POLS 1101: Lecture 7

Federalism

Federalism

• Power is divided between national and state governments

• Federalism means that both the national and state governments have constitutionally recognized powers, rather than states simply exercising authority delegated to them by the national government

Characteristics of federalism

• Two levels of government

• Constitutional division of power

• Independent state authority

• Guarantee Clause (Article IV, Section 4)

• Overlapping responsibilities

Unitary Systems

• All power is held by the central government

• Local governments are only given power by central/national government

Confederal Systems

• Alliance of sovereign states

• Limited authority given to the central or national government

Police Powers

• State powers

• health, safety, morals, and general welfare

National (Enumerated) Powers

• Regulate interstate & foreign commerce

• Conduct foreign policy

• Raise & maintain armed forces

• Coin money

• Establish naturalization rule

State (Reserved) Powers

• Establish local governments

• Regulate intrastate commerce

• Issue Certain licenses

• Police Powers

Concurrent (Shared) Powers

• Make & enforce laws

• Establish courts

• Levy taxes

• Borrow money

• Build infrastructure

Restrictions on shared powers

• Suspension of Habeas corpus

• Bill of Attainder

• Ex post facto law

Restrictions on state powers

• Cannot engage in foreign policy (treaties, tariffs) Cannot print currency

• 14th Amendment: Most Bill of Rights protections gradually applied to the states through selective incorporation

• Full Faith and Credit Claus

Restrictions on federal powers

• Tax exports from the states

• Change state boundaries

• Violate bill of rights

Necessary and Proper Clause

• Elastic clause

• Necessary and Proper Clause

• Congress can make laws deemed “necessary and proper” to implement enumerated powers

Supremacy Clause

• Federal laws are the "supreme Law of the Land“

• Federal law prevails when there is a conflict between federal and state law

Dual Federalism

• National and state governments operate in separate, distinct spheres

• Authority clearly divided, little overlap

• Powers neatly separated

Cooperative Federalism

• National and state governments share powers and responsibilities

• Jurisdictional boundaries blurred; powers intertwined

• Federal funding + state implementation = cooperative governance

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

• Strengthened implied federal power

• Congress can use implied powers (bank constitutional)

• States cannot tax federal property (Supremacy Clause)

Commerce Clause & Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

• Federal authority extended to navigation as part of “interstate commerce”

• Federal law trumped New York’s steamboat monopoly

Nullification Doctrine

• States claimed the authority to reject unconstitutional federal law

Virginia & Kentucky Resolutions (1798)

• Advance the idea that states could challenge unconstitutional federal laws

Hartford Convention (1814–15)

• New England Federalists protested federal policies and proposed constitutional changes

Nullification Crisis (1832–33)

• South Carolina claimed authority to nullify federal tariffs

Secession Crisis (1860–61)

• Southern states asserted a right to leave the Union

National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) v Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation (1937)

• Expanded federal authority under the Commerce Clause

West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish (1937)

• Ended the Lochner Era and permitted the restriction of liberty of contract

• Switch in Time that Saved Nine”

Wickard v. Filburn (1942)

• Broadened federal regulation to intrastate commerce

Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States (1964)

• Upheld federal prohibition of racial discrimination in public accommodations under the Commerce Clause

New Federalism

• Sought greater state flexibility and devolutio

• “Style of federalism emphasizing the decentralization of power from the federal government back to the states, often called the ‘devolution revolution’” (OpenStax 4e)

• Goal: restore state authority, reduce federal control

• Emerged under Nixon (1969–74) and expanded under Reagan (1981–89)

United States v. Lopez (1995)

• First major limit on Commerce Clause power in decades

Categorical Grants

• Specific purpose, strict criteria

Block Grants

• Broader use, state discretion

General Revenue Sharing

• Minimal restrictions

Unfunded Mandates

• Obligations without full federal funding

Competitive Federalism

• interaction between the federal government and the states in which both levels of government compete for influence over policy

Venue Shopping

• “interest groups select the level and branch of government they calculate will be most receptive to their policy goals” (OpenStax)

New Deal

• Accelerated the expansion of federal power