Federalism

Federalism - In Brief

The government of the United States is among the most unique and complicated forms of government in world history . If one looks at the tumultuous history of the United States (various wars , internal strife and discontent , periods of economic hardship ) one is almost amazed that the nation survived . Such proliferation is even more surprising when other governments and superpowers collapsed under the weight of far lesser tumult . In that regard , one has to look at the history of American government with awe as well as commit oneself to a

serious study of the history of the United States

In to understand why the government of the United States has survived so long and maintained itself , one needs to break down the components that comprise the American system of governance . Now , while such an explanation could cover several volumes if taken into great depth , one can simplify the issue by stating that the epicenter of American governance is the highly successful system of federalism , the component that has kept the American government able to preserve itself by eliminating the potential for an authoritarian system similar to the British monarchy from arising . Needless to say , the lofty goals of federalism raised some eyebrows among intellectuals at the time of its inception

This , of course , brings up the very obvious question What is federalism ' To which , the following answer is provided

It is a system of government in which sovereignty is shared [between two or more levels of government] so that on some matters the national government is supreme and on others the states , regions , or provincial governments are supreme . There are three essential features that characterize a federal system of governance . First , there must be a provision for more than one level of government to act simultaneously on the same territory and on the same citizens . The American federal system is composed of a national government and the 50 states , both recognized by the Constitution . Local governments , creations of states , while not

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mentioned in the Constitution , are nevertheless key players in American federalism . Their power to regulate and legislate is derived from state Constitutions (Wilson

While federalism is a highly complex system of governance , the above definition provided a stripped bare explanation of the concept that covers the main governing points of federalism

In to fully understand the issue of federalism , one needs to look at the establishment of federalism within the context of the early days of American history and how federalism was framed by the founding fathers . In to do this , one needs to examine the relationship (interrelation ) of federalism and the Articles of Confederation

Of course , before attempting to show the correlation between federalism and the Articles of Confederation , it is important to clearly define what exactly the Articles of Confederation entailed

By definition , the Articles of Confederation provided a league of sovereign states within what were formerly the colonies of Great Britain . In time , the Constitution was...