American Politics Chapter 3

How Has Federalism Shaped Politics?

• Federalism has had a profound impact on American politics by establishing a system where power is divided between a national government and state governments. This division of power shapes how policies are created, implemented, and contested across different levels of government.

• . The political landscape in the U.S. is significantly influenced by federalism because it determines the areas of jurisdiction for both state and federal governments, with states maintaining significant control over certain areas, such as education, law enforcement, and welfare, while the federal government handles issues like national defense, foreign policy, and interstate commerce.
  
  

Power-Sharing

• Federalism allows for a balance of power between the states and the federal government, which helps prevent any one entity from becoming too powerful.
  
  

Political Debates

• Federalism has been the source of numerous political debates, especially over issues like civil rights, healthcare, and education, where states may push back against federal mandates or choose different policies to reflect local values and needs.
  
  

Policy Experimentation

• States can act as 'laboratories of democracy,' testing policies at the state level before they are potentially implemented on a national scale. This has allowed for innovation in areas such as marijuana legalization and healthcare reform.

Historical shift toward federal authority

• Initially, federalism was heavily tilted in favor of state powers. However, over time, especially during the 20th century, the federal government has grown in authority. This shift has been driven by a variety of factors, including the need to address national issues that state governments could not effectively manage on their own (e.g., economic depression, civil rights protections).
  

• The role of the federal government has expanded significantly since the Great Depression and the New Deal, where the federal government took an active role in social and economic policies that were previously the domain of the states.
  
  

  
  
  

Court Cases and amendments

• Various Supreme Court rulings, such as those in McCulloch v. Maryland and Gibbons v. Ogden, have expanded the interpretation of federal powers. The use of the Commerce Clause, for example, has allowed the federal government to regulate a wide range of issues that affect interstate commerce.
  
  

Shifting Federalism models

• Federalism has evolved from dual federalism (where state and federal powers were distinct) to cooperative federalism (where federal and state governments work together). Cooperative federalism, particularly after the 1930s, meant that state and federal governments collaborate on issues like welfare programs and infrastructure.

Role of the federal government through history

• The role of the federal government has evolved over time, responding to the needs of the country as it grew and faced new challenges.
  
  

Early period (pre-1930s):

• The federal government’s role was relatively limited, with states having more power. The government focused primarily on foreign policy, national defense, and regulating interstate commerce.
  
  

The New Deal Era

• The Great Depression marked a turning point. Under Franklin D. Roosevelt, the federal government took on a larger role in economic regulation and social welfare. Programs like Social Security and the Civilian Conservation Corps were created, increasing federal involvement in citizens’ daily lives.
  
  

Civil Rights Era

• During the 1960s, the federal government played a critical role in advancing civil rights, using its powers to enforce desegregation and voting rights across the nation, despite resistance in many southern states.
  
  

Recent Times

• The federal government continues to play a significant role in areas like healthcare, national defense, and economic regulation. However, debates over the size and scope of the federal government continue, with some advocating for devolving powers back to the states (as seen in modern conservative movements).

Bill of Attainder

• A legislative action declaring someone guilty without a trial; prohibited under the Constitution

Block Grant

• A type of grant that comes with less stringent federal administrative conditions and provide recipients more latitude over how to spend grant funds

Categorical Grant

• A federal transfer formulated to limit recipients’ discretion in the use of funds and subject them to strict administrative criteria

Concurrent Powers

• Shared state and federal powers that range from taxing, borrowing, and making and enforcing laws to establishing court systems

Cooperative Federalism

• A style of federalism in which both levels of government coordinate their actions to solve national problems, leading to the blending of layers as in a marble cake

Creeping Categorization

• A process in which the national government attaches new administrative requirements to block grants or supplants them with new categorical grants

Devolution

• A process in which powers from the central government in a unitary system are delegated to subnational units

Dual Federalism

• A style of federalism in which the states and national government exercise exclusive authority in distinctly delineated spheres of jurisdiction, creating a layer-cake view of federalism

Elastic Clause

• The last clause of Article I, Section 8, which enables the national government “to make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying” out all its constitutional responsibilities

Ex Post Facto Law

• A law that criminalizes an act retroactively; prohibited under the Constitution

Federalism

• An institutional arrangement that creates two relatively autonomous levels of government, each possessing the capacity to act directly on the people with authority granted by the national constitution

Full Faith and Credit Clause

• Found in Article IV, Section 1, of the Constitution, this clause requires states to accept court decisions, public acts, and contracts of other states

General Revenue Sharing

• A type of federal grant that places minimal restrictions on how state and local governments spend the money

Immigration Federalism

• The gradual movement of states into the immigration policy domain traditionally handled by the federal government

New Federalism

• A style of federalism premised on the idea that the decentralization of policies enhances administrative efficiency, reduces overall public spending, and improves outcomes

Nullification

• A doctrine promoted by John Calhoun of South Carolina in the 1830s, asserting that if a state deems a federal law unconstitutional, it can nullify it within its borders

Privilige’s and Immunities Clause

• Found in Article IV, Section 2, of the Constitution, this clause prohibits states from discriminating against out-of-staters by denying such guarantees as access to courts, legal protection, and property and travel rights; also referred to as the comity provision

Race-to-the-Bottom

• A dynamic in which states compete to attract business by lowering taxes and regulations, often to workers’ detriment

Unfunded Mandates

• Federal laws and regulations that impose obligations on state and local governments without fully compensating them for the costs of implementation

Unitary System

• A centralized system of government in which the subnational government is dependent on the central government, where substantial authority is concentrated

Venue Shopping

• A strategy in which interest groups select the level and branch of government they calculate will be most receptive to their policy goals

Writ of Habeas Corpus

• A petition that enables someone in custody to petition a judge to determine whether that person’s detention is legal