American Government Case

American Government

Mina Tavakolian

Professor Talin Saroukhanian

December 15, 2014

Abstract

For over 200 years, the federal and state governments have disputed over power relations. Federalists argued that the United States needed a stronger national government if it was to become a superpower nation. According to them, giving power to the states is detrimental, as it will affect the development of the nation. Anti-federalists on the other hand hold the notion that the American constitution has given the federal government a wider mandate at the expense of the state; hence, requiring power reinstatement back to the states. This has led to a continued debate where the different Presidents in distinctive regimes have made amendments to address the issue. During all this time, the national government has had more powers than the state, though the situation seems to be shifting.

American Government

The American politics have always been surrounded by controversy on how the powers between the federal and state governments should be allocated. This deliberation has been on-going for nearly two hundred years. For instance, several delegates that convened at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787 disputed over the issue. Secondly, the Federalists and the non-Federalists also disputed over the issue at the time of the constitution Ratification and not forgetting the members of the political parties who have also been at it (McGinnis & Somin, 2004). Moreover, several events such as elections being won and lost as well as a Civil War over the matter have taken place. The following text will examine the benefits of federalism and the evolution of the federal-state debates for the last 200 years.

Federalism is divided into different forms, but the vertical and horizontal forms are the most significant parts of the country’s political structure. Horizontal federalism has three arms of government, which include the executive, judiciary, and legislature. The constitution requires affiliates of one arm of government not to belong to another (Drake & Nelson, 1999). The three arms have their responsibilities and are supposed to cooperate with one another as well as check upon the activities of the other two.

Vertical federalism, on the other hand, is interested in the dealings among the federal, state, and local governments. National government is the highest form of power in the vertical hierarchy, followed by the state, and then the local government (Drake & Nelson, 1999). Since the national government is the most superior form of government, the constitution has bestowed it to be in charge of defense, monetary policy, foreign policy, and commerce between the states (Drake & Nelson, 1999). The state government is dependent on the central government, while the local one depends on the former. The three governments are connected to each other by the different financial and administrative arrangements (Drake & Nelson, 1999).

Federalism has worked tirelessly to bring liberty to the citizens. Liberty in simple terms refers to the independence from governmental control. For example, the Keating-Owen Child Act established by the national government in 1916 (McConnell, 1987). The purpose of this Act was to ensure that young children under 14 years were not subjected to labor; hence, it guaranteed they were protected from getting hurt. Another champion of federalism is that it managed to prevent war from taking place in three different periods including in 1780, 1809, and 1860 (McDonald, 2000). The next benefit of federalism was that it safeguarded the South from becoming a slaveholding nation (McDonald, 2000). This means that if the constitution did not implement a federal system then there would have been slavery wars, which would have transformed the South into a permanent slaveholding nation.

Federalism’s primary objective revolved around ensuring the government did not become powerful such that it stripped the citizens of their rights and freedoms (Drake & Nelson, 1999). The other aim was to restore the stability of the nation when it faced violent happenings such as wars. Some of the laws were removed by the system to preserve liberty by using the 10th Amendment. The 10th amendment describes the idea behind federalism and the relations between the two governments. It clarifies that the authority, which is not bestowed upon the US by the constitution and neither to the states, is kept in the different states or by the citizens. However, the Supreme Court consistently used the 10th Amendment to eliminate laws that it believed had surpassed national power such as the Civil Rights Act (Drake & Nelson, 1999). This Act was important as it ensured individuals practiced their freedom of choice.