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¶ … Federalism in U.S. History
The word federal denotes alliances between independent sovereignties. "The Oxford Guide to the U.S. Government," an important source for any student or teacher of history, describes federalism in the United States as "the division of governmental powers between the national and state governments." "The Oxford Guide" informs us that "state governments can neither ignore nor contradict federal statutes that conform to the supreme law, the Constitution." Unlike a confederation, a federal republic does not permit a state to have full or primary sovereignty over its internal affairs. If a conflict exists between the state and federal government, the supremacy clause mandates that federal laws are supreme. The powers of the central or national government typically are enumerated in a written constitution. Under the U.S. Constitution, any powers not specifically granted to the national government are presumed to be retained by state governments. State...
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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…
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
While abortion is not banned, it is not encouraged either. Its lack of acknowledgment at the state and local policy level demonstrates the lack of priority or evasion of the government to acknowledge abortion as a healthcare service that must be stated specifically as a subsidized service by the federal government. Interestingly, with the approval and passage of the Affordable Care Act (or "Obamacare"), federal policy on abortion remains vague
President Thomas Jefferson offered Napoleon the emperor of France $2 million dollars for the region around the mouth of the Mississippi River, which included the port of and city of New Orleans. Ohio Valley farmers relied heavily on admittance to New Orleans, and President Thomas Jefferson wanted to guard these farmers, because they sent their crops down the Mississippi River to New Orleans, from which ships took the products
In years to come, the slavery system would be abolished and African-Americans would eventually achieved equality in their own country and with their fellow white Americans, demonstrating the 'balanced' role that the U.S. government assumed in ensuring that Americans' interests are taken into consideration without causing detriment to other groups and individuals (pro or against the slavery system). Slavery is just one aspect of America's history wherein balanced representation of
However, post-Reconstruction, 'states rights' often became a code word for Jim Crow legislation. Southern states demanded the 'right' for the majority to engage in de facto segregation of schools and to institute limits upon how voting rights were exercised. Many Americans do not know that the Bill of Rights originally was only intended to govern the actions of the federal government, not the states. "The debate over whether the Fourteenth
Federalism Throughout American history the power of the federal government in comparison with the states has been continually debated. This is because there is a principal known as the separation of powers. In the Constitution, this is reserving certain areas of authority for the federal and state governments. The problem is that many of these powers can often come into conflict with one another on a regular basis. As the
So, although the two entities are linked by the constitution, it is essential that the federal government provide the state governments with the means to carry out their own policies, and this needs to be done in a nearly equal manner relative to each of the elemental components. Overall, if a is considered to be the state government, and B. is the federal government: The federal relation or federalism will