Mr. LevinSpring 2008
Office: OSH 210D Office Hours:
Phone: 801-587-9096 Tues: 4-5:30 pm
Email: Mon, Wed: 3-4 pm
by appointment
POLS 5270/6270 & PADMN 6270: Federalism
Tues 6-9 pm, OSH208
In Federalist 39, James Madison wrote that: "the proposed Constitution therefore is in strictness neither a national nor a federal constitution; but a composition of both." We will explore how the national government and states interact to create America=s unique federal system. Our strongest themes will be the political theory that underlies American federalism, the constitutional tradition of federalism, and the historical evolution of the modern federal system. We will also consider the fiscal impact of federalism and will use our concluding weeks to examine how the division of powers between the national and state governments has affected public policy in a number of important areas. Federalism today is an area characterized by active debate over the proper role of the federal government and the capacity of the states to provide public services and protect individual states without federal intervention. We will consider the arguments for, and against, federal action in American public policy throughout the semester and consider the implications of increasing the relative power of the states for the shape of representative democracy within the United States. We will begin with some discussion of comparative federalism, but will focus on the United States for the remainder of the semester.
A quick note on approach and method. My approach to the study of American government is rooted in Ahistorical institutionalism,@ an approach based on the insight that institutions evolve under specific historical conditions and that their historical context is of primary importance. This is particularly true of American federalism. We will begin the semester with an explicitly historical approach, and will continue that emphasis on history through the rest of our discussions on federalism and public policy.
Required Books and Materials
John D. Donahue, Hazardous Crosscurrents, Century Foundation, 1999.
Lawrence O=Toole, American Intergovernmental Relations, CQ Press, 4th Ed, 2007.
David B. Walker, The Rebirth of Federalism, Chatham House, 2nd Ed, 2000.
Martha Derthick, Keeping the CompoundRepublic, Brookings Institution, 2001.
In addition, I have posted abridged versions of academic articles, primary documents, book chapters, and court cases on the web and have linked to other websites. Please link to these through my website (address above). These are denoted in the syllabus as Web.
Assignments
There will be two take-home essay assignments that will take the place of exams. These will be short (4-5) page papers that will ask students to synthesize the material covered during approximately one half each of the course. In addition, each student will be required to write a substantial research paper focusing on some aspect of federalism. Students may choose to examine a particular historical development in American federalism, a historical conflict between the states and federal government, some aspect of the theory of federalism, or the impact of federalism on policy in a substantive policy area. Undergraduates will be expected to write a paper 8-10 pages in length that must use a minimum of 8 academic and primary sources; graduate students will be expected to submit a paper approximately 12-15 pages long (exclusive of references) and use a substantial number of academic and primary sources (a dozen is a minimum; twenty or more references are preferred). Websites, popular magazines, newspapers, dictionaries and encyclopedias do not count towards these minimums; full text versions of government documents and academic periodicals are permitted.. A paper proposal, including a thesis statement, a one to two paragraph description, brief bibliography (3 or 4 starting resources) and short outline is due February 12.
Your grade will be computed as follows:
Classroom Participation / 20 % / Date DueResearch Paper / 40 % / April 8 (proposals due Feb 12)
Midterm and Final Essays (2 x 20 %) / 40% / March 11, April 29
Participation:Because we will be basing many of our discussions on the ideas developed in the assigned readings, you are required to read the assignments before the class session for which they are assigned. I will assume your knowledge of the material in the readings and you will have great difficulty participating in discussion if you are insufficiently prepared. I reserve the right to call upon any person at any time to explain the facts or reasoning in any assigned reading. Because of the centrality of participation, any student who misses three class sessions without excuse will have their final grade lowered one full grade. Any student who misses five class sessions (over a third of the total) without excuse will automatically fail the course.
Academic MisconductAll quotes must be cited as such and include a clear reference to the work from which they were drawn; they will otherwise be treated as plagiarism. All use of materials other than course materials must be accompanied by full citations. All work in this course is assigned as individual work: working as groups or teams is strongly discouraged (and may be treated as cheating). You are encouraged to go to the Writing Lab for help with your work, however, you are discouraged from seeking all but the most casual assistance with your writing from others; this includes spouses and other family members. If you intend to submit a paper which draws upon work for another class, or if you are planning on submitting substantially similar papers to both myself and another instructor, you must first receive explicit permission to do so from both myself and the other instructor. Any form of academic dishonesty will result in a failing grade for the course and other disciplinary action, up to expulsion from the University.
All work must be submitted both in hard copy and through WebCT; instructions for submitting work through turnitin.com will be provided with the first assignment.
Policy on Late Papers, Unsubmitted Work and Incompletes: Papers will be accepted until 5 pm on the date due. I will not accept a submitted paper that was either assigned or due on a date for which you have an unexcused absence. Late papers will lose one full grade if submitted within a week of due date; after a week, papers will not be accepted. Failure to complete any assignment will result in failure of the course. A grade of incomplete is only available in cases of documented emergency at the semester=s conclusion.
