US Constitution and Federalism - Topic 1.3 Flashcards
The amendments and extent of change of federalism from the nation's founding to now
What is the Bill of Rights?
The United States Bill of Rights is a document that comprises the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. It addressed the guarantee of specific personal freedoms and rights, and any explicit declarations that all powers not specifically granted to the federal government by the Constitution are reserved to the states or the people.
What are the first 10 Amendments of the Constitution?
What do they outline?
1789
- Freedom of speech, religion and the press
- The right to bear arms
- The housing of soldiers
- Protection from unreasonable searches or seizures
- Protection of rights, liberty and property
- Rights of the accused in criminal cases
- Rights in civil cases
- Excessive bail, fines and punishments forbidden
- Other rights are kept by the people
- Undelegated powers are kept by the states and people
What is important about the:
13th, 14th, 15th, 17th, 19th and 26th Amendments
1865-1971
13th - Emancipation of the slaves (1865)
14th - Rights of citizenship (1868)
15th - Voting rights for all races (1870)
17th - Election of the Senate by popular vote (1913)
19th - Voting rights for both men and women (1920)
26th - Voting rights for all citizens aged 18 and over (1971)
What was nature of federalism before FDR?
1790s-1930s
States and the federal government were co-equal and had distinct areas of policy over which they had power. States mostly governed and the Supreme Court supported the states with rulings
Dual federalism
What was the nature of federalism before Nixon?
1930s-1960s
The federal government power had grown due to the Wall Street Crash and the Great Depression. WWII and the beginning of the Cold War only expanded the federal government’s reach and power over the states. There was greater cooperation over policies that had traditionally been directied and administered by the states alone.
Cooperative federalism
What was the nature of federalism before Bush Jr.?
1970s-2000s
Nixon called for the federal government to rescind some of the powers they gained over the previous three decades, and give them back to the states. From Nixon all the way to Clinton, the states have been given more power gradually
New federalism
How did federalism change under Bush?
2001-2009
- The states could now effectively sponsor euthanasia; in deficiance of the US Attorney General
- A Medicaid waiver allowed Massachusetts Governor Romney to introduce a universal insurance program
- With the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001, the federal government has expanded the right to detain people and detain information about them
- The federal government added a new department to the Cabinet - Homeland Security
- The federal government allowed for uniform school testing across all states
Still followed on from New federalism
How did federalism change under Obama?
2009-2017
- Obamacare included power of the provision of medical insurance run by the states themselves at their request
- The Supreme Court struck down Obama’s DAPA executive order due to the cost to the states
- The Justice department wouldn’t enforce federal restriction on marijuana (expect in certain circumstances) - Cole memo
- Obamacare expanded insurance and gave more individual rights
- Arizona v US increased state law enforcement power to enforce immigration laws
- Obergefell v Hodges - essentially legalisation same-sex marriage nationally
The powers of the states developed more than the federal government
How did federalism change under Trump?
2017-2021
- The Supreme Court found that the federal government must obtain a warrant for a citizen’s phone location records
- Executive order aimed at reversing Obamacare and giving states more control in an effect to minimise the economic burden
- Cole memo rescinded by the US Attorney General
- Executive order stripped federal grants from ‘sanctuary cities’ (Unconstitutional)
Federal government begin to take more power back for itself
How did federalism change under Biden?
2021-
- Abortion was now a state issue again after Roe v Wade was rescinded
- Each state has its own rules when it came to dealing with Covid-19
- Build Back Better Plan - Economic recovery and spending plan in the wake of Covid.
- Federal government attempted to pass the eviction moratorium and vaccine mandate
More equal again and more cooperative
Eviction moratorium - a temporary ban on evicting tenants
In what ways do the states retain their sovereignty?
- Citizen rights vary around the states, and it is not all uniform for every right. Also, the restrictions on some aspects of life are not the same
- The death penalty is retained in 27 states all having different methods of execution. It is also up to each state whether convicted felons have the right to vote while in prison and after release
- States run election different compared to eachother and some can even set their own state’s district boundaries, which has led to cases of gerrymandering
- Citizens are taxed both by the federal and state government. The federal tax is the same across the country depending on the bracket, the state taxes are different from each other. 9 states have no income tax, 7 have a flat-rate and the rest have a progressive bracket system
In what ways have the states’ sovereignty been challenged?
- Certain rights are dictated by the federal government and states have been challenged in their enforcing of federal law
- The Supreme Court has put numerous restrictions on the death penalty. The Supreme Court can also challenge the state courts in cases that it chooses to hear
- Constitutional amendments and federal laws have extended voting rights nationally and lowered the voting age. Campaign finance laws and regulation are also set federally.
- States are reliant on grants from the federal government when their own finances run low or in response to unexpected circumstances
