Chapter 5: Federalism

What are the two important principles found in the Tenth Amendment?

1.) The authority of the federal government is limited to only those legal powers that are delegated to it by the U.S. Constitution. 2.) Unless the U.S. Constitution (or state's constitution) prohibits a state from exercising a particular power, then the state is presumed to have that power.

Be sure to know and understand the provisions laid out in Article IV.

1.)Specifies Certain obligations that the states have toward each other. 2.)Specifies the responsibilities the federal gov. has toward states and/or territories.

What are the limits listed in the amendments?

13th: Disallows any state from legalizing slavery 14th: Makes it unlawful for state gov. to deprive citizens of fundamental "privileges or immunities; to "deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law"; or to "deny any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of laws." 15th: Disallows any state from denying anyone the right to vote on account of race or their previous status as a slave. 19th: Prohibits any state from denying anyone the right to vote on account of their sex. 26th: forbids states from denying anyone over 18 the right to vote on account of their age.

What amendments were added to the Constitution during Reconstruction? And how did these amendments impact American federalism?

13th: Set a uniform national rule prohibiting slavery everywhere in the land. 14th: Established Birthright Citizenship Clause 15th: Prohibited racial discrimination in voting and declared racial equality to be a national principle that cannot lawfully be undermined by the states. Removing slavery and the threat of secession (civil war) allowed American national politics to become focused on new issues.

Be able to match each amendment to its impact on American federalism: 17th, 18th, and 19th amendments.

17th: Required popular election of U.S. senators, stripping state gov's. of direct control over who served in the U.S. Senate. 18th: Nationwide ban on "the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors" meant that states were disallowed from using their police power to regulate alcoholic beverages however they saw fit. 19th: Disallowed states from ever again choosing to prevent someone from voting simply for being a woman.

When was the Progressive Era?

1890s-1920s

What was FDR's New Deal? And how did the Supreme Court react to FDR's efforts?

25 major acts aiming at economic relief, recovery, and/or reform. Sided w/the business challenging the New Deal and declared the policies unconstitutional.

What do these terms—enumerated / implied powers—mean?

A complete, ordered listing of all the items in a collection. Implied: Understood by the text of the constitution but not specifically listed.

What is meant by "progressive income tax"?

A fairer tax that would reduce economic inequality.

Be sure to know and understand the five arguments made by proponents of greater state government authority: Fostering Democratic Citizenship

A great advantage of leaving significant authority to the state and local level is that it increases the number of opportunities for citizens to participate in democratic government and thereby practice and develop the skills, habits, and dispositions essential for democratic citizenship.

What constitutional clause allowed the creation of the ICC by Congress? And how has this clause been interpreted by Congress and the Supreme Court? Are they the same interpretation or different?

Article I, Section 8 Commerce Clause; Almost every time during this period when the fed gov. attempted to regulate activities related to economic production-for example, workplace safety, wages, working hours, and so on-the Court declared the regulation unconstitutional. Congress and Progressive Era leaders disagreed w/the Court's position, they believed it had authority to regulate local economic production if, in its judgement, that economic production was likely to have significant effects on interstate commerce.

Where in the Constitution are most of Congress' enumerated powers listed?

Article I, Section 8.

What are block grants? And what is meant by "devolution"? How are these terms related to Nixon and American federalism?

Block grant: A federal grant-in-aid that provides states and/or local gov's. with significant freedom to decide how to spend the money. Devolution: The process of the federal gov. returning functions and powers to state and local governments that had been assumed by the federal gov. since the New Deal and Great Society. Nixon wanted states to have more rights again, this desire and the acts he put in place to achieve it changed the American federalist system by taking power away from the federal government.

Be sure to know and understand the three key causes of the conservative backlash.

Coercive federalism: Situation in which the federal gov. dictated policy to the states instead of working as a co-equal partner alongside them. Unfunded mandates: Many federal regulatory requirements did not provide the funds necessary for the states to meet the requirements. White Southern conservatives' opposition to civil rights: Opposed gov's. new commitment to securing civil liberties and civil rights against state gov. infringement.

What is principled federalism? And how is it generally viewed in American politics today?

Commitment to states' rights even when they expected most states to enact policies they disapproved of. It does not apply today.

What did the federal government focus on before the Civil War?

Conduct foreign policy, assist with limited number of infrastructure projects (building canals for transportation), and to try to keep the peace between states bitterly divided over the issue of slavery.

