History of American Federalism

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History of American Federalism

• How do the federal, 50 state, 84,000 local
  governments share power?

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What is Federalism?

• The structural relationship between the national
  government and its constitutive states
• power is divided shared between semi-autonomous
  levels of geographically defined jurisdictions
• 3 Types of Governance Systems

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Number Types of Local Governments
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Visions for Local Government

• Alexander Hamilton commercial republic
• Thomas Jefferson a mass of cultivators

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Two Types of Local Government

• General Purpose
• units that provide a wide array of services
• e.g., counties, cities (municipalities),
  townships, towns
• Single Purpose
• limited and specific functions
• e.g., school districts special districts water
  sewage districts police fire libraries

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The Urban Reform Movement

• Class conflict and institutional reform
• Charters
• state recognizes local jurisdictions through
  legislative statutes
• Home Rule 1875
• Right of localities to self-government
• charter allows wide discretion (e.g., annexation
  powers)
• 36/48 states with counties

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Mayor-Council
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Council-Manager
City of Gainesville (6 commissioners Mayor)
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City Commission
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City Manager, Russ Blackburn
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Counties

• General Purpose units
• over 3,000 nationally
• administrative arms
• Limited authority, but growing

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County Organization
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Special Districts

• School
• 14,000 in US
• Governed by School Boards
• Authority to raise property taxes
• Water Sewage
• Harbor
• Trash Collection
• Borders don't coincide with other districts
• Administer state laws, though they may make their
  own

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Growth of Special Districts, 1992-97
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States

• Variations
• Bicameralism (49 States, Nebraska exception,
  unicameral 1934)
• Constitutions
• Governor Powers

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Why Federalism?Ambiguities of Federalism

• Inherent Tension in the US Federalist System
• Legacy of Articles of Confederation
• Tensions among Founding Fathers
• Jefferson strong states rights
• Hamilton strong national government
• Madison balanced, but retain state autonomy

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Arguments for Ratification of Constitution

• Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 17
• James Madison, Federalist No. 45

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Constitutional Convention of 1787

• Ambiguities Inherent in Constitution
• Constitution created strong national Government
• Article I, Section 8, Clauses 1-17
• The Congress shall have power to lay and collect
  taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the
  debts and provide for the common defense and
  general welfare of the United States

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Congress Express or Enumerated Powers

• Collect Taxes Provide for the Common Defense
  and General Welfare of the United States
• Regulate Commerce with Foreign Nations and among
  the Several States
• Declare War, Conduct Foreign Affairs, Military
• Establish Post Offices

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Expanded Federal Powers

• Necessary and Proper Clause
• Article I, Section 8, Clause 18
• Implied Powers or Elastic Clause

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Further Strengthening of Federal Government

• National Supremacy Clause
• Article VI, Section 2
• Constitution and National Laws are the Supreme
  laws
• Full Faith Credit Clause
• Article IV, Section 2
• States must accept each others public acts
  records
• Privileges and Immunities and the 14th Amendment
  (1868)
• Due Process
• Equal Protection of the Laws
• Incorporation of the 14th Amendment

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States Rights

• Bill of Rights
• ratified in 1791
• 10th 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.
• Reserve Clause

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Figure 2.4 Original Constitutional Powers of
National and State Governments
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Federal vs. State Power Who Decides?

• US Supreme Court, arbiter of tension
• McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
• 2 issues
• Does national government have the right to
  establish a national bank?
• Does the state of Maryland have the right to tax
  the bank?
• Congress had implied power to establish the bank,
  and Maryland had no right to tax it

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Incorporating the 14th Amendment

• Ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868
  provided for a single national citizenship
• Gitlow v. New York (1925), the Fourteenth
  Amendment made the First Amendments protection
  of freedom of speech applicable to the states.

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Table 2.1 U.S. Supreme Court Rulings dealing
with Issues of Federalism
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Tension Still Exists

• Congressional Acts usurping state power
• US Defense of Marriage Act (1996)
• Oregons Death with Dignity Act (1994)
• Brady Bill (1994)
• Violence Against Women Act (1994)
• Gun Free School Zones Act (1990)
• Americans with Disabilities Act (1990)

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Figure 2.5 A Shift Back to Stronger Central
Government?
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Figure 2.6 State Medical Marijuana Laws