The Debate Is Centuries Old, Does Size Matter?

The Framers of the United States Constitution ultimately decided to give more power to the Federal government rather than the state governments for many reasons. There were many problems with the articles that caused instability in the government, and even a rebellion. Then there’s the Federal government who lacked powers to do anything much because the people were too scared to make the Federal government strong. Lastly, there was the State government who had either too much power or they had power that the Federal government should have. There were a lot of problems with the Articles that needed to be addressed , most of which were addressed.

When the constitution was written, it was written so that the President of the United States is not chosen through a national popular vote, but through an electoral college, which gives each state as many votes as it has members of Congress. The system was created as a middle ground in order to keep voting fair, and to balance between congress voting and the people. Federalism has been a way to help control the abuse of power. Flexibility allows the government to work with the different traditions, and religions of people, and allows the states to develop their own policies without putting the whole country at risk. Citizens are also given the opportunity in running the government, and making contributions.

The states get their power from how many representatives they have, it depends on their population. Bigger states have more representatives because they have a bigger population. The bigger the state the more say and power you would have, because they have a larger population and smaller states have less say because they have a smaller population. The senate allows two senators per state, so that helps smaller states more, because even though they have a smaller population they still have the same amount of senators as bigger states. Each state gets two senators no matter what the population is. The U.S. constitution protects us against tyranny by using congressional

James Madison in Federalist Paper #51 writes “Hence a double security arises to the rights of the people. The different governments will each control each other, at the same time that each will be controlled by itself.” This idea of Federalism allows the governments to be supervised by the others while having control over itself. The powers of the government are spilt between the central and state government so neither government could gain more power over the other. The powers that state governments have are more specific to the state then the powers given to the central government. For example, states were given the powers to pass marriage and divorce laws, establish schools, set up local governments among others because these issues differ largely from state to state. Hence, it would make it illogical to give the central government these types of rights because these issues vary from state to state making it an act of tyranny by the majority against the minority. (Document A)

The United States is divided into two distinct governments and they both have different powers. The two governments will keep each other from gaining too much power. “In the compound republic of America, the power surrendered by the people is first divided between two distinct governments…” says James Madison (Doc A). By saying this he means that the united states should have two governments, a national and state government and they each should have their own powers. The national government’s powers are to regulate trade, conduct foreign relations, provide an army and navy, declare war, print and coin money, set up post offices and make immigration laws. The powers given to the state government is set up local governments, hold elections, establish schools, pass marriage and divorce laws and regulate in-state businesses. Because there is two distinct governments, there is less of a chance of

Some believe that the government is too small, and should expand. I believe that the government should not expand, but should shrink slightly. Of course, America needs a uniform currency and a single armed forces, but local and state control over matters which relate to them can result in a streamlined government process, leaving the matters of national importance to the national government. Overall, whether a national government is stronger or weaker, America still has the greatest governmental structure in the world. It may have flaws, but it has and will continue to persevere through

Does the United State government abuse their powers? In May 1787 55 wealthy white males went to philadelphia they were all responding to the call of the constitution convention. A new constitution was needed to create a stronger central government, to hold the newly formed country to hold itself together. How does the constitution prevent the government from abusing its powers?The constitution prevents tyranny with the use of federalism. In the American government there are powers given to the state and powers given to the central government. James Madison stated “... the power surrendered by the people is first divided between two distinct governments...’’(Doc A), this is called federalism. They both check each other to make sure they don’t

The power of the federal government is essentially unlimited, but the scope of this power is clearly defined. For example, in Federalist 23, Hamilton states, “Congress have an unlimited discretion to make requisitions of men and money.” The federal government has virtually unlimited power but a narrow realm of influence. To ensure a limited government, the powers allowed to the federal government are enumerated in Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution. While the Framers established enumerated powers to guard against an overall tyrannical government, they also created institutional mechanisms to prevent popular rule, faction rule, or branch domination. A republican form of government was established to inhibit a single faction or the majority from abusing power. Madison, in Federalist 10, says that a republican form of government “promises the cure for which we are seeking.” Representatives serve to both “guard against the cabals of a few” and “guard against the confusion of a multitude.” Madison recognizes that an “enlightened statesman will not always be at the helm” and thus there must be institutional protections. These institutional barriers such as enumerated powers, the separation of powers, and check and balances, help guard again an abuse of power. The Framers valued freedom and therefore sought a limited government with protections against

The framers of the constitution walked a thin line to create a government that was strong but not too strong. Did they succeed? Are the powers of the federal government still separated enough?

