Advanced Placement® American Government and

Politics

Unit II – Constitutional Underpinnings and Federalism

Part 2 -- Federalism

What is Federalism???• A way of organizing a nation so that two or

more levels of government have formal authority over the land and people• In U.S., federal means national and state

levels

Central US or Federal

GovernmentState

Governments

National State

Working Together

Number of U.S. Governments

Which is better? Why? -- Grab a neighbor and discuss.

• Unitary• Federal• Confederal

Federalism...

A Closer Look!

Why Federalism???• Shared resources; state

knows the needs of the people

• Allows unity without uniformity (one state’s needs are not another’s)

• Allows states to administer federal programs to cooperate with each other

• Equalizes financial resources b/w rich and poor

• Commitment of Americans to local government

Look at these scenarios. Which is NATIONAL business, and which is

STATE?• The construction of a new aircraft

carrier• The launching of an orbital satellite• Lowering the sales tax• Increase in postage stamp rates• Placing warning labels on CDs with

obscene lyrics

Federalist #51• Defends the Constitution• Explains why a strong gov’t is

necessary• “If men were angels, no

government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.”

• “Ambition must be made to counteract ambition.”

• Defends separation of powers between state and national gov’t AND between branches of government

NATIONAL SUPREMACY

• Why is the national government supreme to the states?• “Supremacy clause” (Article VI): the Constitution,

federal laws, and treaties are the “supreme law of the land”

• 10th Amendment: • “powers not delegated to the United States

by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or the people.”

• MEANING: the federal government can only operate within its appropriate sphere, and can’t tread on state territory

NATIONAL SUPREMACY(Continued

• What established the national government as superior to the states, once and for all?

• Four events:• McCulloch v. Maryland• “implied powers”• Civil War• Civil Rights Movement

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)• Maryland tries to tax the Bank of the United States

within its state borders• SUPREME COURT SUGGESTS:• “The government of the United States, though

limited in its power, is supreme within its sphere of action.”

• “The power to tax is the power to destroy”• The Constitution grants Congress certain “implied

powers”

Granted what? “Implied” powers?

• Yup…as opposed to enumerated powers (the ones actually spelled out in the Constitution

• Article I, Section 8, the “necessary and proper clause”: • Congress has the power “to make all laws

necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers”

Further Adventures in NATIONAL SUPREMACY

• The Civil War settles national supremacy militarily• Civil Rights Movement formalizes this legally, with

battle b/w national govt and state govt’s after Brown v. Board of Education

Richmond, VA 1865, after national supremacy has

been pretty well established.

The Federalism (POWER) Debate

Alexander Hamilton: the national gov’t. is superior, and thus its powers ought to be

broadly defined (Art. VI, the “supreme law of the

land”)

Thomas Jefferson:the federal gov’t. is a

product of an agreement among states

thus states hold the defining power

Why didn’t the Framers spell out state powers (or personal liberties, for that matter)?• The federal gov’t. will have only those powers

given to it by the Constitution• 10th Amendment, an afterthought: “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” -- Reserved powers clause

• Delegated Powers (enumerated powers) powers given to Fed gov’t by Constitution

• Reserved Powers – state power alone• Concurrent Powers – shared• Prohibited Powers – denied from both • Example:

Neither gov’t can tax exports

Federalism Powers

Commerce PowerAn extension of Implied Power

• Art. I, Sec. 8, Cl. 3 – ‘The Congress shall have power - To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes.”

• Congress has used the elastic clause to stretch this power

• vehicle through which the courts have expanded or contracted national power -- depending on whether the word commerce was interpreted broadly or narrowly

Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)Commerce Power (Commerce Clause)

• 1824 – aka “The Steamboat Case”

• Result – Gibbons wins• Expanded national power in

all areas of commerce law because nation overruled state in interstate trade issues

• Fed Gov’t gets STRONGER• historically, the Supreme Court has interpreted

the clause broadly to give the national government more power

• recently -- a more conservative court has interpreted it narrowly

Is this right???

Who cares? Why does it matter?• Labor Law• Civil Rights Law• Anti Trust Law• Environmental Law• Health Care law

Cake Anyone?

Dual Federalism• (represented by the layer-cake metaphor) • implies the existence of distinct layers of government• each layer has powers in their own spheres• powers are not mixed or shared

• states viewed as powerful components of federal system, equal in some respects with national government• focus on states’ rights

• characterized how American governments functioned from {1789 to 1933}

The inside is filled with

governmental goodness…and

nougat!!

