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##  Teaching about Federalism in the United States. ERIC Digest.                 

Although it was not directly named in the Constitution, federalism              is a central principle of government in the United States of                    America.  It is important for all students to learn about federalism            so they can comprehend the federal system in the United States and              recognize examples of federalism in other countries.  Teaching and              learning about federalism, therefore, is essential to education for             citizenship in a democracy.  This Digest (1) defines federalism and             discusses basic characteristics of the U.S. federal system; (2)                 provides an overview of the changing nature of federalism in the                United States and internationally; (3) calls upon teachers to                   conduct deliberative discussions of federalism in relationship to               other principles of constitutional democracy; and (4) recommends                Internet resources related to federalism. DEFINING                            FEDERALISM.The word federal denotes alliances between                       independent sovereignties. "The Oxford Guide to the U.S.                        Government," an important source for any student or teacher of                  history, describes federalism in the United States as "the division             of governmental powers between the national and state                           governments." "The Oxford Guide" informs us that "state governments             can neither ignore nor contradict federal statutes that conform to              the supreme law, the Constitution" (Patrick, Pious, and Ritchie                 2001, 234-235). Unlike a confederation, a federal republic does not             permit a state to have full or primary sovereignty over its internal            affairs.  If a conflict exists between the state and federal                    government, the supremacy clause mandates that federal laws are                 supreme.  The powers of the central or national government typically            are enumerated in a written constitution. 
Under the U.S.                      Constitution, any powers not specifically granted to the national               government are presumed to be retained by state governments. State              governments have their own spheres of jurisdiction and often have               been extolled as important laboratories for governmental                        experimentation. Throughout United States history, individuals have             argued that the states are better able than the national government             to respond effectively to public policy issues.  Others seek the                strength of the national government, particularly during times of               crisis. 
The U.S. federal system has five basic                                characteristics: 
*  Federalism provides a division of legal                   authority between state and national governments.  Overlap occurs,              but two legally distinct spheres of government exist. 
* The states            are subordinate to the national government in such areas as                     management of foreign affairs and regulation of interstate                      commerce. 
*  Federalism enables positive cooperation between state            and national governments in programs pertaining to education,                   interstate highway construction, environmental protection and                   health, unemployment, and social security concerns. 
*  The U.S.               Supreme Court serves as legal arbiter of the federal system in                  regard to conflicting claims of state and national governments. 
*             The two levels of government exercise direct authority                          simultaneously over people within their territory.  Dual citizenship            exists under federalism, and individuals can claim a wide range of              rights and privileges from both state and national                              governments. 
Political scientists define two types of federalism:             dual and cooperative. From one vantage point, federalism can be                 viewed as a "layer" cake (dual); from another it may be pictured as             a "rainbow" or "marble" cake (cooperative). 
Proponents of states'             rights and powers hold that the Constitution is a compact between               the states and the federal government.  Both states and the national            government are supreme within their own spheres.  Advocates of dual             federalism argue that the national government cannot "invade" the               power that is reserved for the states. 
Proponents of the position             that the people, not the states, created the federal government want            a cooperative approach to state-nation relations. Cooperative                   federalism emphasizes the "general welfare" clause and                          the "necessary and proper" clause of the Constitution by which power            of the national government may be expanded even if the actions of               the national government touch or overlap with traditional state                 functions. THE CHANGING NATURE OF FEDERALISM.The principle of             American federalism, created in the eighteenth century, was bold and            has greatly affected U.S. history.  Its influence continues today.              During the late 1780s the debates over ratification of the                      Constitution by Federalists and Anti-Federalists shaped                         controversies concerning the rights and powers of states in relation            to the federal government. 
