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Constitutional interpretations of federalism: lesson overview

A high-level overview of the key terms, themes, and concepts in this lesson. 
Federalism is the distribution of power between the federal government and state governments. However, the Constitution does not create clear-cut lines for which types of policy fall under each level of government.
This has led to questions over the balance of power between national and state governments. The appropriate distribution of power has been interpreted differently over time. At some points, measures have been taken to enhance federal power, while at other points, the Framers, and later, the Supreme Court, have enhanced state power.

Key terms

TermDefinition
commerce clausePart of Article I of the Constitution that gives Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce (buying and selling of goods across state lines).
federalismAn institutional arrangement that creates two relatively autonomous levels of government, each possessing the capacity to act directly on behalf of the people with the authority granted to it by the national constitution.
enumerated powersPowers of the federal government that are explicitly named in the Constitution.
implied powersPowers of the federal government that are not explicitly named in the Constitution but are implied so that the federal government can carry out its enumerated powers.
necessary and proper clausePart of Article I of the Constitution that gives Congress the power to create laws that they find “necessary and proper” for performing their constitutional responsibilities.
Tenth AmendmentConstitutional amendment that stipulates that all powers not given to the federal government are reserved to the states or the people.
Fourteenth AmendmentConstitutional amendment that grants citizenship, equal protection, and due process under the law to all people born in the United States.

Enumerated vs. implied powers

What's the difference between enumerated and implied powers, and why should we care?
Here's a real-world example: Say that your parents tell you that they'll pay for you to get ice cream with your friends. Awesome!
You make a plan with your friends, wait for the bus to head downtown, pay the fare, ride to the ice cream shop, get ice cream, and come back by the bus. When you get home, you tell your parents that the ice cream cost you $5 and the bus fare came to $4, so you need $9, please.
Your parents respond, "We only said we'd pay for ice cream! We didn't say we'd pay for you to get to the ice cream shop. We only owe you $5."
But how could you have gotten ice cream with your friends if you couldn't get to your friends? Well, maybe you could have bought a half-gallon of ice cream and invited your friends over . . . although you still would have had to go to the grocery store to do that, too. Is it even possible to get ice cream without going through some other step?
This is the essence of enumerated vs. implied powers: enumerated powers are those things that the Constitution explicitly says Congress can do (in Article I): levy taxes, regulate commerce with other nations, borrow and coin money, establish post offices, raise an army, and declare war, among other things.
But Article I also says that Congress shall have the power to "make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers." From this "necessary and proper clause" Congress argued that it had implied powers to do those things necessary in order to achieve its enumerated powers. For example, if Congress has the power to coin money, it's implied that Congress has the power to set up mints and pay workers to run those mints. In McCulloch v. Maryland, the Supreme Court confirmed that Congress can exercise these implied powers.
Although this seems pretty straightforward, it gets more difficult to decide just what counts as an implied power if you consider how to define "necessary." What if when your parents said they'd pay for you to get ice cream with your friends, you deemed it necessary to rent a helicopter to fly to the ice cream shop in style? Was that absolutely necessary, or was that just taking advantage of the opportunity? This conflict over the limits of federal power continues today.

Key documents to know

Constitution (1787) — The fundamental laws and principles that govern the United States. The document resulted from several compromises between Federalists and Anti-Federalists in the Constitutional Convention.
Image of the Bill of Rights.
The Bill of Rights. Image credit: National Archives

Key cases to know

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) — Supreme Court case which guaranteed the supremacy of federal laws over state laws and declared that Congress has implied powers not listed in the Constitution in order to fulfill their enumerated powers.
US v. Lopez (1995) — Supreme Court case which stopped Congress from using the commerce clause to ban guns in schools

Key takeaways from this lesson

Questions about federalism: Federalism refers to the distribution of power between the federal government and the state governments. The Constitution sketches a federal framework that aims to balance the forces of decentralized and centralized governance in general terms. However, the Constitution does not flesh out standard operating procedures that say precisely how the states and federal governments are to handle all policy contingencies imaginable.
Therefore, officials at the state and national levels have had some room to maneuver as they operate within the Constitution’s federal design. This has led to changes in the configuration of federalism over time, changes corresponding to different historical phases that capture distinct balances between state and federal authority.
Enhancing federal power: When the Constitution was ratified, there were still debates between the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans in Congress about how much power the federal government should have.
Interpretations of particular clauses in the Constitution have led to an increase in federal power over time. The necessary and proper clause gives the federal government power to create laws that they deem “necessary and proper,” while the commerce clause gives the federal government power over interstate commerce.
In McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), the Supreme Court ruled that the federal government had implied powers to fulfill the duties of their enumerated powers. Later, the federal government enhanced its power over the states by passing the Fourteenth Amendment, which prevented the states from infringing on the rights of individuals.
Enhancing state power: Concerns over a strong central government motivated Anti-Federalists to argue for the inclusion of a Tenth Amendment in the Bill of Rights. The Tenth Amendment guaranteed that all powers not granted to the federal government are state powers.
In United States v. Lopez (1995), the Supreme Court ruled that the federal government had infringed on states’ rights by passing the Gun-Free Schools Act and the federal government could not ban guns in schools. Although the federal government argued that the power to ban guns in schools fell under the Commerce Clause, the Supreme Court disagreed and claimed the law was unconstitutional as it violated the Tenth Amendment.

