Transcript Chapter 3

Chapter 3
FEDERALISM
Learning Objectives
• 1) Explain what federalism means, how
federalism differs from other systems of
government, & why it exists in the United States.
• 2) Indicate how the Constitution divides
governing powers in our federal system.
• 3) Summarize the evolution of federal-state
relationships in the United States over time.
Learning Objectives
• 4) Describe developments in federalism in
recent years.
• 5) Explain what is meant by the term fiscal
federalism.
Federalism & Its Alternatives
• Federalism: Invented in the U.S. 1787
– A system of shared sovereignty between two
levels of government
– One national & one sub-national
– Occupying the same geographic region.
• For a system to be truly federal
• The powers of both the national units & the subnational units
• Must be specified in a constitution.
Countries That Have A Federal
System Today Table 3-1 pg. 48
Alternatives To Federalism
• Unitary System:
– A centralized governmental system
– Where local or sub-divisional governments
– Exercise only those powers given to them by
the central government.
• ie. Governments of Britain, France, Israel, Japan &
Philippines
Alternatives to Federalism
• Confederate System:
– A league of independent sovereign states,
– Joined together by a central government
– Who has only limited powers over them.
• ie. Confederate states during the Civil War
Advantages of Federalism
• Well suited for large country
• Provides for a multitude of arenas for
decision making
• Keeps government closer to the people &
helps make democracy possible
• Makes it possible to experiment w/
innovative policies & programs at the state
or local level.
Drawbacks to Federalism
• Local self-rule may not always be in society’s
best interests
– Entrenched segregationist politicians in southern states denied
African Americans their civil rights & voting rights for decades
• Federalism also poses the danger that national
powers will be expanded at the expense of the
states.
• At the same powerful state & local interests can
block progress & impede national plans.
• Lack of uniformity of state laws.
Governmental Units in the
United States Figure 3-1 Pg.. 49
The Constitutional Division of
Powers
• Division of Powers:
– A basic principle of federalism
– Established by the U.S. Constitution.
– In a federal system, powers are divided
between units of government
• ie. Federal & State governments
Powers Delegated to the
National Government
• The Constitution grants 3 types of powers
to the national government:
– 1) Expressed Powers
– 2) Implied Powers
– 3) Inherent Powers
Powers Delegated to the
National Government
• Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution
• Expressly enumerates 27 powers that
Congress may exercise
– Expressed Powers: Constitutional or statutory
powers
– expressly provided for by the Constitution or
by congressional laws.
• ie. Power to Tax, Coin Money, Regulate interstate
commerce
Powers Delegated to the
National Government
• Constitutional basis for implied powers,
Article I, Section 8, Clause 18
– Implied Powers: The powers of the federal
government
– Are implied by the expressed powers in the
Constitution or by congressional laws.
• Often called Necessary & Proper Clause
Powers Delegated to the
National Government
• Necessary & Proper Clause:
– Article I, Section 8, Clause 18, of the
Constitution
– Gives Congress the power to make all laws
“necessary & proper”
– For federal government to carry out its
responsibilities;
• Also called the Elastic Clause.
Powers Delegated to the
National Government
• Inherent Powers:
– The powers of the national government that,
although not expressly granted by the
Constitution
– Are necessary to ensure the nation’s integrity
& survival as a political unit.
• Inherent powers include:
– The power to make treaties
– & the power to wage war or make peace.
Powers Prohibited to the
National Government
• Located in Article I, Section 9 & the 1st
eight amendments to the Constitution:
– Imposing taxes on exports
– Passing laws restraining certain liberties
• ie. Freedom of speech or religion
– Prohibited from exercising powers
• ie. Power to create national school system (not
included among its expressed & implied powers)
The Powers of the States
• 10th Amendment to the Constitution:
– Powers not delegated to the national
government by the Constitution, nor
prohibited to the states, “are reserved to the
States respectively, or to the people.”
The Powers of the States
• Police Powers:
– Powers of a government body
– Enable it to create laws for the protection of:
•
•
•
•
Health
Morals
Safety
& Welfare of the people
– In the United States, most police powers are
reserved to the states.
Powers Prohibited to the States
• Article I, Section 10 denies certain powers
to state governments
– ie. Tax goods transported across state lines &
Entering into treaties w/ other nations
– ie. 13th, 14th, 15th, 19th, 24th & 26th
Amendments also prohibit state actions
Interstate Relations
• Horizontal Federalism:
– Relationships among the states in our federal
system of government.
• Interstate Compacts:
– Agreements among two or more states
– To regulate the use or protection of certain
resources
– ie. Water or Oil & Gas
» California & Nevada concerning Lake Tahoe
Interstate Relations
• Constitution & Horizontal Federalism
– Full faith & credit clause
• Requires each state to honor every other
state’s public acts, records, & judicial
proceedings.
Concurrent Powers
• Powers held by both the federal & the state
governments in a federal system.
– ie. Power to Tax
Supremacy Clause
• Article VI, Clause 2, of the Constitution:
– Which makes the Constitution & federal laws
superior to all conflicting state & local laws.
