Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
the role of federalism
the role of federalism
the role of federalism
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: the role of federalism
The Evolution of Federalism American federalism has changed drastically since its genesis. In 1776 the thirteen colonies adopted the Articles of Confederation in order to coordinate their efforts in the war for independence. The Articles of Confederation bound the states together in two main aspects; foreign and military affairs. The Articles of Confederation worked well while all the states had a common cause. However, as soon as the war ended and interests began to change, it became obvious that the Articles were not enough. This brings on the creation of Federalism (Reinventing American Federalism). In May of 1787, in the city of Philadelphia, delegates from all thirteen states met in order to “create a more perfect union”. The result was the Constitution of the United States. Delegates debated over which form of government would best suit both the security, and the freedom that many sought in this new government. The delegates rejected both confederal and unitary models of government for a new form of government called federalism. Federalism differs from the former two in that, unlike the unitary form of government, which is ruled by a central government, federalism is not based on a hierarchy in which the state levels of government perform the duties and tasks handed down by the central governmental system. Also, unlike the confederal system which gave all power to the states, only some of the power would be granted to the states. The federal government would handle foreign affairs, trade, military, and the economy (Reinventing American Federalism). Throughout the first half century of federalism, many argued over the roles that the federal and the state systems should play. By the time of the civil war, slavery was at the top of the debate. Should slavery be a national or a state issue? The end of the civil war brought an answer to this debate with the addition of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments (Hyde). These amendments ended slavery, and reduced the power of the states over civil rights matters. The federal government started taking on a bigger role in the turn of the twentieth century. President Roosevelt expanded federal authority with his New Deal program. The New Deal program was funded by the federal government, but administered by the states. This brought on the grant-in-aid system, a system in which the federa... ... middle of paper ... ...through the minds of every one of those delegates in Philadelphia. These questions are still being debated today. The role of the government is constantly changing. It has the great ability to adapt to the needs of the people. During the great depression, the federal government stepped in and gave aid to the needy. During the struggle for equality, the federal government gave rights to minorities when states would not. Federalism is perhaps the greatest form of government by the people and for the people because of its evolution. Because people and society change, so must the form of government that presides over them. Federalism allows the flexibility to do so. Works Cited Hyde, Henry. The Constitution of the United States of America. Washington: United States Government Printing Office, 2000. Reinventing American Federalism. Issues of Democracy: Electronic Journals of the U.S. Information Agency. April, 1997 Volume 2, Issue 2. Sidlow, Edward, and Beth Henshcen eds. America at Odds 4th ed. California: Wadsworth, Thomas Learning, 2004. Simon, Dennis. The Civil Rights Movement, March 26, 2005. http://faculty.smu.edu/dsimon/Change-Civ%20Rts.html
When the United States declared itself a sovereign nation, the Articles of Confederation were drafted to serve as the nations first Constitution.Under these Articles, the states held most of the power; but due to an almost absent centralized government, colonists were ill-equipped to deal with such practices as regulating trade both between states and internationally, levying taxes, solving inter-state disputes, negotiating with foreign nations, and most importantly enforcing laws under the current notion of "Congress". Realizing that there were several deficiencies in the current system of self-government, the states appointed delegates to ratify the situation and come up with a way to attain the aforementioned practices they needed to be a functional independent nation.
More and more states became interested in these changes and decided to meet in Philadelphia on May 25, 1787. On this date the Constitutional Convention was held and the U.S Constitution was presented as a new plan of government that would completely replace the old system. This new plan called for a strong central government that would have highest authority on legislation and implementing laws. The federalist papers supported the choice to replace the Articles of Confederation and advocated for a strong central government. They persuaded citizens that this new form of government would build a stronger national unity and it would provide greater protection overall.
The federalists view saw the republicans view as a weakness. They insisted on a stronger common government. The federalists had an understanding that there could only be one sovereign in a political system, one final authority that everyone must obey and no one can appeal. They thought this was the only effective way in creating an effective central government. The independent states seemed to think it was clear that each one of them were independently sovereign, although based on history only small countries were suitable for the republican government. With history proving the republicans wrong for trying to create a republican government in the states the federalists were slowly trying to create a stronger central government. There first step was making the sovereign states agree to the Articles of Confederation which established a close alliance of independent states. The federalist central government was referred to as a “confederacy”.
federalism is, in a way defeated. It is put there for the poeple and if those people do not
Following the failure of the Articles of Confederation, a debate arose discussing how a centralized government ought to be organized. The prevailing opinion ultimately belonged to the Federalists, whose philosophy was famously outlined in The Federalist Papers. Recognizing that in a free nation, man would naturally divide himself into factions, they chose not to remedy this problem by stopping it at its source; instead, they would limit its effects by placing strict structural safeguards within the government's framework. The Federalists defined a facti...
...arisen in the form of unfunded mandates. The federal government has created national directives, but occasionally failed in providing the necessary funding. As a result, its power in cooperative federalism may be compromised as it is not keeping up its end of the bargain. States and local governments have been forced to shoulder the costs of these programs (Ginsberg and Lowi et al. 83). This may result into modifications of national directives to match local desires, which may negate the principles of this federalism. However, the program has been mostly successful. Alongside the New Deal, it assisted many Americans to regain employment. In essence, it has improved the outlook of the national economy since the 1930s.
