Federalism: concepts, structures, and applications

¶ … approval of the constitution of the United States, as per which the establishment of the union of states took place, which was to be monitored by the federal system of governance, therefore have been considerable arguments regarding the nature of the union, and the limitations and extent of the powers, privileges, duties, and responsibilities which have been granted by the constitution to the national government, state and the people. During the pre-federalism period, the United States fought war for independence against the Britain, and was successful in its attempt to establish 'a confederation form of government that created a league of sovereign states' (Michael, 2001). The shortcomings and concerns of the legislators against the provisions listed in the Articles of Confederation 'prompted its repeal and the ratification of a new Constitution creating a federal system of government comprised of a national government and states' (McGuire, 1983) was devised and implemented in the later stage. The adoption of the constitution resulted in discussion on issues pertaining to the state sovereignty and the supremacy of federal authority which was responsible for the civil War. The period from 1789 to 1901 has been regarded as the era of Dual Federalism, 'it has been characterized as an era during which there was little collaboration between the national and state governments' (James, 1993). The period from 1901 to 1960 has regarded as Cooperative Federalism, 'this period was marked by greater cooperation and collaboration between the various levels of government, it was during this era that the national income tax and the grant-in-aid system were authorized in response to social and economic problems confronting the nation' (McGuire, 1983). The President Lyndon Johnson Administration has termed the period from 1960 to 1968 as Creative Federalism, 'the President Johnson's Creative Federalism as embodied in his Great Society program, was, by most scholars' (Michael, 2001) assessments, a major departure from the past, it further shifted the power relationship between governmental levels toward the national government through the expansion of grant-in-aid system and the increasing use of regulations' (Stone, 1989). The Contemporary Federalism ranged from the 1970 to the present, and 'has been characterized by shifts in the intergovernmental grant system, the growth of unfunded federal mandates, concerns about federal regulations, and continuing disputes over the nature of the federal system' (James, 1993).

In 1789, exactly eight years after the 'ratification of the Articles of Confederation, which established a league of sovereign states, and thirteen years after the approval of Declaration of Independence the nation repealed the Articles of Confederation and ratified a new Constitution creating the United States'. According to James Q. Wilson and John DiIulio, Jr., the federalism has been explained as 'the system of government in which sovereignty is shared between two or more levels of government so that on some matters the national government is supreme and on others the states, regions, or provincial governments are supreme'. The essential features associated with the characterization of the federal system of governance includes, 'there must be a provision for more than one level of government to act simultaneously on the same territory and on the same citizens' (Michael, 2001). The federal system of United States essentially includes the national government and the fifty states, which are formally recognized and approved by the Constitution. However the system of local governments, which has not been formally approved by the Constitution, is 'nevertheless key players in American federalism'(Stone, 1989), whereas 'their power to regulate and legislate is derived from state Constitutions' (James, 1993). The government of the nation is required to develop and exercise its 'own authority and sphere of power, though they may overlap' (Gerry, 1992). In case if the interests of the state and the federal authority overlap, and there is possibility of the conflict, 'federal law is supreme under the Constitution i.e. Article I, Sec. 8 of the Constitution delegates certain enumerated powers to the national government that includes the exclusive power to mint currency, establish and maintain an army and navy, declare war, regulate interstate commerce, establish post offices, establish the seat of national government, and enter into treaties', which can be further explained as "the Constitution reserves powers not granted to the national government to states, or the people, and it establishes certain concurrent powers to be shared between state and national governments including the power to tax' (McGuire, 1983). The Constitution has prohibited the execution of the certain powers or actions by the state and national federal, and restriction has been imposed and the authority has been curtailed on the issues relevant to the 'provisions for the grant of permission to use private land without just compensation; establishing a national religion; or prohibiting the free exercise of religion' (McGuire, 1983). Thirdly, the federal and state government do not enjoy the authority to abolish the respective governments, in order to avert the crisis in which 'the Civil War was fought not only on the question of slavery but also central to the conflict were questions of states' sovereignty including the power to nullify federal laws or dissolve the Union' (James, 1993).

PRE-FEDERALISM PERIOD

During this period, the colonists were successful in the War of Independence, and were able to establish a national government 'under the Articles of Confederation' (Stone, 1989). The state government was disenchanted with the functioning and performance of the national government, therefore the state government introduced Constitutional Convention which was exclusively aimed at the resolution of the concerns and deficiencies in the Articles of Confederation, however the delegation refuted the demand and its validity, and instead 'drafted and the states ratified, a new Constitution that created a federal system of government'. In 1776 Declaration of Independence was approved in the midst of the Revolutionary War during the period of 1775-1783, in which 'each of the former colonies also established state governments to replace the colonial charters and the Continental Congress was given the power to carry on the war effort' (Gerry, 1992). In 1777, Drafting Articles of Confederation were incorporated, and 'the Continental Congress drafted the Articles of Confederation, which defined the powers of the Congress' (McGuire, 1983), the Confederation or League of States was established which was state-centered rather than nation-centered. In 1781, the States approved Articles of Confederation. The article incorporated provisions which provided Congress with legislative, judicial, and executive powers. The composition of the Confederation was revised, and single representation for every state was legalized, and powers of the central government were restricted, and the state was given the discretion to 'to levy taxes and regulate commerce'. The power to declare the war, propose treaties and the maintenance of the defense forces was authorized to the Confederation Congress, 'the Articles of Confederation had several noteworthy flaws that made it ineffective i.e. It did not provide for an executive to administer the government, and the national government lacked the power to tax, and it lacked the power to regulate commerce' (Gerry, 1992).

