UNIT 1 DAY 8…TEST THURSDAY.

OBJECTIVE: ANALYZE THE BALANCE OF POWER BETWEEN

NATIONAL AND STATE GOVERNMENTS

Federalism Today

Current Political Climate

States’ Rights supporters are generally conservative

National Authority supporters generally liberal

Why National Authority?

Government helps everyone Engine of change…Civil War Amendments,

New Deal Programs War on Poverty under Pres. Lyndon

Johnson (1960s) Currently – Obamacare and Common Core

education standards

Why States’ Rights?

Preserve individual viewpoints Gay marriage…conservative states recognize only one

man-one woman Drug policy…maintain different policies

Compete for business Favorable tax rates Education policy

Shifting Party Allegiance

“New Federalism” promoted by Nixon & Republicans, they called it “devolution” of power back to states

Liberal support of states’ rights on social issues, currently gay marriage, when they can’t get enough national support

The Supreme Court: Commerce Cases

US v Lopez (1995): Gun-Free School Zones Act was ruled unconstitutional because it attempted to regulate an area that did not involve commerce

Gonzales v Raich (2004): Argued that Controlled Substances Act should not be applied to intrastate commerce, specifically medical marijuana, decision favored nat’l control (nullified by recent laws)

Additional Constitutional Questions

10th Amendment: Reserved Powers Printz v United States (Background checks

before purchasing handguns) result - states cannot be compelled to administer or enforce a federal regulatory program

11th Amendment: States cannot be sued for upholding Federal laws Discrimination cases…handicapped access,

FMLA

Why do we care?

Our Federal system promotes diversity among states Good…you can choose to live where you

like the policies known as “Voting with your feet”

Bad…diversity can be interpreted as inequality or unfairness such as different criminal codes or education funding

Class Discussion

Federalism worksheet Keep as notes

Potential Essay question: compare a case of state’s rights with a case of strong federal power