The Federalism Of The United States

When problems arise in our nation, we are left with a complicated crisis as to whose job it is to do what and who exactly should be taking care of any bad situation that seems to pop up with daily life anywhere in the world, but in this case, America. Certain governmental systems, such as Federalism, can be considered a solution to these crises. Federalism can be defined as the relationship between the individual state governments of America and the national or federal government of the United States; and works to balance the power of a large central government, and the power of the smaller regional governments.

The Federalists and the Anti - Federalists played an indispensable part in the establishment of the American Constitution. Federalists were supporters of the constitution, while Anti federalist were against the ratification of the Constitution. Federalists believed in the idea of a larger heterogeneous republic whereas anti federalists wanted a small homogenous republic. Famous federalists like James Madison, John Jay and Alexander Hamilton are responsible for giving us paramount pieces of historic documents in the form of “the Federalist papers”. The Federalist papers were 85 documents urging the ratification of the US Constitution. Anti federalist side included people like Samuel Adams, George Mason and Patrick Henry, and they believed the Articles of Confederation should be altered rather than completely changed in the form of the Constitution. Concurring with the Federalist side, it is imperative to see that the Federalists’ argument was more viable, due to the fact that larger republics and “checks and balances” are useful tools in controlling a democracy. We can’t compare ourselves to the way Sparta and Athens operated. Our country would thrive more under a stronger national government rather than a stronger state government.

Federalism can be said to be the defining feature of all forms of American politics. Even as a literary characteristic feature, America was the first nation to adopt federalism as a concept. Federalism is a system of government whereby political power is divided between a national government and other smaller political constituents such as states. Federalism, although not mentioned exactly in the constitution, was supposed to be a concept that addressed the errors of the confederation (Platt, 2014). It was also supposed to be the lay the groundwork for what would be the future of America. As it was expected to be, federalism has had an impact on the American politics even as far as elections are concerned. There were some key reasons that

Federalism is a way of organizing a nation so that two or more levels of government have formal authority over the same area and people, ensuring that one does not become too powerful and aids in the separation of powers. Liberty is a state of freedom within a society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one 's way of life, behavior, or political views. Although these two political science terms are different, they correlate and interact with one another in the American Government and are still relevant to contemporary policy issues faced today. James Madison 's The Federalist No. 47 doctrine exemplifies this: "In order to form correct ideas on this important subject, it will be proper to investigate the sense in which the preservation of liberty requires that the three great departments of power should be separate and distinct."

After Shay’s Rebellion and the nation on the brink of bankruptcy it was clear that the Articles of Confederation would not be adequate to preserve the nation. So began the great battle for the balance between order and freedom. The main point of dispute between the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists in the battle over the ratification of the Constitution surrounded the question of what powers and rights were required in order to insure the security and liberty of the nation. The Federalists advocated that a strong central government was needed, which was supported by the failure of the Articles of Confederation. However the Anti-Federalists were determined on keeping the sovereignty of the states and by doing so also retaining their secured political freedom.

The founding fathers created an effective federalist system in the United States, specifically in the way that the Constitution and Bill of Rights separates the powers. The balance and restrictions between the national and state government have greatly altered ever since. Over the course of American history the concept of federalism has transformed. It began as a distinct separation between the states and national government, for each section controlled their own areas of accountability. In the following years, as tension arose, federalism transformed what is known as the marble-cake

The Federalists believed that the nation could only survive if the central government had the power to tax, regulate trade, operate a militia and if necessary over rule state governments. The Anti-Federalists believed that tax would impose un-fairly if the central government regulates it. Anti- Federalists where afraid that factions would manipulate and ultimately control the government. Federalists argued that the United States would be too large and diverse for factions to dominate them. Anti- Federalists also feared that oppression would occur amongst those with and without power in the new constitution. The biggest debate among the Federalists and Anti-Federalists was a need for a Federal Bill of Rights. The Anti- Federalists argued that it was necessary, but the Federalists argued that it was unnecessary since those rights were already protected within the individual state governments. Both organizations settled their differences by creating a constitution with a Bill of Rights at the

Federalists argued that the Constitution would improve the nation’s economy and social status, as well as fixing the errors made in the Articles of Confederation. Anti-federalists argued that the new Constitution’s executive branch received too much power and the poorer and less educated would receive the least power. Anti-federalists also argued that the Constitution would violate their natural rights and freedoms. Although the Anti-federalists may have made solid arguments, the federalists won the debate. In order for the Anti-federalists to agree with the U.S. Constitution. The convention compromised with the Anti-federalists to write the Bill of Rights to protect and secure citizens rights. Slowly, but surely the U.S. corrected other errors addressed by the Anti-federalists Constitution along the way. All in all, this discourse was a healthy debate for shaping the present United States of

Furthermore, Anti-Federalists believed that the national government was too far from the average citizen and wouldn’t be able to respond to concerns on a state and local basis. Because the Constitution was written behind closed doors, the Anti-Federalists believed that the American people should know exactly what rights the new document gave them, therefore a Bill of Rights was necessary. The federalists responded to these objections in many ways. One of the most memorable was the Federalist Papers written by John Jay, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton.

American federalism has changed drastically since its genesis. In 1776 the thirteen colonies adopted the Articles of Confederation in order to coordinate their efforts in the war for independence. The Articles of Confederation bound the states together in two main aspects; foreign and military affairs. The Articles of Confederation worked well while all the states had a common cause. However, as soon as the war ended and interests began to change, it became obvious that the Articles were not enough. This brings on the creation of Federalism (Reinventing American Federalism).

Federalism is our country's system of government, in this system powers are divided between the national government and the states, they also share some powers together. Federalism helps the nation work properly to where the power is divided pretty equally. This system includes powers that belong to the National Government, State Governments, and Shared Powers, which are powers shared by both the National Government and State Governments.

The Anti- federalists had a variety of reason to oppose the Constitution in the ratification debate in 1787. They claimed that the Constitution gave the central government too much power; they preferred a weak central government. They believed that the Bill of Rights needed to be added to the Constitution to protect people’s rights because there were lack of guarantees of individual rights in the Constitution. Some of them thought the new system threatened the sovereignty of the States. Some feared that the new government threatened their personal liberties and failed to protect the individual rights. Other argued that this new centralize government would be like as the Great Britain which they had tried so hard to get away from. They needed

Federalism was an inevitable and paramount mechanism to creation the of the Union. Therefore, it is acceptable that its governing principles would define and refine a majority of the nation’s history. Shaping the government, laws, and politics of the current and future generations during the creation of the Constitution, federalism permanently altered the life of every American. Federalism and the Constitution were derived from a similar ideal: endurance of free society had to be preserved by a sense of unity that acted as a safeguard against prevalent dangers, advanced the common good while still maintaining responsiveness to the diversity of the nation (Wechsler, 1954). The Constitution established a central government that possessed the capacity to interpret its

Federalism is the system of government in which power is dispersed between central and state governments, each level of government having different responsibilities.

The term "federalism" describes the changing relationship between the national and state governments as they sort out their roles and responsibilities within the federal system. America has a decentralized government; there is no single source of power or center of government. Federalism goes well with pluralism, because of the multiple centers of power that exist in the government, and also the many divisions of power. There are several levels of government including the federal government, the 50 states, county and city governments and independent school districts. However, the major players are the national and state governments. The tensions between the two are clear when it comes to civil rights, money, and power.