Grant-in-aid
Grants-in-aid are federal grants which have become the primary way that the federal government circumvents Federalism, and systematically brings the states under the control of the National government.
Following the passage of the Sixteenth Amendment, grant-in-aid programs expanded significantly.[1][2][3][4]
History
Traditionally, grants-in-aid are as old as The Northwest Ordinance,[5] however, they were never used as an aggressive tool to dictate constitutionally protected state policy.
During the American Civil War, grant-in-aid packages were authorized as a part of the Morrill Act of 1862, leading to the creation of Land-grant universities.
Progressive weaponry
Following the passage of the sixteenth amendment in the Progressive Era, progressives discovered that they could use the seemingly never ending stream of money to cop-opt the states and push them all toward favoring an ever expansive, big government.[6]
The states end up becoming dependent upon these Subsidies and in effect become agents of the federal government[7][8]
See also
References
- ↑ US Government & Politics
- ↑ State and Local Government
- ↑ Conflict and Consensus in American Politics, Election Update
- ↑ Congress: Facilitator of State Action
- ↑ The Irony of Democracy: An Uncommon Introduction to American Politics
- ↑ Federal Aid-to-State Programs, CATO Institute
- ↑ Federal-State Relations Under Grants-in-Aid
- ↑ The Politics Today Companion to American Government