Federalism in the Constitution Notes

Federalism in the Constitution • • • • • • Unitary system: The national government has all the power Federal system: The national government shares power with state government Confederation is where the states have all the power and agree to give limited powers to a national government Unitary system o National Government o | o State government ▪ Concentrated power ▪ Centralized authority Federal system o People o | o State government and national government ▪ Divided power ▪ Authority with the people Confederation o State government o | o National government ▪ Decentralized power ▪ Concentrated authority Federalism • • • Federal State Local Federalism in the Constitution • • • The constitution grants two types of powers to the U.S. Congress: Expressed and implied o Expressed powers (17 of them) are found in Article 1, Section 8, of the Constitution o Implied powers are found at the end of Section 8, which grants Congress the right “to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper” (Known as the elastic cause) to execute its expressed powers Article VI grants more power to the national government o Known as the “supremacy clause” this means that when there is a conflict between federal and state law, federal law prevails States have significant powers, too • • • • • • o Tenth Amendment (reserved powers Amendment) ▪ Police answers o Concurrent powers They also have limits placed on them: o Full faith and credit clause o Privileges and immunities clause Tenth Amendment: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people” o The Anti – Federalists, who feared a strong national government, pressed hardest for ratification of the Tenth Amendment Police powers o States have broad power to enforce criminal codes, administer health and safety rules, and regulate marriage and divorce laws o States also regulate individual livelihoods (through licenses to practice medicine, law, etc.) and define and enforce laws concerning private property Concurrent powers o The states and the feral government also share certain powers o Make and enforce laws and taxing Full faith and credit clause: Article IV, Section 1 o States are normally expected to honor the public acts and judicial decisions that take place in another state o Strong public policy exception Privileges and immunities clause: Article IV, Section 2 o It guarantees that citizens from outside a state enjoy the “privileges and immunities” given to people of that state o A state cannot discriminate against someone from another state or give privileges to its own residents only Marriage Laws • • Example of a federalism controversy o Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA; 1996) ▪ Said states could ignore Full Faith Clause o DOMA was struck down by the supreme court in 2013 ▪ United States v. Windsor; granted equality in tax breaks and inheritance laws In 2015, the U.S Supreme Court issued a historic ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges o The court ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment guaranteed a fundamental right to same – sex marriage ▪ ▪ It required all 50 states to offer marriage licenses to two people of the same sex It also required the states to recognize same – sex marriages licensed out of state Dual Federalism, 1789 –1937 • • • • • • Dual federalism: A constitutional interpretation that gave the federal government exclusive control over some issues and states exclusive control over others The federal government was small and dealt primarily with foreign affairs and commerce o Internal improvements, like roads and canals o Tariffs / taxes on imports, patents, currency Overall, states performed the majority of governing over citizens’ day – to – day lives o Economic regulation and property law o Civil law (Marriage, divorce, adoption) o Criminal law States control local governments – local government is not mentioned in constitution Overall federalism allowed states to experiment with policies Some early U.S. Supreme court decisions helped to define national power o McCulloch v. Maryland (1819): The Supreme Court ruled that the U.S congress had, through its implied powers, the legal right to charter a national bank o Gibbons v. Ogden (1824): The Supreme Court established the supremacy of the national government in all matters affecting interstate commerce States’ Rights • • Prior to the Civil War, former, Vice President John Calhoun argued for the doctrine of “nullification”, which proposed that states were not bound by federal laws that they considered to be unconstitutional The end of dual federalism was a blow to advocates of states’ rights The New Deal: Cooperative Federalism 1937 to 1980 • • The Great Depression of the 1930s helped bring about increased federal action For the most part, the new national programs that FDR developed came through grants – in aid: Funds provided by the federal government to a state or local government for a specific purpose Cooperative Federalism • Regulated federalism (1960s to 1980s) o With increased funding, the federal government demanding higher standards and stricter uses for funds. It began to control state action more • Congress dramatically increased unfunded mandates and crossover sanctions: Rules forcing states to spend their own money to comply with federal law New Federalism: 1980 to 2000 • New federalism: efforts by presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan to devolve many polices back to the states o Backlash = calls for devolution, transferring responsibility back to state or local governments o Block grants Federalism Since 2000 • • • Balance between the federal government and the states seems to rely more on partisanship now than it does a principle of states vs. Federal control Recent controversies concerning competitive federalism o Recreational Marijuana, Immigration, Marriage There are advantages and disadvantages of our system Review Questions 1. Which statement about federal and unitary systems is the most accurate? a. In a federal system, the Constitution allocates powers between states and federal government; in a unitary system, powers are lodged in the national government 2. Which statement is most accurate about the sources of revenue for local and state governments? a. Between 30 and 40 precent of the revenue for local and state governments comes from grant money 3. What key constitutional provisions define the scope of authority of the federal and state governments? a. Article 1, Section 8; The Supremacy clause of Article VI; And the Tenth Amendment. The following parts of the constitution detail the limits on their authority: Article 1, Section 9 and 10: Bill of Rights; Fourteenth Amendment; and the Civil Rights Amendments 4. What are the main functions of federal and state governments? a. National: Matters that affect the country as a whole (national security, promoting national economic prosperity) b. State: Matters that lie within their region (education, healthcare, public safety, and other public services) 5. In McCulloch v. Maryland, the Supreme Court invoked which provisions of the Constitution? a. Necessary and proper clause and Supremacy clause 6. Which statement about new federalism is not true? a. President Reagen was able to promote new federalism consistently throughout his administrations 7. Which is not a merit of cooperative federalism? a. Cooperative federalism respects the traditional jurisdictional boundaries between states and federal government 8. What are the main differences between cooperative federalism and dual federalism? a. Dual federalism is when the two governments do not work together, and they work together in the cooperative federalism 9. What were the implications of McCulloch v. Maryland for federalism? a. The McColloch decision established the doctrine of implied powers, meaning the federal government can create policy instruments deemed necessary and appropriate to fulfill its constitutional responsibilities. The case also affirmed the principle of national supremacy embodied in Article VI of the Constitution, namely, that the Constitution and legitimate federal laws trump state laws 10. Which statement about federal grants in recent decades is most accurate? a. The amount of federal grant money going to states has steadily increased since the 1960s 11. Which statement about unfunded mandates is false? a. New federalism does not promote the use of unfunded mandates 12. What does it mean to refer to the carrot of grants and the stick of mandates? a. Incentive v. punishment 13. Which statement about immigration federalism is false? a. The Arizona v. United States decision stuck down all Arizona’s most restrictive provisions on undocumented immigration 14. Which statement about the evolution of same – sex marriage is false? a. United States v. Windsor legalized same – sex marriage in the United States 15. Which statement about venue shopping is true? a. None of the statements are correct 16. What does venue shopping mean? a. The activities of advocacy groups and policymakers who seek out a decision setting where they can air their grievances with current policy and present alternative policy proposals 17. Which of the following is not a benefit of federalism? a. Federalism encourages economic equality across the country