Download Institutional Focus

Chapter 3
FEDERALISM AND AMERICAN
POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT
Institutional/Historical Focus: Federalism and the
Constitution
© 2011 Taylor & Francis
Political Principles of American
Federalism
• The Declaration of Independence
outlined the justifications for American
Independence (freedom, liberty,
inalienable rights), it did not establish a
government
• The Articles of Confederation and the
U.S. Constitution distributed powers and
responsibilities between the federal,
state, and local governments
© 2011 Taylor & Francis
Political Principles of American
Federalism
• The exact nature of this federal system has been
a matter of debate since the Constitutional
Convention of 1787.
• The Articles of Confederation established a
confederacy where the majority of power resided in
state governments.
• The Articles contained no provision for a national
judiciary, army, or the power to tax.
• Each state held a veto over amending the Articles.
• Nine states had to agree to major legislation in
order for it to be binding.
© 2011 Taylor & Francis
Political Principles of American
Federalism
• Ratification of the Constitution in 1789
combines
• the Declaration’s philosophical tenets of
individual freedom and liberty
• the Article’s commitment to a sphere of
sovereignty for the states
• increased the strength of the national
government.
• In turn, the United States Constitution
provides for a federal system of government.
© 2011 Taylor & Francis
The Constitution and American
Federalism
• With the perceived failure of the Articles of
Confederation, America needed a new
constitution.
• Given the colonists’ attachment to states’ rights,
this new structure included both:
• An effective national government
• Sovereign state governments.
© 2011 Taylor & Francis
The Constitution and American
Federalism
• The Framers, especially James Madison, sought
to form a system of government in which:
• the states and the central government shared powers
• but also had exclusive powers enumerated in the
Constitution.
© 2011 Taylor & Francis
The Constitution and American
Federalism
• Framers’ belief in a federal system is seen
throughout the institutional structure of the
Constitution
© 2011 Taylor & Francis
The Constitution and National
Powers
• State laws subservient to federal laws enacted by
Congress (supremacy clause)
• Congress enacts “necessary and proper”
legislation, which cannot conflict with Constitution
• Congress has exclusive jurisdiction over certain
domestic matters (regulation of interstate
commerce)
© 2011 Taylor & Francis
The Constitution and National
Powers (cont.)
• Constitution establishes a national executive
(President).
• Constitution created a national judiciary with
original and appellate jurisdiction applied over the
other branches of the national government as
well as their state equivalents.
© 2011 Taylor & Francis
The Constitution and States’ Powers
• Powers not provided to the federal government are
reserved to the states and the people
• States are responsible for regulating internal
concerns
• States may establish banks and borrow money
for internal development
• Local governments are under the jurisdiction of
states
• The 5th and 14th Amendments provide
protection for individuals from either federal or
state government interventions.
© 2011 Taylor & Francis
Interstate Relations
• The Constitution also makes provisions about
interstate relations.
• Article IV, section 1, provides that states must give “Full
Faith and Credit” to other states’ laws, citizens, and
criminal justice procedures.
© 2011 Taylor & Francis
Interstate Relations
• Constitutional provisions (cont.):
• Privileges and Immunities, Article IV, section 2, provides
that citizens of one state be afforded equal protections in
other states as to their freedoms.
• Article IV, section 2, provides for extradition: that a
fugitive from justice may be extradited (returned) to the
state where the crime was committed.
© 2011 Taylor & Francis
Unresolved Debates
• Debate continues concerning the scope of federal
involvement in policies affecting certain states
based upon their geographical location.
• For example:
• The American Southwest and immigration policy
• Gay marriage recognition
© 2011 Taylor & Francis
Unresolved Debates
• Deployment of the National Guard
overseas.
• The national government has
responsibility for dealing with interstate
and international security and economic
affairs while the state governments retain
those powers concerning domestic affairs.
• Given historical events the lines between
state and federal power are unclear.
© 2011 Taylor & Francis
The Growth of the National
Government
Copyright©2011 Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
Offsetting trends: The Rise and Fall
of Fiscal Federalism
• Grants-in-aid to the states rose between the FDR
and early Carter administrations but have
declined since then due to devolutionary schemes
by the later Carter and Reagan administrations
with some fits and starts under Clinton and W.
Bush.
© 2011 Taylor & Francis
Rise and Fall of Fiscal Federalism
Copyright©2011 Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business