Chapter 4
The Federal System
Section 1: National and State Powers
• The Division of Powers
• Different powers for Federal and State governments
• This has changed greatly since 1787
Section 1: National and State Powers
• National Powers
• 3 Types of Delegated Powers: Expressed, Implied, & Inherent
• Expressed Powers – directly stated in Constitution (also called enumerated powers)
• Implied Powers – powers implied by the expressed powers
• This comes from the necessary and proper clause (a.k.a. elastic clause)
• Inherent Powers – powers that are a common power for all government (e.g. diplomatic
relation)
Section 1: National and State Powers
• The State and the Nation
• Reserved Powers – power strictly kept for the states
• The Supremacy Clause – national laws and treaties are win when there is conflict
between them and state laws.
• Concurrent Powers – Powers that both the state and national governments share
• Denied Powers – things specifically not allowed by the government.
Section 1: National and State Powers
• Guarantees to the States
• Republican Form of Government
• Allowing representatives and senators to take their seats
• This was used to force states to ratify the Civil War Amendments
• Protection
• The president and can send in troops to deal with threats to national or state security
• This now includes natural disasters
• Territorial Integrity
• The national government must protect the boundaries of a state, not using state’s land to form new states.
Section 1: National and State Powers
• Admission of New States
• Congress admits new states
• If land is taken from another state, it must be approved by the state and the action can be
vetoed
• To begin the process, Congress passes an enabling act allowing people to organize and draft
a constitution and vote on its adoption.
• 5 states, including Tennessee were created from existing states, with their parent state’s
permission.
Section 1: National and State Powers
• Admission of New States
• Congress admits new states
• West Virginia was accepted without its legislatures approval, but Congress decided that was
okay because the rest of the legislature was in rebellion.
• Texas became a state after being an independent country from 1836-1846.
• Alaska and Hawaii did not have enabling acts, skipping straight to new constitutions.
• Puerto Rico voted in 2012 to become a state, but Congress has not acted to pass an enabling
act yet.
Section 1: National and State Powers
• Admission of New States
• Conditions for Admission
• Congress and the president can prevent statehood until certain measures are met
• Once a state is admitted, it has control over its internal affairs and can undo conditions of
admittance
• Equality of the States
• Once admitted, all states are completely equal under the law
Section 1: National and State Powers
• The National Governors’ Association
• The NGA helps the states coordinate together
• The NGA helped governors become better and pushed the idea of state’s being the
laboratory for innovation
• Regional and party NGAs were developed, as well. These focus on more specific issues.
Section 1: National and State Powers
• Obligations of the State
• The state operates all local, state, and national elections
• States play a key role in amending the constitution
Section 1: National and State Powers
• The Courts as Umpire
• The nature of split powers means that conflicts arise
• The courts settle these disputes
• McCullough v. Maryland, 1819 set this precedent
• It ruled in a conflict between state and national governments, the national government was
supreme
• The courts make-up usually determines on which side they rule, with liberals supporting the
national government and conservatives supporting the state government.
• The Supreme Court has started applying the 14th Amendment to the actions of state and
local governments, as well.
Section 2: Relations Among the States
• Interstate Relations
• Article IV establishes the rules for interstate relations
• Each state must give “full faith and credit” to other state’s laws
• Each state must give other state’s citizens all “the privileges and immunities” they give their
own.
• Each state must return (extradite) criminals and fugitives to the state seeking them.
Section 2: Relations Among the States
• Interstate Relations
• Full Faith and Credit
• A state must recognize the “publics acts, records, and judicial proceedings” of other states
• This only applies to civil laws (laws relating to disputes between people and not criminal
laws)
Section 2: Relations Among the States
• Interstate Relations
• Privileges and Immunities
• There has never been an exact list of what these privileges and immunities are
• States can still set reasonable limitations, such as no voting, serving on juries, running for
public office, etc.
• Colleges and schools can charge higher tuition to non-residents
Section 2: Relations Among the States
• Interstate Relations
• Extradition
• Governors are responsible for returning people feeling from justice
• A governor can refuse if they believe it to be unjust
• Congress has made it a federal crime to flee across state lines, allowing the federal
government to intervene if necessary
Section 2: Relations Among the States
• Interstate Relations
• Extradition
• Governors are responsible for returning people feeling from justice
• A governor can refuse if they believe it to be unjust
• Congress has made it a federal crime to flee across state lines, allowing the federal
government to intervene if necessary
Section 2: Relations Among the States
• Interstate Relations
• Interstate Compacts
• States cannot use force to settle disputes, so they make Congressionally approved contracts
instead.