The formation of our country started by the colonists separating from England and declaring their independence. For some, creating a new government was a scary but necessary process. No one wanted to end up in a situation like they faced with England again, where a government was too overbearing due to having too much power. Some wanted a limited Central government as the answer to this concern, providing each state with more control over decisions and laws. Others felt that by creating a strong Central government with clearly outlined rights and checks/balances would sufficiently address this and

The government occasionally push their powers to the Sates and tried to lessen the expansion of the federal government. On the other hand, the states complied case in point, Presidents Franklin Roosevelt 1930, and Reagan 81-89, used the New Deal program. Programs such as Agricultural Adjustment Administration to slowly reduced the growth of federal government, these programs administered by the states (ushistory, 3b). In the 60s, Nixon on his side openly wanted the powers of the federal government given back to the states that gave him a win during his campaign (ushistory, 3b). Also, the New Federalism during Reagan’s administration to returned the power to the states, unfortunately according to the United Sates Constitution the federal government law would triumph over any other states law. The states have the right to control and make laws on citizens safety, welfare, health, education, and protection. These powers only delegated to the states. For the states to able to counter the power of the federal government, the state should have enumerated powers, inherent powers, and elastic clause.

A government is only instituted to ensure the rights of citizens. The Declaration of Rights of the Inhabitants of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts reserves the state’s right to certain powers that were not said in the United States Constitution. One of these powers is the ability to govern themselves as a free state (Document #7). One of the main reasons colonists were hesitant for a federal government was the strength and privileges the government would have. Colonists did not want the federal government always overriding the state government because it would infringe their rights. When the colonists give themselves the right to powers not stated in the Constitution, they are expanding their power. This also stops the federal government

I think that our national government is sufficiently held in check through the Check and Balance System found in our nations Constitution. Basically, this system was implemented so that no one branch of government could become too powerful. For example, the Supreme Court could put a check on Congress by declaring a law unconstitutional. The power is balanced however, because the members of the Supreme Court are appointed by the president and must be approved by Congress. I think that the framers would be pleased with today’s scope of governments powers because we have a very “happy medium” government, one that isn’t too powerful yet not too weak.

The government has changed and grown over the years. It is limited in a lot of ways including, popular sovereignty, federalism, separation of powers, checks and balances, and representative democracy. Today we’re only going to talk about three, popular sovereignty, checks and balances, and separation of powers. These are three ways the government stayed limited. The first national government was the Articles of Confederation until it began to get weak and the Americans abolished it. The Constitutional Convention of 1787 discussed a new national government, the US Constitution. The US Constitution consists of 3 branches, legislative, executive, and judicial.

Decentralization transfers the authority and responsibility for public functions of central government to subordinate government organizations. Power is decentralized in the U.S. political system as it aims to give citizens more power in decision- making processes. It is also spread throughout the system rather than being concentrated to one government. The power of the government enhances the power of individuals and also make it easier for individuals to participate in the government. It also supports democratization by giving citizens more influence in the formulation and implementation of policies as it enhances transparency and accountability from the government. If there was a centralized federal government and were to make a big mistake by implementing a destructive policy, everybody would suffer greatly. Since the large centralized governments are a concentrated source of political power, there can be serious problems when individuals become corrupted or fail to do their jobs. As for the centralized city governments, if they were to become corrupted or fail to respond to local residents, it would be much easier, than national governments, to hold accountable due to their small size. Since the United States do have a decentralized government all governments have their limits to their power and is dispersed through their system. Powers from the governments are decentralized in the U.S. political system, in order to, compose the distribution of power amongst governments