Review questions

What constitutional arguments has the Supreme Court used to enhance or limit federal power over time?
What is the difference between enumerated and implied powers?
How did the Fourteenth Amendment give the federal government more power over the states?

Want to join the conversation?

  • boggle yellow style avatar for user Zoe LeVell
    So, in the us v lopez case, the law was deemed unconstitutional only after a court case had come up. Why wasn't the law deemed unconstitutional when it was first passed? Does that mean the the federal government can pass any unconstitutional law it wants, and it won't be repealed unless someone brings a court case to the federal level? What if the group affected by the unconstitutional law doesn't have the resources to challenge it?
    (10 votes)
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    • leafers seedling style avatar for user Raymond  J.
      The law wasn't deemed unconstitutional when it was first passed because the Supreme Court does not have the ability to review every single law that gets passed. Because of that, a person or organization has to bring a case to the court in order for them to review it. Additionally, a law isn't technically "unconstitutional" until the courts rule it as such, so technically, yes, the federal government can pass any "unconstitutional" law it wants. To your last question, that is an issue within the legal system. A lot of people who have issues with a law that they think is unconstitutional just don't have the time or resources to bring it up to the courts. I can't really think of a way to solve that off the top of my head, but someone else may have a solution already. However, I would say that that issue isn't necessarily bad since it also makes it so that courts aren't constantly overrun with cases. I hope that helped you. Have a good day!
      (8 votes)
  • blobby green style avatar for user stephen.barany
    This is making so much more senes to me. Thank Goodness I read this. Hooray!!
    (3 votes)
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  • blobby green style avatar for user john.matylonek
    Many of the paradoxes of the Constitution arises from the court's orginalist but unreasonable errors in precedents. The intent of clauses is captured within the context of times in which they were written. In United States v. Lopez the only reason the case was an issue at all was because the D.C v Heller decision that gun ownership disregarded that the purpose of the Second Amendment was to raise farmer citizen armies for defense of the nation, not individual self defense. Just like giving legal entities, Corporations, the same rights of individuals by the Bill of Rights, the comedy of court decisions resulting from erronous precedents has set us up for absurdities that create society chaos and injustice.
    (2 votes)
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  • blobby green style avatar for user collinsashton65
    1) The Commerce clause and the tenth amendment
    2) Enumerated powers are listed in the Constitution, while implied powers are not
    3) Not allowing laws that impact a citizens rights
    (2 votes)
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  • blobby green style avatar for user AndrewWei10000
    1. The Supreme Court has used both the Commerce Clause and the Tenth Amendment to enhance and limit respectively federal power over time.
    2. Enumerated powers are powers explicitly stated on the Constitution, while implied powers are powers required to facilitate the enumerated powers.
    3. The Fourteenth Amendment gave the federal government more power over the states by not allowing the states to pass any laws that would infringe the rights of citizens.
    (2 votes)
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  • aqualine tree style avatar for user Joy Mckee
    Under today's system of Federalism, a state that does not want to comply with Federal demands can
    (2 votes)
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  • aqualine ultimate style avatar for user keziahaddy
    What is the difference between enumerated and implied powers?
    (2 votes)
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  • stelly blue style avatar for user Mal T.
    What constitutional arguments has the Supreme Court used to enhance or limit federal power over time?
    One argument the Supreme Court used to enhance federal power is the Elasticity Clause which establishes implied powers. An argument used to limit federal power is the 10th amendment stating that all powers not delegated to the federal government were reserved for the states.
    What is the difference between enumerated and implied powers?
    Enumerated powers are responsibilities the federal government is directly expressed to have while implied powers are the assumed measures the government is allowed to take in order to carry out these responsibilities.

    How did the Fourteenth Amendment give the federal government more power over the states?
    The Fourteenth Amendment gave the federal government more power over the states because it prevents the states from passing laws that would infringe on the rights of US citizens. The amendment also extended citizenship to black Americans/enslaved people, thus extending federal protection to these people as well.
    (1 vote)
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  • aqualine tree style avatar for user jaylin white
    why did they make a big deal over guns? and do you think if it wasnt more about guns would it be more about power ?
    (0 votes)
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