The Evolution of Federalism

The Evolution of Federalism

Categorical Grants

Gibbons v. Ogden

Civil Rights Act of 1964

• 1824
• The steamboat owner Ogden had been given exclusive rights to run a steamboat route between New York and New Jersey. Gibbons ran that same route and Ogden filed a case against him.
• The court ruled 6 to 0 in favor of Gibbons
• This gave the federal government a huge increase of power under their interpretation of Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3, more commonly known as the commerce clause.

• money granted to the state and local governments to be put to specified project areas
• the strategic distribution of money reorganizes the financial priorities of the state and local governments
• This is an increase in federal power because the government is rearranging teh priorities of the states to match their own, there fore controlling how the states run themselves.

• outlawed major forms of discrimination against racial, ethnic, national, and religious minorities, and women
• Federal government asserted its power over interstate commerce, equal protection of citizens, and guarantee equal voting rights
• This is an increase in power because the national government was not originally given the power to outlaw discrimination. However, the federal government used the commerce clause, the 14th and 15th amendments to make this law

3. Centralized Federalism

2. Cooperative Federalism

• the national government imposes its policy preferences on state governments
• 1963-1969

Increasing Federal Power

• the state and national government work together to address domestic matters reserved to the states, driven by the policy priorities of the states
• 1932-1963

Clean Air Act

4. Conflicted Federalism

The Types of Federalism

Block Grants

• requires EPA to require air quality standards on common pollutants
• established basic structure in 1970, with revisions in 1977 and 1990
• This is not an enumerated power in the Constitution, so many argue that it should be up to the states. However, it is considered to be for the good of the people.
• This act increases federal power by giving power to the EPA to control industry, and they have more say about how much a factory or business can produce in pollutants every year, overriding the states.

1. Dual Federalism

• the current status of national-state relations that has elements of dual and cooperative federalism, with an overall centralizing tendency at the same time that elements of policy are devolved
• 1969-present day

• money granted to states or localities for broad policy areas, with fewer strings attached than categorical grants
• the interaction of federal and state powers and money are the basis of the federalist system
• The devolution of power back to the states is taking power away from the federal government because there are not as many strings attached and the state or locality can use the money how they like

• State and national government function independently from each other to address their distinct constitutional responsibilities
• 1789-1932

Medical Marijuana

• the federal system has not clarified the constitutional authority over medicinal marijuana
• Does the national or state government have the final say on this matter?
• The federal government is giving up power in this case because they are leaving this decision up to the states.

US v. Lopez

Decreasing Federal Power

The 10th Amendment

• The 12th grader, Alfonso Lopez, brought a handgun to school in violation of the gun free school zone act of 1990
• the gun free school zone act was deemed unconstitutional because it was too much of a stretch to connect it to the commerce clause
• This gave power back to the states to regulate schools, which is something that the federal government really should not be a part of.

• states that any powers not enumerated in the constitution are reserved to the states
• there are many different ways that the federal government can twist the commerce clause, full faith and credit clause, the necessary and proper clause, and the power to tax and spend clause to do what they want
• For the most part, this is the devolution of power, making it a decrease in federal power.