The ideas stated in the "Federalist"               papers are at the core of civic culture in the United States and                serve as a reference for citizens in other democratic nations of the            world.  The 15th through the 22nd "Federalist" papers, for example,             discuss the defects of the Articles of Confederation, the federal               system that preceded ratification of the U.S. Constitution.  The                39th "Federalist" paper shows that federalism provided by the U.S.              Constitution is a compound system that conjoins national and state              powers.  Other papers in the "Federalist" that are especially                   helpful in explaining federalism in the United States include the               10th, 14th, 45th, and 51st. 
The balance of power between national             and state governments and consequent changes in federalism have                 evolved in U.S. history.  National government power generally has               expanded over state power through Supreme Court decisions,                      constitutional amendments, executive orders, and federal statutes.              Nineteenth century states' rights proponents exemplify reactions to             a stronger national government.  Twentieth century influences                   concerning the growth of national government power within the                   federal system were initiated by events associated with two World               Wars, the Great Depression, the Cold War, and civil rights                      movements.  From the Nixon to the Reagan-Bush administrations,                  however, "New Federalism" sought to return power to the                         states. 
During the Clinton presidency, the year 1996 was                      identified as the so-called "Devolution Revolution" as more powers,             such as those pertaining to economic regulations and social welfare,            were directed from the federal government to the states.  By 1997               the development of the "New Federal Order" meant less intrusion by              the federal government into the affairs of state governments. 
At              the beginning of the twenty-first century, the issue of national                security in respect to terrorist threats calls into question the                fractious relationship between peoples and governments throughout               the world. The issue of creating unity and protecting security and              individual rights in culturally diverse nations is related to                   federalism.  Some analysts regard federalism as an antidote to                  over-centralization because it fosters democratic participation and             prevents the over-centralization of political power. DELIBERATIVE             DISCUSSION AND THE UNDERSTANDING OF FEDERALISM.Deliberative                 discussion is a method for establishing the credibility of                      historical evidence and arguments and a means to develop historical             understanding in students.  Deliberation involves teachers and                  students in careful reading and extended discussion about principles            of government such as federalism and their connections to other key             concepts in the theory and practice of constitutional                           democracy. 
Teachers can engage students in deliberative                       discussions about issues of federalism in U.S. history, which are               organized around seminal documents such as selected "Federalist"                papers, selections from records of debates in Congress, or landmark             opinions of Supreme Court Justices.  Starting with a seminal                    document, the teacher and students discuss the central ideas and                issues in the primary source.  The teacher asks students to suspend             judgments about past issues and points of view while trying to                  understand the context of the document.  The teacher then introduces            additional related documents so students have a richer contextual               understanding of the period. Students are invited to find other                 documents that more fully illuminate their inquiries into the past.             This kind of inquiry offers students opportunities to understand the            on-going ideas and issues that are associated with the principle of             federalism. USING INTERNET RESOURCES.The following World Wide             Web sites are recommended to teachers and students of                           federalism: 
*  American Federalism, 1776 to 1977: Significant                 events in American federalism, 1776 to 1997.                                    http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/crsrepor/federal.htm 
*              Assessing the New Federalism:  Database includes statistics and                 tracking for all 50 states, including fiscal, economic, and                     demographic data.  Sponsored by the Urban Institute.                            http://newfederalism.urban.org 
*  Canadian Politics on the                    Web/Federalism:  The Canadian federal system has changed                        dramatically since Confederation in 1867, and it continues to evolve            in important ways.  The site includes material on the                           federal-provincial division of powers in Canada.                                http://polisci.nelson.com/federalism.html 
*  Russian Model of                 Federalism: Problems and Prospects:  Shows specific features and                operations of the Russian Federation.                                           http://www.eurplace.org/federal/kossikov2.html 
*  U.S. Federalism             Site: Offers definitions and different perspectives regarding                   federalism.  Links to related articles and essays.                              http://www.min.net/~kala/fed/ REFERENCES AND ERIC                             RESOURCES.The following list of resources includes references               used to prepare this Digest.  The items followed by an ED number are            available in microfiche and/or paper copies from the ERIC Document              Reproduction Service (EDRS).  For information about prices, contact             EDRS, 7420 Fullerton Road, Suite 110, Springfield, Virginia                     22153-2852; telephone numbers are (703) 440-1400 and (800)                      443-3742.  Entries followed by an EJ number, annotated monthly in               CURRENT INDEX TO JOURNALS IN EDUCATION (CIJE), are not available                through EDRS.  However, they can be located in the journal section              of most larger libraries by using the bibliographic information                 provided, requested through Interlibrary Loan, or ordered from                  commercial reprint services. 
