Federalism

1
Federalism

• Chapter 3

2
Defining Federalism

• Federalism is a way of organizing a nation so
  that two or more levels of government have formal
  authority over the same area and people.
• In the United States we are subject to the formal
  authority of both the state and the national
  government

3
Other Types of Government

• Unitary Government All of the power resides in
  the central government
• American states are unitary governments with
  respect to their local governments
• The states receive their authority directly from
  the Constitution
• Confederation Government the national
  government is weak and most of the power is in
  its components (A of C)

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Why is Federalism Important?

• It decentralizes our politics
• It provides more levels for participation which
  reduces conflict at the national level
• It enhances judicial power
• Someone needs to resolve disputes between the
  levels of government
• It decentralizes our policies
• It allows for innovation and experimentation

5
The Process of Federalism

• The process is not necessarily a logical one but
  quite often evolves from the political process
• It quite often boils down to the allocation of
  national resources
• There are times when the state or national
  government are incompetent to address certain
  issues of national importance

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Historical Context

• The states failure to address the development of
  the national economy was what led to the demand
  to extend the national governments control of
  interstate commerce
• The problem of destructive variation
• Railroads, Interstate Trucking, Airline
  Schedules, Electrical Grids, etc.
• Needed uniform standards

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Historical Context (cont.)

• The failure of the states to protect the rights
  and freedoms of their citizens also called for
  changes Voting Rights
• The failure of the states to cope with economic,
  natural, and civic disasters
• Great Depression, illegal immigration, flooding
• The failure of the states to respond to the
  financial needs of the cities
• White (and Black) flight

8
Private Sector

• There are times when the failure of the states
  and federal government to address problems bring
  the private sector into the process
• The Federal System has its own dynamic and is a
  constantly evolving process

9
Competing Values

• Values are societies moral imperatives
• They are deeply held beliefs about things that
  should exist
• What should the society do?
• What qualities of life should be preserved or
  sought out?
• What is worth fighting and dieing for?
• Americas values are pluralistic

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Values

• Liberty Built in obstacles to majoritarian
  domination
• National Strength Sufficient power to subsidize
  the development of a vigorous national economy
• Economic Efficiency The power to expand or
  correct for perceived problems in the private
  sector

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The Division of Power

• The word federalism is not mentioned in the
  Constitution
• While making an effort to distinguish the powers
  of both the national and state governments the
  Constitution still leaves room for dispute
• The national government could create new states
  but not destroy them

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The Supremacy Clause

• Article VI states that 3 items are the supreme
  law of the land
• The Constitution
• Laws of the national government
• Treaties (which can only be made by the national
  government)

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Tenth Amendment

• Located in the Bill of Rights
• Grants all powers not specifically reserved for
  the national government to the states
• Often cited in defense of states rights

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Powers Reserved for the Federal Government

• Coin money
• Regulate the economy and foreign and interstate
  commerce
• Declare war
• Manage the national military
• Direct foreign relations

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Powers Reserved for State Governments

• Create local level of government
• Regulate intrastate commerce
• Hold elections
• Ratify amendments
• Conduct social policy making

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Powers Shared by the Federal and State Governments

• Make and enforce laws
• Collect taxes
• Maintain courts
• Allocate money for public needs

17
McCulloch v. Maryland

• In 1816 the Second Bank of the United States
  (B.U.S.) was established by an act of Congress
• It was a private bank but acted as an agent of
  the federal government collection of taxes,
  transfer of government funds, disbursement of
  money
• Had branches in several states including Maryland

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McCulloch v. Maryland

• State banks did not want the competition and
  persuaded the legislature to pass a fee (tax) of
  15,000 / year
• The cashier of the Branch, James McCulloch
  refused to pay and was sued by the state of MD
• The state courts upheld the state tax law
• Reached the Supreme Court in 1819

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McCulloch v. Maryland

• The state of MD argued that the Constitution was
  created by sovereign and independent states who
  chose to join together
• Since the powers given to the federal government
  were delegated by the states, the federal
  government was actually created by the states and
  should do what they said

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McCulloch v. Maryland

• Chief Justice John Marshall, writing for a
  unanimous Court, addressed this argument by
  pointing out that it was the people, acting
  through the ratifying conventions, themselves
  that had established the Constitution, not the
  states

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McCulloch v. Maryland

• The second key question was whether a state could
  constitutionally tax a branch of the B.U.S.?
• The power to create implies a power to preserve
• The power to destroy is incompatible with the
  power to create
• Where conflict exists, the authority which is
  supreme must control

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McCulloch v. Maryland

• Marshall then took up two other key questions
• A Constitution could not possibly explicitly
  address every detail of what the federal
  governments powers were
• While the word bank isnt mentioned the power
  to lay taxes and borrow money are
• The powers being given, it is in the best
  interest of the nation to facilitate it

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The Elastic Clause

• Found in Article I, Section 8
• Also known as the necessary and proper clause
• Gives Congress the power to pass any laws
  necessary to carry out its duties as enumerated
  in the Constitution
• As interpreted in this case it allows to Congress
  implied powers that are not specifically defined
  in the Constitution

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McCulloch v. Maryland

• The Court had enforced the supreme law of the
  land provision of Article VI and gave a broad
  interpretation to the last clause of Article I
  granting Congress the power to make laws
  necessary and proper to carry out its delegated
  powers

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Establishing National Supremacy

• Four key events largely settled the issue of how
  national and state powers are related
• The elaboration of the doctrine of implied powers
• The definition of the commerce clause
• The Civil War
• The long struggle for racial equality

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Implied Powers

• With the McCulloch v. Maryland decision the
  doctrine of implied powers as contained in the
  necessary and proper clause were now deemed
  Constitutional
• The Congress could not be confined within the
  enumerated powers
• This would appear to contradict the notion of a
  limited government

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John Marshall

• let the end be legitimate, let it be within the
  scope of the constitution, and all means which
  are appropriate, which are plainly adapted to
  that end, which are not prohibited, but consist
  with the letter and the spirit of the
  constitution are constitutional.

