advanced placement® american government and politics unit ii – constitutional underpinnings and...
TRANSCRIPT
Advanced Placement® American Government and
Politics
Unit II – Constitutional Underpinnings and Federalism
Part 2 -- Federalism
What is Federalism???• A way of organizing a nation so that two or
more levels of government have formal authority over the land and people• In U.S., federal means national and state
levels
Central US or Federal
GovernmentState
Governments
National State
Working Together
Number of U.S. Governments
Which is better? Why? -- Grab a neighbor and discuss.
• Unitary• Federal• Confederal
Federalism...
A Closer Look!
Why Federalism???• Shared resources; state
knows the needs of the people
• Allows unity without uniformity (one state’s needs are not another’s)
• Allows states to administer federal programs to cooperate with each other
• Equalizes financial resources b/w rich and poor
• Commitment of Americans to local government
Look at these scenarios. Which is NATIONAL business, and which is
STATE?• The construction of a new aircraft
carrier• The launching of an orbital satellite• Lowering the sales tax• Increase in postage stamp rates• Placing warning labels on CDs with
obscene lyrics
Federalist #51• Defends the Constitution• Explains why a strong gov’t is
necessary• “If men were angels, no
government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.”
• “Ambition must be made to counteract ambition.”
• Defends separation of powers between state and national gov’t AND between branches of government
NATIONAL SUPREMACY
• Why is the national government supreme to the states?• “Supremacy clause” (Article VI): the Constitution,
federal laws, and treaties are the “supreme law of the land”
• 10th Amendment: • “powers not delegated to the United States
by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or the people.”
• MEANING: the federal government can only operate within its appropriate sphere, and can’t tread on state territory
NATIONAL SUPREMACY(Continued
• What established the national government as superior to the states, once and for all?
• Four events:• McCulloch v. Maryland• “implied powers”• Civil War• Civil Rights Movement
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)• Maryland tries to tax the Bank of the United States
within its state borders• SUPREME COURT SUGGESTS:• “The government of the United States, though
limited in its power, is supreme within its sphere of action.”
• “The power to tax is the power to destroy”• The Constitution grants Congress certain “implied
powers”
Granted what? “Implied” powers?
• Yup…as opposed to enumerated powers (the ones actually spelled out in the Constitution
• Article I, Section 8, the “necessary and proper clause”: • Congress has the power “to make all laws
necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers”
Further Adventures in NATIONAL SUPREMACY
• The Civil War settles national supremacy militarily• Civil Rights Movement formalizes this legally, with
battle b/w national govt and state govt’s after Brown v. Board of Education
Richmond, VA 1865, after national supremacy has
been pretty well established.
The Federalism (POWER) Debate
Alexander Hamilton: the national gov’t. is superior, and thus its powers ought to be
broadly defined (Art. VI, the “supreme law of the
land”)
Thomas Jefferson:the federal gov’t. is a
product of an agreement among states
thus states hold the defining power
Why didn’t the Framers spell out state powers (or personal liberties, for that matter)?• The federal gov’t. will have only those powers
given to it by the Constitution• 10th Amendment, an afterthought: “the
powers not delegated to the U.S. by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people” -- Reserved powers clause
• Delegated Powers (enumerated powers) powers given to Fed gov’t by Constitution
• Reserved Powers – state power alone• Concurrent Powers – shared• Prohibited Powers – denied from both • Example:
Neither gov’t can tax exports
Federalism Powers
Commerce PowerAn extension of Implied Power
• Art. I, Sec. 8, Cl. 3 – ‘The Congress shall have power - To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes.”
• Congress has used the elastic clause to stretch this power
• vehicle through which the courts have expanded or contracted national power -- depending on whether the word commerce was interpreted broadly or narrowly
Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)Commerce Power (Commerce Clause)
• 1824 – aka “The Steamboat Case”
• Result – Gibbons wins• Expanded national power in
all areas of commerce law because nation overruled state in interstate trade issues
• Fed Gov’t gets STRONGER• historically, the Supreme Court has interpreted
the clause broadly to give the national government more power
• recently -- a more conservative court has interpreted it narrowly
Is this right???
Who cares? Why does it matter?• Labor Law• Civil Rights Law• Anti Trust Law• Environmental Law• Health Care law
Cake Anyone?