In conclusion, a system based on balanced federalism was originally envisioned by the founders and serves as the best option for an efficient government. It is essential for the powers to be distributed in a manner where states deal with state matters and the national government does not overstep its role as the organizational factor in the system. As for the recent shift towards a central government one can only hope that the nation takes caution as it proceeds and that power transfers back to equilibrium between the federal and state governments.
The year of 1776 was a time of revolution, independence, and patriotism. American colonists had severed their umbilical cord to the Mother Country and declared themselves “Free and Independent States”.1 The chains of monarchy had been thrown off and a new government was formed. Shying away from a totalitarian government, the Second Continental Congress drafted a document called the Articles of Confederation which established a loose union of the states. It was an attempt at self-government that ended in failure. The Articles of Confederation had many defects which included a weak central government that lacked the power to tax, regulate trade, required equal representation and a unanimous vote to amend the Articles, and had only a legislative branch. As a result the United States lacked respect from foreign countries. These flaws were so severe that a new government had to be drafted and as a result the Constitution was born. This document remedied the weak points of the federal government and created one that was strong and fair, yet still governed by the people.
Federalism can come in different forms, ideas, and interpretations, but regardless of your preference it separates the power held within our country. In any structure there must always be a way to distinguish between who has the authority over another in order to govern effectively. While there may be some cases where federalism does not seem to provide us with such a straight forward answer, such as medical marijuana and universal health care, it still does not take away from the fact that it is there and available for us to come together on important issues.
Federalism is a political system in which power is divided between the central and regional units (Keeping the republic). Although no written word exists in the Constitution to record federalism along with clarifying its function, federalism was relevant to the nation extremely. The concept of federalism and state's right is expressed in the Constitution's Tenth Amendment, which was also part of the bill of rights. Federalism creates a consistently adopting compromise between advocates of a strong national government and advocates of strong state government (Keeping the republic).
A federalist government works for America because the states are constantly going to be fighting for so much power over each other and this helps them not gain the power. Federalism is used for larger and more populated countries, because they have more diverse and cultural needs. That is another reason federalism in American has worked positively. American Federalism has really adopted democracy with the way leaders are voted in for the governmental powers. There was also an established election process where the people vote for the leaders of the national government as well as state.
The United States Government is beloved to all Americans, in the simple fact that all men are created equal and all men are given equal opportunity, to aspire to achieve success and make their dreams come true. Although the percentage of people who achieve all of their goals in life is fairly small, they have the freedom to chase them and America for the most part is a pretty content place. The “law of the land” that sets the standards for our rights and privileges is the U.S. Constitution.
Federalism was selected as the most appealing system of government in 1787, primarily because of lack of feasible alternatives. Confederacy had been tried by the 13 states under the Articles of Confederation, and found to be lacking, in that it did not provide adequate cohesiveness between the individual nation-states. However, widespread loyalty to state government and identity prevented the adoption of a fully unitary system. Instead, founders chose federalism as a moderate option which could best meet the needs of a people desiring national unity, but demanding local representation and authority as well. Further consideration revealed the multiple benefits of a federalist system. Federalism provides a significant obstacle for absolutism. The various levels of government and their allotted capabilities provide firewalls against the rapid spread of extremism and radical political mutation. The national government has the ability to check such a transformation as it moves from state to state. Each comprises a separate entity, which can be influenced independently of its neighbors. On the flip side, if a certain political party is ousted from the national government, it is still likely to carry support on the state level, preventing ideological annihilation. Thus the capacity for tyranny is curbed no matter where it originates. Federalism supports union without destroying state identity. Issues can be debated on a state level, before they are addressed on a national scale. Local proceedings affect the position which state legislators take on a national scale. Not all states or parties must be in agreement on the national level, and the conclusions reached by individual states can be compared as they relate to the nation as a whole. With federalism, the results of policies enacted on a state level can be examined before being applied on a nationwide scale. This allows states the opportunity to pioneer reform and to take steps in desired directions ahead of the remainder of the country. Again, federalism provides a firewall affect, by limiting the destructive potential of original legislation. If the experiment goes awry, its negative impact is limited to the parent state. Successful enterprises can be readily inspected and adopted by other states as they see fit. Solutions to nationwide issues can be tested on the state level be...
Federalism is a system of government in which power is shared between the state and national governments. The power of the national government is superior to the state and local government power. In fear of creating a government resembling that of Great Britain, the colonists wanted to stay away from a unitary system of government, which is when power is focused in one government. The Article of Confederation presented the opposite form of government employed by Britain. The articles proposed a confederation where the central government was weak and the state governments were strong. It can be perceived that federalism is a compromise between the two types of government. Power, thus, is shared by the national and state governments. The Constitution
In conclusion Federalism is a big part of our country. Federalism does have its pros and cons but it’s safe to say that it has so far worked out fairly well. Still, we must keep in mind that federalism does affects our everyday lives and many times we take for granted that the individual in political parties will make the right decisions for the well-being of the public, though at times it is not always be the case. We must remember that for change to happen we must be involved and ready to learn and see and understand ways that we can make a difference, for at the end of the day it is our lives that are affected with every single decision that is made.