1 / 14

Relations Among States and the Politics of Federalism

Relations Among States and the Politics of Federalism. The Legitimacy of Federalism. Remember, the 10 th Amendment guarantees powers reserved to the STATES or people

Audrey
Download Presentation

Relations Among States and the Politics of Federalism

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Relations Among States and the Politics of Federalism

  2. The Legitimacy of Federalism • Remember, the 10th Amendment guarantees powers reserved to the STATES or people • Some of these powers include admin. elections, regulating public schools, est. local govts., creating vehicle laws, contracts

  3. Article IV of the Constitution • Relations among the states: • Full faith and credit • Each state must recognize the laws, court decisions, and records of all other states • Ex: driver’s & marriage licenses, corporate charters

  4. Article IV of the Constitution • Privileges and immunities: • Guarantees each state’s citizens equal treatment in all states • Ex: you may pass through, use courts, buy property • Reasonable discrimination is legal to non-residents • Ex. Higher fees, not able to vote

  5. Article IV of the Constitution • Extradition: • Any person who flees justice b/c of crime, must be sent back upon request • Rarely a Governor can refuse

  6. Article IV of the Constitution • How to deal with disputes amongst states? • No force allowed! • Interstate compacts • Ex: pest control to toll bridges • Last resort- The Supreme Court • Ex: water rights!

  7. Article IV, Sections 3 & 4 • Guarantees from the national gov. to the states: • The admission of new states by Congress • Must guarantee and preserve a republican form of govt. • Protection from invasion and domestic violence • Respect territorial boundaries

  8. The States’ Rights Position • Those who supported wanted a “compact among the states” • Favors state and local action • Narrowly defined, or “strict interpretation” of the Constitution • Justice Roger B. Taney • Early on, states had power

  9. The Classic Debate: Jefferson vs. Hamilton

  10. The Nationalist position • Belief it was “the people”, not the state that created our govts. • Favors national action when dealing with problems (states speak for a small part) • The national govt. not subordinate to the states! (the Supremacy Cl.) • Powers should be expanded when “necessary and proper” • McColloch case, New Deal

  11. The Debate this Century • We have seen a huge growth in the national govt. • This has come at the expense of the states • Done through war, commerce, and taxing power • Ex: economy, CR Act ’64, 16th Am. • Fed. is more powerful!

  12. The Debate this Century • Despite the Federal power growth, a couple of things to consider… • Nixon’s “New Federalism” began to take fed. Programs back to state and local levels (devolution) • Continued by Republicans (Reagan) • Despite, most laws that affect us directly are state! • Ex: education, property & criminal laws

  13. The Craziness of Federalism: The Marriage Debate State Law Proposition 22 passes. Defines marriage between a man and woman Federal Law 1996: The Defense of Marriage Act passes. Defines marriage federally. The initiative is struck down by the Ca. Supreme Court 2010: Section 3 is ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge 2008: Prop 8: Ca. Marriage Protection Act is passed. Changes Constitution. $39M raised for it, $43M against 2011: Atty. General under the direction Obama announces it will no longer defend DOMA! A court injunction is issued against enforcing Prop 8

  14. The pluses of federalism • Federalism allows local & state divisions to serve as “testing grounds” (ex: Georgia voting age) • Sunset laws: check need of agencies • Sunshine laws: no secret meetings • Keeps political parties alive (ex: Democrats after Civil War) • Allows for oppty. to get involved • (local-state-fed) & more involved

More Related