Federalism: Powers of National, State & Local Governments: Fifth Grade Social Studies
Federalism is the foundational constitutional system that divides sovereign power between a strong national government and individual state and local governments, allowing Americans to govern themselves locally while uniting as a powerful nation.
The Concept of Federalism
When the framers met in Philadelphia in 1787, they faced a difficult political dilemma: how to create a national government energetic enough to protect the country and regulate the economy without destroying the cherished local independence of the states.
Under British rule, the colonies had suffered under a unitary system, where all power was held by a distant central government in London that dictated local affairs. Under the Articles of Confederation, the young nation swung to the opposite extreme—a confederate system, where thirteen sovereign state governments held all the power and the national government was virtually powerless.
To solve this problem, the framers invented American federalism. Federalism is a compound system of shared governance where power is constitutionally divided between two sovereign levels of authority: the national (or federal) government in Washington, D.C., and the fifty state governments. Each level of government has its own specific responsibilities, its own elected leaders, and the authority to act directly on citizens within its jurisdiction.
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| THE FEDERAL SYSTEM (VENN) |
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| NATIONAL POWERS CONCURRENT POWERS STATE POWERS |
| (Delegated/Enumerated) (Shared by Both) (Reserved) |
| |
| - Coin money & currency - Levy taxes - Establish |
| - Declare war & army - Borrow money public |
| - Regulate interstate & - Make & enforce schools |
| foreign trade laws - Issue driver|
| - Negotiate foreign - Establish courts & marriage |
| treaties - Build highways licenses |
| - Manage post offices - Protect public - Conduct all |
| - Regulate immigration & health & safety elections |
| naturalization - Charter banks - Regulate |
| intrastate |
| business |
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The Three Categories of Constitutional Powers
The United States Constitution categorizes governmental authority into three distinct groups: delegated powers, reserved powers, and concurrent powers.
Delegated (Enumerated) Powers of the National Government
Delegated powers (also called enumerated or expressed powers) are powers specifically granted to the federal government in the text of the Constitution, primarily found in Article I, Section 8. These are national responsibilities that require uniform rules across all fifty states:
- National Defense and War: Only the federal government can declare war, raise and support the armed forces, and command the military. A single state cannot wage war against a foreign country.
- Foreign Affairs and Treaties: Only the President and the Senate can negotiate and ratify treaties with foreign governments, appoint ambassadors, and direct foreign diplomacy.
- Currency and Weights: Only the federal government can coin money, print paper currency, and set national measurement standards. This prevents each state from creating its own unstable currency.
- Interstate and International Commerce: The federal government regulates trade that crosses state boundaries or international borders, ensuring that goods move freely across the nation without state tariffs.
- Immigration and Citizenship: Congress establishes uniform rules for naturalization, determining how foreign immigrants can become legal citizens of the United States.
Reserved Powers of the States: The Tenth Amendment
The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution states: "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."
These reserved powers (often called the "police powers") allow individual states to regulate daily community life, health, safety, and morals:
- Public Education: The Constitution makes no mention of education; therefore, states establish and run public school systems, set curriculum standards, and license teachers.
- Elections and Voting: States conduct all local, state, and federal elections. While federal amendments protect voting rights, states determine polling locations, ballot designs, and voter registration procedures.
- Licensing and Local Laws: States issue driver's licenses, professional licenses (for doctors, lawyers, electricians, and teachers), and marriage licenses.
- Public Safety and Criminal Law: Most criminal laws—such as traffic laws, burglary, and property disputes—are established and enforced by state and local police.
Concurrent Powers Shared by Both
Concurrent powers are authorities that both the national government and the state governments exercise simultaneously. Both levels of government:
- Levy and Collect Taxes: Citizens pay federal income taxes to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and state income, sales, or property taxes to their state and county.
- Establish Courts: The federal government operates District and Appellate courts, while states operate their own trial and supreme courts.
