AP Civics Chapter 3 Notes Federalism: Forging a Nation The Welfare Reform Bill of 1996 is typical of many controversies concerned with whether state or national authority should prevail. The new legislation ended the sixty-year guarantee of federal cash assistance and replaced it with a system of cash grants to the states. The nature of the federal system involves a division of power between the states and the national government. Oregon and the Assisted Suicide Law (Gonzales v. Oregon 2006) is another example of states v. federal government I. Federalism: National and State Sovereignty The decision to have a federal government was the most important constitutional decision of the 1787 Convention Federalism is the division of sovereignty, or ultimate governing authority, between a national government and regional (state) governments National Powers State Powers Concurrent Powers National defense Charter local governments Loan and borrow money Currency Education Taxation Post office Public safety Law enforcement Foreign affairs Registration and voting Charter banks Interstate commerce Intrastate commerce Transportation A. The Arguments for Federalism 1. Protecting Liberty a. Federalist No. 28 (Hamilton) (1) American people should shift their loyalties back and forth between national and state governments in order to keep each under control b. Federalist No. 51 (Madison) (1) Federal system is a superior form of limited government because power is divided between two distinct governments, as well as among the separate branches 2. Moderating the power of Government a. Antifederalist believed that a distant national government could never serve the peoples interest as well as the states could b. Federalist No. 10 (Madison) (1) Whether a government serves the common good is a function not of its size but of the range of interests that share political power (2) Extend the sphere, and you take in a greater variety of parties and interests; you make it less probable that a majority of the whole will have a common motive to invade the rights of other citizens 3. Strengthening the Union a. overcome the deficiencies of the Articles of Confederation B. The Powers of the Nation 1. Enumerated Powers (Expressed Powers) a. Article I, Section 8 (Constitution) b. 17 powers (1) tax, declare war, borrow money, regulate commerce, national currency, establish an army and navy, etc. c. designed primarily to enable the national government to provide for the Nations defense and commerce d. Constitution prohibited the states from actions that would interfere with national government s exercise of its lawful powers 1
e. Article VI: Supremacy Clause (1) Laws of the United States. Shall be the supreme law of the land 2. Implied Powers The authority to take action that is not expressly authorized by the Constitution but supports actions that are so authorized a. Necessary and Proper Clause (Elastic Clause) (1) Article I Section 8 (2) Gives Congress the power to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing (enumerated) powers C. The Powers of the State 1. States powers are called reserved powers a. 10 th Amendment (1791) (1) the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States 2. Ratification debate revolved around the issue of national versus state sovereignty Federalist Stronger national government Supporters of the Constitution Greater national authority Antifederalist Weaker national government Greater state authority II. Federalism in Historical Perspective Federalism has passed through distinct stages in the course of its development. The first phase from 1789 1865 was characterized by conflict between the Nationalists and States - rights views Framers deliberately avoided detailed provisions, recognizing that brief phases would give flexibility to the government they were creating A. An Indestructible Union (1789 1865) 1. The Nationalist view: McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) a. Secretary of Treasury: Alexander Hamilton proposed the creation of a national bank (1) Constitution gave authority to regulate currency, hence the necessary and proper clause allowed the national government to establish a national bank b. Secretary of State: Thomas Jefferson opposed the bank (1) benefit commercial interests and hurt farmers c. First Bank of the United States created in 1791 d. Second Bank of the United States created in 1816 (1) Maryland tries to levy taxes on its operation within its state (2) Edwin McCulloch (head cashier) refused to pay the tax e. Supreme Court rules in favor of National authority (John Marshall) (1) clear statement of implied power - United States needed a national bank to take care of its taxing, borrowing, and commerce (2) Supremacy Clause valid national law prevails over conflicting state law 2. Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) a. ruled on the power of the federal government to regulate commerce 3. The States -rights view: The Dred Scott Decision (1857) a. a slave, Dred Scott, had been taken by his owner to a territory where slavery was illegal under federal law b. Scott, claimed that since he had resided in a free territory, he was now a free man c. Chief Justice Taney held that blacks were not citizens of the United States and could not become so, and that the federal law The Missouri Compromise prohibiting slavery in Northern territories was unconstitutional B. Dual Federalism and Laissez-faire Capitalism (1865 1937) 2
