Chapter 3: Federalism

Chapter Review

Federalism Shapes American Politics

1. In an effort to limit national power, the framers of the Constitution established a system of dual federalism, wherein both the national and state governments would have sovereignty.
2. Federalism and a restrictive definition of "interstate commerce" limited the national government's control over the economy.
3. Because laws vary between the states, federalism requires cooperation to promote national unity.

The Definition of Federalism Has Changed Radically

1. Under the traditional system of federalism, the national government was small and very narrowly specialized in its functions compared with other Western nations. Most of its functions were aimed at promoting commerce.
2. Under the traditional system, states rather than the national government did most of the fundamental governing in the country.
3. The system of federalism limited the expansion of the national government despite economic forces and expansive interpretations of the Constitution in cases such as McCulloch v. Maryland and Gibbons v. Ogden.
4. For most of U.S. history, the concept of interstate commerce kept the national government from regulating the economy. But in 1937, the Supreme Court converted the commerce clause from a source of limitations to a source of power for the national government.
5. The rise of national government activity after the New Deal did not necessarily mean that states lost power directly. Rather, the national government paid states through grants-in-aid to administer federal programs.
6. Some federal programs bypass the states by sending money directly to local governments or local organizations. The states are most important, however; they are integral to federal programs such as Medicaid.

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