FEDERALISM
Chapter 3
OConnor and Sabato
American Government:
Continuity and Change
Federalism
In this chapter we will cover
The Roots of the Federal System
The Powers of Government in the Federal System
The Evolution and Development of Federalism
Federalism and the Supreme Court
The Roots of the Federal System
The
Framers worked to create a political system that was halfway between the failed
confederation of the Articles of Confederation and the tyrannical unitary
system of Great Britain.
The
three major arguments for federalism are:
the
prevention of tyranny;
the
provision for increased participation in politics;
and the use
of the states as testing grounds or laboratories for new policies and programs.
Federalism Defined
Federalism is a political system in which
power is divided and shared between the national/central government and the
states (regional units) in order to limit the power of government.
The
Powers of Government in the Federal System
The distribution of powers in the federal
system consists of several parts:
exclusive powers
shared powers
denied powers
enumerated powers
and implied powers.
Article I, Section 8
The enumerated powers of the central government consist of the power to:
lay and collect taxes,
duties, and imposts
provide for the common
defense and general welfare of the United States
regulate commerce with
foreign nations, and among the states, and with Indian tribes
coin money and regulate
the value thereof
declare war
Implied Powers
The central government
may make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for
carrying into execution the enumerated powers.
The necessary and
proper clause has often been used to expand the powers of the national
government.
State Powers
Most
of State powers come from the Tenth Amendment that says: "The powers not
delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the
States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
These
are often referred to as reserve or police powers. States also have some powers
that the central government also wields called concurrent powers such as the
right to tax, borrow money, establish courts, and make and enforce laws.
Denied Powers
Article I, section 9
lays out powers denied to the central government.
For example: give preference to ports of one state
over another
Article I, section 10
lays out the powers denied to the states.
For example: enter into treaties, alliances, or
confederations
Relations among the States
The Framers wanted a
single country, not thirteen squabbling semi-countries.
Article IV requires
states to give full faith and credit to each others laws.
States are also required
to extradite criminals if asked by another state.
The Evolution and
Development of Federalism
The
allocation of powers in our federal system has changed dramatically over the
years.
The
Supreme Court in its role as interpreter of constitution has been a major
player in the redefinition of our Federal system.
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
McCulluch was the first major decision by the Supreme Court
under Chief Justice John Marshall about the relationship between the states and
the national government.
The Court upheld the
power of the national government and denied the right of a state to tax the
bank.
The Courts broad
interpretation of the necessary and proper clause paved the way
for later rulings upholding expansive federal powers.
Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
The Gibbons case
centered on the conflict between the states and the powers of Congress.
Could New York grant a
monopoly concession on the navigation of the Hudson River? The Hudson River forms part of the border
between New York and New Jersey and the U.S. Congress also licensed a ship to
sail the Hudson.
The main constitutional
question in Gibbons was about the scope of Congress' authority under the
Commerce Clause.
In Gibbons, the
Court upheld broad congressional power over interstate commerce.
Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)
The Supreme Court
articulated the idea of concurrent powers and dual federalism in
which separate but equally powerful levels of government is preferable, and the
national government should not exceed its enumerated powers.
The Taney Court held
that Mr. Scott was not a U.S. citizen and therefore not entitled to sue
in federal court.
The case was dismissed and Scott remained a
slave.
Taney further wrote that
Congress had no power to abolish slavery in the territories and slaves were
private property protected by the Constitution.
The Civil War and Beyond
Dual federalism remained
the Supreme Court's framework for federalism even after the adoption of the
Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth amendments.
Dual federalism finally
ended in the 1930s, when the crisis of the Great Depression demanded powerful
actions from the national government.
Cooperative Federalism
Prior
to the 1930s, many scholars used the analogy of a layer cake to describe
federalism.
Each layer had clearly
defined powers and responsibilities.
After
the New Deal, the analogy of a marble cake seemed more appropriate because the
lines of authority were much more mixed.
This
marble cake federalism is often called cooperative federalism
and has a much more powerful national government.
States
have a cooperative role, as did many cities.
Creative Federalism
Federal
grants: allocation of federal money to
the states for a specific purpose.
Federal
leadership saw these grants as a way to compel individual states to behave in
ways desired by the national government.
If the states refused to cooperate with the federal government, it would
withhold funds.
The Reagan Revolution
Shortly after taking office in
1980, former California Governor Ronald Reagan set to work enacting his vision
of the New Federalism by drastically cutting federal domestic programs and
income taxes in an attempt to reestablish the primacy of the states. For the first time in thirty years, federal
aid to state and local governments declined.
The Devolution Revolution
Growth in power of the
national government during the Clinton administration due to a Republican
majority in both houses of Congress.
Preemption: allows the national government to override
state or local actions in certain areas.
Unfunded
mandates: laws that require states
to comply with federal regulations or face civil and/or criminal penalties.
Federalism and the Supreme Court
By the 1980s and 1990s,
many Americans began to think that the national government was too big, too
strong, and too distant to understand their concerns.
The Supreme Court, once
again, played a role in this new evolution of federalism.
For example: Since 1989, the Court has been allowing
states to introduce limitations on the right to an abortion.