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The importance of federalism
Features of federalism in the united states
Features of federalism in the united states
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What are the pros and cons of federalism in the US? Federalism is a political system in which regional governments share power with a central or national government, but each level of government has legal powers that are independent of the other. Federalism is what keeps our government so called balanced. I will start with the pros first. We can say that federalism mobilizes political activity, various levels of government gives citizens different levels to be heard, it gives them higher levels of command to go through to get where they want to be. Federalism affects the interest groups more than anyone because they cannot just take over national governments but have to go through the state and local government first. This is where we get the dispersal of power, “a key objective for the founders was to disperse power and a two-level system that divided power not just among branches of government, but also between levels of government helped accomplish this goal” (Bond, pg. 80). For example, the legislative branch makes laws, the executive branch carries out the laws, and the judicial...
On September 28, 1787 Confederation Congress sent out the draft of the Constitution. This was the first time in history for the people to debate, discuss, and decide with a vote for how they wanted to be governed. There were two groups that debated the thought of the Constitution. They were called Federalists and anti-Federalists.
This passage places emphasis on one of the three arguments James Madison makes in Federalist 10. Madison explicates the deficit of factions specifically factions that could cause nothing but “mischief” for the United States. In this particular passage, he explains how factions are inevitable in our country, however, controlling the effect of factions would diminish their “mischievous impact.” Thus, prohibiting factions assists in reducing the probability of “[a] weaker party or an obnoxious individual” from gaining power over the minority. These smaller factions that Madison hopes to avoid are a direct result of “pure democracy” that he accounts as have “general[ly]…short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths.” Therefore, this particular fragment from federalist 10 serves as the precedent to the introduction of a mixed Constitution of a democracy and republic, in this case, a large republic.
Politics and its inner working can be described as the activities that determine the governance of a specific area, country, or continent. Imagine living in the United States during the 1800’s when there were two political parties, namely Federalists and Democratic-Republicans. Personally, I would choose to join the Democratic-Republican Party. As compared to the Federalist Party, the Democratic-Republicans had their policies centralized. They emphasized on agrarian interests that protected the rights of every single individual living in the United States of America. I would be very focused on promoting these facts to my best friends.
The establishment of the U.S. Constitution was an action taken in order to supply federal control over the young United States of America without replicating the mistakes and flaws present within the Articles of Confederation. The idea of the Constitution was to better unify the states, something the Articles of Confederation were completely unable to do. Even during the infancy of the Constitution, its creators were divided into two major political parties: the federalists, who supported large and strong federal government, and the Anti-Federalists who supported reserving state’s rights and limiting the grasp of the federal government. Upon the establishment and the passing of the U.S. constitution, these two parties used personal party-based
There have been many different parties surface since the beginning of the American political system. They all have had different thoughts, policies, and motivations. Each party has their own agenda some have made significant contributions and others have not. The first split, and beginning of the party system, came with the variation between the Federalists and the Democratic Republicans. These two parties were extremely different in thought, strategies, and status of people involved such as their leaders and believes on how to run the government. The Federalists worked to create a stronger national government, supported British in foreign affairs, and favored a national bank. The Democratic-Republican Party operated to advocate states’ rights, supported the French in foreign affairs and opposed a national bank. These are some of the differences that set apart these two major government Parties.
In the debate our class held between the federalists and anti-federalists, set at a convention where the basis of the Constitution would be decided. Based on the arguments presented and the background information we have learned throughout the course, the anti-federalists' side made the better case. Almost all of the support provided for federal rights was countered with valid information from the time period or did not weaken the points made for states' rights. Our team, the proponents of states rights, made the points that the large states could dominate the federal government and make decisions that do not reflect the population's wishes as completely as possible. We went on to argue that the powerful central government could come to oppress
Even though there are pros and cons of federalism, this system of government makes America a free nation and separates us from many our nations.
