A History of the Different Influences of United States Government’s Federalism

One of the six basic principles of the Constitution is federalism. Federalism is a system of government in which power is shared by the national. And state governments, which came into existence when the United States declared its independence in 1776. A federal system is different from a confederation. Where states have most of the power, and it is different from a unitary system, where the central government is in charge. A written constitution divides the powers of the government on a territorial basis. The division is made between a central, or national, government and several regional or local governments. Each level of government has its own area of powers and no level acting alone can change the basic divisions of powers the Constitution makes between them. Each level operates through its own agencies and acts directly on the people through its own officials and laws.

The Constitution sets out the basic design of the American federal system. The document provides for a division of powers between the National Government and the States. That division of powers was implied in the original Constitution and then in the Tenth Amendment:

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

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Therefore, federalism produces a dual system of government. It provides for two basic levels of government, each with its own authority and each operates over the same people and territory at the same time.

Federalism's major strength is that it allows local actions in matters of local concern and national action in matters of wider concern. Federalism allows for Local traditions, needs, and desires to vary from one State to another. For example, most forms of gambling are legal in Nevada but against the law in most other states. Most states do not bus students free of charge but New Jersey does. These are just few of the many illustrations of this point.

Federalism allows and encourages local choice in many matters. It also provides for the strength that comes from union. Foreign affairs and national defense offer useful illustrations of the point as well as domestic affairs. An example would be a natural disaster. When a flood, drought, storm, or other catastrophe hits a State, the resources of the National Government and all of the other States maybe mobilized to aid the affected area.

Federalism is also a political principle which is sometimes put forth as a limit on national power. This was the intention of the Framers of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The principle of federalism, however, is viewed as the continually changing and developing relationship between the national government and state governements. Defining federalism in this way raises many difficult questions and issues, because federalism refers to precise plan or formula of government. In the United States, federalism may be best understood as an evolving set of compromises between rival authorities.

Federalism defines the relationship between the national government and the states. The Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution in 1781, established the first system of government for the thirteen American states. The Articles proved unworkable as a framework for the government. The central government had sole powers in foreign affairs as well as over western lands and Indian affairs. State governments had no power in these matters, and the central government had no executive or judicial branch. Congress exercised the legislative powers and committees of Congress carried out the laws as well. The central governement was weak however, because it lacked the power to tax or regulate citizens directly and had to depend on the state governments to do so.

The regional governments maintain partial autonomy after bewing subsumed into the larger central government. The central government is responsible for matters of mutual concern to all regions, such as foreign affairs, defense, and currency, while the regional governments are entrusted with authority over other matters such as education. In the U.S., for example, the individual states surrender partial sovereignty but retain all rights not specifically assigned to the federal government under the Constitution.

Certain characteristics are common to all truly federal systems. These characteristics include written constitution, the diffusing of power by the political system, and noncentralization. A written constitution is where a federal relationship must be established through a perpetual covenant of union which outlines the terms by which power is divided or shared, and can be altered by extraordinary pocedures. The political system must reflect the Constitution by defusing power among a number of substancially self-sustaining centers. Diffision of power may be termed noncentralization, which is a way of ensuring in practice that the authority to participate in exercising political power cannot be taken away from the general or state government without common consent.

Early examples of federalism can be found among the Israeli tribes in the 2d millennium BC, the Greek city-states of 3d and 2d centuries BC, and the Swiss cantons of the thirteenth cuntury Ad, all of which united against foreign opponents for mutual survival.

Modern federalism stems from the federal type of government instituted by the founders of the U.S. The federalist ideas underlying the U.S. Constitution were delineated in The Federaalist, a series of papers written through 1787 and 1788, by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay. The major problem of federalism however, was resolved in the U.S. by the Civil War. In the nineteenth century, the success of the American federalist system led a number of other countries to institute federalist systems. Modern federal governments include Australia, Canada, Germany, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Switzerland, the former USSR, and the present-day Russian federation.

In all modern federal systems the authority of the central and regional government is specified in a written constitution and are decided by a judicial authority. By the end of the 19th century, a new theory known as dual federalism gained popularity. This theory was based on the Tenth Amendment, and held that both the national and the state governments have authority within their separate spheres. In other words, a use of Congress's authority that would otherwise be legal was unconstitutional if it involved a subject over which the states, rather than the federal government, were sovereign. The dual federalism doctrine holds that both the state and the federal government are supreme within their respective spheres.

Despite their common heritage, background, and homogeneity, the original states were thirteen different and distinct political entities, each commanding considerable loyalty from its citizenry. The Framers persuaded the public to accept the Constitution by claiming that sovereignty was indeed divisible. Under the federal system, they devised the national government was given the authority to exercise only the enumerated powers granted, but it had supreme authority in those areas. The political principles that animate federal systems emphasize the primacy of bargaining and negotiated coordination among several power centres; they stress the virtues of dispersed power centres as a means for safeguarding individual and local liberties.

A system entitled New Federalism was brought about by a proposal made by U.S. president at the time, Ronald Reagan in his 1982 State of the Union message. In Reagan's view, the centralization of power in Washington during the 20th century had diminished the constitutional role of the states in the federal system, making government too expensive and removing it from popular control. To remedy this he proposed transferring responsibilty for dozens of health, education, welfare, and transportation programs to the states. In return, the federal government would assume full responsibility for the Medicaid program.

One of the most important features of the American federation lies in the impossibility of the member states to abandon the federation. The Civil War affirmed, there is no right of sucession.

As you know, federalism produces a dual system of government in the United States. Given this complex arrangement, it should come as no surprise that competition, tensions, and conflicts are part of American federalism. The American governmental system is literally a tug-of-war between the National Government and the States. The American governmental system also involves an important area of shared powers. Due to the cooperation of many, the system known as federalism is alive and well our American society and will continue to grow in our government with each passing day.

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