Evolution of Federalism
Activity 3 Additional Background Information

From the beginning of the republic, debate has taken place on which level of government should address the major problems facing the nation. We have seen how the Great Depression contributed to conditions calling for increased powers of the federalism. World War II and the Cold War continued to a continuing need for a strong federal government. During the 1960s, the administration of Lyndon Johnson introduced a program called "the Great Society," which expanded federal powers even more. The Great Society greatly expanded the New Deal, setting up such programs as Head Start, elementary and secondary education programs, Medicare, community development programs, civil rights programs, various community development and civil rights programs, to name a few. Many of those programs continue to this day. At the same time, more conservative Americans questioned having the federal government play so active a role in people's lives. In the 1980's, with the election of Ronald Reagan and George Herbert Walker Bush, a more conservative reaction set in. Its aim was to have bloc grant programs to states to have more of the decision-making power made at state and local levels. This program, called the New Federalism, calls for devolution of power from the federal government to state governments. President Clinton, a Democrat, moved in that direction with modifications to the welfare program, ending welfare as an entitlement for people. The election of Republicans to the majority in the House and Senate reinforced the trend still further, as did the election of George W. Bush to president in 2000.