Study Guide #7
Federalism and Centralization

Federalism can be defined as a system in which governmental power is divided between two or more levels of government. Most nations are "unitary," that is, they are governed at the national level. In the United States, by contrast, power is divided between the national government and the states. (The states in turn have created localities--cities, counties, school districts and other units of government--and given them control over various governmental functions.)

International developments have focused renewed attention on the merits (and dangers) of federalism. The development of regional associations such as the European Union, and the difficulties caused by ethnic/territorial tensions within nations such as Bosnia and Iraq have led scholars to think more deeply about the ways in which federalism can create "unity" while not slighting "diversity."

Within the U.S., federalism may seem like a dry topic, but no aspect of the Constitution's design has engendered more controversy. American struggles over slavery and civil rights were in large part conflicts over which level of government--local or national--would prevail in race relations. Even today, federalism remains a source of raging debate, as the Supreme Court has recently overturned several constitutional law precedents in order to give more power to states. In two recent cases, one of which we read (U.S. v. Lopez), the Supreme Court has ruled that national gun control laws invaded the rights of the states and so were unconstitutional. In a series of controversial cases, the Supreme Court has overturned on federalism grounds lawsuits against states and state agencies based on the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the Violence Against Women Act.

In this section of the course we read McCulloch v. Maryland, an early Supreme Court case in which Chief Justice John Marshall interpreted the Constitution in a way that expanded the power of the national government; U.S. v. Lopez, a recent case in which the Court ruled that the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act exceeded constitutional limits on congressional power; and Alexis de Tocqueville's warning that democracies are likely to be plagued by excessive centralization and even "democratic despotism."

We begin with Raymond Smith's American Anomaly which puts American federalism in a comparative context.

Below are some questions you should be able to answer after finishing the readings.

Smith, American Anomaly, 33-45

1. In what sense is federalism halfway between confederalism and a unitary system of government.

2. In what sense is state government in the United States unitary? (Hint: Could Massachusetts abolish the town of Wellesley?)

3. What kinds of nations tend to use federalism?

4. What are the advantages of federalism? What problems can it create?

5. Why is the author so critical of confederalism? (If you're a big fan of international governance, are the problems he's pointing to present in international institutions? Is the United Nations, for example, a confederal institution?)

McCulloch v. Maryland

 1. Who were the two parties in this case? What were they fighting about?

 2. Which parts of the Constitution are involved in this case?

 3. Which side won? On what bases did the Supreme Court decide the case?

 4. What is the significance of Gibbons v. Ogden?

 5. How has Supreme Court interpretation of the Commerce Clause changed since McCulloch? How did the Court's interpretation shift in 1937? How is this shift relevant to the 1964 Civil Rights Act?

U.S. v. Lopez

6. Who are the two parties in this case? What were they fighting about?

7. What part of the Constitution is involved in this case?

8. Who won? On what basis?

9. How does Breyer differ from the Court majority in his dissent?

Tocqueville, “Democratic Despotism”

10. Why according to Tocqueville do democracies tend to concentrate political power? Why do central governments "worship uniformity"?

11. Why according to Tocqueville are Americans more likely to resist centralization than Europeans?

12. Why is Tocqueville so worried about centralization?

13. Why are aristocracies less centralized than democracies?

14. How can democracies resist centralization and despotism, according to Tocqueville?