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Government Should Hold More Power

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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. The original debate was arguably during the beginning years with the Articles of Confederation. The Articles were in place for a decade, and were deemed as ineffective by a number of figures. This led to the Constitutional Convention of 1787, where the Federalists and Anti-Federalists fought over who should get more power over the other. (UMKC) The ultimate document, now seen as the United States Constitution, reflects the numerous compromises made to each party, and divides the powers up specifically within its Articles. The most commonly attributed Amendment is the 14th Amendment, which reads; “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal …show more content…

Many feuds and even a civil war have been fought over this issue. The Civil War was arguably the climax of disagreement on the issue, where southern states declared themselves sovereign against the federal United States government and formed a short-lived Confederacy. (HistoryNet) When the Civil War was won in favor of the union, and the Southern states’ Confederacy was dissolved and rejoined into the Union, the states power was dwindled in favor of the federal government.

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