The Power Of Federalism

The concept that the central government should share its power with lower levels of government, called federalism, is directly derived from the Constitution. Although it may seem ironic, this idea was one of the Antifederalists. After all, it was the Antifederalists who did not want the central government to become too powerful because it they believed that it would inevitably lead to tyranny. With this in mind, the framers of the constitution sought to create a system of government that balanced order. The American federal system, on the contrary to a unitary system of government, operates differently in regards to how what types of political cultures tend to adopt federalism, to how the national government and states share powers, to how

The Tenth Amendment states that powers that are not specifically delegated to the national government or prohibited to the states are reserved for the states (Ginsberg 64). These powers are known as reserved powers. The state exerts great power over citizens’ everyday lives. Through the fundamental power of coercion, the states have the authority to develop and enforce criminal codes, to administer health and safety rules, to regulate family, to regulate individuals’ livelihoods, and to define private property (Ginsberg 64). States also have the authority to regulate health, safety, and the morals of its citizens through the police powers (Ginsberg 64). Finally, states also have concurrent powers, which are possessed by both the state and national governments. Among these powers is the authority to regulate commerce and to levy taxes (Ginsberg 64). But, whenever there is a conflict between national and state levels, the principle of national supremacy

In the Constitution, the founding fathers created obligations among the states that were intended to promote national unity (Ginsberg 64). The full faith and credit clause, presented in Article IV, Section 1, of the Constitution establishes that each state is expected to honor the public acts and judicial decisions that take place in another state (Ginsberg 65). In addition, there is the privileges and immunities clause, from Article 2, Section 2, of the Constitution, establishing that a state cannot discriminate against someone from another state of give its own residents’ special treatments (Ginsberg 66). Through these clauses, unity is promoted because the states are held accountable to each