1. Federalism
Chapter 3

2. Three Systems of Government
 Governmental Units in the United States
 Federal Government – 1
 State Governments – 50
 Local Governments – 88,525
 Counties – 3,034
 Municipalities – 19,429
 Townships – 16,504
 Special Districts (water, sewer, etc.) – 36, 052
 School Districts – 13,506
 Total – 88, 576

3. Three Systems of Government
 There are roughly 200 independent nations in the world
today
 Each nation has its own system of government
 Each nation’s structure relations between central government
and local units fall into three models:
 The Unitary System
 The Confederal System
 The Federal System

4. Three Systems of Government
 The Unitary System
 Historically, the most popular model (and still the most popular today)
 A centralized governmental system in which ultimate governmental
authority rests in the hands of the national, or central government
 Example: France
 Regions, department, and municipalities in France elect their appointed
officials
 However, the decisions of the lower levels of government can be overruled
by the national government
 Additionally, the nation government can cut off funding of many local
governmental activities
 All questions of education, police, land usage, and welfare are handled
solely by the national government

5. Central Government
State Government

6. Three Systems of Government
 The Confederal System
 The opposite of a unitary system
 A system consisting of a league of independent states, each having
essentially sovereign powers.
 The central government created by such a league has only limited
powers over the states
 Cannot make laws directly applicable to the states
 Example: The Articles of Confederation
 Few Confederal Systems exist today, with the exception of the
European Union (EU)
 League of European countries that observe a large body of common
European laws
 Share the same currency, the euro

7. Central Government
State Government

8. Three Systems of Government
 The Federal System
 Lies between the unitary and confederal systems of government
 Authority is divided between a central (federal) government and state
(or regional) governments, usually by a written constitution
 Both the central and state governments act on behalf of the people
through laws and the actions of elected and appointed governmental
officials
 Within each government’s sphere of influence and authority, each is
supreme
 Besides the United States, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India,
and Mexico have federal systems

9. Central Government
State Government

10. Why Federalism?
 Practical Issues
 The Framers saw a practical problem – how do we unite the
colonies?
 Liberty-based Argument
 Liberty is more secure in small republics
 (Eric Oliver) Participation is greatest in small governments, to an extent
 States often lead the way regarding civil rights (women’s suffrage and
western states)
 However, rights can be curtailed by states (Jim Crow laws in the South
from 1880s to 1940s)

11. Why Federalism?
 Other Arguments
 “Farming Out” Authority
 The national government can distribute responsibilities to the state/local
governments
 Additionally, the state and local governments often take the brunt of
political dissatisfaction
 Geography
 Large area and population of some nations make it impractical to locate
all political authority and resources in one location
 Bringing Government to the People
 Federalism brings government closer to the people through direct
access to local/state government

12. Why Federalism?
 Arguments against Federalism
 Impeding Progress
 Some see federalism as a way for power state/local interests to block
progress and impede national plans
 Inequity due to lack of oversight
 Marked differences state to state in educational spending, crime/crime
prevention, and even building safety
 Unitary Arguments
 President Ronald Reagan argued that federalism has given way to
expansion of national powers
 “The Founding Fathers saw the federalist system as constructed something like a
masonry wall. The States are the bricks, the national government is the
mortar…Unfortunately, over the years, many people increasingly come to believe
that Washington is the whole wall.”

13. National v. Compact Theory
 Who is “We the People”?
 National – people of the U.S. as individuals created the federal
gov’t and thus, determined the federal gov’t to be superior to the
states
 States are technically not parties to the Constitution and do not have
the right to determine the scope of federal authority
 Compact – people are represented by the states as the nation
was formed through a compact agreed upon by all states thus,
the federal gov’t is a creation of the states
 States should be the final arbiters regarding whether the federal gov’t
has overstepped its boundaries

14. Principles of Federalism
 Divided Sovereignty
 “Who gets what, when, and how” depends on where (federal or
state level)
 Partial Jurisdiction
 Where exactly is the division of sovereignty between the federal
government and the state governments?
 Institutional Protection
 What provisions are in place to ensure that the federal or state
governments do not overstep their boundaries?

15. Divided Sovereignty
 Think of the U.S. without federalism
 Culturally, we wouldn’t have states
 Regions or localities instead
 No state governors or legislatures
 No state police
 No TABC regulating bars
 No state bureaucracy
 Want to hunt?
 Get a license from the Department of Interior instead of Texas Parks &
Wildlife

16. What is the Division of
Sovereignty?
 The Federalists believed in limited, but necessary and proper
national power
 Hamilton’s Opinion (Federalist #17 & #23)
 “Commerce, finance, negotiation, and war seem to comprehend
all the objects which have charms for minds governed by that
passion; and all the powers necessary to those objects ought in
the first instance to be lodged in the national depository.”
 “The administration of private justice between citizens of the
same State, the supervision of agriculture and of other concerns
of a similar nature, all those things, in short, which are proper to
be provided for by the local legislation, can never be desirable
cares of a general jurisdiction.”

17. Constitutional Basis for American
Federalism
 The Constitution sets out different types of powers:
 The powers of the national government
 The powers of the state government
 Prohibited powers
 The Constitution also makes it clear that if a state or local law
conflicts with a national law, the national law will prevail

18. Powers of the National
Government
 Types of powers:
 Expressed
 Implied
 Inherent
 Expressed powers are also called enumerated powers
 Powers specifically granted to the national government by the
Constitution
 The first 17 clauses of Article I, Section 8 specify most of the
enumerated powers of the national government

19. Powers of the National
Government (Enumerated)
 Enumerated powers
 Lay and collect taxes, excises, pay the debts, provide for the common defense
and general welfare of the United States
 Borrow money on credit
 Regulate commerce with foreign nations
 Establish rules of naturalization
 Coin money, regulate value, fix weights and measures
 Establish post offices and post roads
 Constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court
 Declare war, raise armies
 Provide and maintain a Navy
 Provide for calling forth the militia
 Exercise exclusive legislation in all cases
 Make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution
the foregoing powers

20. Check my SlideShare page
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