Federalism
According to Teitelbaum & Wilensky, federalism is a system of government in which
sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and constituent
political units (e.g. states), and in which the power to govern is shared between the national and
state governments (2013 pg 267). Two levels of government govern the US, the federal
government (its laws governs individuals living in the US) and the state government (its laws
individuals living in the state). In the history of American politics, there has always been an issue
with balancing powers properly between the state and the federal government. According to the
textbook of Essentials of Health Policy and Law, the US constitution allows the federal
government lesser responsibilities than it allows the state government (Teitelbaum J. B., &
Wilensky S. E., 2013 pg 38).
Federalism came into law in 1781 to protect the state government from the tyranny of the federal
government (Boyd E., 1997). Since inception of federalism it has evolved through several stages.
The 2 stages of federalism that controlled the politics of the US were dual federalism and
cooperative federalism.
Dual federalism led by George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and John Adams allowed the
federal and state governments equal powers which were clearly spelt out and the state
government exercised its powers without the federal government interfering (Boyd E., 1997).
Cooperative federalism evolved allowed the state and federal government to collaborate on
policies (Boyd E., 1997).
Federalism has been maintained in the US. The US constitution separates powers between the
state and federal government (Teitelbaum J. B., & Wilensky S. E., 2013 pg 33) by delegating
the power to regulate interstate commerce (Teitelbaum J. B., & Wilensky S. E., 2013 pg 39), “to
exclusively mint currency, establish and maintain an army and navy, declare war, enter into
treaties, establish post offices and the seat of national government” to the federal government
(Boyd E., 1997). The US constitution reserves powers not granted to the federal government to
the states, or to the people (Teitelbaum J. B., & Wilensky S. E., 2013 pg 38; Boyd E., 1997). It
includes public health regulation, healthcare institution licensing, (Teitelbaum J. B., & Wilensky
S. E., 2013 pg 38)
The US constitution also shares powers for example, the power to tax, (Boyd E., 1997), spend
for general welfare and maintenance of environmental standards, construct and maintain roads
between the state and federal government (usconstitution.net, 2013).
The concept of Federalism concerning the role of the federal and State legislature has been tested
as in the example of individual rights in several ways. The US constitution does not allow certain
powers to be exercised by the state and federal government like “taking private land without just
compensation, establishing a national religion or prohibiting the free exercise of religion” (Boyd
E., 1997). Democracy; abolishing of slave trade; extension of right to vote to women, AfricanAmericans and 18- year olds are also good examples.
I would say the roles of federal, state and local government follow the principles of Federalism
in the same manner the forefathers of this country established. Their aim of protecting the state
government from the tyranny of the federal government, ensuring separation of powers,
achieving and maintaining stability is still being met. Federalism connects Americans to their
states, gives Americans access to leaders and opportunities to be involved in government, it
allows state government to note problems of the population and choose policies to solve these
problems as well as experiment with these policies instead of having a large nation like the US
being solely controlled by a federal government (Sparknotes, c 2013 ). With federalism even if
one person was to represent the federal, state and local government altogether, these three arms
of government will still function independently.
References
Bodenhamer, D. ( ) Federalism and Democracy
Retrieved from http://www.ait.org.tw/infousa/zhtw/docs/demopaper/dmpaper4.html
Boyd, E. (1997, January 6) American federalism, 1776 to 1997 Significant events.
Retrieved from http://www.cas.umt.edu/polsci/faculty/greene/federalismhistory.htm
Teitelbaum, J. B., & Wilensky, S. E. (2013). Essentials of Health Policy and Law. 2ndedition.
Burlington: World Headquarters.
U.S. Constitution. 2013. Constitutional Topic: Federalism. Retrieved from
http://www.usconstitution.net/consttop_fedr.html
Sparknotes, (c 2013). Federalism
Retrieved from http://www.sparknotes.com/us-government-and-politics/americangovernment/federalism/section4.rhtml