Federalism has evolved in the United States over time from dual federalism to cooperative federalism to new federalism. Under dual federalism from 1789 to 1945, the national and state governments each had distinct, non-overlapping areas of responsibility. From 1945 to 1969, cooperative federalism saw the different levels of government interact cooperatively to solve common problems. Since 1969, new federalism advocates for limiting federal power and devolving some programs back to state control.

1. By Swikar Dahal

3. Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and George
Washington were advocates of the federal system.

4. History:
Federalism has evolved over the course of American history. At
different points in time, the balance and boundaries between the
national and state government have changed substantially.
• Dual Federalism (1789–1945)
Dual federalism describes the nature of federalism for the first 150
years of the American republic, roughly 1789 through World War II.
This type of federalism is also called layer-cake federalism because,
like a layer cake, the states’ and the national governments each had
their own distinct areas of responsibility, and the different levels
rarely overlapped.

5. • Cooperative Federalism (1945–1969)
Cooperative federalism is a concept of federalism in which
national, state, and local governments
interact cooperatively and collectively to solve common
problems, rather than making policies separately but more or
less equally. State and local governments administer many
federal programs, for example, and states depend heavily on
federal funds to support their own programs. This type of
federalism is called cooperative federalism, or marble-cake
federalism.

6. • New Federalism (1969–present)
Since the 1970s, political leaders and scholars of the New
Federalism school have argued that the national government
has grown too powerful and that power should be given back
to the states. New Federalism has taken concrete form in a
variety of policies. New Federalists have argued for specific
limits on federal power, as well as devolution, a policy of
giving states power and responsibility for some programs.

7. Federalism
• Federalism is a system based upon democratic rules and
institutions in which the power to govern is shared
between national and provincial/state governments.
• Some power belongs to the national government and
other power belongs to each of the states.
• Of the eight largest countries in the world by area, seven
—Russia, Canada, the United States, Brazil, Australia, India,
and Argentina — are organized on a federal basis. (China,
the third largest, is a unitary state.)

8. • Countries tend to adopt federalism either because they were
originally separate political states that joined together but
were unwilling to give up all of their own political authority
(such as the U.S. and Switzerland), or because the diversity in
their countries makes a federalist structure a means of
reducing conflict, by allowing diverse groups some autonomy
to run their own affairs rather than being wholly dictated to
by a central government in which they feel they have too little
say, such as in Belgium and South Africa.

9. Unitary states
Federations

11. Features of Federalism:
1. There are two or more levels of government.
2. The jurisdiction(authority) of the respective tiers (levels) of government
are specified in the constitution.
3. Under federalism, local self government is established, by which people
get opportunity to participate in administration.
4. One level of government cannot unilaterally change the fundamental
provisions of the constitution.

12. Fifty self-governing states and several territories.

14. Benefits of Federalism:
 A Better Understanding(Localized Governance)
 Freedom to Form Policies
 Optimum Utilization of Resources
 People Feel More Involved

15. Negatives of Federalism:
 Conflict of Authority (power struggle)
 Regionalism Over Patriotism
 Can Lead to Corruption
 Uneven Distribution of Wealth

16. Citizen Ignorance
Critics argue that federalism cannot function well due to
ignorance. Most Americans know little about their state and
local governments, and turnout in state and local elections is
often less than 25 percent. Citizens consequently often ignore
state and local governments, even though these governments
have a lot of power to affect people’s lives.

18. Reference:
• http://www.sparknotes.com/us-government-and-
politics/american-government/federalism/section4.rhtml
• http://thenextgalaxy.com/the-advantages-and-disadvantages-
of-federalism/
• http://www.buzzle.com/articles/advantages-and-
disadvantages-of-federalism.html