What is Federalism?

Civics 101

This episode explores the complex concept of federalism, describing it as a continuous 'dance' or tug-of-war between state and federal gover

Key takeaways

• The Supremacy Clause establishes that when federal and state laws conflict, federal law takes precedence.
• The 10th Amendment reserves all powers not explicitly granted to the federal government to the states or the people.

Main topics

• Concept of Federalism
• Supremacy Clause

Notable quotes

The United States is a federation... we don''t only have a national government. We also have a number of governments that operate, in a sense, underneath the federal government or alongside the federal government.

Conclusion

Federalism is an essential, albeit messy, firewall for democracy that

Transcript preview

Speaker 4 (0:00) Hey everybody, Nick here. It remains fall. I just spent three hours at my number one apple orchard in the world, where I snuck some underripe apples of my favorite variety. They are, by the way, the golden russet and the stamen winesap. I really like the flowery Speaker 1 (0:17) mouthfeel. F-L-O-U-R. Why flowery? Speaker 4 (0:20) And so we continue our back to school series, the most essential things you gotta know about how our government works. So you can understand the rest of stuff happening in Washington, D.C. And if we're talking favorite apples and favorite orchards, this is one of my favorite episodes of Civics 101. Hannah made it. It is about a truly unique American feature. It is that we are a country, but we are also sort of 50 completely different countries. Today is a cake-free episode on the concept of federalism. Civics teachers are going to understand the cake reference. And you should, too. So stick around. You're going to love it. It Speaker 7 (1:07) is my opinion that the South will be law-abiding and will comply with the decision of the court and accept it. Speaker 6 (1:15) In 1954, the Supreme Court handed down a landmark decision. Speaker 7 (1:28) Brown versus Speaker 6 (1:33) Board of Education. Segregation in schools is unconstitutional, a violation of the Equal Protection Clause in the 14th Amendment. Separate but equal? is not equal at all. Speaker 7 (1:45) 9,000 Negroes met together with no problem at all and discussed segregation and the ending of segregation. That was in Mississippi. Speaker 6 (1:54) Three years later, a group of nine black students formally enrolled in an all-white school in Little Rock, Arkansas. Speaker 4 (2:00) The Little Rock Nine. Speaker 6 (2:02) The Little Rock Nine. Speaker 7 (2:04) Units of the National Guard have been and are now being mobilized. Speaker 6 (2:10) And Governor Orval Faubus responded with military force. Speaker 7 (2:14) Advanced units are already on duty on the grounds of Central High School. Speaker 6 (2:21) A mob of screaming white protesters lined the path as the nine students approached Central High School. They never did make it inside. The Arkansas National Guard, under orders from the governor, barred their entry. Speaker 7 (2:36) then you'd see it as a state-federal conflict of authority. Well, I don't think there's any question about that. This Speaker 5 (2:42) was clearly unconstitutional based on the Supreme Court's decision, but the states nevertheless argued that they did not need to be, in a sense, bound by the U.S. Supreme Court's decision. They disagreed with it. They said, we don't need to follow it. Speaker 6 (2:57) This is Lisa Mannheim. She's an associate professor of law at the University of Washington School of Law. So back in Arkansas in 1957, the governor tries to forcibly prevent enforcement of federal law. In Speaker 5 (3:09) response, the president, who at the time was President Eisenhower, sent in federal troops to escort these students into the state-run school. So that would be an example of state government refusing to comply with federal law. And in response, the federal government, here both the court, which concluded that Arkansas was incorrect to think it had the power to do this, as well as the executive branch, the president here, pushing back against the state and in a sense forcing the state to comply with federal law. Speaker 6 (3:40) Eisenhower deputizes the National Guard to take it out of the governor's hands. And for the rest of the year, there is a military presence at the school enforcing the federal integration law. Speaker 4 (3:53) So Arkansas is forced to comply with desegregation. Speaker 6 (3:56) Actually, the events at Central High School were just the beginning. Before desegregation was going to happen in Arkansas, there was going to be a dance. What Speaker 4 (4:05) kind of dance? Speaker 6 (4:06) A dance of state and federal government in a constant swirl of conflict, negotiation, and defiance. A dance otherwise known as federalism. And that is the subject of our show today. One big government and the 50 little governments that comprise it. I'm Hannah McCarthy. And Speaker 4 (4:27) I'm Nick Capodice. And Speaker 6 (4:28) this is the Civics 101 Starter Kit on the delicate balance that keeps or tries to keep American democracy in Speaker 5 (4:35) order. The United States is a federation. And what that means is that we don't only have a national government. We also have a number of governments that operate, in a sense, underneath the federal government or alongside the federal government. And in the United States, this refers to the 50 separate state governments that exist along with the federal government. And it's important to understand that these state governments are there. own independent governments. They are not just subsections of the federal government. Back in Arkansas Speaker 6 (5:10) in the 50s, Eisenhower sends the troops in and says, waltz. But Governor Faubus is like, no way. You can't make me. Tango. Arkansas requests a delay on desegregation from the federal court system, and they get it. Speaker 6 (5:33) But then the NAACP petitions the Supreme Court for an emergency overturn. Arkansas' case goes back to the federal courts. Governor Faubus won't budge. He calls an emergency session of the Arkansas General Assembly to consider 16 bills to forestall desegregation. The Supreme Court meets and orders immediate integration of Central High. Arkansas passes the segregation bills and closes the Little Rock high school system. Speaker 6 (6:12) For the next year, there's no integration in Little Rock High Schools because there are no Little Rock High Schools. Speaker 4 (6:32) Hey, everyone. It's Nick Capodice here. If you have found yourself asking, can the president really do that? Then