The Constitutional Convention of 1787 saw competing plans between the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan, with debates around state vs national power. There were also conflicts around slavery and representation that led to compromises, such as proportional representation in the House but equal representation in the Senate, and counting slaves as 3/5 of a person for representation. The Constitution established a federal system with separation of powers and checks and balances between the national and state governments.

1. The Constitutional Convention

2. The Constitutional Convention of 1787: Conflict and Compromise2 competing plansThe Virginia PlanPrinciple author: James MadisonNational government would be supreme over the statesFavored by populous statesThe New Jersey PlanPrinciple author: William Patterson of New Jersey“Confederation model”Favored by smaller states

3. The Constitutional Convention of 1787: Conflict and CompromiseThe ConflictState-based approach versus an individual-based approachThe CompromiseHouse of Representatives: proportional; Senate: equal number of representatives from each stateThe ConflictNortherners were increasingly abolitionistThe CompromiseThe Constitution was to protect the Atlantic Slave Trade for at least twenty years

4. The Constitutional Convention of 1787: Conflict and CompromiseThe ConflictIf representation is proportional in the House of Representatives, how should slaves be counted?The CompromiseThree-Fifths of the slaves in each state would be counted

5. The U.S. Constitution

6. The U.S. ConstitutionSeven Articles of the ConstitutionThe Legislative BranchThe Executive BranchThe Judicial BranchGuidelines for Relations between StatesThe Amendment ProcessFederal-State Relations; Oath for OfficersHow the Constitution Can be Ratified

7. Commerce Clause (Art. 1)The Congress shall have power . . . To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes

8. Commerce Clause (Art. 1)The Congress shall have power . . . To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribesU.S. v. E.C. Knight Company (1895)Hammer v. Dagenhart (1918)

9. Denied PowersNo abolition until 1808Habeas CorpusNo ex post facto lawsNo capitation/direct tax*No taxes on interstate tradeNo titles of nobility

10. Article IV: Interstate RelationsFull Faith and Credit Clause:“Full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state” - Marriage, for example

11. Article IV: Interstate RelationsFull Faith and Credit Clause:“Full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state”Privileges and immunities clause:“the citizens of each state shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several states”

12. PrivilegesAccording to California law, a “citizen” is a person that has taken up permanent residence in the state. A family moves from Arizona to California and is denied welfare benefits. The state requires them to be residents for at least 1 year.Is this constitutional?

13. PrivilegesSaenz v. Roe (1999)-California violated the U.S. Constitution

14. PrivilegesWhat should this mean for out-of-state tuition?

15. Article VI: SupremacySupremacy ClauseThe national government is above all sub-national governmentsAll federal and state officials swear an oath to the federal governmentCounter to the Doctrine of Nullification and Doctrine of Secession

16. Article VII: RatificationFederalists versus Anti-FederalistsThe Federalist PapersJames Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John JayThe “Brutus” Essays

17. Federalist PapersOp-Ed piecesWritten anonymously by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John JayIntended to cultivate a pro-Constitution cultureModern judges use the papers to determine original intent

18. Alexander HamiltonFederalist 27 Federal government may act “odious or contemptible” toward the people, but a strong central government is neededCitizens would have “less occasion to recur to force”

19. James MadisonFederalist 10Factions – citizens united by “common impulses of passion”Tyranny of the Majority could result2 Ways to rid of FactionsRid of libertyCheck the inducements to sacrifice the weaker partyRepublican government is the solution

20. James MadisonFederalist 39A hybrid regime - FederalismThe power to govern must be derived from the consent of the people. Representatives elected from the people are the administrators of the government. The terms of service of the Representatives must be limited by time or good behavior. Powers to be divided between national and state governments

21. Anti-FederalistsNeed for states to have more power because only at smaller levels can public be accurately representedBrutus essays (Anti-Federalist)i. Fear of presidential power ii. No Bill of Rights

22. Anti-Federalist #84Called for stronger guarantees of individuals libertiesFederalists were uneasy about a Bill of RightsFeared it would be interpreted as the ONLY rights individuals hadUltimately included in order to gain more support for the Constitution

23. Constitutional Ambiguity“Its nature, therefore, requires, that only its greatest outlines should be market, its important objects designated, and the minor ingredients which compose those objects, be deduced from the nature of the objects themselves.” -Marbury v. Madison

24. Constitutional AmbiguityThe Constitution lays out the basic framework for the U.S. government in about 4 pages and has been amended only 27 times.The Alabama Constitution contains over 300,000 words and has been amended more than 700 times.

