James Morone's by the People: Debating American

¶ … James Morone's By the People: Debating American Government addresses the meaty topics of federalism and nationalism. These trends in American political discourse have shaped much of American history, and it is crucial to engage in intelligent debates on these topics. Morone does an excellent job of presenting all sides of the debate and allowing readers to make decisions accordingly.

First, Morone presents an overview and definitions of terms, starting with the question, why federalism? The author responds to the prevailing federalist and anti-federalist beliefs by showing why a strong federal government might have been appealing to early American statesmen. In particular, Morone notes that the fragmented colonial governments needed to reconcile their interests in national security and free trade. Federalism arose largely out of practical matters. Choosing federalism often involves making calculated compromises between local self-interests and the resources that can only be generated on a larger scale.

However, Morone points out far more advantages to federalism than what might be obvious on the surface. The author discusses the ways federalism can help protect individual rights and freedoms, offer more choices and opportunities for citizens, prevent dangerous factionalism, and provide for the common defense. It is helpful that Morone provides examples of nations with stronger federal governments than that of the United States, such as the Scandinavian nations.

While there are obviously advantages to federalism, Morone also addresses the disadvantages such as competition between member states, problems related to consistency and coordination of services, and the problems with federal systems in diverse nations like the United States. This is why it can be difficult to compare the United States directly with more homogenous countries like Sweden or Denmark. Federalism is easier to execute in smaller, homogenous nations than in large, heterogeneous ones like the United States, which is why the debate over nationalism and federalism remains salient.

Morone's arguments are highly relevant. Battles over federalism today can be seen every day in the news, as states vie for the rights to either provide or restrict certain freedoms and liberties and struggle against federal governance. The abolition of slavery was in fact a federalist issue, with the slave-holding states advocating states' rights over the right of the federal government to legislate on the matter.

Given the problems associated with states' rights to slavery and other injustices, it makes sense that federalism would provide a more sensible model for governance. Morone allows his readers to make up their own minds on the matter, while offering both sides of the debate in sections like "What do You Think: Preserving Local Values or Continuing a Terrible Injustice?" In Chapter Four, Morone presents a thorough discussion on how federalism works and the institutions needed to support it, as well as different types of federalist models.

For example, Morone talks about dual federalism, cooperative federalism, and new models of federalism. The author reveals what the Constitution has to say about federalism, which is a critical area of the chapter's content, as key debates over federalism do make it to the Supreme Court. Indeed, Morone devotes a section of the chapter to the way federalism creeps up in court, and how the court system fits into the federalist model. The structure of the American court system epitomizes the many compromises leaders have made.