American Federalism
Federalism
• A system in which the power to govern
is shared between national and state
governments
History of the USA
• Columbus discovered America in 1492
• Sir Walter Raleigh names Virginia after
Queen Elizabeth I in 1585
• The first settlement (Jamestown)
founded in 1607
• The Pilgrim fathers arrive on the
Mayflower in 1620
The United States
• A New Nation:
• In 1776, there were 13 weak British
colonies in America
• Fight for independence
The Declaration of Independence
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July 4, 1776
Largely written by Thomas Jefferson
List of grievances against the King
List of rights of the people (unalienable
rights, among these are Life, Liberty
and pursuit of Happiness)
War for independence
• American colonists acted to win rights they
felt had been denied them as English
subjects
• “No taxation without representation”
• Boston tea party (1773)
• American Independence war lasted from
1775 until 1783
Articles of Confederation
• The former colonies first operated under an
agreement called The Articles of Confederation
(1781)
• a loose union of 13 states; the central government
was too weak with too few powers
Constitutional Convention
• In 1787, 55 delegates from the States met in
Philadelphia to revise the Articles
• The Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan
• Instead they wrote a completely new
document, the Constitution
• Adopted by the thirteen states by 1790
The Virginia Plan
• Drafted by James Madison, and presented
by Edmund Randolph to the Constitutional
Convention on May 29, 1787, the Virginia
Plan proposed a strong central government
composed of three branches: legislative,
executive, and judicial.
• Bicameral legislation
The New Jersey Plan
• After two weeks of debating the Virginia Plan, a
counterproposal was put forth by William
Patterson, which has become known as the New
Jersey Plan (or the Small State Plan or the
Patterson Plan).
• Patterson's ideas amounted to no more than a
simple reshaping of the Articles of Confederation.
• The plan once again offered the idea of a
unicameral (one house) legislature in which all
states would have an equal number of votes.
The Constitution
• The oldest Constitution still in force
• Sets the basic form of government: three
separate branches, each one having powers
(“checks and balances”) over the others
• Specifies the powers and duties of each
federal branch of government
• The ultimate power is given to the people
Preamble
“We the people of the United States, in order
to form a more perfect Union, establish
justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide
for the common defense, promote the
general welfare, and secure the blessings of
liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do
ordain and establish this Constitution for the
United States of America.”
The Bill of Rights
• The first ten Constitutional Amendments
• Fundamental rights of any American
• The freedom of religion, speech, press, the
rights of peaceful assembly, the right of trial
by jury
• These rights cannot be taken away by any
government or court
1. Freedom of religion, speech, press, and assembly. Also, the
right to petition the government.
2. Right to bear arms.
3. Troops may not be quartered in homes in peacetime.
4. No unreasonable searches or seizures.
5. Numerous protections against court action including
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Grand jury indictment required for serious crimes.
No Double Jeopardy.
A person cannot be forced to testify against themselves.
No loss of life, liberty, or property without due process.
6. Right to a speedy, public, and impartial trial.
7. Jury trials are required in civil suits where value
exceeds $20.
8. No excessive bail or fines and no cruel or unusual
punishments.
9. Rights not listed are not necessarily denied.
10. Powers not given expressly to the United States
or denied to the states themselves are reserved to
the states.
Congress
• The legislative branch of the federal government
• Article I of the Constitution: “All legislative
power herein granted shall be vested in a Congress
of the United States, which shall consist of a
Senate and House of Representatives.”
• The Senate (100 Senators, two from each state)
and the House of Representatives (435 elected
members who represent the population of
“congressional districts”)
Powers of the Congress
• Congress makes all laws, decides about
taxes and how money is spent
• It regulates commerce among the states and
with foreign countries
• It sets rules for the naturalization of foreign
citizens
The President
• Elected every four years to a four-year term of
office
• Elected directly by the voters
• Powers of the President: in the executive sphere Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, the
effective source of administrative power, directs
the negotiation of treaties, nominates all important
executive officers
• In the legislative sphere: proposes
legislation to Congress, can veto legislation
already passed by Congress, can call it for
special sessions and adress it by message or
in person
• In the judicial sphere: nominates to all the
more important offices in the judicial
branch, inclusing the Supreme Court
Federalism
• A form of political organization in which the
exercise of power is divided between two levels of
government: the nation and the states
• Exclusively national powers: foreign relations –
declaring wars and making treaties; protecting a
uniform monetary system - control of the power to
coin money
• State powers: all powers not delegated to the
federal government (the Tenth Amendment)
• Concurrent powers: powers shared by both levels,
such as levying taxes and regulating commerce
The Federal Judiciary
• The main instrument – the Supreme Court,
which watches over the executive and
legislative branch
• It determines whether their laws and acts
are in accordance with the Constitution
• Chief Justice and 8 Associate Justices
• 11 federal courts of appeal
• 91 federal district courts
Checks and balances
• The Constitution’s Framers set out a
government in which no person or branch of
government could become all-powerful
• They divided the powers among lawmakers,
judges and a chief executive
• Each group can balance and check other’s
powers