Federalism is a political system in which two levels of government maintain jurisdiction over the same territories. The U. S. Constitution creates a federal authority to oversee peaceful relations between states through federal courts, provide for national security through federal armed forces and a diplomatic international corps, and manage interstate and international relations involving trade and commerce. The Supremacy Clause in Article VI states that the federal Constitution retains priority in conflicts arising with any of the various state constitutions, except in instances when the state provides more individual protection than the federal government. The Tenth Amendment, however, guarantees that the states retain all rights not specifically mentioned in the Constitution. Taken together, the Supremacy clause and protection of state sovereignty guarantee individual liberty. State governments protect individuals from the possibility of an unconstitutional central government encroachment, while the federal government ensures that states provide at least a minimum level of individual protection.
In the late 19th century and early 20th centuries, the federal government demonstrated great restraint in matters of state sovereignty. In part, this was because federal involvement implied interference with local statutes involving race relations, which many southern states opposed under “states’ rights.”
During the Great Depression in the 1930s many state governments were forced to seek aid from the federal government in order to meet the demands arising from massive unemployment and agricultural depression. Though desegregation and affirmative action programs during the 1960s and 1970s helped solidify public acceptance of enhanced federal authority, the largest single contributor to federal expansion arose from the increasing public demand for social services, public services, and educational funding, which provided the federal government with greater leverage over state authority. The Tenth Amendment prohibits direct legislative intervention in state autonomy, but Congress and the executive branch can still preempt state authority by attaching specific requirements to funds intended for social services. In 1974, for example, President Richard M. Nixon signed into law the Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act, which mandated a national 55-mph speed limit. In order to encourage state compliance, the bill prohibited the federal Department of Transportation from approving any highway projects for states failing to adopt the new limit. The tactic succeeded; within three months each state legislature imposed 55-mph limits on all highways. The following year, President Gerald R. Ford signed the Federal-Aid Highway Amendments of 1974, making the 55-mph requirement permanent. Similar tactics were used to compel states to adopt a standard drinking age of 21 years.
Throughout the latter half of the 20th century, states lost a degree of their autonomy as they became increasingly dependent on federal money. In the late 1970s Governor Ronald W. Reagan of California led a movement of “new Republicans” who emphasized a renewed commitment to federalism. As president, Reagan pushed for decentralization of the federal bureaucracy by devolution of responsibility for social services, including health care, income security, and job training, from the federal government to the states. In an effort to pull back federal involvement in commerce and communication, he also pushed for deregulation in the energy and finance industries. Critics argued that devolution placed undue burdens on state governments, depriving individuals of necessary social services, and that deregulation removed necessary safeguards from interstate enterprises. They believed the ideals of 19th-century federalism were outdated and the federal government necessarily assumed primacy in the area of social services, economic regulation, and national standards. Supporters asserted that local representatives better served individual needs, and that deregulation encouraged local entrepreneurialism.
In October 1987, during his second term, Reagan issued Executive Order No. 12612, titled “Federalism,” calling for a new federal policy favoring state autonomy. The order required all federal agencies to issue Federalism Impact Assessments, in consultation with local authorities, on any new program involving the preemption of state autonomy. Since the order did not carry the weight of law, however, its effectiveness remains questionable. At the same time, Reagan tax reform eliminated state and local tax deductibility. Under the previous arrangement, states were seen to have first claim on tax money, and taxes paid to states were deductible from federal taxes. Under the new tax system, all federal taxes were assessed in addition to state and local taxes—in effect, allowing a significant reduction of state privilege. Reagan believed that this change compelled higher-tax states to reduce their tax burdens.
During President William J. Clinton’s administration, the General Accounting Office reported that only five Federalism Impact Assessments were written for the 11,000 new federal rules issued during a three-year period. After assuming control of the Congress in 1994, Republican lawmakers promised to supplement the order with legislation designed to strengthen federalism, including the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 and the Education Flexibility Partnership Act of 1999, both of which disbursed federal funding in block grants for state legislatures to distribute, and the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (1995), which prohibited new federal mandates unless provided with necessary funding for implementation.
The U. S. Supreme Court reinforced the revival of federalism in several decisions during the 1990s. In Judges v. Ashcroft, Governor of Missouri (1991), the Court ruled that a state could set a mandatory retirement age for Missouri judges without involving the federal Age Discrimination and Employment Act of 1967, or the Age Discrimination Act of 1975. The following year, New York v. United States (1992) held that Congress violated state legislative autonomy when the Low Level Radioactive Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1985 compelled states to assume responsibility for waste treatment if they failed to adopt federal guidelines within a certain time period. Five years later, in Printz v. United States (1997), the Court struck down a provision in the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993 requiring background checks for all handgun purchases, because it compelled the cooperation of state law enforcement, which falls under the jurisdiction of state executives. During the same period, however, the Court also upheld the Supremacy Clause in several cases in which states tried to amend their constitutions so as to force term limits on federal representatives; in U. S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton (1995) and Cook v. Gralike (2001), the Court ruled that state legislatures could not supersede Article I of the U. S. Constitution, which explicitly provides age, citizenship, and residency requirements for congressional service.
In May 1998 President Clinton issued Executive Order No. 13083, also titled “Federalism,” which substantially revised Reagan’s earlier executive order and altered federal policy. Though it retained the requirement of local consultation for programs that would preempt state and local law, the order also shifted the presumption of priority away from the states and toward the federal government. Republican lawmakers, as well as state and local officials, called for immediate withdrawal of the executive order. In 2001 President George W. Bush affirmed his administration’s commitment to new federalism through devolution and deregulation. The trend toward increased and more powerful federal authority has not significantly changed; states continue to lose their legislative autonomy. Since 1789, Congress has enacted 350 laws preempting state and local authority, half of which were passed between 1980 and 2000.
See also conservative movement; neo-conservativism.
Further reading: Robert F. Nagel, The Implosion of American Federalism (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002).
—Aharon W. Zorea
World History
