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Federalism. U.S. v. the States. Learning Objectives. After completing this lesson you will be able to: Explain how the Constitution distributes power between the national and state governments. Explain the changes that have occurred in the federal system in the past 200 years.
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Federalism U.S. v. the States
Learning Objectives After completing this lesson you will be able to: • Explain how the Constitution distributes power between the national and state governments. • Explain the changes that have occurred in the federal system in the past 200 years. • Summarize the part played by state governments in the contemporary federal system. • Discuss the role of grant-in-aid programs in the American federal system. • Describe the advantages and disadvantages of a federal system.
Whats the Issue with.... Same Sex Marriages?
Laws regarding same-sex partnerships in the United States Same-sex marriage1 Unions granting rights similar to marriage1,2 Legislation granting limited/enumerated rights1 Same-sex marriages performed elsewhere recognized1 No specific prohibition or recognition of same-sex marriages or unions Statute bans same-sex marriage Constitution bans same-sex marriageConstitution bans same-sex marriage and some or all other kinds of same-sex unions
Main Issue Here: Is NOT whether this particular lifestyle is moral, It is, is this a National or a State Issue? Who gets to decide?
National Issue? The Defense of Marriage Act (enacted September 21, 1996) is a United States federal law signed into law by President Bill Clinton on September 21, 1996 whereby the federal government defines marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman. Under the law, also known as DOMA, no state (or other political subdivision within the United States) may be required to recognize as a marriage a same-sex relationship considered a marriage in another state. This has been found UNCONSTITUTIONAL and is tied up in appeals to figure out whether it is correct or not.
State Issue? Same-sex marriage is recognized only at the state level, as the federal Defense of Marriage Act explicitly bars federal recognition of such marriages. Six state governments have passed laws offering same-sex marriage. Out of 28 states where constitutional amendments or initiatives that define marriage as the union of a man and a woman were put on the ballot in a voter referendum, voters in all 28 states voted to approve such amendments.
As of January 2010, 29 states had constitutional provisions restricting marriage to one man and one woman, while 12 others had laws "restricting marriage to one man and one woman."Nineteen states ban any legal recognition of same-sex unions that would be equivalent to civil marriage. Opponents of same-sex marriage have worked to prevent individual states from recognizing same-sex unions by attempting to amend the United States Constitution to define marriage as a union between one man and one woman. In 2006, the Federal Marriage Amendment, which would prohibit states from recognizing same-sex marriages, was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee on a party-line vote and was debated by the full United States Senate, but was ultimately defeated in both houses of Congress.
SO.... Which is it? A NATIONAL or STATE issue? What do YOU think?
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for American teen-agers • An average of 10 teen drivers a day were killed in fatal accidents in the US in 2003. Another 308,000 were injured in fatal accidents. • Young people ages 15-20 make up 6.7 percent of the total driving population, but are involved in 14 percent of all fatal accidents • Nearly one in five 16-year-old drivers is involved in an accident during the first year of driving. • 52 percent of teen auto deaths in 2002 occurred between the hours of 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. • In 2003, 25 percent of the young drivers killed in auto accidents were legally drunk. • 65 percent of teen passenger deaths occur when another teen is driving • Nearly half of the fatal crashes involving 16-year-old drivers are single vehicle crashes.
What if the Government wanted to... Change the Legal Driving age to 25, in order to allow for less accidents and safer roads? Should they be able to do this?
Federalism Is the division of powers between a central government and regional governments. There is usually an ongoing struggle between the central and regional governments. Countries practicing federalism: USA, CANADA, and GERMANY
Unitary A system where national governments retain all sovereign power over state or regional governments. Countries practicing: FRANCE
U.S. Framers of the Constitution: Sought to create a federal system that promotes strong national power in certain spheres, yet recognizes that the states are sovereign in other spheres. James Madison in "Federalist No. 46" the states and national government, "are in fact but different agents and trustees of the people, constituted with different powers." Alexander Hamilton in "Federalist No. 48""If their [the people's] rights are invaded by either, they can make use of the other as the instrument of redress."
Framers Debate: Hamilton, Washington, Adams, and Marshall: sought to implement an expansive interpretation of national powers at the states' expense. Madison, Thomas Jefferson: sought to bolster state powers.
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.
US Constitution Delegated different powers to the states and the national government...
Enumerated (Delegated) Powers: Powers that are held by the federal (national government) because they are outlined in the Constitution. • Coin and print money • Conduct foreign affairs • Create a postal system • Regulate foreign and interstate trade • Raise and maintain armed forces
Reserved Powers: Powers that are reserved or saved for the states. Many of these are not listed but are then given to the states by the 9th and 10th Amendments. • Control the state militia (national guard) • Conduct elections • Set voter qualifications • Provide public education • Certify public school teachers • Regulate trade within the state (intrastate trade)
Concurrent Powers: Powers that are held by both the federal (national) government and the states. When in conflict, the federal government is always more powerful according to the Supremacy Clause in Article 6, sec 2 of the Constitution. • Make laws • Borrow money • Collect Taxes • Enforce Laws • Punish those found guilty of breaking the law • Establish courts
Denied Powers: Powers that neither the federal nor the state government are permitted to have. • Pass laws that violate the right of citizens such as ex post facto laws (laws that punish for something that was legal previously), bills of attainder (laws that jail citizens without trial), suspending writs of habeas corpus (preventing courts from trying accused people). • Granting titles of nobility such as king, duke, earl, and knight. • Taxing exports (doing so hurts domestic manufacturers.
Implied Powers: Potential powers carved out by the constitution under Article I, Section 8, to make laws that are "necessary and proper" for carrying out its enumerated powers.
Judicial Review Is the power to strike down as unconstitutional acts of the national legislature and executive, as well as state actions. The Supreme Court's original delegated powers in Article III were significantly enhanced in the case of Marbury v. Madison (1802), where Chief Justice John Marshall first articulated the Court's power to exercise Judicial Review.
McCulloch v. Maryland Pro-national government Chief Justice Marshall defended a national supremacy view of the Constitution in 1819. The Supreme Court expanded the powers of Congress through a broad interpretation of its "necessary and proper" powers, and reaffirmed national supremacy by striking down Maryland's attempt to tax the Bank of the U.S. Court Cases that helped define Federalism Printz v. United States Pro-states rights 1997 court case in which the court invalidated federal law that required local police to conduct background checks on all gun purchasers. The court declared that the law violated the 10th Amendment. "The Federal government may neither issue directives requiring the states to address particular problems, nor command the states' officers, or those of their political subdivisions, to administer or enfore a Federal regulatory program... Such commands are fundamentally incompatible with our constitutional system of dual sovereignty."
State Limitations: The states must observe the Constitution of the United States of America and they must obey valid laws of the federal government made under the Constitution. The second major limitation on state power is their relative lack of financial resources compared with those of the federal government.
Categorical Grants: The National Government provides money to the states for specific purposes, and expanded rapidly during the 1960s Great Society. Hard to implement, and difficult to adapt to local needs. Block Grants: Combine several categorical grants in broad policy areas into one general grant. States prefer these because they allow state officials to adapt the grants to their particular needs, but Congress doesn't like to use them because they loosen control over how the money is spent. Grants
Pros: Greater degree of local autonomy More avenues for citiznes to participate More checks and balances against concentrations of power Cons: Increased complexity of government that can produce duplication and inefficiency Increased legal disputes between levels of government Pros and Cons of Federalism