Federalism - Nations, States, and Local Governments
- Click here for the wiki.
I divided up coverage of federalism into three separate sections. The first one simply attempts to clarify as much as possible the differences between the three levels of government so we are clear about what nations, states and the various types of local governments are and how they were developed in the US.
Useful - I hope - blog posts
- American States.
- Cities.
- Counties.
- County Government.
- Federalism.
Federalism - Federalism in the United States Constitution
- Click here for the wiki.
We'll look though the structure of the U.S. Constitution and pull out the parts that grant specific powers, or responsibilities to the states. This will also involve a review of some of the conflict that played out in the 1780s about how strong the states should be, whether there should be a national government, and if so what powers it should have. This should set us up for a good look later in the semester about the ongoing conflicts between the national and state governments. Texas is at the center of many of these conflicts, so this should help us comprehend the source of them - at least in part. Attention will also be given to the impact that the various amendments to the U.S. Constitution have had on state power.
For blog stuff:
- 14th Amendment.
- Commerce Clause.
- Delegated Powers.
- Equal Protection Clause.
- Implied Powers.
- Police Powers.
- Redistricting.
- State - Local Conflict.
- State Sovereign Immunity.
- States Rights.
- Suffrage.
- US - Texas Conflict.
Federalism - The Stages of Federalism
- Click here for the wiki.
The loose language which conditions the powers of the state and national governments has led to occasional reinterpretations of the relationship between the two. This gets into scholarly approaches to the material - and these approaches vary - but looking at them can help us understand the nature of the power struggle between the two, especially how they change over time. The simplest way to think about the change over time is that after a brief period when the forces in favor of a strong national government solidified its powers, there was a relatively long period where a clear distinction between national and state power was maintained. This was roughly from 1828 - the election of Andrew Jackson - to 1932 - the election of Franklin Roosevelt. The major intervening event during this period was the Civil War which led to the addition of three key amendments - the 13th, 14th and 15th - which each expanded national power over the states. The twin crises of the Great Depression and World War Two led to the establishment of national governing institutions which further expanded national power in two key areas, individual welfare and military power. Since then there has been an increase in efforts to pull back the power of the national government, but these have been relatively ineffective. Debates about the proper relationship between national and state powers are common aspects of political debate.
For past blog posts:
- The New Deal.
