It is no secret that many Americans across the United States dislike the presence of a strong centralized government in their daily lives. The federal government has created a reputation of intrusive, invasive, and unreliable behavior that resonates negatively with the citizens of all fifty states. Nonetheless, the state of Texas, like so many other states across America, has a symbiotic relationship with the federal government. On one hand, Texas benefits from a strong national government because the suppression of such an entity would only result in severe “economic repercussions for the state” (Champagne et al). Additionally, the absence of federal influence in state affairs would ultimately terminate federally funded state-programs like States did the large majority of governing while national government agencies focused on issues concerning “ defense, foreign policy, and [the] development of commerce” (Champagne et al). Like the layers of a cake, the national and state governments during this time had no direct interaction remained completely separate from one another. This concept of layer-cake federalism was introduced by Morton Grodzins, a prominent political scientist of the 20th century. While there were still restrictions purposed by the national government that put limits on the sovereignty of states, the states still had the greatest influence in civilian life. However, the absence of a strong centralized government only proved the theory that a crisis would erupt without it. During the Great Depression of 1929, the United States changed from a layered-caked federalist approach to one that endorsed a strong centralized government in an attempt to save the dwindling In addition, a centralized federal system can also be beneficial to citizens during their plight to save the economy. Consider the events that occurred during Franklin Roosevelt’s and Lyndon B. Johnson’s presidential terms. The United States was in a very tough spot economically during the start of Roosevelt’s tenure. As soon as Franklin D. Roosevelt became President, he immediately went to work trying to fight the negative effects that The Great Depression brought upon the U.S. economy. Roosevelt’s Social Security program of 1935 established the nation’s “first insurance program for the elderly, in addition to providing aid to the blind, disabled, elderly, unemployed, and to minor dependent children (Champagne et al). The U.S. government promised Americans that they would fund Roosevelt’s new federal programs as long as states “met specific administrative guidelines” (Champagne et al). Lyndon B. Johnson expanded on Roosevelt’s programs during his presidency by establishing the Medicare and Medicaid programs that provided health insurance for elderly and poverty-stricken individuals. Federally funded state programs that aimed to address and correct specific social problems proved to be successful during Roosevelt’s and Johnson’s tenure because the programs stimulated the economy. Federal programs like Social Security and Medicare also made it
The Articles of Association Every major role in the government. Not satisfied with this system led to the US constitution, increase the power of the national government. Although the national government has imposed its will succeed in suspending the crisis, the question of the exact relationship between the central government and individual states were still open. The civil war is, in part, a struggle over the meaning of the federal system and the appropriate relationship between the national and state governments. After termination of the reconstruction, the United States operates under a dual federal system. The start of the Great Depression in 1929 brought forward new calls to change the current federal system. According to him, the relationship between the national government and the states change in what has been described as cooperative federalism. In an effort to reduce federal control, Nixon has introduced a financing mechanism known as block funding and trying a slightly different version of the Union, which he called the new federal. Add new, federal actions have been described as federal enforcement where federal regulations are used to force states to change their policies in order to achieve national objectives. Under a federal system, the state is basically 50 laboratory setting to experiment with different approaches to the problem of determining which works
The American way of living and thinking in Texas have changed tremendously over the past century. Political ideals are one thing that changes with time, and have transformed with the changing times well. The Texas constitution of 1876 was a landmark for the state and has been part of the state’s history since then. The Texas constitution of 1876 is still in use today but with all its harsh restrictions it is considered one of the most confusing of all the state constitutions. The constitution became one of the most prominent changes to Texas education system and politics.
The U.S. Constitution was completed on September 17, 1789 and has served as a model for the constitutions of many other nations. The constitution of the United States of America is the oldest written national constitution in use and consists of twenty-seven amendments.
The people of Texas are diverse and carry their “big can-do attitudes and accents” (Pearson); making Texas a bigger than life state. The political culture of Texas is impacted by two different subgroups of individualistic and traditionalistic characteristics. The combination of traditionalism and individualism has had a huge impact on the state and Texas’ seven different constitutions. The shift in power between 1827 and 1876 has impacted the political diversity Texas has today. Looking at the specifics of these subcultures, the traditionalists believe government should benefit the wealthy and powerful, and that government services must be limited.
In my analysis of the Texas Constitution I will assess the three branches of our State Government, the Legislative Branch, Executive Branch and finally the Judicial Branch. Our State Government resembles our National Government in various ways but also in very different ways which we will review in this essay. I will identify a handful of criticisms and problems associated with the provisions in each of these branches of our State Government and identify suggested reforms that many feel are needed.
