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Federalism

• Objectives
• How the federal governments involvement in
  states affairs has grown?
• How have grants-in-aid affected the growth of
  federalism?
• What role do federal mandates play in federalism?
  

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Three Systems of Government

• Unitary System centralized government in which
  local governments exercise only those powers
  given to them by the central government
• Confederal System consists of a league of
  independent states, each having essentially
  sovereign power
• Federal System power is divided by a written
  constitution between a central government and
  regional governments

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The Flow of Power in Three Systems of Government
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So Why Adopt Federalism?

• A Practical Solution to the dispute between
  advocates of a strong central government and
  states rights advocates
• Geography and population make it impractical to
  locate all political authority in one place
• Brings government closer to the people
• State governments train future national leaders
• Prevention of Tyranny
• State governments can be testing grounds for
  policy initiatives
• Federalism allows for many political subcultures

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Federalism the Constitution
The Federal Government has implied powers from
the necessary proper clause or elastic clause
(ex create a national bank)
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Constitutional Basis of Powers of the National
Government

• Expressed Powers First 17 clauses of Article I,
  Section 8, examples include coining money,
  setting standards of weights and measures,
  declaring war
• Implied Powers the clause in Article I, Section
  8, that grants Congress the power to do whatever
  is necessary to execute its specifically
  delegated power (necessary and proper clause)
• Inherent Powers powers derive from the fact
  that the United States is a sovereign power among
  nations

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The Powers of State Government

• Reserved Powers derived from the 10th
  Amendment, states powers not assigned to the
  federal government are reserved for the states
• Police Powers power reserved to the state
  government to regulate the health, safety, and
  morals of its citizens regulation/enforcement
• Concurrent powers states and federal government
  share power on issues such as granting business
  license (national policy usually wins when there
  is a conflict)

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Examples of Federalism

• States pass their own laws regarding
• Gay Marriage, Abortion, Affirmative Action,
  Bilingual Education, Death Penalty, K-12
  Education, Speed Limit, Drinking Age, Gambling,
  Marijuana, Assisted Suicide

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Federalism in practice

• State Laws on the books today
• It is illegal for a driver to be blindfolded
  while operating a vehicle.
• It is illegal to wear a fake mustache that causes
  laughter in church.
• A L A B A M A

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Federalism in practice

• State Laws on the books today
• Animals are banned from mating publicly within
  1,500 feet of a tavern, school, or place of
  worship.
• It is a misdemeanor to shoot at any kind of game
  from a moving vehicle, unless the target is a
  whale.
• C A L I F O R N I A

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Federalism in practice

• State Laws on the books today
• Women may be fined for falling asleep under a
  hair dryer, as can the salon owner.
• A special law prohibits unmarried women from
  parachuting on Sunday or she shall risk arrest,
  fine, and/or jailing.
• Men may not be seen publicly in any kind of
  strapless gown.
• F L O R I D A

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Federalism in practice

• State Laws on the books today
• If an elephant is left tied to a parking meter,
  the parking fee has to be paid just as it would
  for a vehicle.
• Having sexual relations with a porcupine is
  illegal.
• It is illegal to sing in a public place while
  attired in a swimsuit.
• F L O R I D A

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Federalism in practice

• State Laws on the books today
• Prohibits shooting rabbits from a motorboat.
• K A N S A S
• It is illegal to rob a bank and then shoot at the
  bank teller with a water pistol.
• L O U I S I A N A

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Federalism in practice

• State Laws on the books today
• It is illegal for a liquor store to sell cold
  soft drinks or milk.
• I N D I A N A
• You may not swear in front of women and children.
  
• M I C H I G A N

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Federalism in practice

• State Laws on the books today
• It is illegal for bar owners to sell beer unless
  they are simultaneously brewing a kettle of soup
  
• N E B R A S K A
• It is illegal to lie down and fall asleep with
  your shoes on.
• N. D A K O T A

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Federalism in practice

• State Laws on the books today
• It is against the law to throw a ball at
  someone's head for fun.
• A license must be purchased before hanging
  clothes on a clothesline.
• The penalty for jumping off a building is death.
  
• N E W Y O R K

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Federalism in practice

• State Laws on the books today
• It is illegal to fish for whales on Sunday.
• It is illegal to get a fish drunk.
• O H I O
• A person is not eligible to become Governor if
  he/she has participated in a duel.
• P E N N S Y L V A N I A

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Federalism in practice

• State Laws on the books today
• It is illegal to take more than three sips of
  beer at a time while standing.
• It is illegal to drive without windshield wipers
  but a windshield is not required
• It is illegal for one to shoot a buffalo from the
  second story of a hotel.
• It is illegal to milk another person's cow.
• T E X A S

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Federalism in practice

• State Laws on the books today
• Fake butter may not be served in state prison.
• One may not camp in a wagon on any public highway
• Livestock have the right of way on public roads.
• W I S C O N S I N

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Federalism in practice

• State Laws on the books today
• Canned corn may not be used as bait for fishing.
• It is illegal to whisper dirty things in your
  lovers ear during sex.
• O R E G O N

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Federalism in practice

• State Laws on the books today
• It is mandatory for a motorist with criminal
  intentions to stop at the city limits and
  telephone the chief of police as he is entering
  the town
• All motor vehicles must be preceded by a man
  carrying a red flag (daytime) or a red lantern
  (nighttime) fifty feet in front of said vehicle
• It is illegal to display a hypnotized or
  allegedly hypnotized person in a store window
• W A S H I N G T O N

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The Growth of the National Government

• McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)- established the
  implied powers of the national government and the
  idea of national supremacy
• (from the necessary and proper clause)
• (from the supremacy clause)
• Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) established that the
  power to regulate interstate commerce was an
  exclusive national power
• (from the commerce clause)

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Gonzalez v. Raich (2005)

• Medicinal Marijuana
• Controlled Substance Act (1970) US government
  regulates the manufacture, importation,
  possession, and distribution of certain drugs
• Medicinal marijuana was legalized in California,
  but illegal to U.S. government. Raich argued
  commerce clause should not take effect because 1)
  there was no business transactions and 2) there
  were no state border issues.
• Supreme Court ruled 6-3 against Raich saying that
  the federal government could trump state laws
  that permitted medicinal marijuana.

