Chapter 3
Federalism
Three Systems of Government

Unitary System – strong central government; local
governments only have powers given them by central
government; power flows down from center to units; the
most common form


Confederal System – strong state governments; central
government has only limited powers over the states; a
league of independent states, each having essentially
sovereign power; power flows up from the units to the
center; uncommon


Examples: Great Britain, Sweden, Japan, Egypt, Israel, the Philippines
Examples: US under Articles of Confederation (1776-1788), European
Union
Federal System – power is divided between central
government and states; each has its own sphere of
influence; power flows both ways from central
government to units and vice versa; less common

Examples: U.S., Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India
Figure 3-1: Flow of Power in Three
Systems of Government, 46
America’s Governmental Units
© 2004 Wadsworth Publishing / Thomson Learning™
Why Federalism?

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Practical Solution – compromise that helped ensure
ratification of the Constitution (Federalists vs. AntiFederalists); helped resolve dispute between advocates of a
strong central government and a weak central government,
states’ rights advocates
Geography and population make it impractical to locate all
political authority in one place; practical for large countries
Brings government closer to the people
State governments train future national leaders
State governments can be testing grounds for policy
initiatives
Federalism allows for many political subcultures
Provides regionally concentrated groups a degree of
autonomy
Why Not Federalism?
 Potential lack of coherence
 States can block national plans
 Inequalities across states in terms of
education, crime control, building safety,
etc.
 More broadly, federal units can become the
basis for secessionist movements (esp.
regionally concentrated ethnonationalist
movements)
 Examples: the Confederacy in the U.S.; Kurds in
Iraq; Quebequois (French Candadians from Quebec)
in Canada
National Government
Powers

Expressed powers are those enumerated in the
Constitution (Article I, Section 8), pp. 376-377
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Implied powers are those reasonably (inferred but not
expressly stated) necessary to carry out the powers
expressly delegated

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Examples: lay and collect taxes, borrow, regulate commerce,
coin money, set standards of weights and measures, declare
war
Based in Article I, Section 8, Clause 18: “Necessary and Proper
Clause,” a.k.a. “Elastic Clause,” 377
Inherent Powers are held by the national government by
virtue of it being a sovereign state recognized by the
community of nations; grounded in international law