Be sure to know and understand these forms of political organizations: confederacy, unitary national government, and federalism.

Confederacy: Claim authority over governments and not over individuals. Government is inherently weak because the central governments cannot credibly threaten to punish member states for failing to comply with authoritative commands made by the central government. EX: European Union and United Nations. Unitary national government: Either there are no separate member states or the central government can alter the authority or geographic jurisdiction of member states at will. Federalism: Government authority is partly divided and partly shared between a central government and member state governments. Central government in a federal system does not have unilateral authority to alter the legal powers or geographic jurisdiction of member state governments

What is the Necessary and Proper Clause? What are "amendment-enforcing provisions"? How are they sources of implied powers?

Congress has authority to make laws that are necessary and proper for executing the enumerated powers. Amendment-enforcing provisions: Implicate that Congress have power to enact laws that are "appropriate" for assuring an amendment is being upheld.

What was Clinton able to accomplish with regards to grants?

Converted categorical grants related to welfare, job training, and transportation into block grants.

Be sure to know and understand the differences between cooperative federalism and dual federalism.

Cooperative federalism: Increased intermingling of federal and state functions-with the federal government using categorical grants to induce states to implement national policy priorities in areas that had previously been handled solely by the states. Known as marble cake federalism to highlight how the functions and roles of federal and state gov's. under it are less clearly demarcated and involve much more intermingling, Dual federalism: Federalism marked by a clear division of authority and responsibility between the federal and state governments. States focused on providing social services, regulating individual behaviors, etc. Fed gov. focused on foreign affairs, regulating relations between the states, and coordinating efforts an internal improvements. (Layer cake federalism).

What were the major reform movements of the Era? And how did they help to change American federalism?

Demanded federal gov. to play greater role in regulating the economy and society.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the political mood of the country was conservative. This led to changes in American federalism, some of which were made by the Supreme Court. What impact did the Supreme Court have on American federalism during this time?

Declared limits on Congress' authority to regulate society under the Commerce Clause. Determined substantial effects doctrine still applies when interpreting the Commerce Clause, but that clause can only be used to authorize the regulation of economic activities (doesn't apply to noneconomic activities). Also upheld basic idea that Congress may use grants-in-aid to encourage states to adopt policies that it (Congress) may not be authorized to adopt on its own.

Dillon's Rule is one of the two doctrines offered by the Supreme Court that help shape American federalism. What is Dillon's Rule? And why it is so important for federalism in the U.S.?

Dillon's Rule: Asserts municipal governments (city, town, county) are fully subordinate to the will of state legislatures. It is important b/c it makes state gov. a unitary national gov. in relation to municipal govs. within its territory.

What is the Supremacy Clause

Establishes that all federal laws-including those of the U.S. Constitution, congressional statutes, executive orders, and treaties-are supreme over state and local laws.

Be sure to know and understand the five arguments made by proponents of greater state government authority: Learning from Policy Experimentation

Federalism allows states to conduct their own policy experiments and this allows everyone to learn what works best and what does not work. Federalism promotes progress toward better approaches to public policy by allowing us to learn from the state laboratories of democracy.

What makes a federal system, like that of the United States, different from a confederacy and unitary national government?

Federalism differs from confederacy in that the Constitution, House of Representatives, and President have always been held accountable by people rather than to state governments (Central government is not controlled by state governments). Differ from unitary national government b/c of reserved powers, areas of exclusive state government authority.

Using the power of the purse, how has the federal government influenced state governments?

Got state gov's. to implement national programs that the federal gov. couldn't feasibly (or constitutionally) implement on its own.

What is meant by "grants-in-aid"? What are categorical grants? And what kind of impact did they have the growth of the federal government?

Grants in the form of money or land provided by the federal gov. to stat and/or local gov's. on the condition that the funds be used for purposes defined by the federal gov. Categorical grants: A type of federal grant-in-aid that provided relatively strict and specific guidelines on how the state or local gov. receiving the money must spend it. By accepting these funds in the 60s, states allowed the fed gov. to define and oversee implementation of many aspects of public policy that had previously been carried out with little or no federal government involvement.

What effect did Congress and the Supreme Court have on the size and influence of the federal government between 1940-1968?

Greater fed. role in protecting the rights of individuals from state government abuse and historically oppressed groups-especially African Americans-from various forms of discrimination by state governments and private businesses.

