Sources used in this document:

Main Part: 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 (Constitutional Topic: Federalism, 2010, p. 1). Although it was not directly named in the Constitution, federalism is a central principle of government in the United States of America (Drake & Nelson ibid). The U.S. federal system has five basic characteristics (Drake & Nelson, May 2002, pp. 1f.): 1) Federalism provides a division of legal authority between state and national governments. Overlap occurs, but two legally distinct spheres of government exist.

2) The states are subordinate to the national government in such areas as management of foreign affairs and regulation of interstate commerce. 3) Federalism enables positive cooperation between state and national governments in programs pertaining to education, interstate highway construction, environmental protection and health, unemployment, and social security concerns. 4) The U.S. Supreme Court serves as legal arbiter of the federal system in regard to conflicting claims of state and national governments. 5) The two levels of government exercise direct authority simultaneously over people within their territory. The principle of American federalism, created in the eighteenth century, was bold and has greatly affected U.S. history. Its influence continues today (Drake & Nelson, May 2002, p. 2).

Main Part: Federalism in the United States has evolved quite a bit since it was first implemented in 1787. Pre-Federalism Period: 1775-1789. During that period, the former colonists successfully fought the War of Independence and established a government under the Articles of the Confederation. Disenchanted with the deficiencies of the Articles of Confederation, delegates drafted and the states ratified a new Constitution that created a federal system of government. (Drake & Nelson, May 2002, p. 3). Political scientists define two types of federalism in the history of the United States: dual and cooperative. From a vantage point, federalism can be viewed as a "layer" cake (dual); from another it may be pictured as a "rainbow" or "marble" cake (cooperative) (see Drake & Nelson, May 2002, p. 2). Dual Federalism Phase Part I: 1789 -- 1865. Dual federalism holds that the federal government and the state governments are co-equals, each sovereign. Dual federalism was necessary because parts of the Constitution needed to be interpreted very narrowly, such as the 10th Amendment, the Supremacy Clause, the Necessary and Proper Clause, and the Commerce Clause. In this narrow interpretation, the