State and Federal Government - The Similarities and Differences

They share the same principles with each other. State and local governments can’t create or enforce laws that contradict the Constitution. The Constitution requires “equal protection under the law” for the state and local governments. However, the state and local governments have their differences too. The state has more laws and “ground” to cover than the local governments do. “Each state has its own written constitution, and these documents are often far more elaborate than their federal counterpart. The Alabama Constitution, for example, contains 310,296 words — more than 40 times as many as the U.S. Constitution” (The White House). The local government just deals with the county and their jurisdiction in that state. The state government is more superior over the local government. “A local government must be granted power by the state” (The White House). When it comes to the state and local governments, the state has more power than the local government

Executive power is vested in the office of the President of the United States. The President has the dual role of being the chief of state and the head of government. The President is also commander in chief of the armed forces. He issues executive orders, and appoints Supreme Court justices (with senate approval). The president is also called "the chief legislator" because he indirectly proposes many bills, considers all bills from Congress and signs them into law or vetoes them.

In conclusion, state law and federal law are very similar as, they are each meant to dictate a measure of safety for the citizens of the United States of America. According to the United States Constitution federal law, which is dictated, allows the federal government the power to make laws for the people and for the country as a whole. State laws are meant to allow each state to be allowed to govern them and handle the issues within their states. This power was given to them from the Bill of Rights that was also outlined in the Constitution (FindLaw, 2012).

Though the Federal and State Government are reflections of each other, when Federal laws are

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 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.

The relationship between the Federal government and the states is well stable. The Federal government has powers given by the Constitution as well powers or privileges are given to the states which promotes a balance between the two so that our country is not ruled under one specific party or group. The question now is that, are the states rights more than well protected in the current constitution and the political practice.

The legislative branch is the most powerful branch in government. The legislative branch is in charge of making and passing laws. They have the power to override a president’s decision, stop laws from being passed, and basically control all decisions the governments makes. The legislative branch, also called the congress, consists of the House of Representatives and the senate. The reason for two houses of congress is to balance out the concerns of smaller but more populated states against states that are larger but with less population (www.Usgovinfo.com).

The Legislative branch helps keep the executive branch in check. The Legislative branch or also called congress has two houses within it. The houses are the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. There are 128 representatives in the senate who are elected every six years. There are 500 representatives in

Every state in the Union has created and implemented its own constitution. These constitutions provide the legal framework by which government operates. They also identify the specific role of government, and endow it with certain powers and authority. A constitution also creates a system for how power is to be delegated and distributed through the creation of branches and individual offices. Along with the authority it provides, constitutions create limits on this power of government, and establish checks and balances to further limit the scope of each individual branch and officeholder. Most importantly, constitutions provide unalienable rights to citizens that cannot be refused, or abridged by government. Each state’s constitution is different, however, all of them serve these functions, in order to, create a lasting government that acts in the best interests of its citizenry.

The Legislative branch has the power to pass federal laws, establish federal courts, override a Presidential veto, and impeach the President. The size of the House of Representatives resulted out of the Great Compromise. The number of Representatives is determined by Congress based on the state population. At minimum each state would have one representative, with larger states having more. When the House was created there was one representative for every thirty thousand people, yet currently we have one

Drafted in 1779, the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the oldest functioning written constitution in the world. Drafted by none other than John and Samuel Adams, along with John Bowdoin, it served as a model for our own nation's Constitution. It features a structure, composed of chapters, sections and articles, vastly more organized than any other state constitution of its time. Within this document, rights of the citizens, and the framework of the states' government is outlined. While it has changed over the years, it manages to paint a picture of the inner workings of Massachusetts politics.

STATE VS FEDERAL CONSTITUTIONS: It should first be noted that state constitutions contain the supreme laws of each state, mostly by detailing the limitations of authority and specific protections for maintaining individual liberty. The US constitution does this too for the federal government and provides the fundamental Bill of Rights that identifies national liberty protections. Many states model their protections on these rights but some add other levels of security. In general, states put a greater emphasis on their legislative branches (where the elected representatives have input) than on the executive branch, though clearly some governors are as visible as is the President of the United States who conducts the daily administrative activities of the federal government.

Federalism is a system of government in which powers are divided between a central (national) government and regional (state) governments. (pg. 4)The relationship between the state and federal governments is very complex. There are certain things that state governments can do that the federal government cannot do, and there are things that the federal government can do that the state governments cannot do. In the midst of it all, the complex situations between the state governments and the federal government can cause many conflicts throughout the country and it can make it difficult for some citizens to keep up with the constantly changing politics.

First, what all is the government responsible for? We can begin to address this question by looking at the United States Constitution.