Chapter 3

Warm-up: List ways the constitution limits power.

How can democracy threaten the balance of power and the scope of government?

Reading: Great Expectations

What did Hurricane Katrina reveal about the issue of federalism?

The response was largely viewed as a massive failure; is that a fair assessment?

Who should get the blame? How much responsibility should the

states and local governments assume? The national government?

What should be their respective roles? Should different levels of government

react differently than they would in response to the loss of homes or businesses during a financial crisis?

Republic vs. Democracy http://www.wimp.com/thegovernment

▪ Source: Carl Herman, Harvard University▪ Carl_Herman@post.harvard.edu

Does federalism, the vertical division of power, enhance democracy in the United States?

Does the additional layer of policymakers make governments more responsive to public opinion or merely more complicated?

Does it enhance the prospects that a national majority of Americans have their way in public policy?

What are the implications of federalism for the scope of the national government?

Why has the national government grown so much in relation to state governments, and has this growth been at the expense of the states?

What is Federalism? Federalism: a way of organizing a nation so that two or more levels of

government have formal authority over the land and people.▪ Only 11 of 190 nations have a federal structure.▪ States derive power from Constitution not national

government Unitary governments: a way of organizing a nation so that all power

resides in the central government.▪ State Gov’ts are unitary

Confederation: The United Nations and the European Union are modern examples.

Intergovernmental Relations: the workings of the federal system- the entire set of interactions among national, state and local governments

Why Is Federalism So Important? Decentralizes our politics

▪ More opportunities to participate

Decentralizes our policies▪ Federal and state governments handle different

problems.▪ States regulate drinking ages, marriage, and speed limits.

▪ States can solve the same problem in different ways and tend to be policy innovators.▪ Louis Brandeis wrote in a famous 1932 Supreme Court

dissent that the genius of federalism allowed states to serve as ''laboratories of democracy,'' (New State Ice Co. v. Liebmann).

The Division of Power Supremacy Clause, Article VI of the

Constitution states the following are supreme:▪ The U.S. Constitution▪ Laws of Congress▪ Treaties

Yet, national government cannot usurp state powers.▪ Tenth Amendment

Remember: Bill of Rights added to the Constitution as a

compromise between those who favored a strong central government and those who wanted to preserve the rights of the states.

Without the addition of the Bill of Rights, the Anti-Federalists, those who supported states’ rights, were concerned that too much power would be granted to the national government.

10th Amendment: The Powers 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.

Analysis: In your own words, what

does the Tenth Amendment say about the rights of the national government? The rights of the states?

How does the division of powers between state and federal governments satisfy the concerns about states’ rights?

The core of today’s Tea Party movement is primarily seeking to assert their 10th amendment constitutional rights. Rights they believe

have been eroded by an ever-expanding national government

States’ Obligations to Each Other Full Faith and Credit: Each state must recognize

official documents and judgments rendered by other states.▪ Article IV, Section I of Constitution

Privileges and Immunities: Citizens of each state have privileges of citizens of other states.▪ Article IV, Section 2 of Constitution

Extradition: States must return a person charged with a crime in another state to that state for punishment.

Establishing National Supremacy Implied and

enumerated powers▪ McCulloch v.

Maryland (1819)▪ How did the

McCulloch ruling affect federalism?

Commerce Powers

▪ Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

▪ How did the Gibbons v. Ogden ruling affect federalism?

The Civil War (1861-1865) How did the Civil War affect

federalism?▪ “Before the war, it was said "the

United States are." Grammatically, it was spoken that way and thought of as a collection of independent states. And after the war, it was always "the United States is," as we say to day without being self-conscious at all. And that's sums up what the war accomplished. It made us an "is."

▪ Historian Shelby Foote

The Struggle for Racial Equality

▪ Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

How did the court’s ruling in Brown affect federalism?

Evolution of Federalism

1789 1937 1960 1970 1990

National GovernmentNational Government State GovernmentsState Governments

“Delegated Powers” •enumerated •implied

“Reserved Powers”

(the police powers)Concurrent Concurrent PowersPowers

Exclusive PowersExclusive Powers

Dual Federalism Definition: a system of government in which

both the states and the national government remain supreme within their own spheres, each responsible for some policies

Like a layer cake Narrowly interpreted powers of federal

government McCulloch v. Maryland increased the power

of the federal government in relation to the states.

Ended in the 1930’s

1789 1937 1960 1970 1990

1st Era:Dual Federalism

Cooperative Federalism Definition: a system of government in

which powers and policy assignments are shared between states and the national government

Like a marble cake Shared costs and administration States follow federal guidelines 1933-1939-FDR and the New Deal. In response to widespread poverty and

unemployment, FDR responded with series of sweeping national programs such as social security, public works… The Supreme Court eventually confirmed FDR’s right to actively intervene in areas traditionally left to states on the basis of the federal government’s constitutional right to regulate interstate commerce (Article I, Section 8 and the elastic clause)

1789 1937 1960 1970 1990

1st Era:Dual Federalism

2nd Era:Cooperative Federalism

Fiscal Federalism Definition: the pattern of spending, taxing,

and providing grants in the federal system; it is the cornerstone of the national government’s relations with state and local governments.

