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The role of federalism
Essay over the complexity of federalism
Features of federalism within the USA
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Another matter concerning federalism is social welfare programs. The consequent division of government power between national-state level have left it unclear who should be held responsible for issues regarding social welfare. It accounts for the complexity of administering the social welfare programs within a shared authority system, especially when it comes to both joint and individually funded programs. Also, federalism leads to impartiality in many program coverage concerning seniors’ benefits, one’s eligibility requirements and different rules in each state.
Contrary to popular belief that the federal government’s military control is supreme and the states’ role is irrelevant, there is definitely a struggle of power between them. For
example, the FBI is carrying out an investigation on suspected terrorists. Although the FBI have the authority to conduct investigations on terrorism, they cannot complete this mission without the help of local armed forces. Therefore, they partner with state or local agencies and other federal government forces such as the Coast Guard, or Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Customs and Border Protection. Then, they share information with each other as well as additional local law enforcement. So, while the federal government has the lead in investigating terrorism, many preliminary investigations are conducted through partnership with state and local agencies with no direct control or supervision. After all, state and local bodies are the very first lines of defense who are directly responsible for the public safety within their jurisdictions.
On September 28, 1787 Confederation Congress sent out the draft of the Constitution. This was the first time in history for the people to debate, discuss, and decide with a vote for how they wanted to be governed. There were two groups that debated the thought of the Constitution. They were called Federalists and anti-Federalists.
Eric Foner claims the definition of Federalism refers to the relationship between the national government and the states. Unlike the Constitution, the Articles of Confederation came with many weaknesses. Some provided by our powerpoint include that the Federal government had no power to make the states obey the Articles and laws that were passed by the legislature. The states also had the power to tax, and the opportunity to print their own money. Our powerpoint focuses on the $10 million Congress owed to other countries, as well as the $40 million it owed to the American veterans. The Constitution differed. Foner states that not only did the Constitution enhance national authority, but it also permitted Congress to levy taxes, conduct commerce, confirm war, deal with the foreign nations and Indians, and rent and help the “general welfare”. According to the powerpoint, Federalists focused on the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.
Throughout the 20th century governmental responsibility has made remarkable progress. One major milestone of the widening of the responsibility of the federal government was it’s making an obligation to care for the elderly and retired in the form of social security. In 1935, the Social Security Act was enacted by the federal government to provide financial security to the elderly, retired citizens in America. Although the federal government first took on this responsibility in 1935, it is still affecting our lives today. However, social security would not have advanced this far without many organizations and individual reformers to begin and improve social security throughout history.
Between the fall (September) of 1787 and spring (May) of 1790 , the delegates of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, PA presented a ratification platform to the American public. The proposed Constitution marked a clear separation from the Articles of Confederation, which created a federal “league of friendship” between the thirteen independent states. The newly proposed Constitution would make the United States have a stronger national presence to all the states rather than a loose confederation of states. The proposed Constitution, and the change created one of the greatest political splits and debates in history. These debates created an anti-federalist and federalist movement. The Anti-federalists on one side objecting to the
Some of the advantages of having a federal government are that the national level of government can work on the bigger picture tasks while the state government solve the local and specific issues, so that each departments time can be used wisely and efficiently. Furthermore, if citizens took their everyday problems to the national level, then the national government would be over worked and the citizen might have to travel far to even reach the states capital. Each side of the
The Age of Federalism written by two highly skilled historians Stanley Elkins and Eric Mckitrick describes how the country advance from just an idea to a working republic. In different ways, this story is about the evolution of two party system. It is surprising how the political organizations quickly became an integral party of a democratic system, but they did this regardless of warnings against political factions by American leaders who was afraid for the diverse impact it may have on the emerging republic. This book was written in order to give an analytical survey of the nation’s crucial decade under the constitution. This book provides a historical account of political, military, economic, cultural and diplomatic problems that faced the new nation. These issues are examined in the book from different point of views. The authors conducted a well-organized research using hundreds of sources such as, government documents, US documents, statesman’s papers, doctoral dissertations and newspaper articles. This book attempts to explore the great figures that played a major role in shaping this remarkable era. The authors did this in order to know them better and accurately interpret their behaviors. The book reveals Jefferson, Hamilton, Madison and Adams to be more complex, spirited and contradictory more than other
To define the terminology of federalism to a simplistic way is the sharing of sovereignty between the national government and the local government. It is often described as the dual sovereignty of governments between the national and the local to exert power in the political system. In the US it is often been justified as one of the first to introduce federalism by the ‘founding fathers’ which were developed in order to escape from the overpowered central government. However, federalism in the United States is hitherto uncertain where the power lies in the contemporary political system. In this essay I will outline and explain how power relationship alternates between states and federal government. Moreover I will also discuss my perspective by weighing the evidence based upon resources. Based on these resources, it will aid me to evaluate the recent development in the federal-state relationship.
