W. W. Norton & Company | We the People, 6th Edition

Chapter 3: Federalism

World Federalists are people who believe that the entire world should become a single political system, with each nation a state under a single international federal-style government, such as the United Nations. What advantages and disadvantages do you see in this idea? Would you support world federalism?

If you have lived in another state, compare that state’s political culture with your present state’s. Have you observed differences in public services? Quality of public education? Quality of politicians? In your opinion, which state has better government? Why? How can you explain the differences?

In 1828, South Carolina proposed a doctrine of nulliﬁcation, whereby states could decide for themselves if a federal law was contrary to the U.S. Constitution. If they decided it was, they could choose not to abide by it. The nulliﬁcation efforts of the 1830s were unsuccessful, but it has been said that informal nulliﬁcation goes on all the time, when unpopular federal laws or court rulings are disobeyed. An example is public schools that still have prayers at graduation or football games. Can we ever achieve complete obedience to the federal government?

Do states give up all power to withdraw when they join a union of states, or do they still retain some control over their fate? Would a union last if states could leave? What challenges would states face if they operated alone?

The welfare reform legislation has devolved power to the states, in keeping with the theory of dual federalism. Given the variation in welfare services among the states, do you think that devolution will create greater inequalities? Contrast the changing role of the national government in welfare with its role in education. Discuss the benefits and drawbacks of national government control of these areas.

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