Federalism is a system of government where power is divided between national and state governments. The US Constitution established a federal system to address the founders' concerns about a strong central government by dividing power. It gives the national government enumerated powers like defense, currency and interstate commerce while reserving other powers like education and policing to the states. Over time, the balance of power has shifted towards more national authority through Supreme Court cases and amendments. Modern federalism involves cooperative and fiscal partnerships between levels of government to address issues.

1. Federalism
Federal, State and Local
Government

2. Before the Constitution
• Sovereignty (supreme governing
authority) was thought to be held by one
governing body (king, state, etc.).
• It was thought that governments had to be
a unitary system (only a national
government has sovereignty).

3. Confederacy
• Under the Articles of Confederation, the
states were part of a Confederacy, where
they each had their own sovereignty.
• Without a strong national government, the
Articles fell apart.

4. Problem
• The Framers of the Constitution had a
problem: How to create a strong central
government with sovereignty, without
taking the sovereignty from the states?
• The Answer: FEDERALISM!!!!

5. Federalism
• Def. Government System where authority
is divided between two sovereign levels of
government.
• The separation of powers between the
National (Federal) Government and State
Governments.
• Often referred to as levels of government

6. Why?
• The founding fathers feared a strong
central government that would control the
entire country. The federalist system was
created to allow the states to maintain
local control of the residents in them.

7. “Spheres of Power”
• The federal system established by the
Constitution divided power and
responsibility:
–Local issues were the province of the
states (education, police protection)
–National issues were the province of the
Federal Government (war, currency)
–Some policies overlapped (taxation)

8. Powers
The Constitution divides powers between
different levels of government. They fall
into 3 categories:
Delegated/Enumerated/Expressed Powers
Reserved Powers
Concurrent Powers

9. Delegated Powers
• Powers given to the federal government in
the constitution
• Include:
–Coin Money
–Regulate Interstate and foreign trade
–Raise and maintain armed forces
–Declare War
–Govern U.S. Territories and admit new
states
–Conduct foreign relations

10. Implied Powers
• To enable Congress to perform their
delegated powers, the Constitution
contains the Necessary and Proper
clause, often called the “Elastic Clause”
(think elastic like a rubber band: it
stretches and changes with the times)
These powers are not listed in the
constitution, but are implied by it.

11. “Elastic Clause”
• Article 1 Section 8 Clause 18 gives
congress the power to “make all Laws
which shall be necessary and proper for
carrying into Execution…Powers vested
by this Constitution in the Government of
the United States….”
• This Necessary and Proper Clause, gives
congress power to pass laws not listed in
the Constitution if they are “necessary and
proper” to execute other powers.
• Called the Elastic Clause

12. Ex. Of the Necessary and Proper
Clause
• Ex. Create the
interstate highway
system to “regulate
commerce”
• Ex. Create the Air
Force as “to raise and
support Armies”
• Ex. Create time zones
as “fix the Standard of
Weights and
Measures”

13. Reserved Powers
• Powers reserved to the state and local
governments. The federal government
cannot interfere in the powers reserved for
the states
• 10th Amendment: “…powers not
delegated… are reserved to the States.”
• Most of what government does in this
country today is done by the states and
their local governments!

14. Examples of Reserved Powers
• Regulate trade and business within the
State
• Establish Public Schools
• Pass license requirements for
professionals
• Regulate alcoholic beverages
• Conduct elections
• Establish local governments
• Regulate gun laws

15. Concurrent Powers
• Powers that are shared by both the federal
and state/local governments.

16. Examples of Concurrent Powers
• Levy and collect taxes
• Borrow money
• Establish courts
• Claim private property for public use
• Define crimes and set punishments

17. The Supremacy Clause
“This Constitution and the Laws of the
United States…shall be the supreme Law
of the Land...”
– Article VI, Section 2
States that the Constitution is the
highest law of the land, and that
Federal Laws stand above state
and local laws.

18. Supremacy Clause

19. McCulloch v. Maryland
• The supremacy of the Federal
Government and the use of the elastic
clause was challenged in the Supreme
Court case McCulloch v. Maryland.
• The state of Maryland questioned the
government’s authority to create a bank
and was using its power to tax to eliminate
it.

20. Supreme Court’s Decision
Implied Powers:
• Chief Justice John Marshall sided with the
National Government. Even though “Bank”
is not mentioned in the constitution, its
creation is a function of Congress’ power
to “tax, borrow money and regulate
commerce”. The Necessary and Proper
clause gives Congress the power to create
a national bank.

21. Supreme Court’s Decision
(cont.)
Supremacy Clause:
• Maryland’s tax on the bank was negated
by the Supremacy Clause,
• Justice Marshall’s statement “The power
to tax is the power to destroy”, illustrates
the fact that the Federal government’s
power to establish a bank is supreme over
the power of the state to tax.

22. Move toward Nationalization
• Over the history of the country, Federalism
has evolved and moved towards
Nationalization: The process by which
national authority has increased over the
states.

