Chapter 6
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How would you describe the current
condition of American government?
 Federal government?
 State government?
 Local government?
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A system in which governmental power is
divided into two or more levels.
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Federalism places limits on government.
Limited government is a restraint to tyranny.
One way to limit government is to divide and
distribute power.
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Ideally, the national government operates to
meet national needs, whereas state and local
governments serve community needs.

The national government has delegated
powers that define the limits of its authority,
as enumerated (spelled out) in the
Constitution.
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Delegated powers may be
 Enumerated (ones specifically granted) or
▪ Examples: Collect taxes, declare war, negotiate treaties
 Implied (not spelled out but DERIVED from
enumerated powers).
▪ Example: Minimum wage laws, public education,
welfare, social security
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Many of the implied powers are derived from
the “necessary & proper” clause in Article I
Section 8 which provides for Congress to
make all laws which are necessary and proper
for carrying out its powers…
Known as the elastic clause because it has
been stretched to expand the scope of
national power.
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The Tenth Amendment says that all powers
not delegated to the national government are
reserved to the states and the people.
Known as RESERVED POWERS they give
states power to run their own affairs.
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Examples of state power include
 Public education
 Speed limits & traffic laws
 Minimum age limit for purchasing alcohol
 The structure of the state government
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Because states can choose many of their own
laws, states differ.
These differences can allow for competition
between states.
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The Constitution also limits the powers of
states. Article I Section 10.
 States may NOT
▪ Make treaties
▪ Declare war
▪ Print money
(These powers are delegated to the national government.)
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The Bill of Rights places restrictions on both
the national and the state governments.
The Bill of Rights protects individual liberties
from encroachments by government at every
level.

Every new law limits personal liberty in some
way.
 Laws against talking on cell phones while driving
restricts drivers’ freedom to use their property.
 Curfew laws restrict the freedom of people to go
and come as they please.
 Laws outlawing certain kinds of guns limit a
person’s freedom to choose what kind of gun to
own.
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Local governments have no Constitutional
identity but derive their authority from state
governments. (They are not mentioned in the
Constitution.)
Local governments serve to implement state
laws.
State and local governments are
interdependent.
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Differing interests and differing laws lead to
cooperation as well as conflicts between
states.
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State Relations
 Full Faith & Credit (Art IV Sec I) – States must
respect the laws and legal rulings of other states.
▪ Two exceptions occur:
▪ Only applied to civil law
▪ Doesn’t apply in some cases of divorce
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State Relations
 Privileges & Immunities – States can’t restrict a
non-resident’s activities.
▪ Work, Buying and selling, etc.
 Some restrictions are allowed.
▪ Fees for out of state students
▪ Fees for out of state hunting/fishing licenses
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Extradition (Art IV Section 2 Clause 2) –
States must return alleged criminals to the
state in which the crime was committed for
prosecution.
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The states and their laws and judicial rulings
cannot contradict national law or Supreme
Court rulings.
Article VI Clause 2.
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People used to view themselves as citizens of
their states first and the nation second.
States’ rights and decentralization were
strongly defended.
Dual federalism – National and state
governments were sovereign within their
own spheres.
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War Between the States
World War I
Great Depression
World War II
National Healthcare
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Growth of Interdependence
 The Union victory in the WBS changed the
relationship between the federal and state
governments.
 The national government weakened state
governments and limited their power while
expanding its own.
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Income Tax
Central Bank
National paper currency
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Growth of Interdependence
 Commerce
 Transportation
 Need for uniformity of some laws
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Another significant change came during WWI
and again during the Great Depression of the
1930s.
 Social and economic programs (New Deal)
 National welfare programs
 Once these bureaucracies were established, they
were impossible to eliminate and never went
away.
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How does the federal government distribute
the funds it collects from the people of the
states?
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The federal government is so big, and so
much money is involved that it has become
quite COMPLICATED.
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Federal Grants-In-Aid are distributed to the
states via
 Categorical Grants
 Block Grants
 Revenue Sharing
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Categorical Grants – given for a specific
purpose and with specific guidelines.
They have STRINGS attached. To get this
money, you must comply with the federal
government’s goals such as hiring quotas,
environmental protection, small business,
etc.
States usually must provide matching funds.
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Categorical Grants are a major way the
federal government exercises extraConstitutional powers over the states.
States get the money if they do what the
federal government wants.
States rarely reject the billions in funds for
their communities.
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Block Grants combine several categorical
grants under a general umbrella, giving states
more flexibility and say in how the funds are
used.
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The federal government would allocate a
portion of its tax revenues to the states with
no strings attached.
At first they paid when the U.S. treasury had
a surplus. In the 1970s and 1980s they started
paying even when there was a deficit.
Dismantled in 1987.
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How are the Division of Powers between
States and the National Government
maintained?
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National office-holders are elected from the
state and local levels. (435 districts & 50
states)
Political parties are built on the state level.
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Federal government both serves & controls.
 Grants provide services & give national
government greater say in state and local policies.
 Formerly state issues are now entangled in a “web
of federal regulations.”
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Federal aid to states contributes to the
national debt.
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14,762,450,000,000 September 25, 2011
16,071,048,600,000 September 30, 2012
Est. population of U.S. = 314,490,000
Your share = $51,105
The U.S. debt increases an average of $4.14
billion per day (since 1997). $4,140,000,000
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Why doesn’t someone stop it?
 States, localities, and special interest groups
lobby hard to receive funding for their areas.
 If the federal government stopped granting funds
which states and cities depend upon, the states
and cities would have to drastically cut employees
and programs.
 Selfishness on an institutional level.
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Some states receive more federal funds than
they pay in federal taxes.
Other states pay more than they receive.
http://www.visualeconomics.com/unitedstates-federal-tax-dollars/
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Federalism was designed to check tyranny.
It’s up to responsible citizens to maintain the
balance of the federal system.
Where does the ultimate authority reside in
our democratic republic?