1789 1937 1960 1970 1990

1st Era:Dual Federalism

2nd Era:Cooperative Federalism

3rd Era:Fiscal Federalism

Fiscal Federalism (continued) The Grant System: Distributing the Federal

Pie▪ Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance-massive

volume listing federal aid programs available to local & state gov’ts.

▪ Categorical Grants: federal grants that can be used for specific purposes; grants with strings attached▪ Project Grants: based on merit, competitive applications▪ Formula Grants: amount varies based on formulas

▪ Block Grants: federal grants given more or less automatically to support broad programs

▪ Grants are given to states & local governments.

Fiscal Federalism (continued) The Scramble for Federal Dollars

▪ $460 billion in grants every year▪ Grant distribution follows principle of universalism—a little

something for everybody…even though some money goes where its not really needed.

The Mandate Blues▪ Mandates direct states or local governments to comply with

federal rules under threat of penalties or as a condition of receipt of a federal grant.

▪ Underfunded mandate—states would rather not receive federal funds.

▪ Unfunded mandates▪ Ex: Clean Air Act of 1970, Americans with Disabilities Act

of 1990, No Child Left Behind.

Warm-up: Turn to page 700 in the textbook. Read the article

▪ State the author’s thesis▪ Cite essential details and/or examples

Complete the “Think About It” questions.

Analysis: Fiscal Federalism Grant System and Federal spending

trends What contributed to the trends? Implications of those trends?

▪ For national gov’t? ▪ State sovereignty?▪ Power and Scope of Government?▪ Citizens?

1789 1937 1960 1970 1990

1st Era:Dual Federalism

2nd Era:Cooperative Federalism

3rd Era:Fiscal Federalism

“Regulated” Federalism “New” Federalism

Thomas Hobbes, philosopher

Social Contract Give gov’t all power to

control State of Nature

Perpetual war Human Nature

Evil and must be controlled Role of Government

Whatever the state does is just by definition. All of society is a direct creation of the state, and a reflection of the will of the ruler.

Rights of Citizens You conceded your rights

to the government, in return for your life.

Cartoon: 9/29/11

James Bryce listed the following arguments on behalf of federalism:

1. Federalism promotes national unity while permitting local “diversities” to continue.

2. Federalism prevents the rise of despotic central government and does not threaten “the private liberties of the citizen.”  The states are “bulwarks” against the central encroachment of the federal government.

3. Federalism “stimulates” the interest of citizens in local affairs, thereby sensitizing the people to their civic duties.

4. Federalism encourages “experimentation” and reforms in political life that might not be tried initially at the federal level.  In short, new political policies can filter up from the local-state level to the federal level

Detractors on the other hand, argue that federalism has number of disadvantages:1. Federalism encourages wasteful duplication of services between the levels of

government and at times slows the political process to a snail’s pace (as in the lengthy appeals of the court system).

2. Diversity of state laws and procedures creates an unfair situation for citizens from a national perspective.  (For example, the average felony conviction leads to 13 months in jail in South Dakota as opposed to 58 months in Massachusetts).

3. Dispensing more powers to the states may be an unwise decision, because there is ample proof that states run their respective governments no more efficiently than federal bureaucracts run the national government in Washington D.C.

4. Federalism can result in unequal opportunities, because the wealthier states can provide better schools, medical care, and other services far more effectively than the poorer states.

5. The fragmentation of authority under federalism can permit unscrupulous interested groups who are concentrated in specific states to acquire undue influence and political power in those states.

Advantages for Democracy Increases access to

government Local problems can

be solved locally Hard for political

parties or interest groups to dominate all politics

Disadvantages for Democracy States have

different levels of service

Local interest can counteract national interests

Too many levels of government and too much money

Warm-up: Summarize what

you believe to be the most significant ideas pertaining to Federalism presented in this chapter.

1. Which arguments, pro or con, seem most plausible? Why?

2. Assume that the federal government took over many of the traditional powers of the states. Or suppose the states were abolished in favor of dividing the country into “administrative zones,” as some political scientists have urged.  What are the respective advantages and disadvantages attached to such actions?

3. In what ways has the national government assumed greater responsibility?  How does the national government (the federal government) seduce state and local governments into compliance?

In groups, read your assigned essay and summarize the arguments pertaining to federalism, the balance of power, and the scope of government. Hamilton, Federalist 16 & 17 Brutus, Anti-Federalist 17 Madison, Federalist 39, 44,

45 Have any of the concerns

or arguments come true?

Federalism and the Scope of Government What should the scope of national

government be relative to the states?▪ National power increased with

industrialization, expansion of individual rights, and social services.

▪ Most problems require resources afforded to the national, not state governments.

American federalism is a governmental system in which power is shared between a central government and the 50 state governments.

The United States has moved from dual to cooperative federalism; fiscal federalism.

Federalism leads to both advantages and disadvantages to democracy.