Dual Federalism• (represented by the layer-cake metaphor) • implies the existence of distinct layers of government• each layer has powers in their own spheres• powers are not mixed or shared
• states viewed as powerful components of federal system, equal in some respects with national government• focus on states’ rights
• characterized how American governments functioned from {1789 to 1933}
The inside is filled with
governmental goodness…and
nougat!!
Cooperative Federalism • (represented by the marble-cake metaphor)• emphasizes intermingling of
government activities at different levels and in various spheres
• national / state governments undertake functions jointly
• nations and states routinely share power
• stresses role of the national government, supported by an expansive view of the supremacy clause (Article VI)
For example…the Internet!• Which of the following is the right statement? • The federal government has the right to
regulate the internet.• State governments have the right to
regulate the internet.• No one should regulate the internet.
How does the federal government motivate states to do stuff?
• Grant-in-aid • money paid by one level of government to
another level, to be spent for a specific purpose
• Why use them?• federal standards (make’em conform!)• equalization of resources (let the rich
states help the poor!)• experimentation (can we do this? Let’s try
it at the state level first)• reducing the size of the fed. Govt: “Starve
the beast!”
Candy everyone wants!
What kind of cash is out there?• Categorical grant: • for a specific purpose with restrictions
from federal law (e.g., Northstar Rail)• usually requires some matching $ from a
state/local govt• Block grant:• put several categorical grants into a more
general, larger grant • Nixon liked this; “New Federalism,” send
more power to states
I should read this.
Federalism is ever-evolving and changing
New Federalism President Nixon • decentralization of national policies• called for combining categorical
grants into block grants
President Reagan • promised a “new New Federalism” to restore
a proper constitutional relationship among national, state, and local governments
• committed to reducing federal taxes and domestic spending
• cut taxes + military spending = (large deficits)
Devolve! Decentrali
ze!
Centralize! Federalize!
• Devolution: the attempt to devolve onto states the functions of national govt. (ex., welfare, health care, job training, etc.)
• National gov’t. exercises large amounts of political power through state governments; national power exists on satisfying local interests• ”all politics are local”
• on most matters, national gov’t. tries to get state/local govts to govern within nationally-set guidelines
Not an official block
grant.
Welfare Reform Act of 1996Welfare block grants replaced welfare
categorical grants
• Federal “strings” attached (very few):• No funds to recipients who had not worked in
past 2 years• No funds to
recipients who had received fed. $ for more than 5 years
• States must spend at least 75% of what they had previously spent on welfare
Disaster Relief. What is the federal governments role?
Intergovernmental Relations Today• Fiscal Federalism: the pattern of spending,
taxing, and providing grants in the federal system
• The cornerstone of the national government’s relations with state and local governments
• The Scramble for Federal Dollars• $460 billion in
grants every year• Grant distribution
follows universalism —a little something for everybody
Intergovernmental Relations Today• Preemption • power of Congress to enact laws
that assume total or partial responsibility for a state govt function
• The Mandate Blues• Mandates direct states or local
governments to comply with federal rules under threat of penalties or as a
• condition of receipt of a• federal grant.• • Unfunded Mandates
• Cross-over Sanctions• do this or pay your
own way
No Child Left Behind(Education Reform)
2001 Act signed by President George Bush
• It was enacted to hold schools accountable in making sure that all students succeed
• Students’ success is measured through standardized test scores• Focus – reading, writing, math
• If “poor performing” schools don’t meet state standards and progress after five years they may lose staff, funding, and undergo other big changes
Should the national gov’t step in to regulate school performance? -- NCLB
Americans with Disabilities Act
The Act• prohibits discrimination in recruitment, hiring,
promotions, training, pay, social activities, and other privileges of employment
• requires that employers make reasonable accommodation to the known physical or mental limitations of otherwise qualified individuals with disabilities, unless it results in undue hardship
• Full Faith and Credit: Each state must recognize official documents and judgments rendered by other states• Article IV, Section I of Constitution• (past – interracial marriage /
present – same-sex marriage)• Privileges and Immunities: Citizens of each state
have privileges of citizens of other states.• Article IV, Section 2 of Constitution
• Extradition: States must return a person charged with a crime in another state to that state for punishment
Intergovernmental Relations TodayState to State
Federalism Conclusions• Best effect of Federalism: facilitating political action• People get involved if they think they have a
chance, which a federal system allows• However, independent state/local govts means
different political groups w/different agendas will come to power in different places
• Madison, Fed. # 10: this is a good thing; in a ‘extended’ republic like the U.S., gives greatest opportunity for all relevant interests to be heard
• THE END OF THE UNIT