Talk about some of the advantages and disadvantages of federalism. Does this system serve the United States well? Why or why not? From my notion federalism has a more moral outlook on our country as a hold. They try to prevent a stronger power by distributing some essential power to the states which also gives the United States citizens more option. Different states have different policies which will attract citizen that concur with their laws. For instance gay marriage, some states in the United States support gay marriage and believe that people should marry who they want to marry no matter the gender. California is one of those states. According to an article written by Tamara Thompson, “States are strongly divided on same-sex marriage; thirty-three states prohibit same-sex marriage, including 29 states that have prohibitions in their state constitutions. With New Mexico, 17 states along with the District of Columbia allow same-sex marriage; most states that have recently allowed same-sex marriage have done so through legislation.” With that said individuals who live in Georgia, where gay marriage is banned, are free to move to any other states where gay marriage is permitted. Legalization of marijuana in certain states but not in another can be a second example of why giving states power to make their own law can benefit us as citizens. If we don’t concur with one state law, we can move to a state with the laws we do agree with; therefore, giving states control is definitely a pro rather than a con. On the other hand, we have the cons and disadvantages of federalism. One disadvantage of federalism is the fact that states that have contradicting laws that is in the vicinity of each other can be affected by each other. For example states who legalize marijuana, which includes but not
Though the two-party system of American politics has been in place since the late 18th century, exactly which two parties are contending for control of the government has occasionally shifted. One of the powerful political entities that formed at the beginning of this period, the Federalist Party, built up a large, well-known presence in the early republic, advocating for centralized government and banking, and a positive relationship with the British as the way forward for the burgeoning United States government during the period surrounding the turn of the 19th century. This affinity for the United States-Britain relationship and the accompanying overseas trade practiced by the United States would eventually spell doom for the future of
Federalism is the power of a country, divided between the state and federal government. Federalism was not included in the articles of confederation, which left the states with all of the power. Federalism was chosen in the United States because the U.S. wanted there to be more control in the National Government. The U.S. State government wanted to keep some of the power, so federalism was a good system of government to choose from because they got to split the powers between them. Federalism has many benefits in California.
Eric Foner claims the definition of Federalism refers to the relationship between the national government and the states. Unlike the Constitution, the Articles of Confederation came with many weaknesses. Some provided by our powerpoint include that the Federal government had no power to make the states obey the Articles and laws that were passed by the legislature. The states also had the power to tax, and the opportunity to print their own money. Our powerpoint focuses on the $10 million Congress owed to other countries, as well as the $40 million it owed to the American veterans. The Constitution differed. Foner states that not only did the Constitution enhance national authority, but it also permitted Congress to levy taxes, conduct commerce, confirm war, deal with the foreign nations and Indians, and rent and help the “general welfare”. According to the powerpoint, Federalists focused on the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.
Anti-federalism would give the states the last remaining piece of power they need and desire to bring America to the brink of destruction. Because of the differences between each and every state anti-federalism would not work. Every state would have such different opinions that they would clash against each other simply because the neighboring state wouldn’t have the same opinion and or solution. It would cause havoc and
Federalism, by definition, is the division of government authority between at least two levels of government. In the United States, authority is divided between the state and national government. “Advocates of a strong federal system believe that the state and local governments do not have the sophistication to deal with the major problems facing the country” (Encarta.com).
How well has federalism worked in the United States? This is all a matter of opinion. Federalism has indeed been an active structure for government that fits in quite well with the changing American society. This particular system of government has been around for over two hundred years, and under all those years the separation of power under American federalism has changed numerous amounts of times in both law and practice. The United States Constitution does allow changes and amendments in the Constitution have assigned miscellaneous roles to the central and state governments than what originally intended. The suitable equilibrium between national and state powers is repeatedly an issue in American Politics.
Federalism is a legal concept that is centered around the concept that law is best handled as a two layered responsibility. Federalism is also built on a belief that sharing power with the local government is key to a successful governance. According to the text book, “the United States was the first nation to adopt federalism as its governing framework” (pg83). The following are a few examples of some advantages, as well as disadvantages of Federalism.