Be sure to know and understand the five arguments made by proponents of greater state government authority: Benefiting from "Foot Voting"

If individuals or businesses dislike the package of policies enacted by their state or city governments, they can "vote with their feet" by moving to states or cities with policies they find more acceptable. Even better, the argument goes, the mere possibility that people and business might relocate can serve as a powerful deterrent against state governments enacting unjust or inefficient public policies in the first place.

Be sure to know and understand the five arguments made by proponents of greater state government authority: Protecting Liberty

If power were fully centralized in the national government, that government would become highly oppressive. National gov. would need to develop the capacity to enforce all of the laws that are currently enforced by state and local governments. If state governments don't retain a certain amount of independence and autonomy, then they can't serve as a check on the power and influence of the national government. Without state governments serving as a check on the national government's power, the argument goes, the national government will dominate the people and strip them of their freedom.

Why has judicial review been important for the development of federalism over time?

Important because it allows Supreme Court to interpret laws of Government.

What impact did the Cold War have on public opinion?

Increases public support for federal gov. spending on military personnel, weapons, scientific research, and technological development due to local economic dependence on weapons industry and/or military bases.

What is the Interstate Commerce Act? And what did it create?

Interstate Commerce Act: Enacted to address perceived abuses of market power by railroad companies (1887). Created federal gov's. first independent regulatory agency: the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC).

Be sure to know and understand the five arguments made by proponents of greater national government authority: Preventing Races to the Bottom.

Large business corps. use threat of relocating to different states to try to lead state and local governments to enact laws they want, such as special tax breaks and favorable regulatory standards. State/local gov. have hard time resisting b/c state/local economies can be severely damaged if large corps. decide to relocate their headquarters and/or large manufacturing factories to other states. Race to the bottom: When economic competition between states leads them to try to outdo one another by enacting socially suboptimal regulations to attract or retain business investment. Strong national government playing a leading role in regulating large corps. is that it can uphold higher standards than the states can be due to its not being caught up in the interstate competition that leads to races to the bottom. U.S. gov. not involved in competition across states, so it is thought to be better positioned than states to enact socially optimal regulations.

How did the stock market crash of 1929 impact the U.S. economy? How did this lead to a greater role of the federal government in the economy?

Led to the Great Depression and, eventually, to a revolutionary expansion of federal gov's. role in the American economy and society that is still felt today.

What impact did LBJ's Great Society have on federal spending?

Medicare and Medicaid programs (1965); Increased use of categorical grants and the rise of cooperative federalism, and the increased federal gov. protection of civil liberties and civil rights from state gov. abuse.

Be sure to know and understand the five arguments made by proponents of greater national government authority: Protecting Minority Rights.

More likely to protect minority rights than will state governments (James Madison).

Be able to match the modern liberal, conservative, and libertarian perspective on FDR's New Deal.

People on the left think it was wise and proper, though some, particularly social democrats and democratic socialists, regret that it did not go further in securing what FDR called the Second Bill of Rights. Conservatives tend to think parts of the New Deal were beneficial and necessary (at least at the time), but they tend to lament the fact that it put the federal government on a long-term path to the modern welfare state. And libertarians think the whole thing was unnecessary, ineffective, improper, and harmful.

The police power is the other Supreme Court doctrine fundamental to American federalism. What is meant by "the police power"? (HINT: It is not about police officers.) What does it have to do with the constitutional law of American federalism? Are there any constitutional limits on the police power of the state governments?

Police power: The idea that a government has inherent authority to make laws and regulations to promote the health, safety, welfare, and morals of the people. (10th amendment says gov. doesn't have inherent police power). The only limits on the police power of state governments are the limits placed on them by the U.S. Constitution and/or their own state constitutions; other than that, they may do whatever they choose to promote the health, safety, welfare, and morals of the people.

Be sure to know and understand the arguments made by pro-unionists. Why did they see a united country as better than a disunited country?

Pro-unionist: Problem w/disunion is that it makes it more difficult for governments to resolve conflicts peacefully. Disunited countries at best relate diplomatically and, at worst, relate to each other militarily (war). United countries relate to each other through political and legal processes; Despite there being no guarantee of fair outcome and no escape of a power struggle, but one option (disunited) is far more prone to violence and non-cooperation than the other. Also point out numerous difficulties separate governments face in seeking to forge fair and mutually beneficial economic arrangements, immigration policies, and environmental pollution controls. Governments can better achieve those goals when together in a political union than when disunited.

What has the impact of the progressive income tax been in the U.S. since 1894?

