American Government Online Textbook Published by: US History
Federalism is one of the most important and innovative concepts in the U.S. Constitution, although the word never appears there. Federalism is the sharing of power between national and state governments. In America, the states existed first, and they struggled to create a national government. The U.S. Constitution is hardwired with the tensions of that struggle, and Americans still debate the proper role of the national government versus the states. “The maze of national and state regulations results from federalism — the decision made by the Founders to split power between state and national governments. As James Madison explained in the "Federalist Papers," our government is "neither wholly national nor wholly federal" (US History). Both the national government and the smaller political subdivisions have the power to make laws and both have a certain level of autonomy from each other. The United States has a federal system of governance consisting of the national or federal government, and the government of the individual states. The U.S. Constitution grants the federal government with power over issues of national concern, while the state governments, generally, have jurisdiction over issues of domestic concern. “In creating a federalist system the founders were reacting to both the British government and the Articles of Confederation. The British government was and remains a Unitary System or one in which power is concentrated in a central government” (US History). The Constitution grants Congress the power to levy taxes, mint money, declare war, establish post offices, and punish piracies on the high seas. Any action by the federal government must fall within one of the powers enumerated in the Constitution. For example, the federal government can regulate interstate commerce pursuant to the Commerce Clause of the Constitution but has no power to regulate commerce that occurs only within a single state. “The Articles of Confederation represented an opposite form of government, which has a weak central government and strong state governments. In a confederation, the state or local government is supreme. The national government only wields powers granted by the states. Most confederations have allowed the local government to nullify a federal law within its own borders” (US History).
Federalism Published by: Wikipedia
The third major system is the federal system. In a federal system, the national government holds significant power, but the smaller political subdivisions also hold significant power. The United States, Canada, Australia, and Brazil are examples of federal systems. Is any one of these better than the other? That is a matter of opinion. Suffice it to say that each has its positives and negatives, and as such, the choice for which to use in any particular nation depends on the nation, its people, and its existing political subdivisions. The United States was a series of colonies under the British unitary system; upon the execution of the Revolution, the United States became a confederation under the Article of Confederation and when that system proved unsuccessful, it was transformed into a federal system by the Constitution. "Federalism is a political concept in which a group of members are bound together by covenant (Latin: foedus, covenant) with a governing representative head. The term "federalism" is also used to describe a system of government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and constituent political units (such as states or provinces)” (Wikipedia). The division of power between the member unit and center may vary,
typically the center has powers regarding defense and foreign policy, but
member units may also have international roles. The decision-making bodies of
member units may also participate in central decision-making bodies. “Federalism is a system based upon democratic rules and institutions in which the
power to govern is shared between national and provincial/state governments,
creating what is often called a federation. The term federalist
describes several political beliefs around the world. Also, it may
refer to the concept of parties; its members or supporters called Federalists”
(Wikipedia). A wide-spread interest among political
philosophers in topics concerning the centralized nation state has fuelled
attention to historical contributions on unitary sovereignty. However, we can
also identify a steady stream of contributions to the philosophy of federalism,
also by those better known for their arguments concerning centralized power. “In the United
States, federalism originally referred to belief in a
stronger central government. When the U.S. Constitution was being drafted, the Federalist
Party supported a stronger
central government, while "Anti-Federalists" wanted a
weaker central government. This is very different from the modern usage of
"federalism" in Europe and the United States” (Wikipedia).
What is Federlism? Why is it Important?
By: Jared C. Clark
Federalism is not only important to prevent corruption, but it also helps with little state laws and issues. Federalism is the“division of government powers into state and federal levels” (Clark). Federalism is based on democratic rules. “The original Federalism of the United States was very different from how it appears today” (Clark). People were originally afraid of a strong central government. That’s why “the federal government (used to be) supreme in its sphere” (Clark). That’s when “they created a limited federal government in the U.S. Constitution. The limited federal government is like it says limited, in meaning they aren’t given all the power, so they’re not “supreme” anymore, it’s equal. Federalism used to be the “Servant of the State”, now the“federal government has become master and the states the servant” (Clark). Now the people elected State Representatives, the state no longer does. We elected the people that we best believe will make the correct choices for our futures. When gay marriage was in the hands of the states (before it got handed over to the Supreme Court, judicial branch) the people would vote through the state. We had representative (that we voted in) saying either, “yes” or “no gay marriage will not be legal in our state.” In California we voted yes, gay marriage will be legal in our state and this went thought the State. Federalism grants us the right to wither say yes or no to certain laws.