1. Dual federalism held that a precise separation of national and state authority was both possible and desirable 2. Supreme Court held firm to the idea that there was a sharp line between national and state authority 3. In this era, federalism was characterized by state supremacy in racial policy and by business supremacy in commerce 4. The 14 th Amendment and state discretion a. designed to protect citizens (especially black Americans) from discriminatory actions by state governments b. Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) Separate but Equal ruling (1) Adolph Plessy, a black man, had been convicted of violating a Louisiana law requiring whites and blacks to ride in separate railroad cars (2) Supreme Court upheld his conviction. State governments could require blacks to use separate facilities as long as they were equal in quality to those reserved for use by whites (3) Allowed Southern states to establish a thoroughly racist system of legalized segregation 5. Judicial protection of business a. Laissez-faire: business interest should be allowed to act as they please b. Supreme Court protected businesses from substantial regulation by either state or national government (1) Hammer v. Dagenhart (1918) (a) Supreme Court invalidated a 1916 federal law that prohibited the interstate shipment of goods produced by child labor (2) Lochner v. New York (1905) (a) Court prevented a state from regulating labor practices 6. National authority prevails a. Schecter v. United States (1935) (1) Court invalidated Roosevelt s Recovery Act (5 to 4) b. Roosevelt s court packing plan (1) additional judge once a court member reached the age of 70 (2) resisted by Congress (3) finally Justice Owen Roberts abandons his opposition to FDR giving Roosevelt a 5 to 4 victory c. Roosevelt s New Deal eventually accepted by the Supreme Court d. Supreme Court recognized that an industrial economy is not confined by state boundaries and must be subject to some level of national regulation C. Toward National Citizenship 1. National citizenship notion Americans should be equal in their rights and opportunities, regardless of the state in which they live is a more encompassing idea today than in the past III. Federalism Today Developments in recent decades have diminished state authority in the federal system A. Interdependency and Intergovernmental Relations 1. Interdependency is reason national authority has increased during the 20 th century 2. Transportation, commerce, and communication transcends local and state boundaries (national problems usually require national solutions) 3. Cooperative Federalism a. national, state, and local governments working together to solve policy problems Cooperative Federalism Marble cake Levels flow together Dual Federalism Layer cake Levels are separate 3
Shared policy responsibility Divided policy responsibility b. Medicaid c. Characteristics (1) jointly funded (2) jointly administered (3) jointly determined 4. States powers are still vital a. retained most of their traditional authority B. Government Revenues and Intergovernmental Relations 1. Fiscal Federalism a. The federal government s fiscal advantage in raising money has often made money the basis of the relationship between the national and state governments b. Fiscal Federalism (1) expenditure of federal funds on programs run in part through state and local governments (2) the federal government provides some or all of the money and the states and localities administer it (3) states and localities have the organizational structure to make this work (4) cash grants to states and localities have extended Washington s influence over policy C. Categorical and Block Grants 1. Two types of grants a. Categorical Grants (more restrictive) (1) federal grants-in-aid to states and localities that can be used only for designated purposes b. Block Grants (less restrictive) (1) federal grants-in-aid that permit state and local officials to decide how the money will be spent within a general area D. A New Federalism: Devolution 1. Idea that American federalism will be improved by a shift in authority from the federal government to the state and local government 2. Budgetary pressures and public opinion a. Medicaid Grant programs (1) absorbing most of federal money to states created many unfunded mandates (2) relations became strained between federal, state, and local authorities 3. The Republican Revolution (1994) a. Republican controlled Congress pushed for greater state/local control (1) Contract With America b. more decentralized form of federalism c. reduce unfunded federal mandates d. welfare reform: Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (1) Temporary Assistance for Needy Families block grant (TANF) (a) eligibility restricted to 5 years (b) after 2 years, a family head has to go to work or benefits cease (c) states set benefit levels, eligibility criteria, and other regulations 4. Devolution, Judicial Style a. Since the Depression era, the Supreme Court has given Congress nearly full discretion in the enactment of policies affecting state and local government (1) Garcia v. San Antonio Authority (1985) 4
(a) state and local governments cannot set a lower minimum wage for its employees than is mandated by the federal government (2) Printz v. United States (1997) (a) Court struck down that part of the federal Handgun Violence Prevention Act (so called Brady Bill) that required local law-enforcement officials to conduct background checks on prospective handgun buyers (3) United States v. Lopez (1995) (a) Court cited the 10 th Amendment in striking down a federal law that prohibited the possession of guns within 1000 feet of a school (4) Gonzales v. Raich (2005) (a) Commerce Clause allows Congress to ban marijuana even in states that have authorized it for medical use 5. Devolution has hardly rolled back a half-century of nation centered federalism a. the Supreme Court has not retreated from the principle established that Congress s commerce and spending powers are broad and substantial b. national testing for school children c. grants for the modernization of classrooms 6. Devolution has resulted in a modification of fiscal and cooperative federalism rather than their demise IV. The Public s Influence: Setting the Boundaries of Federal State Power FDR s programs such as Social Security, attracted public supports. LBJ s Great Society programs reflected America s desire for greater government involvement. Today, public opinion is behind the current rollback in federal authority. *public confidence in Washington has diminished *public feel officials in Washington do not care about them *GOP victory in 1994 gave Republicans control of Congress Each generation of American s has devised a balance of national and state power that serves its interest. Public opinion defines the boundaries of federal and state power 5