AMERICAN FEDERALISM

Federalism: a system of government in which two or more governments exercise power and authority over the same people and the same territory.

I. Theories of Federalism

  1. Dual Federalism
    1. delegated or enumerated powers (Art. I, Sec. 8) restrict functions of Federal govt.
    2. Federal government & states are sovereign within jurisdiction
    3. relationship between the nation and the several states is characterized by tension rather than cooperation.

  2. Cooperative Federalism:
    1. National, state, and local governments typically undertake government fuctions jointly rather than exclusively.
    2. National government and states share power
    3. power is not concentrated at either level
    4. fragmentation of responsibilities gives people and groups access to many centers of influence.

II. Constitutional Division of Powers

  1. Article I, Section 8:
    2. Delegated or Enumerated powers exercised exclusively by the Federal government

  2. McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
    1. "...the power to tax is the power to destroy."
    2. Implied Powers: derived from the "necessary and Proper clause" (Article I, Section 8)

  3. Supremacy Clause (Article VI):
    4. The Constitution, Treaties, and laws passed by Congress are superior to state constitutions and state laws

  4. Reserved Powers (10th Amendment)
    1. powers reserved to the states (i.e., powers existing at time of ratification).
    2. powers reserved to the people acting collectively or by amending the Constitution.

III. Expansion of the National Government's Power

  1. National Emergencies
    1. Civil War: Defeat of States' Rights
    2. Great Depression: Expanded Economic Role
    3. Civil Rights Movement: Federal Protection of Individual Rights over States' Rights

  2. Grant-in-Aids

    1. Adoption of Federal Income Tax as a Source of Revenue (16th amendment)
    2. Massachusetts v. Mellon (1923): constitutionality of federal grant-in-aids upheld (state action voluntary)

IV. Federalism Today (1937 to present): Inter-dependency and Intergovernmental Relations

  1. Government Revenue


  2. Growth of Grant-in-Aids

  3. Growth in Number of Government Employees
    (Federal, State, and Local)
  4. Policy Areas: Federal/State/Local Responsibility

V. States Obligations to Each Other (Article IV)

  1. Full Faith and Credit


    1. Marriage & Divorce (Same Sex Marriage)

    2. Financial Obligations

  2. Extradition