends the money the way the law specifies, others
are there to achieve some broad national goal
PROFESSIONALIZATION OF
STATE GOVERNMENTS
States have become more forceful policy actors since the 1960s.
1. Both governors and state legislators now are more capably
trained and experienced with policy
2. Legislatures now meet more days during the year
3. The appeal for higher salaries has attracted better talent
4. The increasing ability for states to raise revenue has given
states greater leverage in designing and directing policy
5. Unelected officials in state government have become better
educated
IDEOLOGY, POLICYMAKING
AND AMERICAN FEDERALISM
In their effort to limit the scope of
government, conservatives are often
associated with layer-cake federalism
Liberals, believing that one function of the
national government is to bring about
equality, are more likely to support the
marble-cake approach and more activism
from Washington
MANDATES AND
RESTRAINTS
Mandates require that a state undertakes an activity or provides a
service, in keeping with minimum national standards
Restraints forbid state governments from exercising a certain
power
Unfunded mandates force alignment with national government’s
practices without providing funds to reach alignment
FEDERALISM AND
ELECTORAL POLITICS
State capitals often serve as a proving ground for
politicians who aspire to national office
Mitt Romney– former
Governor of Massachusetts
CONGRESSIONAL
REDISTRICTING
Redistricting refers to the process of redrawing
boundaries for electoral jurisdictions
While it is relatively straightforward to determine how
many seats a state will have, where the new district
lines will be drawn is a big deal. Redistricting carries
huge stakes in elections.
FEDERALISM AND THE AMERICAN
INTERGOVERNMENTAL SYSTEM
• The U.S. is home to over 89,000 local
governments of different sorts.
• Since the state budgets must balance every year
(only the national government can print money)
states must either cut services, raise taxes or
borrow money