Bahmueller, Charles F., Charles N.               Quigley, and Others.  CIVITAS: A FRAMEWORK FOR CIVIC EDUCATION.                 Calabasas, California: Center for Civic Education, 1991.  ED 340                654. 
Cooke, Jacob E., ed.  THE FEDERALIST.  Cleveland: The World              Publishing Company, 1961. 
Drake, Frederick D., and Lynn R.                    Nelson.  STATES' RIGHTS AND AMERICAN FEDERALISM: A DOCUMENTARY                  HISTORY.  Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1999. 
Hickok, Eugene                 W.  "Understanding Federalism."  PERSPECTIVES ON POLITICAL SCIENCE              19 (Fall 1990): 216-222.  EJ 423 808. 
Nelson, Lynn R., and                    Frederick D. Drake. "Civic Intelligence and Liberal Intelligence in             the History Education of Social Studies Teachers and Students."  In             PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES OF DEMOCRACY IN THE EDUCATION OF SOCIAL                STUDIES TEACHERS:  CIVIC LEARNING IN TEACHER EDUCATION,  John J.                Patrick and Robert S. Leming, eds., 135-166.  Bloomington, Indiana:             ERIC Clearinghouse for Social Studies/Social Science Education,                 2001. 
Patrick, John J.  FOUNDING THE REPUBLIC: A DOCUMENTARY                  HISTORY. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1995.  ED 393                           739. 
Patrick, John J.  JAMES MADISON AND THE FEDERALIST PAPERS.               Bloomington, Indiana: ERIC Clearinghouse for Social Studies/Social              Science Education, 1990.  ED 322 083. 
Patrick, John J., Richard M.            Pious, and Donald A. Ritchie.  THE OXFORD GUIDE TO THE UNITED STATES            GOVERNMENT.  New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. 
Patrick,                John J., and Clair W. Keller.  LESSONS ON THE FEDERALIST PAPERS:                SUPPLEMENTS TO HIGH SCHOOL COURSES IN AMERICAN HISTORY, GOVERNMENT,             AND CIVICS. Bloomington, Indiana: Organization of American                      Historians in Association with ERIC/ChESS, 1987.  ED 280                        764. 
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This project has been funded at least in part with               Federal funds from the U.S. Department of Education under contract              number ED-99-CO-0016. The content of this publication does not                  necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of             Education nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or              organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.  ERIC                   Digests are in the public domain and may be freely reproduced and               disseminated. 
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Frederick D. Drake is an Associate Professor            of History at Illinois State University.  Lynn R. Nelson is an                  Associate Professor of Education at Purdue University.                       **Title:** Teaching about Federalism in the United States. ERIC Digest.                 **Document Type:** Information Analyses---ERIC Information Analysis Products (IAPs) (071); Information Analyses---ERIC Digests (Selected) in Full Text (073); **Target Audience:** Practitioners, Teachers                                                      **Available From:** ERIC Clearinghouse for Social Studies/Social Science Education, 2805            East Tenth Street, Suite 120, Bloomington, IN 47408. Tel:                       800-266-3815 (Toll Free); Fax: 812-855-0455; e-mail:                            [email protected]; Web site: http://ericso.indiana.edu/.                    **Descriptors:**  Citizenship Education,  Constitutional History, Democracy, Federal             Government, Federalism, Government Role, Governmental Structure,                Political Science, Social Studies, United States History                     **Identifiers:** ERIC Digests, United States Constitution                                     
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