Strength And Weaknesses Of Unitary Government In The United States

Analyze the pros and cons of federalism, unitary and confederal systems. Explain to me whether you believe that we should keep our federal system or whether we should abandon it in favor of a different one.

The unitary government is often described as a centralized government. It is a government in which all powers held by the government belong to a single, central agency. The central government creates local units of government for its own convenience. Most of the government in the world are unitary, Great Britain being one of them. One single central organ is Parliament it holds all the power of the British government. Local governments do exist but solely to relieve Parliament of burdens it could perform

The thirteen American colonies unified by forming a national government that began as a singular body of government under the Articles of Confederation and evolved into a government with multiple branches under the Constitution. The Articles of Confederation acted as a plan of government to help America get back on its feet during and after the Revolutionary War. However, Congress could not enforce the laws of The Articles of Confederation or ensure that their taxes would be collected. After the war America owed a lot of money to other countries and could not pay it unless they started to tax more. They faced serious economic problems and had to rely on the states for money. Therefore, people did not agree with the Articles because it taxed

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

After the American colonies won their freedom from Great Britain needed to create a new government. The Articles of Confederation were developed, bestowing America with its first official government. The Articles were composed of many restrictions creating an inadequate body of government. One of the main reasons the articles didn't work was from the lack of a strong central government the states received too much liberty and freedom, and on the other hand congress was weak and restricted. The government did not have enough power to govern all the states efficiently under the articles of confederation, it couldn't tax or regulate trade . From the time period when the Articles were constructed in 1781, to when they were discarded in 1789, the

Federalism was the belief in giving power to two levels of government, state and national. After the Declaration of Independence in 1776, colonies became states in an attempt to attain the ideal of a geopolitical nation. A geopolitical nation consists of individual states equivalent to individual countries, and these countries ruled themselves, while also being united under the same national government. The structure of federalism was a continuation from the Articles to the Constitution in the belief that each state retained its own power. Each state had the power to overturn any national government authority, exhibit their own authority over their residents, and have a ruling council of elected representatives. The departure, however, was in the limitations put on state power. The states were stripped of their power to overturn national taxation. The national government was

During the years of 1781 to 1789, the United States was run under the Articles of Confederation which was good for some reasons such as the states having freedom and independence to make important decisions. However, after several years of being run under the Articles of Confederation, the Founding Fathers realized that this was a deficient and ineffective way to run the government especially since there was no Executive and Judicial Branch of government, the government was very ineffective in regard to foreign affairs, and the government could not collect taxes which caused major debt.

The Americans fought long and hard in their Revolution and deservingly so defeated the British and won their independence in 1783. From there, the US transferred to a government set by the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation did not turn out to provide a much better life than the Americans had under the British, with the states not able to work with each other. The lack of state's collaboration brought about this idea of too much Democracy. After the disaster that the AofC was, there was a new Constitution being drafted; however, many Americans were divided upon which path the new Constitution should take, one with or without a strong central government. This distinction in ideology put the country's elite at odds. The

In 1776, when the United States declared independence from Britain, the new country needed a set of laws to apply to all of the states to replace the earlier British rule. The colonists, however, were concerned that if the United States put too much power in the central government the states rights would vanish. Therefore, the first form of government, the Articles of Confederation, gave too much power to the states and insufficient power to the central government. States could create their own money and refuse federal taxes, which caused many tribulations and almost destroyed the new country. In 1787, delegates from twelve states came together to revise the Articles

After winning the Revolutionary War, the American colonists achieved independence from Britain and never wanted to be ruled by another power again. The states joined forces against Britain. After rejecting the British rule the states establish their own state constitutions. They wanted to prevent the hardships that they had experienced from the colonial governments established by Britain. Then to unite the colonies, Congress proposed a constitution for the national government and sent it to the individual states for ratification. On March 1, 1781, the Articles of Confederation were ratified. The Articles of Confederation was the first written constitution of the United States. It was a form of self-government instituted by the Second

In American history from 1781 to 1789 this nation was governed under the Articles of Confederation which provided the United States with an ineffective government. Although the Articles of Confederation maintained an orderly nation during this period they were weak and as a result we got the Constitution of the United States of America.

Under the Articles of Confederation, the United States government was decentralized. The states had more power than the federal government. State governments had the power to tax but the federal government did not (Janda 62). This caused congress to have to beg for money from the states in order to pay for the cost of the Revolutionary War and the cost of starting a new nation. Another issue under the Articles of Confederation was the lack of economic control the federal government had on the states (63). The national government attempted to restrict foreign imports but the states did not listen and continued making deals with foreign countries. This caused debt and bankruptcy to fall upon numerous states. The Articles of Confederation also

Confederacies exist as a group of autonomous individual states, regions, or member components who form a national body, or centralized government, to represent their independent interests at a more regional and international level. The existence of the national government is derived from the consent of each governed autonomous state or region. The entities that submit to this central ruling authority are able to withdraw from the compact that binds them together. The national authority created is only bestowed with the powers, authority, and privileges which the independent components in the confederacy allow. If any member component feels its interests are no longer being served or the compact has interfered with its autonomy, then that entity of the confederacy can sever its ties with the national body. This can occur because the state, region, or member component has the supreme ultimate authority over its own affairs. As further examination and analysis will demonstrate there is no inherent authority invested into the national government as is the case of a federalist system.

The Articles of Confederation, a written agreement that ensured each state’s sovereignty, freedom and independence, led America to victory over the British centralized government. During the late eighteenth century, the empowered government terrified the Americans, hence the thirteen colonies decided to spread governance powers equally to all functional states. The states had absolute dominance over the Congress due to the Articles of Confederation. While the localized power of states seemed to be promising, the system posed great threat to the major components of a democratic government, which are coercion, revenue, and legitimacy (Lecture 1 - The Roots of Government). The system of localized power did not ensure legitimacy, which referred to people’s recognition of national government. Congress’s lack of power to control each state’s actions caused great chaos. Eventually, national government’s lack of power and inability to unify the states exposed multiple flaws in the Articles of Confederation; consequently, a new supreme law, the Constitution was established by the founding fathers. The new supreme law successfully altered the imbalanced system into a novel democratic government.

Since its primary colonization by the British during the 1600’s, America has struggled with the concept of freedom. Some people came for political or religious freedom and others were brought and servants and fought for freedom. (Wallach 2010). In the 1700’s colonists openly sought to sever their ties with England and to govern themselves. July 4, 1776 the Declaration of Independence showed the world that America was free from someone else’s rule. As a result, democracy spread around the world as a government by the people, for the people, with America at its forefront as a world rolemodel and superpower.