Shifted tax burden from falling hardest on low income citizens to high income citizens. Declared unconstitutional by Supreme Court in 1895. Ratified as 16th amendment in 1913 by Congress.

How did Ronald Reagan try to reign in the size and influence of the federal government? Were these measures successful?

Starve the beast: Drastically reducing taxes and thereby forcing the federal gov. to cut spending. Reduce fed gov. spending on grants-in-aid. Converted categorical grants to block grants. Ended Nixon's general revenue sharing program, which left states w/choice of either ending the programs that had been finance by those grants or financing them with their own state tax revenues. Tax cuts reduced revenue but spending actually increased during Reagan's presidency.

Which of these limits are listed in the Constitution itself? And what do they say?

State governments are not allowed, among other things, to enter into treaties with foreign nations, engage in war, coin money, impose taxes on imports or exports, or enact ex post facto laws.

What is meant by "the substantial effects doctrine"? Relatedly, what is meant by "the presumption of constitutionality"?

Substantial effects doctrine: The federal government may regulate any economic activity that has a substantial effect on interstate commerce. Presumption of constitutionality: If Congress claims that an economic activity has a substantial effect on interstate commerce, then the Court presumes that it does have a substantial effect and almost always declares a regulation of that activity constitutional under the authority of the Commerce Clause.

What role did the Supreme Court play during this Era?

Supreme court struggled to preserve a traditional division of authority between the state and federal governments.

There are two main sources of rules that define U.S. federalism. What are these sources?

The U.S. Constitution or Supreme Court decisions.

What is judicial review?

The authority of courts to decide whether acts of government are constitutional or unconstitutional.

Generally speaking, has the power and authority of the national government increased or decreased over time? What are the four basic changes listed in the textbook to make this possible?

The authority of the national government has increased. 1.)Changes in What the people want the federal gov. to do. 2.)Changes in the federal govs. constitutional authority 3.)Changes in the power of the purse 4.)Changes in the number and power of federal bureaucratic agencies

Be sure to know and understand the five arguments made by proponents of greater state government authority: Representing the Diversity of Local Community Values and Interests.

The diversity of local community values and interests around the country can often make uniform national standards undesirable. According to this argument, since there is much diversity in values and interests throughout the country, it can be better to allow decisions to be made at the most local level possible.

Be sure to know and understand the five arguments made by proponents of greater national government authority: Providing National Public Goods and Reducing Negative Externalities.

The national government is more likely than state governments to identify and provide nationwide public goods. The states are too limited in their views and/or too selfish in their motives to overcome the temptation to free ride. The reduction of negative externalities (pollution or infectious disease) is a type of public good that the national government is better positioned to provide than state governments.

Be sure to know and understand how the impact of the conservative backlash is measured. What factors are at stake?

The number of nonmilitary personnel employed by fed. gov. today is same as it was in late 60s. At least by common measures, the amount of regulatory activity by federal agencies has continued to increase since the mid-1960s. The size and influence of the federal gov. has continued to grow is based on the amount of money it sends to the states in the form of grants-in-aid.

What caused the Supreme Court to adopt a new interpretation of the federal government's constitutional authority? And how did this new interpretation impact American federalism?

The threat of the court-packing plan created by FDR in his second term. Two numbered questions below.

Is income tax a major revenue source for the federal government or is it less important?

Yes, revenue from income tax has allowed the gov. to spend than state and local combined since 1940

Be sure to know and understand the five arguments made by proponents of greater national government authority: Reducing Compliance Costs Through Standardization and Uniformity of Rules

Uniform national rules and standards can reduce the costs associated with complying with laws and regulations. Argument made for greater national government authority is that the national government is best positioned to create these uniform national rules and standards and, thus, to provide the benefit of reduced compliance costs.

What is meant by "welfare state"? And how has it impacted American federalism?

Welfare state: Federal gov. has responsibility to secure rights to a good education, decent home, adequate medical care, and protection form the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment."

Be sure to know and understand the five arguments made by proponents of greater national government authority: Preserving the Union

When states are allowed to have too much independent authority and power, they can threaten the stability of the union. Since the union is the basis of peace, prosperity, cooperation, and so on, it follows that a strong national government (and weaker, subordinated states) is necessary for attaining all of those benefits.

Three events contributed the most to the federal government's growth between 1940-1968: WWII, the Cold War, and LBJ's Great Society. What impact did each event have on federal spending?

World War II The point of no return for the fed gov. spending more than all state and local gov's. combined.