• National government power ALWAYS takes
precedence over any conflicting state action.
The Constitutional Division of
Powers Figure 3-2 pg. 55
Powers Denied By The
Constitution Figure 3-2 pg. 55
The Struggle For Supremacy
• Early U.S. Supreme Court Decisions:
– Marbury v. Madison (1803)
• Judicial Review
– http://www.pbs.org/wnet/supremecourt/antebellum/land
mark_marbury.html
– McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) pg. 55
• Established the doctrine of Implied powers
• Established doctrine of national supremacy
– No state could use its taxing power to tax an arm of the
national government.
The Struggle for Supremacy
• Gibbons v. Ogden (1824): pg. 56
– Issue: defining commerce clause
– & whether national government had exclusive power
to regulate commerce involving more than one state.
• Decision:
– Chief Justice John Marshall defined commerce:
Includes all business dealings
• (As well as steamboat travel)
– Also states that power to regulate interstate commerce
is an exclusive national power
– & had not limitations except those found in the
Constitution.
Ultimate Supremacy Battle
• Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857)
– http://www.pbs.org/wnet/supremecourt/antebe
llum/landmark_dred.html
• The Civil War (1861-1865):
• Issue: Future of Slavery
– States’ rights v. National Supremacy
– Secession: The act of formally withdrawing
from membership in an alliance.
• Ie. Withdrawal of a state from the Federal Union
Dual Federalism
• A system of government in which both the
federal & state governments maintain
diverse but sovereign powers.
– Civil War to the 1930’s
• “Layer Cake”
Cooperative Federalism
• The theory that states & the federal
government should cooperate in solving
problems.
– Grew out of Great Depression, began in 1929
• Mixed cake
• Still operates today
Cooperative Federalism
• New Deal:
– A program ushered by Roosevelt
administration in 1933
– Goal: Bring U.S. out of the Great Depression
– New Deal included:
• Many government spending
• Public-assistance programs &
• Thousands of regulations governing economic
activity
Cooperative Federalism & The
Welfare State
• Massive social programs of 1960’s and
1970’s
– LBJ’s GREAT SOCIETY
• Medicaid, Medicare, the Job Corps, Operation
Head Start
– Civil Rights Act of 1964
– Consumer Protection & Environmental Protection
policy during the 70’s
• Require greater state & local involvement
Cooperative Federalism & The
Welfare State
• Picket-fence federalism:
– Model of federalism which specific policies &
programs are administered by all levels of
government
• National
• State
• & Local
– ie. Welfare Policy during the 1960’s & 1970’s
Effect of Supremacy Clause
• Preemption:
– Doctrine rooted in the supremacy clause of
Constitution
– Provides that national laws or regulations
governing a certain area
– Take precedence over conflicting state laws or
regulations governing that same area.
• National law trumps state law
Federalism Today
• New Federalism- More Power to the
States:
• New Federalism:
– Plan to limit federal government’s role in
– Regulating state governments
– & to give states increased power to decide
how they should spend government revenues.
• Nation-centered federalism to State-centered
federalism during 1970’s & 1980’s
Federalism Today
• New Federalism leads to Devolution:
– The surrender or transfer of powers to local
authorities by a central government.
• Product of conservative thought
• However also used during Clinton Administration
w/ Welfare reform in 1996
The Supreme Court & the New
Federalism
• United States v. Lopez (1995):
– 1st time in 60 yrs. Court holds that Congress had
exceeded its constitutional authority under commerce
clause
– Court concludes that the Gun-Free School Zones Act
of 1990
• Which banned the possession of guns w/ in 1,000ft. of any
school
– Was unconstitutional because it attempted to regulate
an area that had “nothing to do w/ commerce.”
The Supreme Court & the New
Federalism
• Significant 1997 decision, Court strikes down
portions of the Brady Handgun Violence
Prevention Act of 1993:
– Made state & local law enforcement officers
– Perform background checks on prospective handgun
buyers
– Until a national instant check system could be
implemented.
• Court stated that Congress lacked power to
“dragoon” state employees into federal service by
an unfunded federal mandate.
The Supreme Court & the New
Federalism
• Federal Mandate:
– Requirement in federal legislation which
forces state & municipalities (local
government) to comply w/ certain rules.
• If federal government does not provide money to
states to cover costs of compliance, mandate is an
unfunded mandate.
– Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
The Fiscal Side of Federalism
• Categorical Grants:
– Federal grant targeted for a specific purpose
• Categorical Grant for Education
– Only to be utilized for the purchase of new textbooks
• Block Grants:
– Federal grant given to state for a broad area
• Block Grant for Education
– Can be used as state sees fit: New textbooks, more
teachers, new computers, building improvements etc.
Fiscal Federalism
• Power of the national government to
influence state policies through grants.
– Cornerstone of national and state government
relationship
Competitive Federalism
• Model of Federalism:
– Devised by Political Scientist Thomas R. Dye
• In which state & local governments
compete for businesses & citizens,
• Who “vote with their feet”
– Moving to jurisdictions that offer competitive
advantage
• ie. Ohio Tax advantages for businesses vs. Ohio
strict environmental policy