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Commerce Clause

• The power to regulate commerce is an enumerated
  power in the constitution but the definition of
  what constitutes commerce has been a matter of
  contention
• Early Supreme Court decisions gave the national
  government an extremely broad definition allowing
  them to intervene in state matters apparently far
  removed from true commerce

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The Civil War

• While the constitutional battle over national vs.
  states rights worked its way through the courts
  in the early 19th century actual battles decided
  the issue by 1865
• Slavery was an extremely important factor in the
  causes of the Civil War but it ultimately came
  down to who would have supreme authority to
  govern that led to the war - Sovereignty

30
Racial Equality

• State efforts at restricting the rights and
  freedoms of certain of their citizens once again
  prompted the national government to act in the
  interests of the American people
• School desegregation and the protection of voting
  rights became the battle field over which the
  drama continued to play out in the 1950s and 60s
• Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

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State Obligations to Each Other

• Full faith and credit (Article IV) Honor all
  public acts, records and civil judicial
  proceedings of every other state
• Reciprocity
• Extradition Criminal offenders from one state
  will be subject to detention in all other states
  and prisoners will be returned to the state where
  the crime occurs
• Privileges and immunities designed to protect
  non-citizens from discrimination this area is
  still somewhat hazy

32
Intergovernmental Relations

• There have been two major changes to the concept
  of federalism over the years
• A gradual shift from dual federalism to
  cooperative federalism, which emphasizes power
  sharing between levels of government
• The rise of fiscal federalism. The elaborate
  system of assortment of federal grants-in-aid to
  state and local governments

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Dual Federalism

• The federal and state governments reign supreme
  within their own spheres
• What are some examples?
• The layers of government are distinct as in a
  layer cake
• Proponents of dual federalism believe that the
  powers of the national government should be
  interpreted narrowly

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Cooperative Federalism

• Federalism as a marble cake
• What are some examples of this kind of
  federalism?
• 9/11
• Education
• Highways
• Shared costs
• Federal guidelines
• Shared administration

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Cooperative Federalism

• What are some of the problems with this form of
  federalism?
• Philosophical?
• Conservative vs. Liberal
• Fiscal?
• Who pays?

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Fiscal Federalism

• The cornerstone of the national governments
  relations with state and local governments
• It is the pattern of spending, taxing, and
  providing grants in the federal system
• MONEY (grants-in-aid, federal money appropriated
  by Congress) is the main instrument employed by
  the national government to aid and influence
  states and localities

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The Grant System

• This system provides money to states and
  localities for such programs as energy assistance
  for the elderly poor, housing allowances, drug
  abuse services, urban rat control, community
  arts, and disaster preparedness.
• These funds are made available to those states
  localities that wish to apply

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Categorical Grants

• Main source of federal aid to state and local
  governments
• They can only be used for one of several hundred
  specific purposes or categories
• These grants typically have strings attached
• Nondiscrimination
• Not pay less than union wages
• Environmental impact studies

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Other Strings

• Cross-over Sanctions using federal dollars in
  one program to influence local policies in
  another
• Highway money / drinking age
• Cross-cutting Requirements the conditions of
  one federal grant is extended to all activities
  supported by federal funds
• Nondiscrimination
• Environmental protection
• Access to government information

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Project Grants

• Federal categorical grants given for specific
  purposes and awarded on the basis of the merits
  of the application
• National Science Foundation

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Formula Grants

• Federal categorical grants distributed according
  to a formula specified in legislation or in
  administrative regulation
• May be computed using various criteria
• State and local governments do not apply for
  these grants
• Battles are fought over the formulae themselves

42
Block Grants

• Federal grants given more or less automatically
  to states and communities to support broad
  programs in areas such as community development
  and social services
• First adopted in 1966 (the Great Society)
• Has been increasing since 1995
• Designed to circumvent red tape

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What does this lead to?

• Washington organizations of governments
• Bringing home the bacon
• Universalism
• How might this backfire?

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Mandates

• What are they?
• What is an example?
• What is an unfunded mandate?
• What is an example?
• Who else besides Congress can create unfunded
  mandates?
• How does illegal immigration figure into this?

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Federalism Democracy

• Advantages
• More access
• Different economic interests represented
• Diversity of opinion
• Reduces friction at the national level
• Disadvantages
• Unequal resources
• Discouragement of certain programs (welfare)
• Local interests can thwart national interests
• Excess of governments

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Summary

• Federalism is a governmental system in which
  power is shared between a central government and
  the state governments
• The U.S. has moved form a system of dual
  federalism to one of cooperative federalism
• Federalism has had both positive and negative
  effects on democracy
• Federalism effects most Americans lives in one
  way or another