Cooperative Federalism Essay

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In 1787 our Constitution’s creators reached the conclusion that there are five basic functions necessary for a national government. Establishing justice, ensuring domestic tranquility, providing common defense, promoting general welfare, and securing the blessings of liberty are the five core components the creators identified as necessary for lasting government. Each of these five basic functions seems simple enough, yet nearly 230 years after initially establishing them the United States Government continues to struggle with the boundary of each function. To understand why this is still such a struggle it makes sense to first dig deeper into how the United States Government is composed. Billions of people spread out across fifty states compose …show more content…

However, it is fair to argue new federalism no longer best describes government, but cooperative federalism does. Simply put, todays government overlaps national and state governing authority in ways never seen before. In 2015 the Supreme Court declared same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states even though voters in many of those states voted against legalizing same-sex marriage. In 2016 several states voted to legalize marijuana for either medical purposes or recreational purposes, even though congress still deems it illegal at a national level. The shift from new federalism back to cooperative federalism began in 2010 when President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law. Thus, further blurring the boundary for one of the more commonly disputed basic functions of government, promoting the general welfare. “If you are talented and work hard, you can achieve financial success.”, Benjamin …show more content…

Donald Trump, a businessman without government office experience, unanimously won the 2016 Presidential Election because of the culminating struggle. The campaign Trump ran to win the election relied heavily on the government’s role as it pertains to establishing justice, ensuring domestic tranquility, providing common defense, and securing the blessings of liberty. Moreover, Donald Trump’s platform embraced the conservative perspective while his opponent, as well as the current president, chose to embrace a liberal

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