Cooperative Federalism In The 1970's

The United States has undergone a major shift in federalism since the founding in 1789. Dual federalism was the norm from 1789 until the 1930’s. Under this system of federalism the areas of responsibilities that the National government and State government had were demarcated very distinctly. Most areas in citizen’s everyday lives were in fact regulated by the state and local governments. While the national government had responsibilities that were mostly concern with national commerce. Despite the commerce clause in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution being interpreted through several Supreme Court cases in favor of national power the states still had protection from the courts in the area of rights for consumers and workers. This system of federalism ended in 1933 When Franklin Delano Roosevelt became president. He actively sought to respond to

The first of the changes was in the 1960’s when the federal government increased the amount of categorical grants that the states received to be spent on certain programs such as the federal Medicaid program. This period of time between the 60’s and 70’s can be called regulated federalism because of the narrow regulations attached to these grants for the states to adhere to. The second change to cooperative federalism begins in the 1970’s and continues to the current federal system. The control that the federal government had over the states through national standards and grants became increasingly burdensome on the states. In the 1970’s and 80’s president Richard Nixon and president Ronald Reagan would push for more state control with the use of block grants. These grants allowed the states to decide how best to apply the funding in a more tailored way. These more current changes show that the question of Federal and State responsibility is unlikely to be a settled matter and will continue to change as our country faces new challenges and