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Summary

The ratification of the Constitution was, to a significant extent, a defining of the lines of authority between the state and federal governments. Over recent years, the Supreme Court has decided a number of cases which address this historical relationship between the federal government and the states. This report will discuss state and federal legislative power generally, and will focus on a number of these "federalism" cases. Issues to be addressed will include congressional power under Article I and the Fourteenth Amendment; limits on congressional powers, such as the Tenth Amendment; and state sovereign immunity under the Eleventh Amendment. The report does not, however, address the much larger policy issue of when it is appropriate ! as opposed to constitutionally permissible ! for federal powers to be exercised.

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