• They used to be fairly rare and involved border disputes. Today they are more common and
deal with a lot of different issues.
Section 2: Relations Among the States
• Interstate Relations
• Lawsuits Between States
• Lawsuits between states are handled in the U.S. Supreme Court.
• This has happened more than 220 times
• Water rights, sewage, and state boundaries are a common cause
Section 2: Relations Among the States
• Interstate Relations
• Lawsuits Between States
• Lawsuits between states are handled in the U.S. Supreme Court.
• This has happened more than 220 times
• Water rights, sewage, and state boundaries are a common cause
Section 3: Developing Federalism
• Two opposing views of the role of federalism
• State’s Rights Position
• Favors problems being solved by states and local governments
• Views the National government as a agent of the states, founded by the interstate compact
that is the Constitution.
• If powers are not enumerated for the national government, they should be state powers.
• Chief Justice Roger B. Taney was one of the first Justices to accept this court and he and
later courts chose to use the Tenth Amendment more than McCulloch v. Maryland.
Section 3: Developing Federalism
• Two opposing views of the role of federalism
• Nationalist Position
• Favors problems being solved by the national government
• The national government is an agent of the people and the state governments are too, as well.
This means the national government is not subordinate to states in any way.
• The powers of the national government should be expanded to meet the needs of the people
under the necessary and proper clause.
• The national and government should take the lead to solve problems.
• FDR was a leader during a major shift from state’s rights on the courts to nationalism sweeping
the nation and courts, prompted by the Great Depression.
Section 3: Developing Federalism
• Growing National Government
• War Powers
• The military-industrial complex has caused a great expansion of the federal government
• Commerce Power
• This enumerated power has been used to justify massive expansion of government powers.
• The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was justified under the Commerce Clause because
discrimination prevented people from participating in commerce, allowing Congress to
regulate it.
Section 3: Developing Federalism
• Growing National Government
• Taxing Power
• Income taxes, allowed by the 16th Amendment, is the federal government’s major source of
income and state’s cannot raise anywhere near the that amount of revenue.
• The government uses taxes to regulate businesses they want to control, tax products more
highly if they are dangerous, and encourage states to adopt new programs.
Section 3: Developing Federalism
• Federal Aid to States
• Congress influences states through types of federal aid
• Federal grants are given to states and for specific purposes
• The government redistributes taxes between states through grants to create more
equality.
• These grants often come with stipulations and red tape
Section 3: Developing Federalism
• Federal Aid to States
• Preemption Laws – Assume the function of a state government to create a national standard.
• Restraint – a requirement set by Congress that prohibits a local or state government from doing
something
• Mandate – a federal order requiring states to provide a service or undertake an activity in a manner that
meet a national standard.
• The Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990
• Unfunded mandates are requirements not attached to funds to pay
for them
Section 4: Federalism and Politics
• Federalism and Public Policy
• Public Policies are rules put in place to handle a specific problem or situation
• States can be laboratories to experiment with public policy
• Georgia was the first state to experiment with allowing 18 year-olds to vote
• Colorado pioneered sunset laws, which require agencies prove they are needed periodically
• Florida pioneered sunshine laws, which requires public
officials to meet in public.
• The national government can also force public policy on
states who are resistant
Section 4: Federalism and Politics
• Federalism and Political Parties
• The federal system helps create balance between the parties, preventing the possibility
of one party creating a monopoly on all facets of government
• The Party in the White House is often not the party in control in the Congress or the
states.
Section 4: Federalism and Politics
• Political Participation
• Many Opportunities
• People can vote for and even run for multiple kinds of offices at multiple levels, allowing
them greater access to the system than possible in the national government
• People are more likely to be involved if they believe their actions will have an impact,, which
is much more likely at a local level.
Section 4: Federalism and Politics
• Federalism and Professional Politicians
• The federal bureaucracy has grown greatly since the 1930s
• The bureaucracy includes all of the government organizations that carry out legislation
• Differences Among States
• Different political systems and beliefs allow people to live in states that more closely
align with their views on the role of government.
• Some states have higher taxes and more social services, for example.
Section 4: Federalism and Politics
• Direction of Federalism
• The balance of power has generally trended toward more national control, but it
changes over time.
• Democrats generally favor nationalism and want the federal government to address
social issues
• Republicans favor states-rights, wanting the states to take the lead
• There tends to be a cycle going back and forth between the positions, but it has still
shifted greatly toward nationalism overall