Federalism

By jonathants

  • Articles of Confederacy

    The prelude to the Constitution created a flimsy confederate system where the central government had little power, leading to the Constitutional Convention. This was an increase in State power as the central government lacked the power to really control the states.

  • Supremacy Clause

    Established that the laws made under the federal government are the supreme law of the land. This clause gave the federal government more power since the central government could decide to make laws that all states must follow with or without their approval.

  • Constitutional Convention

    A congregation of delegates that led to the creation of the Constitution. This led to an increase in federal power as it gave the central governments the powers it sorely lacked in the Articles of Confederation.

  • Commerce Clause

    Describes the enumerated powers of the US federal government, including things like the Necessary and Proper Clause. This section of the Constitution granted the federal government more power as it gave lots of authority to the federal government.

  • Elastic Clause

    "To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof." This clause granted the central government power over the states because it gave Congress the ability to stretch the Constitution to create laws necessary in the future.

  • 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." By leaving the reserved powers to the States it gives the states more power.

  • VA and Kentucky resolutions

    Brought forth due to the controversial Alien and Sedition Acts, the resolutions declared the acts were unconstitutional and that States had the right to declare unconstitutional acts by Congress that were not authorized in the Constitution. These strict constructionist documents, which never caught on, would have been an increase in state power at it would give the states the power to nullify laws they deemed unconstitutional.

  • McCulloch v. Maryland

    The supreme court ruled that Maryland did not have the power to tax the federal bank. This ruling established a precedent, the federal level was the ultimate level of government in the US.

  • Gibbons v. Ogden

    The Supreme Court ruled that the power to regulate interstate commerce, also included navigation. This decision by the Supreme Court gave the federal government more power.

  • Dred Scott v. Sanford

    It held that "black men, whose ancestors were imported into [the U.S.], and sold as slaves", whether enslaved or free, could not be an American citizen and therefore had no standing to sue in federal court, and that the federal government had no power to regulate slavery in the federal territories acquired after the creation of the United States. This decision gave the states more power as it left the decision of slavery up to the States instead of the federal government.

  • Heart of Atlanta Hotel v. US

    This case decided that Congress could use the Commerce Clause to force private businesses to abide to the Civil Rights Act of 1864. This granted the federal government more power.

  • Civil War

    After years of building tension between the north and the south, the Civil War started once the southern States began to succeed from the Union. This conflict initially showed an increase in state power as they succeeded from the Union, but once the war was won by the Union and the federal government, it gave the central government more power.

  • 14th Amendment

    "All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside." This amendment gave power to the central government because it ruled that anyone born in any State was a citizen, and thus had the basic rights of citizens.

  • Sherman Anti-trust Act

    Issued to combat the monopolies and trusts taking over industries throughout the country. This granted the central government power because it restricted certain sales techniques that were previously legal.

  • Plessy v. Ferguson

    The Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation is to be left up to the States as long as the segregation is "separate but equal." This led to an increase in state power as it left the states in charge of segregation.

  • The New Deal

    This political platform under FDR created many government programs to try and steer the country out of the Great Depression. While doing so it gave the central government an enormous amount of power, encroaching on the lives of everyday citizens to help provide for them when they could not. This swell in federal power metaphorically left the states, and their respective power, in it's dust.

  • Korematsu v. United States

    This case concerned the constitutionality of Executive Order 9066, which placed Japanese Americans in internment camps during WW2. The Supreme Court ruled that the protection of the country against espionage during the war outweighed the rights of the Japanese citizens. This ruling was an increase in federal power as it decided that the government had the power to force citizens into internment camps if it deemed necessary.

  • Civil Rights Act of 1964

    This act granted rights and protections to minorities and effectively ended segregation. This act was an increase in federal power as it declared that separate but equal, which was formerly many states stance, was unconstitutional.

  • Election of Ronald Reagan

    With his election, Ronald Reagan would issue in a period of devolution. Seeing the federal government as too large, he began to give power back to the states. His election marked an increase in State power due to this.

  • Americans with Disabilities Act

    This act, like the Civil Right Act of 1964, added protections to the disabled. This was an increase in federal power as it granted rights to disable Americans at the federal level, so states could not pass laws to oppress the disabled.

  • United States v. Lopez

    This court case decided that the ban on handguns near school zones from the Gun-Free School Zone Act of 1990 was unconstitutional. This was an increase in state power as it limited the Commerce Clause.

  • Printz v. United States

    This court case ruled that parts of the Brady Handgun Prevention Act violated the 10th Amendment. This was an increase in State power as it rescinded a federal act.

  • 9/11

    This terrorist attack on US soil had a huge impact on government. The attack led to many government changes, the majority increasing government power. One of these was the Patriot Act.

  • No Child Left Behind Act

    Passed into law to help standardize education in the US to help disadvantaged students. This act was an increase in government power as it forced the government to standardize their curriculum.

  • Obamacare

    This change in healthcare was the most substantial reform since the passage of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965. This government regulation and change in healthcare policy led to an increase in government power.