Federalism

*McCulloch v. Maryland, 1819

Supreme Court case
Fed gov had the right to set up bank - Elastic Clause (A1 Sec 8)
State could not tax fed bank - Supremacy Clause (A6)

Gibbons v. Ogden, 1824

Interstate commerce with steamboat license
Fed gov trumped state - Commerce Clause (A1 Sec 8)

1861-1865 Civil War

States could not declare Fed acts are void and null
Slavery outlawed

1880's Jim Crow Laws

States rights
States could determine voting eligibility
Southern States largely denied Black people the right to vote

Interstate Commerce Act, 1887

Cattle industry disease, people got sick
Cows sent across states
Congress can regulate anything that crosses state lines/regulate commerce with foreign nations- Commerce Clause (A1 Sec 8)

Pure Food and Drug Act, 1906

Prohibited mislabeling and adulteration of drugs and food

Income Tax, 1913

16th Amendment
Allowed for the collection of income tax
One of the biggest shifts from state to fed power

FDR's New Deal, 1933-1939

Creation of alphabet agencies (Social Security, AAA, CCC, TVA)
Upheld by Supreme Court via Commerce Clause (A1 Sec 8)

Schecter Poultry Corp. v. U.S.

Sick chicken case
Supreme Court sided with Schecter because chicken didn't cross state lines

Brown v. Board of Education, 1954

NAACP goes to Supreme Court over Arkansas school (little rock 9)
Separate but equal is not okay
Schools must desegregate

LBJ's Great Society, 1960's

Bypassed states- dealt directly with local gov
Started Head Start programs (preschool for low income families)

US v. Lopez

NOT 2ND AMENDMENT CASE
Congress made schools "gun free zones" - violation was a federal offence
Lopez charged with violating gun free zone, took it to the Supreme Court
US argued that, under the Commerce Clause (A1 Sec 8), gun free laws were constitutional because children that were shot could not participate in the flow of commerce and shootings would bring the property value down.
Lopez won

Wickard v. Filburn, 1942

Farmer grew extra wheat for personal use, he was fined
Federal gov can regulate issues that could affect interstate trade

Federalism

The sharing of power between fed and state gov

Dual Federalism

Layered cake
Power of state and fed gov are clearly defined and separated

Cooperative Federalism

Marble cake
Power of state and fed gov are flexible and overlapping
Can't really tell where one power ends and another begins

New Federalism

Political philosophy in which fed gov returns power to the states

Fiscal Federalism

The pattern of spending, taxing, and providing grants in the federal system

Devolution

Term coined by Reagan to describe the process of returning power to the states

Categorical Grants

Fed grants for a specific purpose
Comes with matching funds and strings attached
States can decide not to accept grants

Block Grants

Fed grants given with broad guidelines (ex. must be used for education)
Popular with Nixon and Reagan
States love block grants

Revenue Sharing

Doesn't exist anymore
Leftover money from the last fiscal year is divided up and distributed to the states according to population
States could do whatever they want with the money
Basically free money

Entitlement Grant

Single biggest gov expenditure
Gov assistance based on qualifications (formula)
Ex. Social Security, welfare, pell grant

Direct Order/Mandates

Can come from Congress, Pres (exec order), or court system
Imposes something on the states
Failure to follow could result in punishment or the loss of funding/won't receive future funding
Unfunded mandates- ADA

Cross-over Sanctions

"Carrots and sticks"
Fed gov pulls funding if states don't comply with what they want
Ex. Fed gov wants drinking age raised
Pulled highway funding for those that don't comply

Project Grants

Fed categorical grants given for specific purposes and awarded on the basis of the merits of applications
Limited in time and scope
Very competitive

Total Preemption

Fed gov assumes all regulatory powers in a particular field
Ex. Copyright laws

Partial Preemption

fed gov assumes of some regulatory powers in a particular field
Sets floor states cannot go below
Ex. gov sets standard for quality of drinking water- states can go above the standard but cannot go below

Unitary Gov

Centralized gov
Local gov subject to fed gov

Confederal Gov

States are sovereign
Ex. EU

Pros of Fed System

Promotes national unity while permitting local diversity
Prevents rise of despotic central gov
Encourages experimentation and reform on local levels
States can block plans
Political activity is easily mobilized

Cons of Fed System

Wasteful Duplication of services
Unequal opportunities (education, wellfare, etc)
Causes confusion
States can block fed practices (segregation)