Over the year’s federalism has taken on many forms within our federal system. The distribution of powers within these many forms of federal systems has had to adapt to each of these forms in order to keep up with the times. The federal system initially was set up to serve the 13 original colonies and was able to maintain their own powers given by the powers vested in each colonies individual constitutions. Federalism or the split of power between colonies and the federal or nation governing body was simply to form agreements among one another in regards to laws. The state governments possessed the powers given to them by their state constitutions which was known as reserved powers and concurrent powers were state and federal government
“The purpose of the United States Constitution is to limit the power of the federal government not the American people.” – The Federalist Papers. Our government is not the exact same way it was from the very beginning of its creation. It has changed dramatically over the course of about two-hundred years, as said in the video, “The Constitution must change for challenges in the future.” Truthfully, it has been changed and adapted to meet the ever changing needs of our society.
Federalism, separation of powers, and checks and balances are very important to the United States’ government because if this country didn't have these parts of the government everything would be out of control. To add on top of that the government would be abusing all of the powers that they have. People should be thankful they live in the U.S because the Constitution protects them from
The first government of the United States was outlined in the Articles of Confederation written in 1871. Under this system, the states operated as sovereign nations. The weak national government, which consisted of nothing more than a unicameral legislature, did not have the authority to tax the states, settle interstate disputes or effectively support a military. Following the Revolutionary War, the inadequacies of the national government became apparent. This led to the drafting of the Constitution in 1787. The constitution addressed the issues that the articles of confederation failed to do such as federalism, checks and balances, and the Elastic Clause.
Have you ever wondered how the founding father kept such a balanced government, blocking any tyranny trying to creep in? 55 delegates met in Philadelphia on September 17,1787 to create a brand new form of government that stopped tyranny, or “the accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective” (James Madison Federalist Paper #47,1788). So how did the Constitution prevent tyranny from taking place in government? The Constitution guarded against tyranny in four ways: federalism, separation of powers, checks and balances, and balancing powers between large and small states.
The United States has a democratic government, which means our citizens get to help choose how our country works. The Constitution is setup to include citizens in the law making and voting process and preventing the US from turning into a tryannical government. Three ways we do thi s is by using Federalism, Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances. Federalism is a system our country uses to make sure power doesn’t stay in one area (Doc A). This method gives specific responsibilities to Central Government and each state.
Our national government has not always dad this much influence over matters concerning this country. Under the Articles of Confederation, power for the national government was vastly limited compared to the current central government today. The people who wrote the Articles where worried about a strong central government that would oppress them like the King did. In turn they came up with the Articles of Confederation which gave greater power to the states instead of the national government. Under the Us Constitution the central government know has more power than it did under the Articles of Confederation to stabilize the United States.
Not only is there a federal government, but there are also state and local governments. Furthermore, there are forms of government that function on a higher basis than local governments, but on a lower basis than state governments. Although the federal government has overall control on how the country functions, the other forms of government have a considerable impact on the laws of each area. All states have varying laws that lie along the same lines. For instance, the age to get a Driver’s license is not the same from state to state, but they are around the same age.
The constitution guards America from tyranny by dividing powers in between the state governments and the U.S. government. The U.S. government is able to make treaties and alliances with
Each state was enabled to “retain its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction and right,” which awarded the states unlimited control over American government (Articles of Confederation, Art. 2). This sovereignty injured the federal government, as the states continued to make frequent decisions “without knowledge of [the current] national circumstances” (Madison, HCR, 197). For example, Virginia and Maryland, made “unlicensed compacts” with each other, Georgia abandoned treaties with Native American’s against federal law, and Massachusetts “raised . . . [and] kept up” troops, which was a power denied to states (Madison, HCR, 197). Additionally, with their unlimited powers, states infringed upon the rights of other states.
The United States is composed of national and state governments that all unite to help the people of this country. Under U.S Constitution a federal system was created declaring the National Government as the possessive supreme political authority. States are also allowed to be sovereign, deriving their power from people through their state’s constitution. The federalist system allows that each state has its own constitution, but they must comply with the U.S Constitution. The differences between the National Government and a State Government are seen in the laws and powers described in a state constitutions and in the U.S Constitution.
The Constitution uses division of powers in order to prevent tyranny from occurring. James Madison, a man who was very dedicated towards our Constitution, decided upon dividing the government into two different sections, state and central, this idea is known as federalism. Powers needed to run a country are granted to the central governments, a few of those powers are printing and coin money, declare war, and regulate trade, and powers given to the state governments are the ability to hold elections, establish schools, and set up local governments. ( Document A ). The idea of federalism is important because it has a major effect on the prevention tyranny. Federalism makes sure that the governments only use the powers they were granted, and
Federalists were property owners, creditors, and merchants. They believed that elites were the most fit to govern. They feared "excessive democracy" because they thought uneducated people would get into office. Federalists favored a strong national government and they believed in "filtration," which was when only elites could obtain governmental power. The leaders of the Federalist party were Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and George Washington.
In May of 1787, 55 delegates came to Philadelphia to have a Constitutional Convention. They had this meeting so they could make the U.S. Constitution. They wanted to make one because the articles of the Confederation were not working. They wanted to make a Constitution that would benefit the U.S. The Constitution also guarded against tyranny in 4 different ways, Federalism, Separation of powers, checks and balances and big State little State, compromise.
The federal government can do more things without raising one 's taxes, or without increasing the size of the federal bureaucracy, which is something that most voters at least say they don 't want. The national government ensures combined effort with its policies by imposing coercive federalism by threatening to remove grants from programs. What really bothers state officials, and local officials about this, is that the federal government sets the rules, but it doesn 't provide much of the money. A social issue that is talked about in “A Question of Sovereignty” points out how racism was a common thing in schools back then, and how the federal government decided to withhold funds to those schools who segregated people of colored. This was an appropriate used of their power because in my opinion everyone should be given the same type of opportunities no matter what.