Answer

Federalism through the Centuries II (200 words)

Just as Jefferson, Monroe and Calhoun argued on behalf of the states, Daniel Webster articulately argued on behalf of national power. What are the advantages of a centralized power?

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Federalism through the Centuries I  (200 words)

The Constitutional Convention was, of course, a repudiation of the power of the states under the Articles of Confederation. Yet, even after the states ratified the Constitution, there were national leaders (Jefferson, Madison) who maintained that the states continued to have very, very significant power under the Constitution (including the power to nullify federal acts, as witnessed in the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions). What advantages are there for the decentralization of power to the state level? In other words, in what areas is it more advantageous for the states to exercise governmental authority rather than the federal government?

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Future of Federalism (200 words)

Top of FormChapter 7 in the text is one of the best written by Rossum & Tarr. You can see from the text their interest in this subject. Rossum & Tarr note that CJ Marshall “often favored the claims of the national government over those of the states” (p. 291). This was probably an important thing for Marshall to do, given the fact that the national government was very new and the states had virtually all the power under the Articles of Confederation. The Civil War was in large measure a political battle between the power of the state governments vs. the power of the national government. Upon the conclusion of the Civil War, the power of the national government ascended, and continued to ascend during most of the 20th Century because of increased industrialization and commercialization, and the need for regulatory power. Citing the text and cases (no outside research necessary), compose an essay on what you think is the future of federalism. Will the historical trajectory of national power continue (particularly in light of the increased threat to security posed by international terrorism)? Will this trajectory end in light of increasing public awareness that the “one size fits all” approach of national programs is locally ineffective? Or will state authority increase in some areas and decrease in others (if so, what ones)?Bottom of Form

Source of attached documents: 

Rossum, Ralph, Alan G. Tarr, and Vincent Muñoz, American Constitutional Law: The

Structure of Government. Vol. I, 11th ed. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0367233334.