What Is Picket-Fence Federalism?

By Staff WriterLast Updated March 28, 2020

Picket-fence federalism is a form of creative federalism that involves all levels of government, from local to national, and each level of government in this system works together on things such as transportation, health care, housing and poverty. Devices in 1964 to replace cooperative federalism, creative federalism expanded the role of the federal government into the states.

It was called ‘creative’ because if the federal government intervened, the grants given to the cities and states had to be used for specific purposes. This type of government control made each state’s government weaker. As such, creative federalism was abolished in 1980 in favor of new federalism.