Right to survival, defense, national interest, trade, make
treaties, territorial integrity, self-determination, freedom from
external intervention, just war, acquire territory
State Government Powers
 Reserved powers outlined in the Tenth Amendment,
385
 “The powers not delegated to the U.S. by the
Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are
reserved to the States respectively, or to the
people.”
 Regulation of intrastate commerce; state militia;
police power (crime, contracts, marriage/divorce;
education, traffic, land use, etc.); levy taxes
 Police power = authority to make laws for the
protection of the health, morals, safety, and welfare
of the people
 Denied powers (Article I, Section 10, 378) = treaties
and coinage; duties and imposts; war
Federal/State Government
Powers
 Concurrent powers = held jointly by national and
state governments (tax, borrow money, make and
enforce laws, establish courts, etc.)
 Prohibited powers = national government prohibited
from taxing exports; states prohibited from entering
into treaties on its own with another country
 Supremacy clause (Article VI, clause 2, 382) =
Constitution and federal laws superior to all conflicting
state and local laws; federal law takes precedence over
all state law; Constitution, congressional laws, national
treaties, and rules/regulations issued by the executive
are “Supreme Law of the Land”; states cannot use
reserved or concurrent powers to thwart national
policies
Select Constitutional Powers
National
EXPRESSED
 coin money
 conduct foreign relations
 regulate interstate commerce
 levy and collect taxes
 declare war
 raise and support the military
 establish post offices
 establish courts inferior to the
Supreme Court
 admit new states
IMPLIED
Elastic/Necessary and Proper
(Article 1, Section 8, Clause 18)
INHERENT
Grounded in international law
Both
CONCURRENT
 levy and collect
taxes
 borrow money
 make and enforce
laws
 establish courts
 provide for the
general welfare
 charter banks and
corporations
State
RESERVED
 regulate intrastate
commerce
 conduct elections
 provide for public
health, safety, and
morals
 establish local
governments
 ratify amendments
to the federal
constitution
 establish a state
militia
Select Powers Denied by the
Constitution
National
Both
State
 tax articles exported
from any state
 violate the Bill of
Rights
 change state
boundaries
 suspend the right of
habeas corpus
 make ex post facto
laws
 subject officeholders
to a religious test
 grant titles of
nobility
 permit slavery
 deny citizens
the right to vote
because of race,
color, or previous
servitude
 deny citizens
the right to vote
because of gender
 tax imports or
exports
 coin money
 enter into treaties
 impair obligations
of contracts
 abridge the
privileges or
immunities of
citizens or deny due
process and equal
protection of the
laws
Vertical Checks and
Balances
 Separation of powers/checks and balances at national
level aimed at preventing national government from
becoming too powerful
 Federalism allows for “vertical” checks and balances
between states and the national government
 States’ checks = reserved powers; representation in
Congress; vote for president; amendment process;
administration of national programs
 National government’s checks = expressed and
implied powers; Supremacy clause; commerce clause;
federal grants
Constitutional Clauses Concerning
Interstate Relations
 A.k.a. “horizontal federalism”
 Full Faith and Credit clause (Article IV,
381) = all states are required to respect
one another’s laws
 Privileges and Immunities Clause = a
citizen of a state has all the rights as the
citizen of another state where they happen
to be
 Extradition clause = a person accused of
a crime who flees to another state must be
returned if requested
Expanding the Powers of the
National Government
 Landmark Supreme Court cases under Chief Justice
John Marshall increased the power of the national
government relative to the states
 McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) – enhanced the implied
powers of the national government through an
expansive interpretation of the necessary and proper
clause (Article I, Section 8, Clause 18)
 Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) – broad interpretation of the
commerce clause (Article I, Section 8, Clause 3)
expanded the regulatory powers of the federal
government; regulation of interstate commerce an
exclusive national power
Reassertion of States’ Rights
and Civil War
 Civil War – ultimate dispute over power of national
and state governments; national government
supremacy and rights of states
 Nullification – idea that states could declare a
national law null and void
 Secession – withdrawal of a state from a union
 Civil War ends idea that a state can secede and leads
to an increase in the power of the national
government
 Prior to Civil War, many states considered themselves
ultimate authority; after War, supremacy of national
government recognized (at least by most)
War and Growth of National
Government
 Defeat of the South ended idea that states could secede
from the Union
 Also resulted in expansion of the powers of the
national government (the opposite of what the South
was fighting for)
 New governments employees hired to conduct the
war effort, and Reconstruction
 Billion dollar budget passed
 Temporary income tax imposed on citizens
 Civil liberties curtailed because of war effort
 National government provided pensions to veterans
and widows
Continuing Dispute over the
Division of Power
 Post-Civil War – two major phases in
Federal-State government relations
 Dual Federalism – national and state
governments equal sovereign powers within
their own spheres (e.g., states control
intrastate commerce; federal government
interstate commerce)
 Cooperative Federalism (post-depression
era) – states and national government
cooperate to solve common problems
Federal Aid to States
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As transportation improved and trade expanded, national
government began to regulate national economy and
construct infrastructure. One method of achieving this
was federal grants with “strings”
Categorical grants-in-aid = federal grants targeted for
specific programs/projects (Medicaid, highway
construction, unemployment, housing, welfare); enables
Congress to effect policy change in states
Block grants = federal grants provided for general
functional areas (criminal justice, mental health);
preferred by states because it gives them greater
flexibility in spending
Federal mandates = rules/regulations handed down by
the federal government (environmental protection, civil
rights), often unfunded and expensive, that force states
and municipalities to comply with certain rules
Shift towards Central
Government spending
© 2004 Wadsworth Publishing / Thomson Learning™
Supreme Court and
Federalism
 Plays a key role in determining the
line between state and federal powers
 Over the last decade, the
conservative Rehnquist court has
lessened the federal government’s
powers under the commerce clause
 Increasingly emphasized state powers
granted by the 10th and 11th
Amendments
Federalism, Supreme Court,
and Commerce Clause
 United States v. Lopez – court rules
Congress exceeded its authority under
the commerce clause in passing the
Gun-Free School Zone Act of 1990
 United States v. Morrison – court rules
Congress exceeded its authority under
the commerce clause in passing the
Violence Against Women Act of 1994
Federalism, Supreme Court
and Eleventh Amendment
 Decisions bolstered the authority of state
governments:
 Alden v. Maine (1999) – state employees can’t
sue state for violating federal overtime pay law
 Kimel v. Florida Board of Regents (2000) – state
university employees can’t sue state for
violating federal age discrimination law
 Yet, in Nevada v. Holmes (2003) – the court
ruled that state employers must abide by the
federal Family Medical Leave Act, which seeks to
outlaw gender bias
State Governments Today
 Provide highly visible functions (e.g., education,
health, police, fire, roads, welfare, etc.); funded by
sales taxes and income taxes
 Local government services funded by property taxes
 Mirrored on national government
 Most executives have line item veto power (unlike
President)
 Legislatures often criticized as unprofessional,
uneffective; limited resources; limited meeting times;
low pay; responsible for drawing electoral district
lines
 Each maintains a court system
 Crises in state finances vitally important (as we know
all too well in CA)
Why Federalism is
Important Today
 No uniform body of national laws (unlike under
Unitary governments)
 Differences in criminal sanctions and
sentencing from state to state; county to
county
 Differences in welfare and education spending
 Allows for diversity and inequalities
 Gives citizens the option to “vote with their
feet” and go to a state conducive to their
interests
Discussion Questions
 Is there a proper balance between states’
rights and the powers of the federal
government?
 Would we be better off with increased
federal powers?
 Has federalism “worked” for the U.S.?
 Do you think unfunded federal mandates
are fair?
 What would happen if a state like California
tried to secede from the U.S. and form an
independent country?
Hot Links to Selected
Internet Resources:
 Book’s Companion Site:
http://politicalscience.wadsworth.com/schmidtbri
ef2004
 Wadsworth’s Political Science Site:
http://politicalscience.wadsworth.com
 Emory University’s Federal Law Site:
http://www.law.emory.edu/FEDERAL
 Unity and Federalism:
http://www.constitution.org/cs_feder.htm
 Project Vote Smart: http://www.votesmart.org/issues/FEDERALISM_STATES_RIGHTS