The Difference Between Separation of Powers and Federalism

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Separation of powers is the separation of branches under the constitution by the legislative, judicial, and executive branches of government. Federalism is a government system that includes the national government, which shares sovereign powers with fifty state governments. The difference between the separation of powers and federalism is slim to nothing. Federalism consists of the national government and the fifty states, in which the national government is defined by the separation of powers: the three branches of government. Federalism is the over view form of government that is stated in the Constitution which implies the separation of powers between central and regional government. On the other hand, separation of powers is the separation of branches under the national government. In other words, the separation of powers is a subunit of federalism. The principle of separation of powers is laid out in Articles I, II, and III, in effort to avoid tyranny. It is a part of a system called check and balances. The check and balances play the roles of the three branches of government. This system was made so that no one branch will over power the other. The three branches come together and help one another by being independent of the other. The legislative branch consists of the Congress, the judicial branch consists of the courts, and the executive branch consists of the president. For an example, when a bill is in progress and the chief executive (president or governor) does not approve of it, he can reject legislation and return it to the legislature with reasons for the rejection. This is a process called veto power. The principle of federalism was established by the Constitution to protect the country from tyranny as well. In this case, it is said that the national government cannot over power the fifty states. In the fifty states, each state consists of two democratic representatives.

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