The federal government and state governments have had a long history of powers struggles. The struggle goes back and forth between who has the right to make decisions and if there is a problem who should fix it. Sometimes it is better for the federal government to fix issues and during other situations it is better for the state or local governments to fix other issues. In the PBS special of the United States Constitution, Peter Sagal travels around the states documenting the various roles and impact the government has on the country as a whole and on the individual states.
Sagal talks with Akhil A. Amar of Yale University in Connecticut about the constitution and what powers it gives to the federal government. Amar says Alexander Hamilton
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The Articles of Confederation were like a loose contract between the states. There was deepening debt, no power of the government to levy taxes to pay for the cost of the war, some states had a navy while others did not. Shay’s Rebellion, in which the government raised the taxes against farmers to help pay off war debts, caused the farmers to rebel. Hamilton and Madison decided that something needed to be done and so they called together representatives from each state to draw up a new version of the Articles. Instead of another Articles of Confederation being drawn up the United States Constitution was written. The new Constitution had a “weak” central government with strong state powers. It also ensured each state that they would be equally represented in the national government. In one house the representatives were based on the state’s population and in the other house each state gets two representatives. New ideas to the Constitution included: an executive branch …show more content…
For example, Harborside health center in Oakland, California is a medical Marijuana dispensary. But wait, you might say, marijuana is illegal in the United States, right? According to the federal government it is, but according to the California state government it is not. The people at Harborshide Health Center are committing federal crimes that can result in the death penalty but in California it is completely legal. In Montana, Gary Marbut fights for gun rights. He says the federal government has overstepped their boundaries when it comes to gun regulations. He has managed to get his Montana Buck-a-roo law, as well has 57 other laws, passed in the state of Montana. The Buck-a-roo law states that a gun manufactured, and sold in the state of Montana and never crossing state lines is not subject to federal regulations. In March 2011, Kentucky senator Rand Paul said, during an energy committee hearing, that the federal government has violated his freedom to choose a toilet. The Energy policy Act of 1992, to which Senator Paul is referring, regulated the amount of water that toilets could flush. Similarly the 2011 edition of the Federal Register calls milk an edible oil and requires farmers to treat the milk produced on their farms as such. Another regulation in the Federal Register is the one making it illegal for anyone, other than a
In the name the word "confederation" is used to describe governments with less centralized powers and more power located in local and state governments. Which is exactly what the Articles set up. This was a direct result of the tyranny that America had just endured as English colonies before declaring independence. With the American Revolution ending America was in need of its first written constitution. In 1781 the Articles of Confederation was ratified as the first United States constitution. This constitution set up a very weak federal government, and granted states a large amount of power. The central government lacked the ability to collect taxes and regulate commerce. With that being said congress was allowed to declare war, make treaties and alliances, and coin money. However each state was allowed to be mostly independent. Realizing that this type of government would not last very long the Federalist began to push for a new, stronger constitution. After the revolution the ability for the central government to tax was a necessity in order to pay of the debt America
The Articles of Confederation and the Constitution are two very important guidelines of government that shaped the political minds of the Americans. Mainly because these guidelines limited, or expanded the powers of the executive, legislative, and judicial branch. The Articles of Confederation were a series of laws that gave more power to the state government than the federal government. As a result, the federal government could not enforce laws or levy taxes. After Shay’s Rebellion, the Founding Fathers realized that a change was necessary. So the Constitution was created. The most important change of the Constitution was that the majority of power was then shifted into the hands of the federal or central government. This allowed the federal
The Articles of Confederation and the new Constitution of 1787 differed in almost every aspect. These articles created a loose confederation of independent states, while allotting the central government regulated powers. Under these articles, the federal government would be comprised of a single house of Congress, while each state had one vote. Congress had the power to set up a postal department, to estimate the costs of the government and request donations from the states. These donations could be used to create armed forces and to regulate the development of the western territories. Congress needed the votes of nine out of the thirteen states to coin, borrow, or appropriate money as well as declare war and create treaties with other nations.
Introduction: During the Revolutionary War, the Articles of Confederation were written to establish a new form a government after declaring independence from Britain. The lack of stability created under the Articles of Confederation was a result of fears that the Founding Fathers had about created too much of a strong central government. One of the powers that the government did not have was raising an army. Shay’s Rebellion, an uprising of farmers was not easily suppressed due to the inability to raise an army. The first form of government away from England, the Articles of Confederation, failed due to a weak central government not operating properly.
