Federalism

Lesson Objectives: What is federalism? List the three types of governmental systems. Define the supremacy clause. Constitutional basis of federalism. Benefits of federalism. Types of federalism. What are implied powers. What was James Madison thinking?

I. Defining Federalism: Federalism is a system in which two or more governments share power over the same constituents. Ultimate political authority, or sovereignty, is shared between the governments. Ultimately, the national government has supreme authority through the Supremacy Clause. But state governments have sovereignty also. The workings of the federal system and how national, state, and local governments relate is described as intergovernmental relations.

This form of government was created by James Madison as a compromise of power between the states (antifederalist) and the federal government (federalists). The goal of federalism is to preserve personal liberty by separating the powers of the government so that one government or group may not dominate all powers. Thus, the constitutional basis of federalism is the idea of division of powers. This form of government is unique because instead of the national government receiving its powers from the states, or the states receiving powers from the national government, both governments derive their powers directly from the people, or constituents. It is a system of government for the people, by the people.

Types of Governmental Structures: Unitary government; when one centralized body is the sole governing unit. Unitary governments are often found in small, compact nations with homogeneous populations and few factional elements. Japan, France, and Great Britain are examples of unitary governments.

Confederations; loose central governments that are dominated by the stronger state governments. Confederations are rare in the world today. Growing cooperation between countries in the current European community has resulted in a confederation called the European Union.

Benefits of federalism: 1. Decentralized politics. For example, elections are conducted at the state level—even national elections such as the presidential election—allowing governing power to rest in the hands of more people. Therefore, more points of access to the government exist for its constituents. 2. Strengthing judicial power. Because power is shared between the state and national governments, inevitably there are disputes between the two that must be arbitrated by the judicial system.

Types of federalism: 1. Dual federalism; a certain form of federalism where the national government and state governments have distinct realms of authority that do not overlap and into which the other should not intrude. Often described as "layer cake federalism," which indicates distinct layers of government, each with their own sphere of influence. The icing on the cake (the federal government) binds the layers (the states) but also separates them.

2. Cooperative federalism; the national and the state governments collaborate by sharing costs of programs and by sharing administrative roles, when implementing federal policies. It is often described using a marble cake metaphor, where the layers of government are less distinct.

Following the Great the Depression, the governmental power on the nation level grew. As the federal government grew, the nation moved from the model of dual federalism to cooperative federalism. This growth has been helped by: 1. Judicial interpretation 2. Incorporation of the due process 3. Equal protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment .

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