Future of Federalism

Chapter 7 in the text is one of the best written by Rossum & Tarr. You can see from the text their interest in this subject. Rossum & Tarr note that CJ Marshall "often favored the claims of the national government over those of the states" (p. 291). This was probably an important thing for Marshall to do, given the fact that the national government was very new and the states had virtually all the power under the Articles of Confederation. The Civil War was in large measure a political battle between the power of the state governments vs. the power of the national government. Upon the conclusion of the Civil War, the power of the national government ascended, and continued to ascend during most of the 20th Century because of increased industrialization and commercialization, and the need for regulatory power. Citing the text and cases (no outside research necessary), compose an essay on what you think is the future of federalism. Will the historical trajectory of national power continue (particularly in light of the increased threat to security posed by international terrorism)? Will this trajectory end in light of increasing public awareness that the "one size fits all" approach of national programs is locally ineffective? Or will state authority increase in some areas and decrease in others (if so, what ones)?