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Section:Chapter 4, Section 1

3.3

Federalism: The Division of Power

• What is federalism, and why was it chosen by the Framers?

• What powers are delegated to and denied to the National Government, and what powers are reserved for and denied to the States?

• What exclusive powers does the National Government have, and what concurrent powers does it share with the States?

• What place do local governments have in the federal system?

• How does the Constitution function as “the supreme Law of the Land?”

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Section:

The Framers’ Challenge

How can we create a new

central government that is

strong enough to meet the

needs of the day, at the

same time, preserve the

already existing States?

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Section:

The Framers were dedicated to the concept

of limited government. They were convinced

Why Federalism?

(1) that governmental power poses a threat to

individual liberty,

(2) that therefore the exercise of governmental

power must be restrained, and

(3) that to divide governmental power, as

federalism does, is to curb it and so prevent its

abuse.

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Section:

Federalism Defined

Federalism is a system of government in which a

written constitution divides the powers of

government on a territorial basis between a

central, or national, government and several

regional governments

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The Constitution provides for a division of

powers,assigning certain powers to the National

Government and certain powers to the States.

Example: Fed Govt. can regulate interstate commerce(trade)

while states decide for themselves whether people can be

put to death for crimes they commit in each state.

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Section:

Strengths of Federalism

• It allows local action in matters of

local concern and national action in

matters of wider concern

•Allows for experimentation and

innovation in solving public policy

problems.

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Section:

Powers of the National Government (Delegated Powers)

Chapter 4, Section 12 3

• delegated powers, meaning that the govt. only has those

powers delegated (granted) to it in the Constitution. There are

three types of delegated powers:The expressed powers are those found directly within the

Constitution. (example: Power to the President to act as

commander in chief of the armed forces)

The implied powers are not expressly stated in the Constitution, but

are reasonably suggested, or implied by, the expressed powers.

(example: Necessary and Proper Clause—Elastic Clause) The

power to regulate interstate commerce.

The inherent powers belong to the National Government because it

is the government of a sovereign state within the world community.

There are few inherent powers. (example: the National

Government’s ability to regulate immigration).

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Section:

Powers Denied to the National Government

Expressly Denied (specifically written)

• the power to levy duties on exports or

prohibit the freedom of religion, speech,

press, or assemblyImplicitly Denied (protects the system of

federalism)

• Congress can’t tax any of the States---could

tax them out of existence.Silently Denied (Constitution is silent on the

issue)

• Create a public school system for the nation

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Section:

The States

Powers Reserved to the States

• The 10th Amendment declares that

the States are governments of

reserved powers.

• The reserved powers are those

powers that the Constitution does not

grant to the National Government and

does not, at the same time, deny to

the States.

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Powers Denied to the States

• Just as the Constitution denies many

powers the National Government, it

also denies many powers to the

States.

• Powers denied to the States are

denied in much the same way that

powers are denied to the National

Government; both expressly and

inherently.

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Section:

The Exclusive and Concurrent Powers

Exclusive Powers

• Powers that can be exercised by the

National Government alone are

known as the exclusive powers.

• Examples of the exclusive powers

are the National Government’s power

to coin money, to make treaties with

foreign states, and to lay duties

(taxes) on imports.

Concurrent Powers

• The concurrent powers are those

powers that both the National

Government and the States possess

and exercise.

• Some of the concurrent powers

include the power to levy and collect

taxes, to define crimes and set

punishments for them, and to claim

private property for public use.

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Section:

The Division of Powers

The federal

system

determines the

way that powers

are divided and

shared between

the National and

State

governments.

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Section:

Supremacy Clause

• Federal system produces a dual system of

government---such an arrangement is bound to result

in conflicts between the national and State law.

• Supremacy Clause: created to deal with conflicts that

arise between the states and national govt.

• Essentially says that the Constitution ranks above

all other forms of the laws in the U.S.

• The SCOTUS is the “umpire” in the federal

system….they apply the Supremacy Clause to

conflicts that occur between states and federal

government

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Section:

The Supreme Law of the Land

The Supremacy Clause in the Constitution establishes the Constitution

and United States laws as the “supreme Law of the Land.”

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