Federalism A Government System of Shared Powers

Federalism is a hierarchical system of government under which two levels of government exercise a range of control over the same geographic area. This system of exclusive and shared powers is the opposite of centralized forms of governments, such as those in England and France, under which the national government maintains exclusive power over all geographic areas. In the case of the United States, the U.S. Constitution establishes federalism as the sharing of powers between the U.S. federal government and the individual state governments. The concept of federalism represented a solution to functional problems with the Articles of Confederation which failed to grant several essential powers to the national government. For example, the Articles of Confederation gave Congress the power to declare wars, but not to levy taxes needed to pay for an army to fight them. The argument for federalism was further strengthened by Americans’ reaction to Shays’ Rebellion of 1786, an armed uprising of farmers in western Massachusetts. The rebellion had been driven, in part, by the inability of the federal government under the Articles of Confederation to pay the debt from the Revolutionary War. Worse yet, due to the federal government’s lack of power to raise an army to deal with the rebellion, Massachusetts had been forced to raise its own.   During America’s Colonial Period, federalism generally referred to a desire for a stronger central government. During the Constitutional Convention, the Party supported a stronger central government, while Anti-Federalists argued for a weaker central government. The Constitution was created largely to replace the Articles of Confederation, under which the United States operated as a loose confederation with a weak central government and more powerful state governments. Explaining the new Constitution’s proposed system of federalism to the people, James Madison wrote in â€Å"Federalist No. 46,† that the national and state governments â€Å"are in fact but different agents and trustees of the people, constituted with different powers.† Alexander Hamilton, writing in â€Å"Federalist No. 28,† argued that federalism’s system of shared powers would benefit the citizens of all of the states. â€Å"If their [the peoples] rights are invaded by either, they can make use of the other as the instrument of redress,† he wrote.   While each of the 50 U.S. states has its own constitution, all provisions of the states’ constitutions must comply with the U.S. Constitution. For example, a state constitution cannot deny accused criminals the right to a trial by jury, as assured by the U.S. Constitutions 6th Amendment. Under the U.S. Constitution, certain powers are granted exclusively to either the national government or the state governments, while other powers are shared by both. In general, the Constitution grants those powers needed to deal with issues of overarching national concern exclusively to the U.S. federal government, while the state governments are granted powers to deal with issues affecting the particular state only. All laws, regulations, and policies enacted by the federal government must fall within one of the powers specifically granted to it in the Constitution. For example, the federal government’s powers to levy taxes, mint money, declare war, establish post offices, and punish piracy at sea are all enumerated in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution. In addition, the federal government claims the power to pass many diverse laws – such as those regulating the sale of guns and tobacco products – under the Commerce Clause of the Constitution, granting it the power, â€Å"To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes.† Basically, the Commerce Clause allows the federal government to pass laws dealing in any way with the transportation of goods and services between state lines but no power to regulate commerce that takes place entirely within a single state. The extent of the powers granted to the federal government depends on how the pertinent sections of the Constitution are interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court. Where the States Get Their Powers The states draw their powers under our system of federalism from the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution, which grants them all powers not specifically granted to the federal government, nor forbidden to them by the Constitution. For example, while the Constitution grants the federal government the power to levy taxes, state and local governments may also levy taxes, because the Constitution does not prohibit them from doing so. In general, state governments have the power to regulate  issues of local concern, such as drivers’ licenses, public school policy, and non-federal road construction and maintenance. Exclusive Powers of the National Government Under the Constitution, powers reserved to the national government include: Print money (bills and coins)Declare warEstablish an army and navyEnter into treaties with foreign governmentsRegulate commerce between states and international tradeEstablish post offices and issue postageMake laws necessary to enforce the Constitution Exclusive Powers of State Governments Powers reserved to state governments include: Establish local governmentsIssue licenses (driver, hunting, marriage, etc.)Regulate intrastate (within the state) commerceConduct electionsRatify amendments to the U.S. ConstitutionProvide for public health and safetyExercise powers neither delegated to the national government or prohibited from the states by the U.S.Constitution (For example, setting legal drinking and smoking ages.) Powers Shared by National and State Governments Shared, or concurrent powers include: Setting up courts through the countrys dual court systemCreating and collecting taxesBuilding highwaysBorrowing moneyMaking and enforcing lawsChartering banks and corporationsSpending money for the betterment of the general welfareTaking (condemning) private property with just compensation The ‘New’ Federalism The late 20th and early 21st century saw the rise of the â€Å"New Federalism† movement—a gradual return of power to the states. Republican President Ronald Reagan is generally credited with starting the movement in the early 1980s when he launched his â€Å"devolution revolution,† an effort to transfer the administration of many public programs and services from the federal government to the state governments. Before the Reagan administration, the federal government had granted money to the states â€Å"categorically,† limiting the states to using the money for specific programs. Reagan, however, introduced a practice of giving the states â€Å"block grants,† allowing the state governments to spend the money as they saw fit. Although New Federalism is often called â€Å"states’ rights,† its supporters object to the term due to its association with racial segregation and the civil rights movement of the 1960s. In contrast to the states’ rights movement, the New Federalism movement focuses on expanding the states’ control of areas such as gun laws, marijuana use, same-sex marriage, and abortion.