There were many problems with the Articles of Confederation that led to its replacement by the U.S. Constitution. The states had more power than the federal government, leaving the federal government was weak. The federal government could not levy taxes, and the Articles gave major responsibilities such as negotiating treaties, coining money, and declaring war to state governments. Each state had one vote despite its population, and this angered many of the larger states who felt under-represented. Finally, the Articles lacked a judicial system, and required a unanimous vote to pass any legislature, which often proved difficult to achieve. The turning point that led to a demand for change was Shay’s Rebellion. Daniel Shay along with other farmers
The Articles of Confederation and the Constitution have changed our government by separating how the US is ruled from other governments. In all seven continents, there are hundreds of thousands of countries. Each country has its own way of protecting their people and ruling the country. There are dictatorships, democracies, monarchies, and many other kinds. The Articles of Confederation was the first document that governed the people. After the Revolutionary war was won, the founders wanted a government that was for the people. They wanted to form a strong government where responsible leaders were in charge and an incident like King George never happened. The Articles of Confederation was a brief plan for our government. It didn’t go into as much detail as the Constitution, and some parts of it were unbalanced. The checks and balances we have today that prevents people from getting too much power did not exist in the articles. People were scared of a weak government. What would happen when their fellow citizens got unruly. Others were afraid of a strong government. Would their government use power and fear to rule them in an unjust way? The questions the government officials faced confused and upset the people of the US. Why wasn’t the government taking charge. They won the war, what was it all for? Rebellions such as Shays Rebellion began congregating in the
but later, with the introduction of the constitution, developed into a revolutionary society. The American Revolution greatly transformed America. America signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776. This was the start of the Revolution because America stopped all the unnecessary taxes that they were liable to pay due to the French and Indian war.
There are a variety of differences and similarities between federal, state, and local governments. This includes, but is not limited to, the responsibilities, size, and staff of the administration. The machinery of government is intended to better the quality of citizen’s lives. Ultimately, federal, state, and local governments were established to work together in bettering programs and laws (Berkley & Rouse, 2009, p.32).
The Articles of Confederation was a loose “league of friendship” between the thirteen colonies that would create a confederation in contrast to Great Britain 's unitary system. While the Articles of Confederation helped establish a systemic role in trying to unify many of the states under a weak central government, it later created many more problems than solutions. One of them being that Congress had no ability to propose taxes to deal with war debts and running the government. Another weakness was that Congress did not have the ability to regulate commerce among states and foreign nations which hurt Congress’s credibility. One of the most considerable weaknesses of Congress under the Articles of Confederation was its failure to provide for a strong central government. The Articles of Confederation was created to not compare with the totalitarian regime of the British and made sure of not creating a strong central government. The problem was that without a strong central government it eliminated all sovereignty that the central government had, giving increased sovereignty to states which lead to increased chaos. It is seen that Shays Rebellion was that nail in the coffin of The Articles. Lead by David Shay a group of farmers who had served in the Continental Army marched to Springfield, Massachusetts to stop the state court from foreclosing on the veterans farms. Congress’s failure in being able to formulate a militia and stop the disgruntled farmers was the end of The
The Articles of Confederation were created so that each state would have a lot of freedom. The Articles would allow each state to have their own currency, judicial process, and laws. Each state would only be connected to the central government for common defense, the security of liberties, and the general welfare. Each state only had one vote in congress regardless of size and population. The country was becoming bankrupt because congress did not have the power to tax. Congress also did not have the power to regulate trade between other countries or even states. Congress could not enforce any acts they passed because their was no executive branch. There was no national court system which means that each state had to have their own court system. To add an amendment to the Articles of Confederation there had to be a unanimous vote. Laws required at 9/13 majority to pass. The Articles were weak and they did not provide
The Articles of Confederation was the first constitution of the United States. They were written during the revolutionary war to create a more unified government, and to establish what the national government could and could not do. The Articles let each state keep “sovereignty, freedom, and independence,” and created a very weak central government. For example, Congress could not regulate commerce or impose taxes. The impact that the Articles of Confederation had on federalism for the next few years was: the federal government had very few powers, and most of the authority remained in control of each individual state.
The debate between who should hold more power; the state or federal government, has been debated and discussed since the inception of our nation. The original debate was centered on two opposing parties and their respective ideas, the Federalists and Anti-Federalists. Due to the numerous debates and shifting political climates, the powers have shifted between the states and federal government several times through the nation’s short history.
An example of a conflict in American politics between state government and the federal government was Oregon’s assisted suicide law. In October of 1997, Oregon passed the “Death with Dignity Act”, “which allowed terminally-ill people the option to end their lives through the voluntary self-administration of lethal medications, expressly prescribed by a physician for that purpose”. The conflict was whether the state of Oregon or the federal government had the power and authority to choose whether “Death with Dignity” should be passed or not. The conflict arose when the Federal government claimed that because physicians were ultimately prescribing
From the states, I read their laws and at the federal level, I believe they must have the power go back to the state. In the case of Texas even if there are guilty there a federal law that they need to respond. The cases must have a difference from state to federal because some states their values, and people are different from each state.
To define the terminology of federalism to a simplistic way is the sharing of sovereignty between the national government and the local government. It is often described as the dual sovereignty of governments between the national and the local to exert power in the political system. In the US it is often been justified as one of the first to introduce federalism by the ‘founding fathers’ which were developed in order to escape from the overpowered central government. However, federalism in the United States is hitherto uncertain where the power lies in the contemporary political system. In this essay I will outline and explain how power relationship alternates between states and federal government. Moreover I will also discuss my