23. Early Nationalization
• McCulloch v. Maryland: Established
Supremacy of National government and
Implied powers of Congress.
• Gibbons v. Ogden: Federal government
supremacy over New York in regulating
commerce on interstate trade.

24. States’-Rights
• In the mid-1800s, states tried to show their
sovereignty
• Nullification Crisis: Over a tariff that
favored Northern states in 1832, South
Carolina invoked the “Doctrine of
Nullification” States could nullify a national
law.
• While Pres. Jackson threatened to use
force, the tariff was lessened through
compromise.

25. States’-Rights
• Dred Scott v. Sanford: The rights of
individuals to property (slaves) was
affirmed by Justice Taney
• The Missouri Compromise was
unconstitutional and Congress could not
outlaw slavery in any part of the United
States.

26. Civil War
• The issue of states’-rights vs.
nationalization was settled by the Civil War.
• The right to secede was denied and
national government was sovereign over
the states.

27. Dual Federalism
• Dual Federalism: the idea that a precise
separation of national and state power
was both possible and desirable.
• Called “Layer Cake Federalism”

28. 14th Amendment
• Provides equal citizenship to all
Americans, extended rights in the Bill of
Rights even on the state level.
However,
• States had discretion how to enforce these
rights, as seen in Plessy v. Ferguson

29. Plessy v. Ferguson
• Supreme Court ruled that separate
facilities were constitutional as long as
equal.
• Removed the National government from
the issue of equal citizenship in the states
• Resulting: unequal treatment of African
Americans in segregated states.

30. Laissez-Faire Federalism
• The Supreme Court used the 14th Amendment
to recognize corporation as persons under the
law. This gave protection from regulation by the
states.
• The Court also limited the “Commerce Clause”,
interpreting it as only applying to transport of
goods between states, not manufacture in one
state.

31. New Deal and Nationalization
• The problems of the Great Depression
proved too much for states to handle alone
• The economy was too interconnected
between states that the national
government expanded its power over
commerce

32. Nationalization (cont.)
• Early in the 1930s, the S. Court struck down
several laws as Congress overstepping its
authority over interstate commerce.
• But by 1935, the court switched its tendencies
and ruled that the Commerce power of
Congress was “as broad as the nation”
• Since, Congress has been involved in laws
dealing with interstate commerce as well as
civil liberties.

33. Modern Federalism
• Since the 1930s, the idea of “dual
federalism” no longer applies.
• New, more integrated and complicated
federalism models are in play.

34. Cooperative Federalism
• Def. National, state and local levels work
together to solve problems.
• Called “Marble Cake” Federalism
• Ex. Medicaid (govt. healthcare for the poor)
– Funded jointly by the national/state/local govts.
– Administered jointly, local/state providing direct
services and national providing general admin.
– Determined jointly in regards to eligibility and
benefit levels. Federal regulations provide
guidelines while states set local rules.

35. Fiscal Federalism
• Def. Refers to the spending of federal
funds on programs run in part through
states and localities.
• Grants-in-aid: Federal cash payments to
states and localities for programs they
administer. Several types.

36. Matching Grants
• Def.: Fed. Govt. “matches” state funds, so
states spend more to receive more.
• Problem: The promise of federal money is so
powerful, that states and local governments
are willing to follow federal guidelines and
spend their own funds for the federal money.
• State and local officials are torn between their
own independence and the services that they
could provide with the federal money.

37. Categorical Grants
• Def. Federal grant money that can be
used only for designated projects.
• Congress prefers these grants as they
have greater control over spending, while
state and local authorities dislike the
strings attached to the funds.

38. Block Grants
• Def. Federal grants that permit state and
local officials to decide how the money will
be spent within a general area (health,
education, etc.)
• Preferred form of grants by state/local
officials as they keep their autonomy.

39. Devolution
• Def. Passing down authority from the
national to state and local governments.
• Democratic programs such as the New
Deal and Great Society were seen as too
large, inefficient and wasteful.
• Devolution was championed as “New
Federalism” by Pres. Nixon and Reagan to
allow states more control over the use of
funds.

40. Continued Devolution
• Republican control of Congress in the
1990s accelerated devolution.
• Congress reduced Unfunded Mandates
(Federal programs that local governments
need to fund mostly or entirely by
themselves)
• Welfare reform of ‘96 was changed to
Block Grants, allowing states to find new
approaches to welfare, such as job
training and placement.

41. Nationalization Continues
• Despite the call for smaller government and
devolution, involvement of the federal
government continues:
– No Child Left Behind began to create a national
standard for education
– Department of Homeland Security began to take
local policing and emergency responsibilities from
the states in the Post-9/11 U.S.
– The government bailout of the U.S. automobile
industry and the $800 billion stimulus was seen
as a necessary expansion of government power
to deal with the “great recession”

42. Public Opinion and Federalism
• The growth and shrinking of federal power is
determined by public opinion.
• Periods of national emergency (Great
Depression, Great Recession) calls for greater
nationalization.
• Periods where government growth appears out
of control (70-90s post Vietnam/Great Society)
devolution is called for.
• Public Opinion is the ultimate Check on the
power of the Federal Government.