25. Important PrinciplesSeparation of PowersChecks and Balances

27. Important PrinciplesSeparation of PowersChecks and BalancesFederal SystemA system of government in which power and authority are divided between a central government and regional sub-units

28. Important PrinciplesSeparation of PowersChecks and BalancesFederal SystemRepresentative RepublicanismLimit the influence of the massesSenators were originally chosen by state legislatures

29. Important PrinciplesSeparation of PowersChecks and BalancesFederal SystemRepresentative RepublicanismReciprocityFull faith and creditEqual rights to out of state citizens

30. Important PrinciplesSeparation of PowersChecks and BalancesFederal SystemRepresentative RepublicanismReciprocityFixed system open to change

31. Relevance of the ConstitutionDoes meaning change over time?Living constitution vs. Original intent

32. Defining FederalismFederalismConstitutional arrangement whereby power is distributed between a central government and subnational governments called states in the United States. “Look, the American people don’t want to be bossed around by federal bureaucrats. They want to be bossed around by state bureaucrats”

33. Governing Levels1 National Government50 State GovernmentsThousands of local governments

34. Governing LevelsIs there some kind of ‘federalism’ between state and local governments?

35. Governing LevelsIs there some kind of ‘federalism’ between state and local governments?Dillon’s Rule (1868)Home Rule

36. Types of GovernmentFederalismPowers divided between central government and smaller governmental units

37. Types of GovernmentFederalismConfederationDefinition?

38. Types of GovernmentFederalismConfederationStates retain ultimate authority

39. Types of Government

40. Types of GovernmentFederalismConfederationUnitaryCentral government exercises all governmental powers and can change or abolish its constituent units (states)

41. Advantages of FederalismDiversity of NeedsCloseness to the peopleInnovation and ExperimentationSub-national units are “laboratories”Check on Federal Power

42. FederalismSometimes used to address ethnic divisionsSouth AfricaIraq

43. DisadvantagesLack of National StandardsLow visibility and lack of popular controlLack of uniformity in rules and programs

44. DisadvantagesLack of National StandardsLow visibility and lack of popular controlLack of uniformity in rules and programsYugoslavia was a disasterA collection of “ethno-nationalist republics”

45. Federalism in the ConstitutionStates have independent powersSupremacy ClauseCongressional powers are enumerated (Article I, Section 8)Tenth AmendmentPowers 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”

46. State RolesAmendments¾ of all state legislatures must ratify an amendmentStates must approve the creation of new states

47. The Great Debate: Centralists versus DecentralistsCentralismSupporters: Chief Justice John Marshall, Presidents Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and Franklin Roosevelt, and the Supreme Court for most of its historyPosition: The central government should be denied authority only when the Constitution clearly prohibits it from actingDecentralismSupporters: Antifederalists, Thomas Jefferson, Supreme Court from 1920s to 1937, and Presidents Ronald Reagan and G. W. BushPosition: Views the Constitution as a compact among states that gives the central government very little authority

48. Historical Markers in the Development of American FederalismMcCulloch V. Maryland and the Necessary and Proper ClauseSecession and the Civil WarNational Guarantees of Civil RightsThe Expansion of Interstate CommerceThe Income Tax and Federal Grants

49. The Evolution of American Federalism“State-Centered Federalism” 1787 to 1868From the adoption of the Constitution to the end of the Civil War, the states were the most important units of the American Federal SystemMcCulloch v. Maryland decided during this phase

50. McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)“The power to tax involves the power to destroy…If the right of the States to tax the means employed by the general government be conceded, the declaration that the Constitution, and the laws made in pursuance thereof, shall be the supreme law of the land, is empty and unmeaning declamation.”

51. QuestionI thought the Civil War was about slavery. What does federalism have to do with the Civil War?

52. The Evolution of American Federalism“Dual Federalism”1868 to 1913In this phase, the national government narrowly interpreted its delegated powers and the states continued to decide most domestic policy issues

53. Evolution of American Federalism After the Civil War, industrialization and urbanization created new challenges for the federal system

54. The Evolution of American Federalism“Cooperative Federalism”1913 to 1964The system was likened to a marble cake in that “as the colors are mixed in a marble cake, so functions are mixed in the American federal system.”

55. Cooperative Federalism1932-1936: Supreme Court invoked doctrine of Dual Federalism to challenge FDR’s New DealCourt packing schemeCourt has since sided with national government

56. Doctrine of IncorporationThe Supreme Court has “incorporated” new rights into the due process clause of the 14th AmendmentExpands civil liberties on the national level

57. The Evolution of American Federalism“Centralized” or “Creative” Federalism1964-1980The presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969) marked a critical point in the evolution of federalismFederal government clearly had its own national goals

58. The Great Society and Creative FederalismJohnson’s “Great Society”War on PovertyFederal funds were directed to states, local government, and a wide variety of social programs

59. The Great Society and Creative Federalism

60. The Great Society and Creative Federalism

61. The Changing Nature of Federal GrantsGrants-in-AidFederal funds given to state and local governments on the condition that the money be spent for specified purposes, defined by officials in Washington

62. Types of GrantsCategoricalFor a specific purposeBlock GrantsFor a general area

63. New FederalismRonald Reagan sought to return more power and responsibility to the states“Government is not the solution; it’s the problem” - Ronald Reagan

64. Devolution The Republican “Contract with America” called for devolution-- the transfer of political and economic power to the statesCopyright 2006 Prentice Hall

65. The Supreme Court and the Role of CongressBeginning in 1995, justices interested in granting more deference to state authority gained a slim five-to-four majority in the Supreme Court

66. Our Federal SystemIs the federal government getting too big to provide an effective response to local problems?