Chapter 3
American Federalism
A dry, theoretical overview of
federalism will surely put a classroom to sleep. But federalism does not have to be a dry,
abstract subject, and moreover, students must understand the structure and
operations of the federal system if they are to have even the most rudimentary
grasp of American government.
Students often have a hard time
distinguishing between federalism (division of governments among different
geographic levels) and separation of powers (the division and sharing of powers
among the three branches of any one geographic level of government). The distinctions among unitary governments,
confederations, and federal governments should be stressed in order to place
the choice the framers made into context.
Federalism is not the only way for a system of government to be
organized.
Using federalism was one way for the
framers to establish another constraint on the powers of the national
government. But in some ways the framers
were merely accepting the reality that the states existed and had the loyalty
of a good part of the public. While the
system does serve to constrain the national government, it also has served as a
barrier to those who want rights and liberties protected from state government,
such as African Americans and women. Due
to federalism, practically every governmental program now involves several
layers of government working (and fighting) together in planning, funding,
implementing, and evaluating.
The constitutional basis of federalism
must be emphasized, with clear definitions of the supremacy clause, expressed
powers, implied powers, concurrent powers, etc.
The role of the U.S. Supreme Court in defining those terms and in
establishing national supremacy also must be stressed. Don't slight, however, the political and
economic sides to federalism:
—the
large number, size, and kinds of federal grant programs
—the
changes in the grants system occurring in the Reagan, Bush, and Clinton
administrations
—the
expansion of federal regulation of state and local governments
—the
expansion, and then contraction, of federal funding of local services
—the arguments over money and forms of
grants, and the arguments over who will have the power to shape local services.
If the abstract and the practical, the
ambiguities and the constants, the historical evolution and the daily operation
of public programs are brought out, then students can relate federalism more to
their own lives and to what they are exposed to every day in the news media.
I. LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Define
federalism and its constitutional basis between the national and state
governments.
2. Examine
various interpretations of federalism, such as dual, cooperative, marble cake,
competitive, permissive, and "New Federalism."
3. Identify and describe alternatives to
federalism.
4. List
advantages of federalism as they relate to the needs of a heterogeneous people.
5. Examine
powers of the national government, powers reserved for the states, and
concurrent powers shared by the national and state governments.
6. Identify limits and obligations on both
national and state powers.
7. Describe the federal systems found in
8. Discuss
the changing role of federal courts in national-state relations, especially
following McCulloch v. Maryland.
9. Describe
the expanding role of the federal courts in reviewing state and local
government activities through the Fourteenth Amendment, federal mandates, and
federal preemption.
10. Explain
the historical growth in national governmental powers relative to the states,
including the debate between the centralists and decentralists.
11. Identify
and describe four types of federal grants, and state the goals of federal
grants.
12. Examine
the politics of federal grants, including how the battle over the appropriate
level of government to control the funds tends to be cyclical.
13. Analyze the impact of federal mandates on
state and local government.
14. Identify and describe new techniques of
federal control.
15. Examine
reasons for the growth of big government and reasons why Congress is pressured
to reduce national programs.
16. Discuss
why federalism has grown increasingly complicated, with changing political
power distribution, and the reemergence of the states.