Constitutional Underpinnings and Federalism

 The Influence of the European Enlightenment  Every social, economic, and political problem could be solved through reason  The Social Contract  John Locke  State of Nature  Natural Rights  Consent of the Governed  Social Contract

 Theoretical Perspectives  Democratic Theory  Authoritarian Regimes  Democracy  Direct (can lead to majoritarianism)  Representative a.k.a. indirect democracy  Elite Theory  Pluralist Theory  Pluralism  Hyperpluralism

 The Constitution  Popular Sovereignty  Separation of Powers  Checks and Balances  Limited Government  Federalism  Background to the Convention  Articles of Confederation  Shay’s Rebellion

 Constitutional Convention  Agreements and Compromises  Virginia Plan  New Jersey Plan  Great Compromise  3/5 Compromise  Electoral College  Amending the Constitution  Proposal by 2/3 of states or BOTH houses of Congress  Ratification by 3/4 of state legislatures or state conventions

 Informal Changes to the Constitution  Legislature  Executive Branch  Judicial Branch  Federalists v. Anti-Federalists  Federalist Papers  #10—factions  #51—separation of powers  #78—power of the judiciary  Bill of Rights

 Governmental Systems  Unitary (China, France, Britain)  Confederation (Articles of Confederation)  Federal system (U.S. and Canada)  Historic Development of Federalism  Delegated Powers  War  Regulate Commerce  Tax and Spend  Concurrent Powers  Reserved Powers  Prohibited Powers

 The Necessary and Proper debate  Loose interpretation—Alexander Hamilton  Strict interpretation—Thomas Jefferson  McCulloch v. Maryland  The Commerce Clause  Gibbons v. Ogden  Defined commerce as all business dealings  Civil Rights  Reining in the commerce power  U.S. v. Lopez

 Two Types of Federalism  Dual Federalism  Cooperative Federalism  The Politics of Modern Federalism  Grants in aid system  Categorical grants  Block grants  Mandates

 Advantages of Federalism  Mobilization of political activity  Interest groups cannot easily take over the gov’t  Diversity of policies among states encourages experimentation and creativity  Diverse policies among states are good because uniform laws don’t make sense in many areas

 Disadvantages of Federalism  Confusion of political activity  Small, but motivated interest groups can block the will of the majority for extended periods of time  Diversity of policies among states creates inequality **An individual’s attitude about federalism depends on how much she values equality v. freedom**

 The Devolution Revolution  Welfare Reform Act of 1996