Free Essays on Federalism

Federalism is a basic provision of the U.S. Constitution. The founding fathers included this principal in their outline for the nation’s government in order to prevent a single centralized power from becoming overbearing. However, although at the time the Constitution was written federalism seemed like the answer to a number of problems, it does not always work in today’s modern world. Federalism, which come from the Latin foedus or â€Å"covenant†, is: one, the philosophy that describes the governmental system created by the Framers, and two, the sharing of power between the states and the national government (Marshall, 2). When the government was formed in 1787, the Constitution delegated limited or enumerated powers to the national government. Some of these enumerated powers granted included the right to coin money, conduct foreign relations and declare war. The Necessary and Proper clause also reserved any additional â€Å"implied powers† that the national government may deem necessary to carry out its enumerated powers. Four years later when the bill of rights was ratified, all remaining powers were granted to the states. Such state responsibilities include police power, managing budgets and enforcing laws in policy areas (Marshall 2). Other powers, such as taxation, establishing courts and chartering banks and corporations are powers shared by both powers. Ultimately, due to the way that the Framers designed the government, both the state and national powers are directly accountable to the people. Worldwide, government has been divided into three basic types: unitary, confederate and federal. Unitary is the most prevalent. In this system, the vast majority of power is held at the national level and very little is left to the small political subdivisions. An obvious example of a unitary government system is that of Great Britain. Confederations are the least popular type of government. In a confederation, all st... Free Essays on Federalism Free Essays on Federalism After the Revolutionary War the United States of America was a new nation free of the power of the British King. The country’s leader wanted a government whose powers rested in the hands of the people and not the national government. They did not want to live in a country where one ruler dictated what the nation was going to do and how they were going to do it. They decided that a federal government based on federalism would be the government for their new country. Federalism is a two level, or more government that specific powers are specified in the constitution for each level. # Federalism has been through changes since the Constitution of the United States was written in 1787. Our forefathers started this country on a dual federalism, in which the state and national governments have separate areas of authority. Under this type of federalism the national government had only the powers enumerated to them by the Constitution. The powers to coin money, regulate foreign and interstate commerce, establish a post office, declare war, and to spend the money necessary to promote the common good of the people of the United States were all stated in the Constitution.# The State government’s powers were strictly written in the Constitution under the Tenth Amendment , which reserved all other powers â€Å" to the states respectively or to the people.† These reserved powers written in the Constitution allow the States to have more powers on the general welfare of the citizens of this country. The States have the Power to administer the election process, conduct most court trials, operate the public school systems, and to maintain most of the public services in America. # # Harrigan, John J. & Nice, David C. Politics and Policy in States and Communities. Eighth Edition. Pearson and Longman, 2004. # Keefe, William J. Parties, Politics, and Public Policy in America. Eighth Edition. Congressional Qu... Free Essays on Federalism Federalism is a basic provision of the U.S. Constitution. The founding fathers included this principal in their outline for the nation’s government in order to prevent a single centralized power from becoming overbearing. However, although at the time the Constitution was written federalism seemed like the answer to a number of problems, it does not always work in today’s modern world. Federalism, which come from the Latin foedus or â€Å"covenant†, is: one, the philosophy that describes the governmental system created by the Framers, and two, the sharing of power between the states and the national government (Marshall, 2). When the government was formed in 1787, the Constitution delegated limited or enumerated powers to the national government. Some of these enumerated powers granted included the right to coin money, conduct foreign relations and declare war. The Necessary and Proper clause also reserved any additional â€Å"implied powers† that the national government may deem necessary to carry out its enumerated powers. Four years later when the bill of rights was ratified, all remaining powers were granted to the states. Such state responsibilities include police power, managing budgets and enforcing laws in policy areas (Marshall 2). Other powers, such as taxation, establishing courts and chartering banks and corporations are powers shared by both powers. Ultimately, due to the way that the Framers designed the government, both the state and national powers are directly accountable to the people. Worldwide, government has been divided into three basic types: unitary, confederate and federal. Unitary is the most prevalent. In this system, the vast majority of power is held at the national level and very little is left to the small political subdivisions. An obvious example of a unitary government system is that of Great Britain. Confederations are the least popular type of government. In a confederation, all st...