1.7 - Relationship Between the States and National Government
Defining Federalism and Sovereignty
Federalism divides power among federal, state, and local governments.
Shared sovereignty: power depends on the issue, no single level of government is in charge of everything. (For comparison: a unitary system gives the national government full control, while a confederacy leaves states fully sovereign, as under the Articles.)
Dynamic federalism: the relationship between states and the federal government keeps changing over time.
Federalist No. 39: James Madison, published January 16, 1788, under the pen name "Publius." Critics said the Constitution would wipe out the states. Madison answers that the new government is a republic (one that "derives all its powers directly or indirectly from the great body of the people") and that it mixes national and state features.
- What the words meant then: a "national" government acted directly on individual people, while a "federal" government was a league of sovereign states, like the Articles. Madison says the Constitution is "neither a national nor a federal Constitution, but a composition of both."
- Federal (state) features: the Constitution is ratified by the people of each state acting as separate states, the Senate represents the states as equals, and the national government's powers cover only "certain enumerated objects," leaving the states "a residuary and inviolable sovereignty over all other objects."
- National features: the House is elected directly by the people, and national laws act directly on individuals, not just on state governments.
- Mixed features: the president is chosen through a blend of both, and amending the Constitution is "neither wholly NATIONAL nor wholly FEDERAL."
- Why it matters: combining national and state features limits the concentration of power in any one part of the government, and it gives people more access points to participate, since they can vote, lobby, and run for office at both levels. Use it to argue that federalism protects liberty and keeps the states meaningful.
Types of Governmental Power
Power Type | Definition | Examples |
Delegated (exclusive) | Given only to the federal government | Declaring war, making treaties, coining money |
Reserved | Kept by the states under the 10th Amendment because they weren't given to the federal government | Education, health, welfare, licensing, police power |
Concurrent | Held by both federal and state governments | Taxing, borrowing money, making laws, building roads |
Exclusive powers belong to only one level of government. The national government's include its enumerated powers, written in the Constitution (like coining money or declaring war), and its implied powers, which aren't written but are inferred from the Necessary and Proper Clause (like creating a national bank, see 1.8).
Reserved powers come from the 10th Amendment: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." That's why states run schools, write most criminal laws, and license drivers and doctors.
Concurrent powers are shared, so both levels can tax, borrow, make and enforce laws, and build roads. Because the two levels overlap in so many areas, there's a constant debate over where national power should stop and state power should start.
Models of Federalism
Dual (layer cake) federalism: roughly the first 140 years of U.S. history. Clear, visible separation between state and federal responsibilities, like distinct layers of a cake.
Cooperative (marble cake) federalism: began with FDR and the New Deal. Federal and state powers blend together, making it hard to tell where one stops and the other starts. The two levels often share costs and administrative duties.
Federal Tools for Expanding Power
Grants-in-aid, federal money given to states, are the biggest reason the line between state and federal power has blurred.
- Categorical Grants: money for a specific purpose, like new school construction. States must follow exact rules to get it. About 90 percent of federal grants are categorical, and Congress likes them because they increase federal power.
- Conditions of Aid: rules states must follow to get the money. Classic example: Congress tied highway funding to states raising the drinking age to 21.
- Block Grants: money for a broader purpose, like "education" generally. States get more discretion on how to spend it. States tend to prefer these.
- Example: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), the welfare block grant created in 1996, lets each state design its own welfare program within broad federal rules.
- Revenue Sharing (no longer used): a 1970s-80s program giving states money with no strings attached.
- It's the least used form of federal funding, since it gives Congress almost no say over how the money is spent.
Mandates
Rules states must follow regardless of whether the federal government pays for them.
- Unfunded Mandates: Congress requires something but doesn't fund it. Example: the ADA required states to make public buildings wheelchair accessible without providing the money to do it. States dislike mandates, especially unfunded ones, since they lose power and have to foot the bill.
The Trade-Off for States
States like federal money because they can spend it without raising their own taxes, but they don't like the conditions attached, since following those rules means giving up some power.
Big picture
Federalism is the structure behind shared sovereignty between federal and state governments. The country moved from Dual Federalism's clear separation to Cooperative Federalism's blurred lines. The federal government uses its financial leverage, categorical grants and mandates especially, to steer policy in areas that are technically reserved to the states. States accept the trade-off because they get federal money without the political cost of raising taxes themselves.