American Democracy Now, 2nd Edition (Harrison)

Chapter 3: Federalism

Chapter Outline



  1. An Overview of the U.S. Federal System
    1. Unitary System
    2. Confederal System
    3. Federal System
      1. Intergovernmental Relations (IGR)
      2. What a Federal System Means for Citizens
  2. Constitutional Distribution of Authority
    1. Concurrent Sovereign Authority
    2. National Sovereignty
      1. The Supremacy Clause
      2. National Treaties with Indian Nations
    3. State Sovereignty
      1. Powers Delegated to the States
      3. Powers Reserved to the States
    4. The Supreme Court's Interpretation of National versus State Sovereignty
      1. The Power to Regulate Commerce
      2. The Power to Provide for the General Welfare
    5. National Obligations to the States
    6. State-to-State Obligations: Horizontal Federalism
    7. The New Judicial Federalism
  3. Evolution of the Federal System
    1. Dual Federalism
    2. Cooperative Federalism
    3. Centralized Federalism
    4. Conflicted Federalism
    5. Landmarks in the Evolution of Federalism: Key Constitutional Amendments
      1. The Civil War and the Postwar Amendments
      2. The Sixteenth Amendment
      3. The Seventeenth Amendment
    6. Further Evolutionary Landmarks: Grants-in-Aid
      1. Categorical Grants
      2. Block Grants
      3. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
      4. State Attempts to Influence Grant-in-Aid Conditions
    7. Federalism's Continuing Evolution: Mandates
  4. Today's Federalism: Intergovernmental Relations
Harrison: American Democracy Now, 2nd Edition
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