Accommodation of Sincerely Held Beliefs: I will work with students who require schedule changes due to religious or other significant obligations. I will not consider any requests based on course content. Because modern American politics includes many debates over race, sexuality, obscenity, religious practice and belief, and political ideology, any class that did not address such issues would be substantially limited. Students are required to attend all classes and to read all assignments. All assignments and lectures are related to our subject matter, and I do not include gratuitously salacious material. If you have any objection to the frank and open discussion of any of the topics above, including the use of adult language when appropriate to subject matter, please drop the class.
Americans with Disabilities Act Notice: Persons with disabilities requiring special accommodations to meet the expectations of this course should provide reasonable prior notice to the instructor and to the Center for Disability Services, 162 Olpin Union Building, 581-5020 (V/TDD) to make arrangements. Written material in this course can be made available in alternative format with prior notification.
Disclaimer: Dates may be changed and readings may be added or deleted.
Jan. 8 - Introduction
O=Toole, Chap. 12
Web:Farber, ASovereignty@; U.S. Term Limits v. Thornton; Printz v. U.S.
Jan. 15 - The Theory of Federalism
O=Toole, Chaps. 4, 5, 6; Walker, Chap. 1; Derthick, Chap. 1
American Federalism - An Historical Approach
Jan 22 - The American Founding and Antebellum Federalism
Walker, Chap. 2, Chap. 3, pp. 67-74; O=Toole, Chaps. 1-2
Web:Articles of Confederation; Brutus No. 1; Kentucky Resolution; Virginia Resolutions;Jackson, Nullification Message; South Carolina Ordinance of Nullification; Duncan, AMen of a Different Faith@
Jan 29 - From the Civil War until 1960
Derthick ,Chaps. 8, 9; Walker, Chap. 3, pp. 74-88
Web:Lincoln, First Inaugural Address; Resolutions of Secession; Elazar, AThe Civil War and the Preservation of American Federalism@; Graebner, AFederalism in the Progressive Era@
Feb 5 - 1960 to 1994 - The Growth and Revision of Cooperative Federalism
Walker, Chap. 5, 6 (pp. 141-156), 7; Derthick, Chap. 10.
Web:Conlan, “The Bush and Early Clinton Years”
Feb 12 B Paper Topics Due
Feb. 12 - 1994 to Present - The States Strike Backand the Return of the Empire
O=Toole, Chaps. 24, 25, 26, 27; Walker, Chap. 9;
Web:Conlan, “A Devolution Revolution”; Krane, “The Middle Tier in American Federalism”
Judicial Federalism and Fiscal Federalism
Feb. 19 - The Federal Courts and Federalism
O=Toole, Chap. 11; Walker, Chap. 7
Web:Cooper v. Aaron;Alden v. Maine,Nevada Dept. of Human Resources v. Hibbs;Schmidhauser, AStates Rights and the Origins of the Supreme Court=s Power@
Feb 26 -Federalism, the Courts, and Civil Rights
Web:Barron v. Baltimore,Adamson v. California, Michigan v. Long; Brownv. Bd II;The Southern Manifesto;Brennan, State Constitutions and the Protection of Individual Rights; Pinello, AJudicial Federalism and the Myth of Parity=@
Mar 4 - Midterm Essay assigned, Due Mar 11
Spring Break B March 18
March 4, 11 - Fiscal Federalism
O=Toole, Chaps. 8, 13, 14, 15, 18, 19, 20; Walker, Chap. 8; Donahue - Chaps. 1, 3-5
Web:Dole v. South Dakota
March 25 - The Mandates Controversy
O=Toole, Chaps. 6, 21-23.
Web:Garcia v. SAMTA; New York v. US; Printz v. US (reprise); Posner, APolitics of Coercive Federalism”
Federalism and Public Policy
April 1 - Regulatory Policy
O=Toole, Chap. 10
Web:Stephens and Wikstrom, “Resurgent States …”;Zimmerman, “Congressional Preemption …”; U.S. v. Morrison
April 1 - Environmental Policy
Web:Scheberle, AThe Evolving Matrix Y.@; Chaloupka, AThe County Supremacy and Militia Movements@; Rabe, “Power tothe States”
April 8 - Social Policyand Health Policy
Derthick, Chap. 5; Donahue, Chaps. 2, 6-7
Web:Thompson, AFederalism and Health Care Policy@; Allard, “The Changing Face of Welfare”
April 8B Research Paper Due
April 15 - Education Policy
Donahue - Chap. 8
Web:Brimley and Garfield, The Federal Interest in Education@; Wong, “The Politics of Social Targeting@;Wong and Sunderman, “Education Accountability as a Presidential Priority”
April 22 - The Future of Federalism
Derthick, Chap. 11; Walker, Chap. 28
Web:Greve, “Federalism’s Constituency”
April 22 - Final Essay Assigned. Due by 5 pm on April 29. Late work will not be accepted after 12 pm (noon) on May 1. Papers should be brought to my mailboxes in either the Political Science office (OSH 252) or the Public Administration office (OSH 214).