ted William Rehnquist as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Like Rehnquist, Reagan also appointed three other judges that had similar ideas and philosophies of how government should govern. Following Reagan's plan for devolution, Rehnquist's decisions enhanced the powers of the states. The case of United States v. Lopez in 1994 decided that the national government could not place a law on citizens carrying guns in gun free school zones. While at first this seems like a stupid decision by the Supreme Court, actually they are allowing the states to set their own regulations on the carrying of firearms in a gun free school zone. Another big case that granted more power to the states was Roe v. Wade. The decision in this case gave each state the right to regulate abortion. Even though each decision by itself seems small, as more and more cases are decided in favor of state rights, the balance of power starts to swing back toward the states. Welfare reform has become a huge issue in the United States today. States now have the right to decide how long someone can stay on welfare and the amount that that person receives. This is one more way that the national government has allowed the states to gain more power. Many national programs were eliminated or changed by the Welfare Reform Act, such as Aid to Families with Dependant Children, and the Food Stamp Program. Child welfare and child protection programs kept funding during the whole process. Mandates granted to states that act in ways desirable to the national government in the Welfare Reform Act get more funding. It also said that states could not allow people to stay on welfare for more than five years. Federalism has evolved a great deal since it was first incorporated into our Constitution. Many court cases; acts of Congress, and presidential policies have changed the shape of Federalism in the last 200 years. It seems as if the United States version of Federalism will be an ever-chan...
