FEDERALISM

Timeline of American Federalism

1781- Articles of Confederation1788- Constitution ratified1791- Bill of Rights ratified1803- Louisiana Purchase expands size of U.S.1819- McCulloch v. Maryland interprets

“necessary and proper” clause broadly1824- Gibbons v. Ogden establishes

congressional control over interstate trade

Timeline of American Federalism

1860- S. Carolina first state to secede from U.S.1865- Civil War ends1877- End of Reconstruction1916- Federal Highway Act is first large-scale

cash grant to states1965- Voting Rights Act ends racial

discrimination in voting practices in the states1972- General revenue sharing increases funds

available to states

Timeline of American Federalism

1995- Congress prohibits “unfunded mandates” costing over $50 million

1996- Welfare reform reduces restrictions on states’ use of welfare funds

2004- Massachusetts becomes first state to allow marriage of same-sex couples

Federalism DefinedConstitutional arrangement whereby power

is distributed between a central government and subdivisional governments, called states in the United States. The national and subdivisional governments both exercise direct authority over individuals.

Visions of FederalismDual Federalism- Constitution gives a limited

list of powers (foreign policy and national defense) to the national government and the rest to sovereign states. Supreme Court serves as umpire in disputes over which level of government has responsibility for a particular activity.

Cooperative Federalism- federalism as a system of intergovernmental relations in delivering governmental goods and services to the people and calls for cooperation among levels of government

Visions of FederalismCompetitive Federalism- coined by political

scientist Thomas R. Dye, views the national government, 50 states, and thousands of other units as competing with each other over ways to put together packages of services and taxes. Analogy of the marketplace: at the state and local levels, we have some choice about which state and city we want to “use”

Permissive Federalism- the states’ share of power and authority rests upon the permission and permissiveness of the national government

Visions of Federalism“Our Federalism”- championed by

conservatives like Ronald Reagan. Presumes that the power of the federal government is limited in favor of the broad powers reserved for the states.

Coined by political scientist Morton Grodzins

Alternatives to FederalismUnitary Government- All governmental

power is vested in the central government. The central government may delegate authority to constituent units, but what it delegates it may take away. Ex.- France, Israel, and in the U.S. state constitutions usually create this kind of relationship between the state and local governments.

Alternatives to FederalismConfederations- sovereign nations,

through a constitutional compact, create a central government but carefully limit the power of the central government and do not give it the power to regulate the conduct of individuals directly. Ex.- Articles of Confederation and the European Union.