Generation after generation have asked the question of “Which came first: the chicken or the egg?” and the question still is argued and unanswered. While it doesn’t seem like an important argument it boils down to the question of “Who serves whom?”. The same question also applies to the local and federal governments: “Which came first?” and “Who serves whom?”. Ultimately, both are needed and important in creating a healthy government for our country, but who should have the final word? I believe the Federal government was not meant to control the local government, but was intended to act as a system of checks and balances. In the “Scopes Trial” of 1925, John Scopes, a Tennessee science teacher, was accused of violating …show more content…
And is it unconstitutional to place restrictions on what teachers and/or students can say in the classroom? Who draws the line or is there a line? My sister works for the public school system in Oklahoma and they have signs posted in their school that say that people using foul language on campus can be fined up to one hundred dollars or even arrested. Is this denying a person's freedom of speech or is this a healthy boundary for the safety of their students? And who decides what is foul language? There are so many questions to be asked and answered. Who has the final …show more content…
It also prohibits the government from favoring any specific religion. With today’s issues of equal rights, religious freedom, and terrorism things get a little hairy. A few hundred years ago, the Constitution seemed to answer all the questions and everything seemed so black and white, but things are changing and as Abraham Lincoln taught us, things aren’t always black and white. This is where Federalism comes in. Federalism says that state and federal powers are supposed to be shared, meaning they were meant to work together kind of like a marriage. Marriage is when two people promise to work together as equals for the good of both parties. Many marriages today, sometimes like our government, are one party dominant, but this is not the best way. Other marriages today, sometimes like our government, are driving around town for two hours trying to decide where to eat because neither party can please the other. Again, this is not the best way. For our country to succeed we must work together for the good of the individual and the good of the
Federalism is two governments working together and sharing power. This means that the national government does not have all the power since the states have some and the states have some power so the national government have all the power. They share power so one doesn’t grow too powerful and become a tyrant. An example is driving laws. The states can make their own driving laws and there is no national power over it. But the national government does have the power to override the states if they think the states are becoming too loose in their
Federalism is a compound way of governing, with a central government, also known as a federal government, and a local government. Each government had their own powers, but to accomplish the bigger goals the key was to have cooperation and teamwork to solve the issue. The federal government’s powers were solely focused on war, money and relations with other countries and states outside of the United States. In accordance, the local government took care of the more specific things going on in that certain state. For example, they took care of things such as elections, constructing schools, and passing laws for marriage and divorce. This helps to guard against having a government ruled over by a tyrant by having the more sizable powers given to the higher-up individuals in the government, and the locals governments dealt with the laws that pertained to their specific state. “In the compound republic of America, the power surrendered by the people is first divided between two distinct governments, and the portion allotted to each subdivided among distinct and separate departments” (Document A). The governments are ruled this way because if one government had all the power, they would surely use it unfairly, as all that power would get to their head. “Hence a double security rises to the rights of the people” (Document A). This would in fact raise the rights that the people had because they would have a
Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion concentrates on the Scopes trial, otherwise called the "Monkey Trial," which happened in Dayton, Tennessee in the mid year of 1925. The trial occurred in excess of a Tennessee law that banned the educating of human development out in the open schools. The American Civil Liberties Union needed to test the law, and a junior instructor named John Scopes, consented to help them. The alleged "trial of the century" united the well known government official and speaker, William Jennings Bryan, who headed the opposition to development campaign; and Clarence Darrow, who was viewed as the best criminal protection legal advisor of the time. The two men, plus their individual direction, clashed in the trail with the indictment in the end ready to maintain the law.
Federalism is power divided between central and state government. The state governments can establish schools. The central government can declare war. The state government powers are local and the central government have nationwide powers (Federalism venn diagram). It provides double security by giving both the government and states the same/equal important power, Federalism guards against tyranny because it ensures that two levels share, one can’t accumulate.
The strategies that the author tried to present description of the character by saying that he just explain how well he did in school and the studies that he joined. Next the author, tells us about being the hospital and Indian restaurant. The author is trying to show that he wants to engage audience by giving away hints of his struggles so he can make it sound more interesting. Some passages are found in chapter one and page three “my suffering left me sad and gloomy”, “[His] majors were religious studies and zoology”, and “[His] life is like a memento mori painting from European art: there is always a grinning skull at [his] side to remind me…’” (Martel, 5). In these two verses, it shows the narration of how the main character struggled by not giving up and still maintained to get his education.
