Nixon´s New Federalism was the answer to President Lyndon B. Johnson´s Creative Federalism. The main objective for Nixon was to stop the growth of the government, and its increasing centralization during the previous administration.
By doing this, Nixon wanted to return power to the State and elected local officials, while decentralizing the Federal Government. In 1972, a process called General Revenue Sharing (GRS) was signed into law in which federal Aid was the principal target. By using revenue sharing and block grants now, State and local officials receive this money which allow them to spend it as they saw fit.
Nixon´s federalism initiative was somehow successful in giving the State more control while decentralizing Federal Government, but it encountered many obstacles in the Democratic controlled Congress, which still managed to increment grant programs even after the General Revenue Sharing law approval.
