Chapter 2
Texas and the Nation
Federalism in the Constitution
• Federalism: A system in which the federal
government shares power with lower levels of
government.
• The United States Constitution divides power
between the federal and state governments.
1
Federalism in the Constitution
• Why federalism?
– The original states already existed at the time of
the Revolution.
– The states created the federal government, not
the other way around.
– The former colonists distrusted strong, central
governments.
Federalism in the Constitution
• The Constitution grants two types of powers
to federal government: expressed and implied.
– Expressed powers (17 of them) are found in
Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution.
– Implied powers are found at the end of Section 8,
which grants Congress the right “To make all Laws
which shall be necessary and proper for carrying
into Execution” the expressed powers. This is the
Elastic Clause.
2
Federalism in the Constitution
• Article VI also says that the laws of Congress
shall be “the supreme Law of the Land.”
• Known as the “supremacy clause,” this means
than when a federal and state law collide, the
federal one will dominate.
Federalism in the Constitution
• States retain significant powers
– Tenth Amendment
– Police powers
– concurrent powers
3
Federalism in the Constitution
• Tenth Amendment: “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.”
Federalism in the Constitution
• Police Powers
– A given state has the ability regulate the health,
safety, and morals of its citizens
– States also define and regulate private property
• Concurrent powers
– The states and the federal government also share
certain powers.
4
Federalism in the Constitution
Full Faith and Credit Clause: Article IV Section 1
– Requires that states give “full faith and credit” to
each other’s “public Acts, Records, and judicial
Proceedings.”
Federalism in the Constitution
Article IV, Section 2, “the comity clause”:
Guarantees that all citizens from outside a
given state enjoy the “privileges and
immunities” granted to all citizens of that
state.
5
Federalism in the Constitution
• Article I, Section 10: “No State shall, without
the Consent of Congress … enter into any
Agreement or Compact with another State.”
– Compacts are agreements between states to deal
with issues that cross state lines, such as
environmental concerns and transportation
systems.
Dual Federalism, 1789–1937
• Dual Federalism: a constitutional interpretation
that gave the federal government exclusive control
over some issues and states exclusive control over
others.
• The federal government was small and dealt
primarily with foreign affairs and commerce.
– Internal improvements, like roads and canals
– Tariffs (taxes on imports), Patents, Currency
6
Dual Federalism, 1789–1937
• States performed the majority of governing
over citizens’ day-to-day lives
– Property law
– Civil law (marriage, divorce, adoption)
– Criminal law
• Dual federalism allowed states to experiment
with policies
– Very different sets of rights from state to state
Dual Federalism, 1789–1937
• Since the New Deal, the federal government
has been able to use the commerce clause to
regulate large swaths of domestic activities.
• Congress can also influence the states to enact
laws by promising them federal funds to do so,
or to threaten to withdraw funds if they do
not.
7
The New Deal
• Grants-in-aid (categorical grants)
– Funds provided by federal government to state or
local government for a specific purpose
– New Deal expanded to include social programs
– Includes competitive project grants
• State and local governments compete for funds based
on merit of their proposals
Cooperative Federalism
• Cooperative Federalism: model in which the
various levels of government work together to
solve policy problems, often with the federal
government providing some portion of the
funding, which is spent by the states or
localities
8
Cooperative Federalism
• Expansion of federal power diminishes the old
paradigm of dual federalism
• Cooperation between state and federal
governments replaces dual federalism
• Morton Grodzins’ cake analogy:
– Dual federalism as a layer cake
– Cooperative federalism as a marble cake
Cooperative Federalism
Regulated Federalism
– With increased funding, the federal government
demanded higher standards and stricter uses for
funds.
Preemption
– The principle that allows the federal government
to override state/local actions in certain policy
areas
– Occurs when state/local actions do not agree with
national requirements
9
Cooperative Federalism
• Congress dramatically increased unfunded
mandates: rules forcing states to spend their own
money to comply with federal law.
• Backlash to federal preemption and unfunded
mandates led to calls for devolution: transferring
responsibility from federal government to
state/local governments
– Popular since the 1970s
– Idea led to New Federalism
New Federalism
• Devolve many policies back to the states
• Nixon
– Block grants, less federal money and interference
• Reagan
– Federal aid to states cut by 12 percent
– Remove federal government, as much as possible, from
local matters governed by states
• Clinton
– Welfare reform in 1996, grants tied to federal rules
10
The Growth of Federal Funds in Texas
Coercive Federalism
• Federal regulations force states to change their
policies to meet national goals.
– Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
– No Child Left Behind (NCLB)
– Patient Protection Affordable Health Care Act
(common “Affordable Health Care”, “Obamacare”)
11
Texas Joins the United States
• 1845 Texas becomes the 28th state
• 1869 Texas receives four congressional
districts
Prior to the Civil War,
Governor Sam Houston
opposed secession from
the Union and attempted
to block efforts by those
wishing to secede.
Texas in the Progressive Era
• Texas’s single-party dynamic facilitates
institutional and political advantages.
• Incumbents often run unopposed.
• Lack of party competition assures re-election.
• Seniority in Congress is easily achieved.
• Ascent to leadership positions is due to
tenures in Congress.
12
Impact of the Progressive Era
on Texas
• Wilson-era policy changes has states lose
power to the federal government.
• The Federal Reserve System created:
– foremost development in federal expansion
• US Constitutional changes:
– 17th Amendment (1913): Senators directly elected
– 16th Amendment (1913): Federal income tax
established
– 19th Amendment (1920): Women granted right to
vote
Texas and the New Deal
• Partisan power and ideological shifts begin
• National Democratic Party Decline
– 1918 Democrats lose Congressional majority
– 1920 Democrats lose presidency
• Texas and former Confederate states remain
solidly Democratic
– Lose influence in executive and legislative
branches
13
Texas and the New Deal
• Federal role expands via the interstate
commerce clause
• National regulation of economy
– Institutions now in place (the Fed) allow larger
role
• National interests in protecting civil rights
– Southern states enduring resistance to extend full
citizenship to African Americans
– Federal intervention required to secure
constitutionally guaranteed rights
Texas and the New Deal
• Division within Democratic Party due to:
– New Deal dividing liberal and conservative
factions
– Civil Rights splitting party (North vs. South)
• Texas “Shivercrats”
– conservative Democrats vote for conservative
Republican (Eisenhower)
14
New Deal Era:
National Legislative Influence
• Sam Rayburn
– Speaker of the House of Representatives
– Longest tenure in American history (17 years)
• Lyndon B. Johnson
– Senate Majority Leader
– Served in all four national offices: House, Senate, Vice
President, President
– 1968 Civil Rights Act
• In combination, the two exert significant national
policy influence
Reagan Era in Texas
• Clear national shift: conservatives have left
Democratic party, now in Republican party
• Many conservative Texans in office switch
parties, surge of Republicans in the South
• Republican coalition of social and economic
conservatives
– emphasis on tax cuts, increased state authority,
traditional family values, and national defense
15
Texas Role in Reagan Era
• Texans central to advancing Reagan economic
policy agenda in House and Senate
– Deregulation, lower taxes, welfare reforms
• Senator Phil Gramm
– PhD in Economics, champions free market theories,
banking, budget, committee influence
• House Majority Leaders
• Richard Armey, followed by Tom DeLay
• House Ways and Means Committee Chair
• Richard Archer
Texas Role Beyond Reagan Era
• President George H.W. Bush extends Reagan-era
party and economic policy orientations
– Elected to House of Representatives from Houston,
later served as CIA Director
• President George W. Bush
– Governor of Texas 1995–2000
• Both have Texans in high-profile roles, often
central to political controversies of the day
– James Baker III, Alberto Gonzales, Karl Rove
16
A Resurgence of States’ Powers
Should the federal
government be able to pass
national gun laws? These
advocates of gun rights
would certainly say no. A
1990 law passed by
Congress banning guns in a
school zone was struck
down by the Supreme Court
as an overreach of federal
power, and in 2010 the
Supreme Court found that
the Second Amendment
applies to the states as well
as the national government.
Tea Party in Texas
• Tea Party movement emerges out of Republican
party in 2010
• Strong preference for less/smaller government,
particularly federal role
– Spending, taxing, regulations
• GOP incorporates and courts Tea Party voters
– Self-identify as Tea Party candidates/members
– Policies/platforms in accord with Tea Party goals
– Establish Tea Party caucuses within legislatures
17
Tea Party in Texas
• Tea Party quickly influences Texas GOP
• Texas legislature membership and policy agenda
more ideologically conservative
• Ted Cruz defeats Lt. Governor Dewhurst for
Republican party nomination to U.S. Senate
– Cruz ran in primary as the Tea Party candidate
• Governor Rick Perry avoids federal support
– Funds for health care programs for the poor
– State implementation of Affordable Healthcare Act
(AHA) (“Obamacare”)
Major Issues in Federalism
Today
A Texas law that strictly required
voters to show a government
issued ID in order to cast a ballot
was blocked by a federal court in
2012. The federal court found that it
would discriminate against poor and
minority voters.
Health care has been perhaps the
most controversial issue in federalism
in recent years. Following the passage
of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, 26
states (including Texas) sued the
federal government over the law.
18