by J. Wesley Leckrone, Widener University

The American Presidency Project at UCSB has a fantastic online database of presidential documents and speeches. As we head into the 2024 general election for president, I’ll be sharing excerpts from some of their documents highlighting presidential campaign discourse on issues of federalism. The first is from Richard Nixon’s 1960 presidential campaign against John F. Kennedy.

In a speech in Roanoke, Virginia on September 15, 1960, then Vice President Nixon contrasted himself with the official platform of the Democratic Party, and their nominee on the role of government in American society. On Kennedy and his party Nixon said

We find, throughout the platform, federalism run rampant in nearly every significant area of local, State, and national life, ranging from housing to education to youth training to city administration to natural resources to labor management relations to agriculture – all floated on a sea of taxpayers’ dollars.

It is a bureaucratic state platform – a centralization of Federal power platform – a series of pledges that in the aggregate would debilitate State and local government in America, weaken personal liberty, and expend for the individual, by Federal decision – or by inflation, funds he feels competent, and is competent, to expend himself.

In sum, it is a vote of lack of confidence in the individual and a distortion of our delicately balanced system of Federal, State, and local government.

During an October 15 rally in Billings, Montana he added

My opponent promises to begin using Federal funds for the payment of teachers’ salaries, opening a door that would surely lead to Federal control of what is taught in our schools.

In the September 15 speech Nixon contrasted his and Kennedy’s positions by stating the precepts of his campaign

The first responsibility of the Federal Government is to keep the Nation strong and safe and free; to create a favorable climate for the rapid and sound expansion of our economy; to carry out the constitutional guarantees of full equality under law for all persons; to promote the general welfare wherever and whenever national action is necessary to accomplish common objectives.

The first responsibility of State governments is to provide all those services, necessary to the welfare of our people, which can best be provided by legislatives and executives close to the people, acutely sensitive to local attitudes and needs.

Our two great parties agree by and large on the great goals of America. But they disagree profoundly on how best to work toward those goals.

One way mapped in the Democratic platform is the road of federalism, concentration of power, manipulation of the masses, and annihilation of the individual. This road starts in Washington, D.C., and goes to the citizen.

The other is the way of putting our primary faith in individual rather than government enterprise, diffusion of power, faith in State and local competence and responsibility, and devotion to preserving individual liberty. This road starts with the citizen and goes, as necessary, to Washington.

I believe absolutely in the eagerness and responsibility and capability of our people to lead their lives productively for themselves and for our country without excessive supervision from Washington.