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The Shift Back to States Rights in the
Jacksonian Era

• Nullification the idea that states could
  declare a national law null and void
• Secession the withdrawal of a state from a
  union
• South Carolina first state to repeal its
  ratification of the U.S. Constitution (1860)

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War and the Growth of the National Government

• The defeat of the South ended the idea that
  states could secede from the Union.
• The defeat of the South also resulted in an
  expansion of the powers of the national
  government (the opposite of what the South was
  fighting for)
•    New governments employees were hired to
  conduct the war effort, and Reconstruction
•    A billion dollar budget was passed
•    A temporary income tax was imposed on
  citizens
•    Civil liberties were curtailed because of the
  war effort and the nationals governments role
  expanded to include providing pensions to
  veterans and widows

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The Continuing Dispute over the Division of
Power

• Dual Federalism (Layer Cake) the national and
  state governments as equal sovereign powers
• Cooperative Federalism (Marble Cake) the idea
  that states and the national government should
  cooperate to solve problems
• Creative federalism - also known as picket fence
  federalism, predominated during the period of
  1960 to 1980. This relationship was characterized
  by overloaded cooperation and crosscutting
  regulations.
• New federalism - sometimes referred to as on
  your own federalism, is characterized by further
  devolution of power from national to state
  governments, deregulation, but also increased
  difficulty of states to fulfill their new
  mandates. This period began in 1981.

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What does duel federalism have in common with a
layer cake?
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Dual Federalism (1789-1932)

• Federal and state governments are co-equals, each
  sovereign
• Narrow interpretation of the Constitution
• Federal government only has jurisdiction if clear
  expressed in the Constitution (ex coin money,
  foreign affairs)
• State have greater role and powers (ex public
  education, race relations)

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What does cooperative federalism have in common
with a marble cake?
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Cooperative Federalism (1933-present)

• National government clearly supreme over the
  states with wide interpretation of the necessary
  and proper clause (Article I, Sect. 8 of the
  Constitution, also known as the elastic
  clause.)
• Federal government intervenes or assists in some
  areas traditionally left to the states (ex
  education, health care, civil rights)
• Began with the New Deal in the 1930s
• Characterized by federal government funding
  programs and state government implementing them
  (New Deal).

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The Decline of Dual Federalism

• Great Depression resulted in FDRs New Deal
  policies which established a large and far
  reaching federal government
• FDR fought with the Supreme Court for years and
  won re-election in landslide in 1936 and
  threatened to pack the court
• Result was a return to a strong federal
  government
• World War I, Great Depression, and World War II
  served as primary catalysts to the rise of
  cooperative federalism.

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Federal Preemption from 1900 to the Present
Source U.S. Advisory Commission on
Intergovernmental Relations, plus authors update.
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Cooperative Federalism in action

• Grants-in-aid
• Categorical grants Heres some money, but you
  do exactly what I tell you to do with it.
• Block grants Heres some money, spend it how
  you like as long as you it relates to what I
  want.
• General revenue sharing grants Heres some
  money, do whatever you want with it.
• Unfunded mandates I dont have the money, but
  you still have do exactly what I tell you to do.
  

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Federalism in action

• No Child Left Behind Act
• Problem
• Declining student performance
• Solution
• Federal funding requires tough performance
  standards
• Unintended consequences
• Localities forced to make huge investment to
  implement testing requirements.
• Localities suing states, arguing that testing
  requirements represent an unfunded mandate.
• States opting out of federal funds and
  performance standards.

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Inequities in State Education Spending
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The Number of Governments in the USA
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Federalism, Good Bad

• Good points
• More opportunities for participation.
• Increases number of access points to government.
• Regional interests have effective representation
  in both Congress and state governments.
• Allows for innovation at state-level.
• Overcomes weaknesses of the Articles of
  Confederation.
• The states, operating as sovereign units, have
  closer ties to the electorate than the national
  government does.
• Fifty different sets of rules allow policy
  experimentation and greater flexibility.
• Experimentation allows a more efficient pursuit
  of national policy goals.

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Federalism, Good Bad

• Bad points
• Inequities across states.
• Too many governments? (87,000)
• Local interests can thwart national majority.
• Multiple political actors can promote duplication
  and confusion.
• Coordination becomes difficult because states
  operate as independent and sovereign units.

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Political Cartoon 4 Title Cleanup
Artist Cam Cardow, The Ottawa Citizen Date
September 5, 2005
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Political Cartoon 1 Title Another Perfect Storm
Artist Jeff Danziger Date September,
2005 http//cartoonbox.slate.com/
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Questions for Discussion

• What 20th Century events contributed to the shift
  from dual federalism to cooperative federalism?
• What are the inherent strengths of a federal
  system in addressing national emergencies? What
  are the weaknesses?
• In both the near future, do you think the trend
  of cooperative federalism with the federal
  government taking a dominant role over the states
  will continue? Will this trend continue even
  into the distant future?
• Why is it important that powers be divided
  between the federal government and the states?
• Does the federal government have too much control
  in state affairs or too little?