Chapter 4: Federalism Section 1: Dividing Government Power (pg.96-102)

Why Federalism? (pg.97) American Federalism was born in 1787 b/c the Articles of Confederation were too week. Why was a unitary system out of the question? The Framers drew from Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau and Adam Smith. They wanted self-rule w/ limited government. The Framers had to try to balance national rights & state rights. They avoided detailed provisions. They gave the nation flexibility.

National Powers (pgs. 98-99) Expressed Powers: referred to as enumerated powers. For example Article I Section 8 give the powers of the legislative branch. Congress can issue money, collect taxes, pay debts, regulate trade, declare war, & maintain armed forces. Article II gives the President the power to command the armed forces and conduct foreign relations. Article III gives the Judicial branch the power to rule on constitutional issues & settle disputes among states

National Powers (pgs. 98-99) Implied Powers: are not listed but are logical extensions of expressed powers. Article I Section 8 which is called the necessary and proper clause or the elastic clause. Giving Congress powers like building highways, regulating food and establishing the IRS

National Powers (pgs. 98-99) Inherent Powers: powers that historically have been recognized as naturally belonging to all governments that conduct the business of a sovereign nation. These powers include acquiring new territory and conducting foreign affairs even through these powers are not in the constitution.

State Powers (pg.99) “The powers not delegated to the U.S. by the Constitution…are reserved to the States…” 10th Amendment These Reserved Powers let states regulate health, public safety, morals, & general welfare of their citizens. States also control driver licenses, how fast you can go on highways, marriage, public school, criminal laws, businesses within that state, and license doctors, lawyers, & even the person that cuts your hair.

Shared Powers (pg. 100) If the Constitution does not exclusively give a power to the national government then it is a concurrent power, or a power held by both national and state gov. Some of these powers are collecting taxes, establishing courts, build roads, education, and borrowing and spending money. If these laws are in conflict, Article VI of the Constitution says that the national laws are supreme, this is called the supremacy clause.

Limits on National Gov. (pgs. 100-101) The Framers were fearful of tyranny, this is why they put limit on gov. Examples are the national gov. can’t deny a citizen right to trail by jury, tax exports between states, pass laws favoring one state over another, spend money unless Congress ok’s it, or exercise powers meant for the states. The Bill of Rights also limits the national government

Limits on State Government Article I Section 10 puts limits on State Power States can’t coin money, tax imports and exports from other states, have their own armies, or have treaties with other nations If states did any of these things it would undermine national unity

Powers Denied to Both Levels Both state and nation can’t deny people the right to trial by jury, or grand titles of nobility They cannot make laws ex post facto. This protect people from being convicted of an offense that was not a crime at the time of the offense.

The Nation & the 50 States The national gov. will only recognize a state if they have a Republican government. The national gov. must protect states from foreign invasion and from domestic uprisings. The national gov. must treat each all the states as equals The national gov. can’t split up existing state.

Relations between the States States have too extradite a person charged with a crime in another state, or full faith and credit clause. Also under this clause states are required to make official records available to other states. And states are also required not to discriminate against citizens from other states

Local Gov. & American Indians The Constitution does not address local gov., so it is up to the state to create local gov. Article I Section 8 allows gov. to regulate Commerce with Indian Tribes and they used this power to make treaties with American Indians. In 1924 American Indians were given full citizenship