Federalism is a system of government where the central government divides its power to the state governments (Wilson 54). The US has adopted this form of government structure since the 18th century but it has evolved over the years. However, the government assigned respective government its roles so as to ensure no antagonism or conflict between the state and federal government. This paper will examine the assigned roles for both governments and when in history the state government was dominant that federal government and vice versa.
The state and the federal government have assigned roles that they have to play as outlined in three categories in the US constitution. Firstly, the reserved powers reserved precisely for the state governments. Some of these state government powers are giving fire and police protection, state education, and health regulations (Wilson 55). Secondly, the granted powers are those specifically listed in the US constitution such as the power to make treaties with other nation states, power to raise army and navy, post office, and provide copyrights and patents for various businesses. However, it is important to understand that states government are not given the power to coin money or wage war against other nation states but the federal government can initiate war or coin money (Wilson 55). Thirdly, the concurrent powers are those that are shared between the state and the federal government such as the right to tax (Wilson 56). Through state and federal taxes, respective governments can generate funds to serve the public through building infrastructure and giving social welfare.
The civil war in the US is one of the key factors that sparked conflict between the federal and the state government. The national government wanted the emancipation of all slaves in the US. However, most Southern states supported slavery and wanted the African American slaves to keep on working on their fields (Wilson 57). Individual states felt that they had power over the federal government because they are the one that ratified the birth of a federal government. Thus, the individual states that supported slavery felt as though the Federal government had overstepped its boundaries. The federal government and Northern states formed a union to fight against the Southern states that did not want to conform to releasing its slaves. In the long run, most Southern states seceded and slaves were emancipated (Wilson 58). Due to war, the individual state governments had to secede in order to safeguard their human right from the federal government. This shows that the state government had more power over the federal government and the national government had to initiate a war to emancipate the slaves.
The great depression in the US exemplified the power of national government over the state government. The national government had to intervene into the economic welfare of respective banks with the aim of regulating interest rates as used in the banks to alleviate poverty among the people (Wilson 59). The federal government had the initiative to improve standards of living of many people so that in the long run it could increase taxes that would increase the government revenue. In addition, the federal government started the social security program that would help people accrue money for use during their old age. This shows that the federal government was more active and dominant that state government during this event.
Distribution of powers in both governments is essential because it helps in political stability of the country. The civil war was as a result of conflicting powers and interests between the federal and the state government. Thus, through the outlining respective powers between the governments is ideal in ensuring that peace and unity in the country so that history cannot repeat itself. In addition, the state governments can serve the public better than the federal government, which in most cases is concerned with foreign policies.
In conclusion, it is clear that federalism has been dynamic over the years. Federalism grants specialized powers between the federal and state governments to ensure growth in the overall general economy. These powers are outlined in the US constitution so that there is no conflict in interests.
Works Cited
Wilson, James Q.., and John J. DiIulio. American government. 7th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1998. Print.