In the United States, for the last four decades, from Richard Nixon to Ronald Reagan through the two Bush Presidencies, the Republican Party won the White House by amassing large margins among white voters (Lizza.) The state of Texas has been reliably Republican since the 1970s and there are various elements to Texas political culture that can be narrowed down to three essential ideological trends: economic liberalism, or faith in the free market economy, social conservatism, or favoring traditional values and moralism, and populism, or promoting the rights and worthiness of ordinary people (Texas Political Culture.) As a result, the dominant political mood in Texas favors low taxes, minimal government services, and policies that are pro-business. This phenomenon is not static, however, since changing demographics in the state are causing changes in the profile of Texas in reference to electoral politics, among other major issues. This paper will explore different perspectives about the changing demographics of Texas, and where they might lead the state politically, and will present a variety of viewpoints regarding this complex subject.
The relationship between a local government and its people is typically a combined form of stability, as well as discordant moments of tension and rising-to-dramatic change. More specifically, the political climate of the local government differs depending on how those people view the three aspects of their governmental calls and needs: rights and responsibility of the people, obligations of their government, and limits on the local governmental authority.
Some of the advantages of having a federal government are that the national level of government can work on the bigger picture tasks while the state government solve the local and specific issues, so that each departments time can be used wisely and efficiently. Furthermore, if citizens took their everyday problems to the national level, then the national government would be over worked and the citizen might have to travel far to even reach the states capital. Each side of the
Democrats, Republicans, and Libertarians are perhaps three of the most prominent political parties within Texas. Within the pages of their party platforms, we see that each possesses a unique philosophy, with specific viewpoints and recommendations for shaping or reforming government policy. To be sure, the people of Texas face many challenges, two of the most compelling issues being the crisis in healthcare and in education. Not only are we lacking in these areas as Texans, but also on the national level. The parties’ stance on these two major issues defines them, giving us insight into the mind and intentions of each.
Federalism is a political system in which authority is divided between different levels of government (Barbour and Wright, 75). Federalism has been around since 1787 in the United States of America. The divided powers between the state governments and the national governments are powers that are limited to a certain level so they do not depend on each other for power. The United States of America has a federal government in which the central government shares influence with the numerous smaller state governments. The idea was for a “more perfect union.”
Newell, Charldean. "Inflexibility, Traditionalism, and Partisanship: The Texas Response to New Federalism." Review. Annual Review of American Federalism 12 (1981 (1983): 185-95. Publius. Oxford University Press. Web. 23 Mar. 2011.
Texas and Federal Constitutions contain the principles needed for a representative democratic government and both arose from different historical situations; for instance, the U.S. Constitution was made to replace the Articles of Confederation, a weak decentralized form of national government with no president or taxes, which made the government not powerful enough to start a war. The U.S. Constitution was made to improve these weaknesses by proposing a degree of centralization which increased government power. On the other hand, Texas Constitution was made to reverse or avoid the ideas of the U.S. Constitution. On one part, the U.S. Constitution wanted to empower government action whereas the Texas Constitution wanted to weaken government action. The Texas Constitution is more geared toward protecting people’s rights whereas the U.S. Constitution protects the nation’s interest. The Texas Constitution has been amended more than 300 times whereas the US Constitution includes the Bill of Rights and the subsequent
Federalism is essentially the system of government in which a constitution divides power between a central government and regional governments (Lowi, A48). It, by definition, does not necessarily favor dividing the power in a particular way that would give more power to either the states or the federal government. When first formed, the American central government was very weak. Though the Constitution strengthened it, the states still had most of the power. Over time more and more power has been given to the United States’ federal government.
The Texas Constitution provides for the division of power and integration of Bill of Rights to the constituents of the State of Texas. The Texas Constitution is made up of a preamble, seventeen articles, and an appendix. The current Constitution was written on November 26, 1875, and adopted February 15, 1876, it is also the eighth constitution to be adopted by the State of Texas. Similar to the United States Constitution the Texas Constitution contains a preamble as follows, “Humbly invoking the blessing of Almighty God, the people of the State of Texas do ordain and establish this Constitution” (Tex. Const., pmbl).
The U.S. Constitution creates a unique system of federalism. It is a system of government that divides power between a central governmental unit and local administrations. In this way, both central and local governments enjoy sovereignty. However, because the two governments share authority over the same territory, it may be problematic to establish the division of their powers. The central power needs to exercise its authority without infringing the authority of a local government while local governments should not encroach on national interests. The American federalism is defined by the Constitution which establishes the separation of power between federal and state governments, but throughout history, federalism has experienced a number