Federalism and the making of America
By: David Brian Robertson
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2012
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 231
ISBN-13: 9780415879187; 9780415879194; 9780203852125
Subjects: Politics and government; Federal government; History
Description: Though Americans rarely appreciate it, federalism has profoundly shaped their nation's past, present, and future. Federalism--the division of government authority between the national government and the states--affects the prosperity, security, and daily life of every American. In this nuanced and comprehensive overview, the author shows that past choices shape present circumstances, and that a deep understanding of American government, public policy, political processes, and society requires an understanding of the key steps in federalism's evolution in American history. The most spectacular political conflicts in American history have been fought on the battlefield of federalism, including state's rights to leave the union, government power to regulate business, and response to the problems of race, poverty, pollution, abortion, and gay rights. Federalism helped fragment American politics, encourage innovation, foster the American market economy, and place hurdles in the way of efforts to mitigate the consequences of economic change. Federalism helped construct the path of American political development. This book is a sorely needed text that treats the politics of federalism systematically and accessibly, making it indispensable to all scholars of American politics. --From publisher description.
Table of contents: title: Introduction. The significance of American federalism -- Arguments for American federalism -- Interpretation of federalism -- federalism and politics -- Federalism and path dependence -- Federalism and the sequence of change -- Federalism and strategies for reform -- Federalism as a contributor to American political development -- The plan -- Federalism at the founding. The self-governing states in 1787 -- Broad and narrow nationalism at the Constitutional Convention : Broad nationalism ; Narrow nationalism -- Inventing shared state and national sovereignty -- Dividing power -- Ratification and the Tenth Amendment -- The constitution of power in American federalism : State's powers: the tools of everyday governing and their limits ; National powers: the powers of national sovereignty and their limits ; The unsettled boundary of government powers ; The double battleground of American politics -- The framer's legacy -- Federalism, Political Parties, and Interests. The Constitution and political factions -- Federalism as a central battlefield of American politics -- Constructing factions in the American federal system -- American political parties -- Federalism and the development of the parties : The democrats ; The republicans -- Interest groups -- Federalism and the development of the American Interest group system : Business ; Organized labor ; Pluralism -- Fragmented parties and interests. Federalism and race. Why race matters -- Federalism, citizenship, and slavery in the Early Republic -- Civil War and Reconstruction -- Southern state restrictions on African American citizenship after Reconstruction -- The South, the Democrats, and government activism -- The civil rights revolution -- The continuing racial divide in American politics -- Race in American political development: today's inheritance -- Federalism, capitalism, and economic growth. Why economic development matters -- How federalism affected American economic development -- Economic development in the Early Republic -- Federalism, giant corporations, and antitrust, 1860-1900 -- The Progressive Era, 1900-33 -- The New Deal, 1933-45 -- Liberal supervision of capitalism, 1945-81 -- Conservative supervision of capitalism, 1981-2009 -- Federalism and the American variety of capitalism -- Progressive reform. The progressive impulse -- The expansion of government and democracy -- State policy innovation and its limits -- Organized labor -- Women -- Successful national regulation: prohibition -- Federalism and the limits of reform: child labor -- Uniform laws -- Layering change: Federal grants -- The progressive legacy -- The New Deal. The Depression -- The transformation of federalism -- Federalism and New Deal politics -- The Grants strategy and the rise of intergovernmental relations -- Agriculture -- Relief and public works -- Social Security -- Organized labor -- The New Deal legacy -- Liberal Activism and Intergovernmental Relations. Nationalization and new political demands -- Liberal democrats, grants activism, and intergovernmental relations -- Activism by proxy -- Poverty -- Health -- Education -- Crime control -- Federal regulations: environmental policy -- Intergovernmental politics -- Federalism and conservative governance after 1980. The backlash against liberalism and the rise of conservatism -- Federalism and the Reagan Administration -- Federalism after Reagan -- Conservative nationalism -- The conservative turn in the Federal Courts -- The resurgence of the states -- Federalism and public policy in the conservative era : Poverty ; Health ; Education ; Environment protection -- Culture War -- The strategic use of fragmentation -- American Federalism in the Twenty-first Century. The book's argument -- Federalism as an expedient political battlefield : Conservatives ; Liberals -- Federalism's virtues revisited : Rights and democracy ; Responsiveness ; Innovation ; Efficiency ; Prosperity -- Necessary research -- Federalism is making tomorrow's America.