In 1786, certain modifications were incorporated in the Articles of Confederation, which was prompted by the 'post- Revolutionary War economic depression; rebellion in Massachusetts among debt ridden former soldiers, led by Daniel Shays; concerns about the ability of the Confederation to support its currency or meet domestic and foreign debt incurred during the war; issues surrounding westward expansion; and state tariff conflicts' (Sergio, 2005). During the same period, 'a group later known as Federalists and including James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, sought support for a strong central government that could deal with internal insurrections, arbitrate state tariff conflicts and other conflicts among states, and manage westward expansion'. The members of the group demanded a Constitutional Convention in 1787 to amend and revise the specific clauses of the Articles of Confederation.

In 1787 new Constitution was drafted, specific amendments were incorporated and central government system was legalized, 'in order to form a more perfect union, was given additional powers that included the power to levy taxes and control commerce among states and with foreign countries' (Robert, 1983). The constitution established three equivalent and independent branches of the government namely, executive, judicial, and legislative, 'the Constitution called for the creation of a legislative branch composed of two chambers and the members of the House of Representative from each state were to be elected by the people of that state based on state population, and the Senate would be comprised of two Senators from each state elected by their respective state legislatures'. The constitution further incorporated provisions aimed at ensuring the supremacy of the federal laws (Article VI), and 'recognized state powers and the power of the people' (Robert, 1983). In 1787 and 1788, there was a launch of campaign for new constitution, and publication of the Federalist took placed in which the philosophical underpinning in support of the new Constitution was observed. During the similar period the publication of the Anti-Federalists took place, in which arguments were proposed 'for support of a federal system of governance that would protect the state governments from the tyranny of the national government' (Sergio, 2005), the publication of the such articles inspired and motivated the public which eventually resulted in the evolution of the Democratic Republican party 'that ascended to power with the election of Thomas Jefferson in 1801' (Robert, 1983).

DUAL FEDERALISM PHASE

The Dual Federalism is the reflection of the ideology that stressed over the balance of powers between the national and state governments, and considers both the governments as 'equal partners with separate and distinct spheres of authority' (Sergio, 2005). Previously, the 'federal or national government was limited in its authority to those powers enumerated in the Constitution', and it was evident that there was partial understanding and correspondence between the national and stat. There existed little collaboration between the national and state governments, which resulted in the 'occasional tensions over the nature of the union and the doctrine of nullification and state sovereignty'.

In 1789, the Constitution was approved by the States; ratification of the conventions convened took place. The period from 1789 to 1801 has been regarded as the Federalist Perios, 'the period takes its name from the dominant political party of the time, which believed in a strong central government. Its leaders included George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and John Adams. They were opposed by Anti-Federalists or Democratic Republicans, such as Thomas Jefferson, who argued against a strong central government and for state centered governance' (Sergio, 2005). In 1790, the responsibility related to the war debt was assigned to the federal government, which was regarded as a form of federal aid. The Tenth Amendment was incorporated, which 'protected the rights of the states and declared that all powers not expressly delegated to the central government by the Constitution were reserved for the states; this laid the foundation for the concepts of states rights, limited national government, and dual spheres of authority between state and national governments'. In 1798, the Doctrine of Nullification was incorporated, 'Federalist-controlled Congress in 1798 passed the Alien2 and Sedition3 Acts in an attempt to silence Democratic-Republican critics of the undeclared war with France', 'the doctrine of nullification held that 'any state could suspend within its boundaries the operation or implementation of any federal law it deemed to be unconstitutional'. In 1815, the Rights Doctrine was incorporated, 'The Hartford Convention, which was called to protest the economic hardships endured by New England states during the War of 1812, attempted to assert the states rights doctrine. The convention urged states to protect citizens against the acts of Congress not authorized in the Constitution' (Sergio, 2005).

In 1819, the Doctrine of Implied Powers was introduced, and essential amendments related to clause of Article I of the Constitution. In 1891, the Supreme Court approved unanimously the constitutional authority of the National government to establish a national bank, 'acknowledged that the national government was limited to powers enumerated in the Constitution, but stated that Article I also allowed the national government to pass such laws necessary and proper to carry out powers and duties enumerated by the Constitution'. The federalism was strengthen and experienced a major boost when the Supreme Court give a positive ruling in the favor of the federal government, and 'interpretation of the Constitution was premised on the notion that the national government was the creation of the people and not the states and that Article VI established federal law as the supreme law of the land, and the power to tax involves the power to destroy' (Sergio, 2005).