Suggested Reading
Bensel, Richard. Sectionalism and American Political
Development: 1880–1980. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press,
1984.
A look at the effects of sectionalism on American history.
Dye, Thomas R. American Federalism: Competition Among
Governments. Lexington, Mass.: Lexington Books,
1990.
A prominent political scientist studies how different governments compete
on many matters.
Farber, Daniel A. Lincoln’s Constitution. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 2003.
States’ rights and the extent of federal power were key issues in the
events that led to the Civil War. Farber looks at the Constitution as it existed
in Lincoln’s time and thinks through the arguments used by the contending sides
in their disputes.
Kelley, E. Wood. Policy and Politics in the United States:
The Limits of Localism. Philadelphia: Temple University Press,
1987.
What effect do local and state politics have on American policy? Kelley
answers this question—and others—in this work.
Nagel, Robert. The Implosion of American Federalism.
New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.
Nagel laments the loss of state power despite court rulings in favor of
states in recent years. He warns that centralized power is dangerous to a
democratic society.
Peterson, Paul E. The Price of Federalism.
Washington, D.C.: Brookings, 1995
Peterson looks at the costs of America’s federal system.
Walker, David B. The Rebirth of Federalism. 2nd ed.
Chatham, NJ: Chatham, 2000.
Walker takes a look at the current state of federalism in a positive
light.
Yarbrough, Tinsley. The Rehnquist Court and the Constitution.
New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.
The Rehnquist Court limited federal power by striking down a number of
laws. This book examines all of the Rehnquist Court’s decisions, including those
on federalism.
Useful Websites
http://urban.org/center/anf/index.cfm
The Urban Institute’s program, known as “Assessing the New Federalism,”
examines the effects of recent laws and court decisions on federalism.
www.cog.org
The homepage for the Washington Metropolitan Council of Governments, a
fairly successful collaboration among state and local governments around
Washington, D.C.
www.csg.org
The Council of State Governments helps coordinate state policies and
practices.
www.nga.org
The National Governors’ Association also helps coordinate state policies
and practices.
www.temple.edu/federalism
The Center for the Study of Federalism at Temple University offers
information on American federalism.