Of all things that may have influenced future western governments, Athenian Democracy and Rome’s Republic had the greater impact. However, Athenian Democracy and Rome’s Republic share all male citizenship participation and a voice in government, they differed in the ways that they voted and how their citizens were elected.
Federalism helped to protect against tyranny by dividing the power between two governments: states and federal. According to James Madison, Founding Father, “The different governments will each control each other, at the same time that each will be controlled by itself.” This quote, from the text Federalist Paper #51 refers to how the state and federal have individual responsibilities, but are also connected enough to keep other’s powers in check. This quote reminds the readers that the Constitution formed the separate state and federal governments to provide a double security against tyranny by splitting the power between two governments, making sure that the decisions made were the best for the citizens. Ultimately, federalism prevented tyranny by separating the power between two governments, which guarded against a possible tyranny in the
State of Tennessee trial is part of what made the Roaring Twenties “roar.” Because the trial made national news, many reporters and journalists wanted to come to the small town of Dayton, Tennessee (“United States in History”). This migration caused the town to get major publicity, as well as the issue itself did. By having one person speak out and do what they believe is right like John Scopes did, many more people felt comfortable speaking out for what their own beliefs and opinions were. Scopes v. State of Tennessee was only the start of a series of court cases regarding whether to teach the theory of evolution or the Creation story from the Bible (“State of Tennessee v. Scopes.”). The Roaring Twenties was definitely a time of change for most Americans, and the Scopes v. State of Tennessee trial helped convey this message to Americans wishing to express free
The first part of that amendment is the result of the Founding Fathers’ experience with the long history of religious strife in Europe such as the French Wars of Religion, the Thirty Years’ War, and the Crusades. They realized that religious disagreement can be counterproductive and create setbacks in politics. It would be even worse if one religious group was favored. So, they ensured that the federal government cannot interfere in the citizen's personal
Before the analysis of how federalism and judicial review plays a part in individual rights, one must know what exactly they are. Federalism is a system that spreads the powers over two or more political structures. These structures could be as small as cities and go all up to the federal government system. An example of this is state laws and federal laws. Some states have allowed the use for marijuana for medical use. While the state laws allow it, marijuana is still illegal under federal law. The first start of federalism and separation of states comes with the Constitution. This established our federal government and brought the states together under one government. The Constitution “recognizes the federal government as the highest power” (Dugger). Even though it is the higher power, the constitution includes that states are different powers and also have their own rights.
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 Bill of Rights limits the power of the federal government. How does it do this? How about an example? Can the federal government establish a federal religion that all must follow and have faith in? Most definitely not, the first amendment prohibits this from happening. The first amendment says, in part,
In the Unites States of America Federalism is the basic structure of the American government; it is the distribution and balance of powers between the National government and the States government. In order to obtain a compromise between those who wanted stronger state government and those who preferred a stronger national government the founding fathers arranged and settled for a federal system rather than the alternatives of a unitary or confederal system. While both National and State governments each have specific powers and authority, they also share certain powers and must be able to cooperate effectively with each other.
The US Constitution defines the federal government as “The Supreme Law of the land”, known as the Supremacy Clause. Article VI, Section 2, of the U.S. Constitution states that, should the federal government exercise their rights enumerated in the Constitution, they would prevail over any conflicting state implementation of power. The clause ensures that the federal laws take precedence over state laws and ensures that state judges uphold these laws. The Supremacy Clause checks the power of the local governments by
To define the terminology of federalism to a simplistic way is the sharing of sovereignty between the national government and the local government. It is often described as the dual sovereignty of governments between the national and the local to exert power in the political system. In the US it is often been justified as one of the first to introduce federalism by the ‘founding fathers’ which were developed in order to escape from the overpowered central government. However, federalism in the United States is hitherto uncertain where the power lies in the contemporary political system. In this essay I will outline and explain how power relationship alternates between states and federal government. Moreover I will also discuss my