American Government

Sections: Introduction | Section 1 | Section 2 | Section 3 | Section 4

Government : Constitutional Principles : Section Three Federalism Under the Articles of Confederation, each of the 13 states was essentially sovereign. They had control over their own affairs with little interference from the national government. Following Shays’ Rebellion and other problems that arose it was clear that this system was not working. The system of federalism set up by the U.S. Constitution is one that allows the states to keep many powers for themselves, and also gives powers to the national government to keep the union between states strong. This system was designed to prevent future problems like those that arose in the days of the Articles. The Founders had a tough task ahead of them in forming a government that would please everyone. The states did not want to give up power to a national government. The creation of the system of federalism was a balancing act. They established that the national government would be superior to the state governments in case of conflicts; the national government would be more powerful and their authority is higher than that of the states. In some cases, the states would have power over issues that the federal government would not. There are many different types of powers that are given to the state and federal governments. Let’s explore each of these in more detail: Delegated Powers – Delegates powers are those that are specifically assigned to the federal government. To prevent the federal government from abusing its powers, the Founders were very clear on what specific powers the federal government would have. You may also hear of these powers being referred to as “enumerated powers.” Reserved Powers – These are the powers that reserved for the states. Powers that are not specifically given to the federal government belong to the states. The Tenth Amendment establishes this principle – we will discuss this more in the next section. Concurrent Powers – The word concurrent means “at the same time”. These powers are given to both the state and federal government. The chart below gives examples of these three types of powers. You will see here that, for example, the federal government is the only level of government that can sign treaties or declare war, the states are the only level that can establish schools and regulate trade within their state, while both levels have the right to tax its citizens. There are also two other categories of powers – implied powers and denied powers. Denied powersare those that the state or federal government are not allowed to do. This was done as another way of creating a system of limited government and making sure that the government did not abuse its power. Implied powers are those that are not specifically mentioned in the Constitution. Part of the Constitution known as the Elastic Clause (or the Necessary and Proper Clause) states that Congress has the power “to make all laws which are necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers” (Article I, Section 8). It is called the Elastic Clause because it gives Congress the authority to stretch its power beyond that specifically called for in the Constitution. There have been many important uses of this power by Congress. One example was the creation of the Bank of the United States in the early years of the republic. The Constitution does not state that Congress has the power to create a national bank, but Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton felt it was necessary in order for Congress to carry out its powers of coining money and regulating the economy. The Supreme Court later agreed and ruled that this was acceptable in the case of McCulloch v. Maryland in 1819. Over time, the power of the federal government has increased from the way it was when the Constitution was first ratified. For example, during the Civil War many changes were made. During the War Between the States, the federal government expanded its powers by enacting a national income tax and a draft, and by creating a national currency. Other changes that occurred over time include the federal government taking action in preserving the civil rights of citizens, regulating business across state lines, and providing social services such as Medicare and Social Security.  A constitutional issue that has led to many court battles is the battle between national supremacy and states’ rights. In Article VI of the Constitution, it states that the laws of the national government are the supreme law of the land. The Tenth Amendment, as mentioned before, reserves to the states all powers not specifically given to the national government. Although the events of the Civil War helped further establish the power of the federal government over the states, there are still many conflicts on these issues. For example, states have the power to regulate the education system within their borders. The national government in 2001 passed the No Child Left Behind legislation that set conditions on federal funding requiring states to use standardized testing to assess student performance. This act thus coerced the states into following a federal requirement that would normally be seen as outside of their realm of authority. American federalism today involves many overlapping powers. There are very few things that are exclusively a state or federal issue. They usually require some form of cooperation. Federal power has grown over the years, but the Constitution still acts as a necessary limit on the federal government and prevents them from getting too powerful. Discussion Question 2: Because of the overlapping nature of the powers in a federal system, there are often conflicts between the various levels of government. This issue of education, mentioned in section 3, is one example of this. What is another example of an issue that has become a problem because of differing ideas/laws from the state to the federal level? What is the current status of this issue today – is it still a problem?  Now it’s time to take the quiz on section 3. When you are finished, proceed to section 4. Go to next section

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