Federalism Pt. 2

The Supremacy Clause  Gives the national government supremacy over state and local governments  States cannot use reserved or concurrent powers to counter national policies  State and local officeholders must take an oath supporting the U.S. Constitution upon taking office.  The clause created many conflicts throughout history  Most significantly the Civil War

Little Rock, AK

The Civil War and Federalism  The Civil War was a power struggle between the states and the national government  Nullification Crisis  Tariffs on imported goods angered Southerners  South Carolina attempted to nullify (make void) the tariffs  Believed that the state should have the ultimate authority to determine the welfare of its citizens

Civil War and Federalism Cont’d  Supporters of Nullification used the idea to justify secession-or the withdrawal of the states from the Union  The defeat of the South in the Civil War resulted in an increase of political power for the national government

Critical Thinking  Do you think the Southerners were right in their thinking that the states should have the ultimate authority in the welfare of their people? Why or why not?

Dual Federalism  This model states that the federal and state governments are basically equal  Each level of government has separate and distinct functions  Courts sometimes often ruled in favor of local or state governments over the national government  Predominant until the 1930s

Cooperative Federalism  This model views the national and state government as complimentary parts of a single governmental mechanism  The purpose of this “mechanism” is to solve problems facing the entire United States  Grew out of the need to solve the tremendous problems of the Great Depression

The Great Depression and the New Deal  The New Deal was created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt  It involved many government spending measures aimed at getting the U.S. out of the Great Depression  This marked the beginning cooperative federalism and the beginning of national supremacy

The New Deal

Critical Thinking  Do you think that cooperative federalism and national supremacy (a stronger national government) would have developed if it hadn’t been for the Great Depression?

1960s and the Great Society  The Great Society was created by President Johnson and greatly increased the powers of the national government  Examples include:  Medicaid and Medicare  Job Corps  Civil Rights Act of 1964

The Great Society

New Federalism  New Federalism was meant to be a revival of Dual Federalism  Launched by President Nixon in the 1970s and supported by President Reagan in the 1980s  Involved returning to the states certain powers that have been exercised by the national government since the 1930s  Example: 1996 welfare reform gave the states more authority over welfare programs

New Federalism