- Make and Enforce Laws: Both levels pass statutes and employ law enforcement agencies (such as the FBI at the federal level and state police at the state level).
- Borrow Money and Build Infrastructure: Both federal and state governments issue bonds to borrow money, and both fund the construction of highways, bridges, and public transit systems.
The Supremacy Clause and the "Umpire" of Federalism
Because both the national government and state governments pass laws that apply to the same citizens, conflicts between federal and state statutes are inevitable. To resolve these disputes, Article VI of the Constitution includes the Supremacy Clause:
"This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby..."
The Supremacy Clause makes it clear that the federal Constitution and valid federal laws take precedence over conflicting state laws or state constitutions. If a state passes a law that violates the United States Constitution or federal statute, the state law is null and void. The Supreme Court of the United States serves as the ultimate umpire of federalism, ruling on legal disputes between states and the national government.
Local Governments: Cities, Towns, and Counties
Below the state level exists a third vital tier of governance: local government. Interestingly, local governments are not mentioned anywhere in the United States Constitution. Under the legal doctrine known as Dillon's Rule, local governments are created by state constitutions and state legislatures.
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| THE THREE TIERS OF GOVERNANCE |
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| 1. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT: Washington, D.C. |
| - National defense, foreign trade, federal taxes |
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| 2. STATE GOVERNMENT: State Capitols (e.g., Albany, Austin) |
| - Public schools, highways, state police, elections |
| |
| 3. LOCAL GOVERNMENT: Counties, Cities, Towns, School Boards |
| - Police & fire departments, trash collection, local parks,|
| water/sewage systems, local street repairs |
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Local governments directly affect our daily lives more than any other level of government. Counties are headed by county commissioners, while cities and towns are governed by mayors and city councils. Local governments manage neighborhood police and fire stations, ensure clean drinking water, pave neighborhood streets, operate local libraries and parks, manage municipal trash collection, and oversee local public schools through elected school boards.
Chapter Review and Exercises
Summary Review Exercises
Exercise One asks students to define federalism and explain how this system differed from both the unitary system under British rule and the confederate system under the Articles of Confederation. The response should define federalism as a division of sovereign power between national and state governments, contrasting it with a unitary system where all power is held centrally, and a confederacy where states hold sovereign power and the central government is weak.
Exercise Two asks students to categorize five specific governmental powers into delegated powers, reserved powers, or concurrent powers: coining money, issuing driver's licenses, collecting taxes, declaring war, and establishing public schools. The response should categorize coining money and declaring war as delegated national powers; issuing driver's licenses and establishing public schools as reserved state powers under the Tenth Amendment; and collecting taxes as a concurrent power shared by both.
Exercise Three requires students to explain the function of the Supremacy Clause in Article VI of the Constitution and describe the role of the Supreme Court in resolving conflicts between federal and state authorities. The response should explain that the Supremacy Clause establishes that the Constitution and federal statutes override conflicting state laws, and describe how the Supreme Court acts as an impartial judicial umpire to rule on constitutional boundaries between levels of government.
Detailed Solutions
Solution to Exercise One clarifies that federalism represented an innovative constitutional compromise. By rejecting both the suffocating centralization of the British imperial crown and the chaotic decentralization of the Articles of Confederation, the framers created a dual-sovereignty framework that safeguarded national unity while protecting local self-governance.
Solution to Exercise Two details that delegated powers are reserved exclusively for the federal government to ensure national uniformity, reserved powers belong to states to reflect local values in daily affairs like schooling and transportation, and concurrent powers like taxation and law enforcement provide both levels with necessary tools to fund and operate their governments.
Solution to Exercise Three demonstrates that the Supremacy Clause acts as the legal keystone of the American constitutional union. When legal clashes arise between federal and state statutes, the Supreme Court reviews the constitutional text, ensuring that states cannot nullify federal laws while safeguarding states from federal overreach beyond enumerated powers.