American politics is often defined by a continuing power conflict between the executive and the legislative branches of the government. This struggle for political power between the two stronger branches of the three is inherent in the Constitution, itself. The concepts of separation of powers and checks and balances ensure that the branches of government will remain in conflict and provide a balance that keeps the entire government under control. As it was first established, the executive branch was much smaller and weaker than as we know it today. Consequently, the legislative branch was unquestionably dominant. Over the course of history, the executive branch grew in both size and power to the point where it occasionally overtook the legislative and today rivals the legislative in a much closer political battle. Today both branches have major factors that contribute to their power, but on the whole the legislative remains the lastingly dominant branch.
This mini-paper will discuss the social welfare system. The mini-paper includes a discussion of welfare Policy, residual and institutional approach, and what is Social Welfare and Social Security. Midgely, (2009), pointed out that social welfare systems deliver services that facilitate and empower our society, especially to those persons who require assistance in meeting their basic human needs. The goal of social welfare is to provide social services to citizens from diverse cultures, and examples include Medicare, Medicaid, and food benefits. Midgley,( 2009).
The opposing argument serves as a perfect gateway to the topic of relationship between Federal and State government. In the United States, the Supremacy Clause serves...
Around the late 1780s, America realized that the government it was using did not work. The States were divided, not together since the Articles of Confederation only loosely bound them together. Each State had different foreign treaties, different laws, even different money. The Constitution was proposed, which would transform the states into a united nation with a single, republican government. Two parties arose who disagreed over whether it should be ratified or not; the federalists and the anti-federalists. The federalists were in favor of unifying the states into one government. The anti-federalists, on the other hand, wanted to fix the Articles of Confederation instead of throwing them out and creating a new government. The two sides had
In May of 1787, in the city of Philadelphia, the delegates from all of the thirteen states held a meeting in order to make a better union. The end result was the Constitution of the United States. The delegates discussed which form of government would be the best suited for both the security, and the freedom that many had wanted to add to this new government. The delegates had denied both the confederal and the unitary forms of the new government for the new form which is called Federalism. Which was to be described as the constitutional relationship between the United States and the Federal government. Federalism is different from the other two types of government, unlike the unitary form of government, which is ruled by the central government,
Federalism, by definition, is the division of government authority between at least two levels of government. In the United States, authority is divided between the state and national government. “Advocates of a strong federal system believe that the state and local governments do not have the sophistication to deal with the major problems facing the country” (Encarta.com).
In spite of the prominence of the states in everyday life, the most demanding public policy questions former to the American Civil War involved discussions over the possibility of national power with most Americans believing it should remain partial. Yet federalism was still the center of political arguments. The Constitution did not report if states did nor did not reserve any remaining sovereignty in the powers given to the national government. The fact that the states were much more capable in accomplishing governmental purposes adequately t...
Federalism is a legal concept that is centered around the concept that law is best handled as a two layered responsibility. Federalism is also built on a belief that sharing power with the local government is key to a successful governance. According to the text book, “the United States was the first nation to adopt federalism as its governing framework” (pg83). The following are a few examples of some advantages, as well as disadvantages of Federalism.