1. UNIT 1 DAY 8…TEST THURSDAY. OBJECTIVE: ANALYZE THE BALANCE OF POWER BETWEEN NATIONAL AND STATE GOVERNMENTS Federalism Today

2. Current Political Climate States’ Rights supporters are generally conservative National Authority supporters generally liberal

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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)

7. Additional Constitutional Questions 10 th 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 11 th Amendment: States cannot be sued for upholding Federal laws  Discrimination cases…handicapped access, FMLA

8. 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

9. Class Discussion Federalism worksheet Keep as notes Potential Essay question: compare a case of state’s rights with a case of strong federal power