Next Offered: Summer 2010

Summer, 2007                                                           H: 352-2326

When James Madison stated in Federalist 39 that: "the proposed Constitution therefore is in strictness neither a national nor a federal constitution; but a composition of both" America embarked on a unique form of governance that has both opportunities and shortcomings. For the most part, our history has been a struggle over which of the two—national or federal—would prevail. Today we seem to be preoccupied with finding a form of federalism/IGR that best fits our need for governance and in many respects comes closer to Madison’s original proposal for a new form of government. In this class we will explore some of the major foundations, theories, applications, and reforms that constitute the study of American federalism.

O’Toole, Jr., Lawrence J. American Intergovernmental Relations: Foundations, Perspectives, and Issues. 4^th ed. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly Press, 2007.

Peterson, Paul E. The Price of Federalism. Washington, DC. The Brookings Institution, 1995.

Stephens, G. Ross and Nelson Wikstrom. American Intergovernmental Relations: A Fragmented Federal Polity. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007.

One Future’s type paper and two brief class presentations constitute the basic work for the class. Without embarking on extensive research and relying primarily on the course material, what do you think is the future pattern of federalism in the United States or what do you believe are the most significant intergovernmental issues that will confront the levels of government in this country? Two class presentations or short papers based on any of the two review questions found in the O’Toole book constitute the second requirement. Since I’d prefer to run this class as a summer seminar, class participation will also be a deciding factor.

May 14: Course Introduction

May 16: The Founding & Dual Federalism: Peterson Chapter 1, O’Toole Part 1, Stephens & Wikstrom Chapter 1, and Marbury v. Madison video

May 21: Big Federalism: Peterson Chapter 2, O’Toole Part 2, Stephens & Wikstrom Chapter 2, and McCulloch v. Maryland video

May 23: New Federalism: O’Toole Part 3, Stephens & Wikstrom Chapter 4, and Gibbons v. Ogden video

May 28: No Class

May 30: Empathetic Federalism: O’Toole Part 4, Stephens & Wikstrom Chapter 3 & Case1, and Can States Do a Better Job? video

June 4: A Return to Big Federalism? Peterson Chapter 8, O’Toole Part 5, Stephens & Wikstrom Chapter 10 & Case 5, and Welfare Reform video

June 6: National-State Relations: Peterson Chapter 3, Stephens & Wikstrom Chapter 5 & Case 2, and Block by Block video

June 9: Interstate Relations: Peterson Chapter 4, Stephens & Wikstrom Chapter 7 & Case 3, and With All Deliberate Speed video

June 11: State-Local Relations: Peterson Chapter 5, Stephens & Wikstrom Chapter 8, and Home at Last? video

June 16: National-Local Relations: Peterson Chapter 6, Stephens & Wikstrom Chapter 6, and Vaccine Debate video

June 18: Interlocal Relations: Peterson Chapter 7, Stephens & Wikstrom Chapter 9 & Case 4, and A Living Wage video