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'Federalism in the United States' can be divided into four major periods, each with its own distinct approach: Federalism under the Marshall Court, Dual Federalism, Cooperative Federalism, and New Federalism. While the organizational ideology in each era remained true to the United States's federal origins, the balance of power between the states and the national government constantly shifted.

Contents

Federalism under the Marshall Court

Dual Federalism

Cooperative Federalism

New Federalism

Federalism under the Marshall Court

The United States Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Marshall played an important role in defining the power of the federal and state governments during the early 1800s. As the U.S. Constitution does not specifically define many dividing lines between the layers of government, the Supreme Court settled the issue. The question was answered particularly in the cases, ''McCulloch v. Maryland'' and ''Gibbons v. Ogden'', which broadly expanded the power of the national government.

Dual Federalism

Despite Chief Justice Marshall's strong push for the federal government, the court of his successor, Roger B. Taney (1835-1863), decided cases that favored equally strong national and state governments. The basic philosophy during this time was that the U.S. Government ought to be limited to its enumerated powers and that all others belonged to the states. Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857) increased the power of the states, while both the sixteenth and the seventeenth amendments bolstered the power of the national government.

Cooperative Federalism

The Great Depression marked an abrupt end to Dual Federalism and a dramatic shift to a strong national government. President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal policies reached into the lives of U.S. citizens like no other federal measure had, yet popular opinion favored these programs. The national government was forced to cooperate with all levels of government to implement the New Deal policies; local government earned an equal standing with the other layers, as the federal government relied on political machines at a city level to bypass state legislatures. The formerly distinct division of responsibilities between state and national government had been described as a "layer cake," but, with the lines of duty blurred, American federalism was likened to a "marble cake."

New Federalism

New Federalism, which is characterized by a gradual return of power to the states, was initiated by President Ronald Reagan (1981-1989) in the early 1980s and lasted until 2001. This reversal of the shift of power is known as devolution. Previously, the federal government had granted money to the states categorically, limiting the states to use this funding for specific programs. Reagan's administration, however, introduced a practice of giving block grants, freeing state governments to spend the money at their own discretion. President Bill Clinton (1993-2001) embraced this philosophy, and President George W. Bush (2001-2009) appeared to support it at the time of his inauguration. New Federalism failed after a short period of popularity.