Dabney notes- 6/30/10

 Federalism
 A system of divided sovereignty, in which states and local units of government defer
some powers, e.g. foreign affairs, to a central govt. while retaining a limited measure of
self-govt., power is shared and each level has its own power
 Central
 Federal all the same thing! Can be used interchangeably
 National
 Can go even further down (municipalities: countycitytownship)
 Divided sovereignty: the government shares power
 Partial jurisdiction
 Institutional protection: the constitution is going to serve as the document that the
national governments are going to refer to; to help them spell out jurisdiction
 States rights ensured by Tenth Amendment, gives it protection though national
government trumps most state policies
 Why federalism??
 Because there are different circumstances, so there is no “one size fits all” form of
government for the states and local governments
 At the same time, there is this sense of structure and central law that we can refer
to, strong foundation within the national law
 People feel connected to state government, feel like they have some sense of
control and say in government
 Helping to ensure efficient government
 Ex.: women’s suffrage movement. This did not start at a federal level, but people
started the movement and states came first in initiating the movement. Here the
central government could not see what the needs of the people were.
 Another ex.: Federal government can step in when states are neglecting people’s
rights, as in the case of ending slavery and Jim Crow laws.
 There must be a provision for more than one level of government to act on the same
territory (states) and on the same citizens
 Each government must have its own authority and power though they may overlap
 When state law and federal law are conflicting, the federal law is supreme in the
constitution (ex. = McCulloch v. Maryland, probably the case with SB1070)
 The Federalist Papers #45: Madison: the former… ????????
 The powers reserved for the states are concerned with the lives, liberties, and internal
order…???
 Necessary & Proper to federalists, meant partial jurisdiction
 “elastic clause”- article 1, section 8 of the constitution, gives the govt. fair amount of
elasticity to expand or contract federal power at will, gives fed govt. lots of leeway
  To anti-federalists, this is a problem! Could trample the rights of the states! If it’s
not included in the constitution what partial jurisdiction is, the power resides with
the states, according to the tenth amendment
 When they (Maryland) taxed the institutions of the states, they taxed its
constituents, but then they taxed people who were not under their jurisdiction,
which is unconstitutional, in which case the Supreme Court and federal government
stepped in
 Types of Federalism
 Dual Federalism, 1789-1901: traditional system of two sovereigns performing
highly different functions, “Layer Cake” system
 Shared/ Cooperative Federalism, 1901-1960:
 Creative Federalism: 1960-1968:
“Marble Cake” system
 Contemporary/ New Federalism: 1967-Today:
 Did the McCulloch vs. Maryland case clarify or confuse concerns over whether federal
government or state government was supreme?
 Parallel court case: Gibbons vs. Ogden (1834)
 Also dealing with central vs. state government had granted rights to a shipping
company(?) and the federal government had granted those rights to another shipping
company
 Commerce clause itself lays out the law: federal government has jurisdiction
 Case also allowed federal government to regulate commerce in general
 1960-1968, Under the Great Nation( LBJ)- Creative Government
 Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, better housing, better education, decrease in poverty
 Grant(s) in Aid (Program):federal government providing money for state governments.
every citizen is granted clean water, fresh air, generally life liberties for everyone
 However, not all states are created equal: some have more pollution than others,
etc.
 No longer an issue of “necessary and proper,” now an issue of need and the right
thing to do, improving quality of life for all states
 3 Types of Grant in Aid:
 Categorical- least liberal and permissive, most strict, federal grant given to
state and local governments that often requires states and local govt. to
match funds by them, and also requires state and local govts. to adhere to
specific rules and guidelines, you have to meet requirements before getting
this money, can only be used for these categories, in these particular policy
areas (ex. States offered money to maintain highways if they agreed to
having a uniform drinking age of 21, states quickly adopted this policy=
categorical grant with a condition on it. Most people(esp. parents) liked this
because a) taxes weren’t raised to maintain roads, and b) ensured safety of
their teens.
  Block- grant that specifies an area, similarly to categorical grant, but within
that area, the state and local government is free to use the money however
they wish
 Revenue Sharing- most relaxed or liberal, non-specific grant, the federal govt.
assumes that you will use the money wisely, and prioritizes about what is
most important
 Here we see much more involvement by the federal government
 Every state has a public policy regarding budget
 Article 1, Section 1:
 Is congress still the most powerful branch? That’s what the framers had in mind when
creating congress. Other powers can check the power of congress, but it has the most
because policies are shaped by the congress
 Has the power of purse, spending money
 Regulate money supplied
 Power to mobilize troops or affirm or reject military action initiated by president
 But—there have been times when this is not the case
 Why the bicameral system?
 People had already become accustomed to bicameralism on a state level
 The process of creating legislation is slowed down and gives more opportunity for
deliberation to produce policies.
 If we didn’t have this system, the federalism and U.S. democracy would be changed
entirely because either it wouldn’t be equal for everyone, or the states with larger
numbers wouldn’t feel properly represented AND it would produce hasty policies
and increase role/ importance of federal government