Chapter 4 Federalism Central Ideas The constitution establishes a federal system or the division of power between the national government and the state governments The national and state governments compete for power but the national government has the winning record Crises technological developments and differing political ideas cause power shifts between the national and state governments A federal system has strengths and weaknesses The constitution grants the national government certain power to regulate commerce but it also retains some power for the states concerning taxation and economic development Federalism power being divided and shared between the national government and the state governments in the U S The national government has often been called upon to respond to crises and this has served to increase its power over time Technological progress has also helped to bolster the power of the national government at the expense of the states as it tends to move us away from localism and toward mass transportation communication and industry Strengthening national governments and weakening the power of state governments local communities is the best course of action for democratic politics Establishing a Federal System Challenge create a national government that was more effective than one established by the Articles of Confederation but that still preserved the rights and responsibilities of the states James Madison the Father of the constitution went to great pains to justify the powers granted to the legislative branch under the new government o He felt that specific powers should be given to each branch of the national government but that these powers should be checked Madison believed that federalism and the separation of powers would assist in checking the abuses of political power by providing a double security The idea of dividing authority between national state governments set the American system apart from the rest of the world Get the Gist Questions 1 Which of the following statements about federalism is correct Federalism was a subject of intense debate during the drafting of the constitution 2 Madison s concept of double security was primarily intended to check which of the following The abuse of political power 3 Federalism is best described as which of the following The division of power between the federal and state governments Nation vs State Early years of republic the national government assumed responsibility for a limited number of policy areas mainly national defense trade negotiation and regulation of currency The state and local communities assumed responsibility for all domestic policy issues poverty education healthcare Today the national government shares responsibility with the states for a wide array of economic and domestic issues U S congress regularly considers legislation on education health care welfare environmental issues poverty crime energy and a host of other policy issues National government has increases its authority in these areas by using both cooperation and coercion to guarantee state compliance This debate rages because the national government has gradually increase its power at the expense of the states States have challenged the growth in national government Supreme Court plays a key role in shaping this balance of power and in recent years it has even begun to shift some power back to the states Get the Gist Questions 1 With regard to the federal government states generally felt which of the following States both enjoyed their sovereignty and believed that the federal government had certain responsibilities toward the states 2 Which of the following characterizes the evolution of the balance of power between state local and national governments Federal government has progressively assumed greater responsibility for domestic and economic issues 3 Which governmental institution is primarily credited with the most recent shift in the balance of power between the state and federal governments Supreme Court Dual Federalism Dual federalism two systems working independently Layer Cake Federalism The powers and responsibilities of each level of government are as separate and distinct as the layers of cake Each layer of government possesses specific powers and retains political sovereignty in these areas From when the constitution went into effect to the mid 1930 s the national government assumed responsibility for defending the states negotiating trade and promoting commerce But most power was left to the states Most national policies involved subsidies tariffs and currency whereas most state policies involved property laws criminal laws family laws and education laws During this time the Supreme Court played an important role in limiting the power of the national government through its interpretation of the vaguely worded commerce clause of the constitution 19th century the Supreme Court distinguished between commerce among states and manufacturing within states The court would only allow congress to regulate interstate commerce and not intrastate manufacturing Congress could not regulate things as working conditions child labor quality of goods as these issues were regarded as within the realm of manufacturing rather than commerce During the New Deal era of the 1930 s when a national crisis opened a window of opportunity for the growth of national power The Supreme Court s expanded interpretation of the commerce clause supported this growth Get the Gist Questions 1 Which type of federalism is characterized by the national and state governments working independently of each other Dual 2 Which of the following characterizes the power of the national government during the age of dual federalism Limited by Supreme Court relatively low in comparison to states independent of states pertaining to commerce defense international trade 3 During the age of dual federalism the Supreme Court limited the power of the national government through its interpretation of which portion of the constitution Commerce clause Cooperative Federalism 1929 stock market crash state and local governments were struggling to cope with the fallout from Great Depression The arrangement came to resemble a marble cake instead of a layer cake o Instead of 2 sets of sovereign entities performing different functions the responsibilities of the two levels of government began to overlap o The state and national governments cooperated to provide public services