Chapter 2 – Systems of Government

Three Systems of Government

• Unitary system
  • Central government gives power to subnational governments
  • Local governments typically have only powers granted by central government, rather than any reserved powers
  • Majority of countries today
• Confederal system
  • Power retained by local/regional governments
  • League of independent states
  • Central government cannot make laws unless members support these
• Examples:
  • Switzerland
  • United States (under Articles of Confederation)
• Federal system
  • Divides power between national and lower level governments
  • Written constitution
  • Each government has distinct powers that other governments cannot override
• Examples:
  • Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Mexico
  • United States

The Flow of Power in Three Systems of Government

• In a unitary system, power flows from the central government to the local and state government.
• In a confederal system, power flows in the opposite direction—from the state governments to the central government.
• In a federal system, the flow of power, in principle, goes both ways.

Why Federalism

• A practical constitutional solution
  • Framers wanted to combine strong central government with state traditions and local power
  • Large geographical size of country
  • Brings government closer to the people
  • Benefit: state governments as testing grounds
  • Allows for many political subcultures

Arguments Against Federalism

• Arguments against federalism
  • Way for powerful states to block plans
  • Inequalities across states
  • Some see expansion of national powers as danger
  • Limited rights for minority groups
    • James Madison, Federalist Paper No. 10

The Constitutional Basis for American Federalism

• Federal system
  • Authority divided
  • Written constitution
  • Central government + constituent governments
• Constitution specifies three types of power
  • 1.Powers of national government
  • 2.Powers of the states
  • 3. Prohibited powers
• Powers of the national government
  • Enumerated Powers
    • Specifically granted by Constitution
    • Coining money, standardized weights and measures, admitting new states, postal services, declaring war
    • Power to regulate commerce
  • Implied Powers
    • Necessary and Proper Clause
  • Inherent Powers (all sovereign nations)

Powers of the State Governments

• Powers of the state governments
  • Tenth Amendment
    • Reserved powers
    • Regulate commerce within borders, state militia, laws governing crime, marriage, contracts, education
    • Police power
    • All powers not delegated to national government

Concurrent Powers

• Concurrent powers
  • Not specified in Constitution
  • Taxation
  • Borrow funds
  • Establish courts
  • Charter banks and corporations
  • Police power (to a degree)

Prohibited powers

• Any power not granted expressly or implicitly by Constitution is prohibited to federal government
• States also denied certain powers

The Supremacy Clause

• Supremacy Clause (Article VI, Clause 2)
  • National government actions are supreme
  • Conflicts between national and state government will be resolved in favor of national government
  • McCulloch v. Maryland
• Vertical checks and balances
  • Goal to prevent national government from becoming too powerful
  • Each branch checks others
  • Vertical checks are between state and national government

Interstate Relations

• Interstate Relations
  • Article IV attempts to resolve potential problems between states
    • Full faith and credit clause—states must honor actions of other states
    • Privileges and immunities
    • Interstate extradition
    • Interstate compacts

Defining the Constitutional Powers – The Early Years

• McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
  • Marshall: “[W]e must never forget it is a constitution we are expounding.”
  • Implied powers and national supremacy
• Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
  • Commerce clause
  • Commerce power of national government could be exercised in state jurisdictions
  • Regulating commerce is a national power

State’s Rights and the Resort to Civil War

• The shift back to states’ rights
  • Jacksonian era (1829-1837)
  • Regulation of commerce major issue
  • Tariffs generally benefitted northern industries
    • South Carolina withdraws from Union (1860)
    • Six states form Confederate States of America (1861)
• President Lincoln meets with some of his generals and other troops on October 3, 1862. While many believe that the Civil War was fought over the issue of slavery,  others point out that it was really a battle over the supremacy of the national government
• War and the growth of the national government
  • The war effort (billion dollar budget, income tax)
  • Civil War Amendments expand national government authority
    • 13th: Abolishment of slavery
    • 14th: Defined who was a U.S. citizen
    • 15th: Attempted to provide rights to freed slaves, including right to vote

The Continuing Dispute over the Division of Power

• Dual federalism and the retreat of national authority
  • “Layer cake” federalism
  • A return to normal conditions (for some)
  • Role of the Supreme Court
    • Defends state’s rights
    • Limits national government power

The New Deal and the Cooperative Federalism

• The New Deal and cooperative federalism
  • End of dual federalism
  • Expanded role for national government
  • Cooperation between national government and states
  • “Marble cake” federalism
• President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (served 1933-1945). Roosevelt’s national approach to addressing the effects of the Great Depression was overwhelmingly popular, although many of his specific initiatives were controversial

Implementing the Cooperative Federalism

• Methods of implementing cooperative federalism
  • Categorical grants
    • Formula grants
    • Program grants
  • Block grants
  • Federal mandates

The Politics of Federalism

• Federal system not always most effective
  • Hurricane Katrina
• What has national authority accomplished?
  • Economic relief
    • New Deal and Social Security
  • Civil rights and war on poverty
  • Child labor laws
• Why should states favor the status quo?
• Federalism becomes a partisan issue
  • The New Federalism:
    • Republicans and devolution
    • Conversion of categorical grants to block grants
    • Revenue sharing
  • Federalism in 21st Century
    • Important to conservative ideology
    • But some liberal policy innovations at state level

Federalism and the Supreme Court Today

• Reigning in the commerce power
  • United States v. Lopez
  • United States v. Morrison
  • Affordable Healthcare Act
• State sovereignty and the Eleventh Amendment
• Tenth Amendment issues
  • New York v. United States
  • Printz v. United States
• Other federalism cases
  • Mixed messages by Supreme Court on medical marijuana and death with dignity laws
  • Immigration policy: state or federal issue?