Federalism Paper

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Grand Canyon University *

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634

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Political Science

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Apr 3, 2024

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docx

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1 Federalism Chrystal Belt Grand Canyon University ADM-634- Policy Study Dr. Cream April 6, 2022

2 Federalism Federalism is foundational to what we now consider normal. We need to look at what the founding father’s intent was and if that intent was a necessity or not. Does the federalist form of government still serve a purpose, or does it cause undue gridlock in getting policy written and signed into law? There have been many arguments that debate this issue in depth. The founding fathers created a form of government that provided a system of checks and balances, building a way to make sure it could be checked, providing safety of sorts to our rights as Americans ( Lynn, 2011). Aspects of a federalist system Our founding fathers held an individual’s rights as God gave them, meaning that no synthetic form of government held power to rule or take those rights away. As the Constitution was drafted, each state was also awarded exclusive power over its own respective jurisdictions. They were also able to, through the democratic process, vote collectively to build or oppress the minorities in various ways to benefit the majority by having individual states' rights, and the governments of each state were able at the time to rule as a monarchy so long as the majority voted on it. It was understood that there was a problem with this, considering the revolution was just fought to protect the rights of individuals from a monarch; what was the difference now with a majority? Madison found and stated, in a nutshell, that nothing was different, so he proposed and it was instituted the government of checks and balances we now have today (Madison and Hamilton, 1776). Federalism Proposed Remedy

3 What problem was remedied? First, it broke each stage of government down into three parts, awarded exclusive powers to act on without regard to the others, and guidelines to stop or support either one in the event any one of the departments violated the Constitution and bill of rights. It also was made, so states had to honor the same form of government as well as a constitution that included the same federal bill of rights (Madison and Hamilton, 1776). What this remedied was the inability of a majority to trample the rights of a minority group for any reason, as well as unified to some degree, each state under one uniform minimum standard of rule. The states could legally hold the federal government accountable as well as the federal government could hold a state accountable. This caused the governments to collaborate with every entity from the bottom up to get a change. This was to ensure that the people still had the power by way of two different protections to render a tyrannical government useless or legally stopped, with support from other states and the federal government (Eorge, n.d.). First protection, as previously stated, was the separation of powers at which elected officials had to work together and gain approval by more than just their vote, but also the legal check against the Constitution and the signature of the executive. 2 nd was the breaking of powers down to the smallest entity causes, bringing everyone to the table to solve any issue, making sure that all voices are heard, thus protecting the liberty of the individual in all situations ( Lynn, 2011). Two Flaws of Concern Now while this form of government is effective in keeping everyone playing by the approval of the others, it also has two flaws or places of worry. The first flaw is the speed at which change can happen. With the collaboration of a multitude of departments and the necessity to ratify laws collectively, it is cumbersome and a long drawn out process many times

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