Cooperative Federalism • (represented by the marble-cake metaphor)• emphasizes intermingling of

government activities at different levels and in various spheres

• national / state governments undertake functions jointly

• nations and states routinely share power

• stresses role of the national government, supported by an expansive view of the supremacy clause (Article VI)

For example…the Internet!• Which of the following is the right statement? • The federal government has the right to

regulate the internet.• State governments have the right to

regulate the internet.• No one should regulate the internet.

How does the federal government motivate states to do stuff?

• Grant-in-aid • money paid by one level of government to

another level, to be spent for a specific purpose

• Why use them?• federal standards (make’em conform!)• equalization of resources (let the rich

states help the poor!)• experimentation (can we do this? Let’s try

it at the state level first)• reducing the size of the fed. Govt: “Starve

the beast!”

Candy everyone wants!

What kind of cash is out there?• Categorical grant: • for a specific purpose with restrictions

from federal law (e.g., Northstar Rail)• usually requires some matching $ from a

state/local govt• Block grant:• put several categorical grants into a more

general, larger grant • Nixon liked this; “New Federalism,” send

more power to states

I should read this.

Federalism is ever-evolving and changing

New Federalism President Nixon • decentralization of national policies• called for combining categorical

grants into block grants

President Reagan • promised a “new New Federalism” to restore

a proper constitutional relationship among national, state, and local governments

• committed to reducing federal taxes and domestic spending

• cut taxes + military spending = (large deficits)

Devolve! Decentrali

ze!

Centralize! Federalize!

• Devolution: the attempt to devolve onto states the functions of national govt. (ex., welfare, health care, job training, etc.)

• National gov’t. exercises large amounts of political power through state governments; national power exists on satisfying local interests• ”all politics are local”

• on most matters, national gov’t. tries to get state/local govts to govern within nationally-set guidelines

Not an official block

grant.

Welfare Reform Act of 1996Welfare block grants replaced welfare

categorical grants

• Federal “strings” attached (very few):• No funds to recipients who had not worked in

past 2 years• No funds to

recipients who had received fed. $ for more than 5 years

• States must spend at least 75% of what they had previously spent on welfare

Disaster Relief. What is the federal governments role?

Intergovernmental Relations Today• Fiscal Federalism: the pattern of spending,

taxing, and providing grants in the federal system

• The cornerstone of the national government’s relations with state and local governments

• The Scramble for Federal Dollars• $460 billion in

grants every year• Grant distribution

follows universalism —a little something for everybody

Intergovernmental Relations Today• Preemption • power of Congress to enact laws

that assume total or partial responsibility for a state govt function

• The Mandate Blues• Mandates direct states or local

governments to comply with federal rules under threat of penalties or as a

• condition of receipt of a• federal grant.• • Unfunded Mandates

• Cross-over Sanctions• do this or pay your

own way

No Child Left Behind(Education Reform)

2001 Act signed by President George Bush

• It was enacted to hold schools accountable in making sure that all students succeed

• Students’ success is measured through standardized test scores• Focus – reading, writing, math

• If “poor performing” schools don’t meet state standards and progress after five years they may lose staff, funding, and undergo other big changes

Should the national gov’t step in to regulate school performance? -- NCLB

Americans with Disabilities Act

The Act• prohibits discrimination in recruitment, hiring,

promotions, training, pay, social activities, and other privileges of employment

• requires that employers make reasonable accommodation to the known physical or mental limitations of otherwise qualified individuals with disabilities, unless it results in undue hardship

• Full Faith and Credit: Each state must recognize official documents and judgments rendered by other states• Article IV, Section I of Constitution• (past – interracial marriage /

present – same-sex marriage)• Privileges and Immunities: Citizens of each state

have privileges of citizens of other states.• Article IV, Section 2 of Constitution

• Extradition: States must return a person charged with a crime in another state to that state for punishment

Intergovernmental Relations TodayState to State

Federalism Conclusions• Best effect of Federalism: facilitating political action• People get involved if they think they have a

chance, which a federal system allows• However, independent state/local govts means

different political groups w/different agendas will come to power in different places

• Madison, Fed. # 10: this is a good thing; in a ‘extended’ republic like the U.S., gives greatest opportunity for all relevant interests to be heard

• THE END OF THE UNIT