Federalism
The system of American government is Federalism, which has two levels of government, the federal government and the state government, control the country. Both federal government and state government are made up of legislative, executive and judicial. The federal government has power over national issues, while the state government has power over state issues or domestic issues. Through the federal government governs the entire country, it only has powers written on the US Constitution. (Federalism, Legal Information Institute) The history of federalism in the United States started in 1789, when the new constitution was approved by the states, and it experienced four time period: Dual Federalism, Cooperative Federalism, Regulated Federalism and New Federalism.
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It is also known as the layer-cake federalism, since the national government and state government were partners but responsible for own distinct area. In 1860, the civil war began and federalism is one of the main disputes. Fugitive Slave Act is the cause of the conflict between the Southern and Northern states. The southerners stated that the state governments have the right to decide whether to admit the federal law or not, on the other hand, the northerners illustrate that the nation could not be separate. “The role of the national government was also settled by the Civil War. Before the Civil War, the role of government was generally characterized by decentralization (American Federalism, 1776 to 1997: Significant Events). ” Finally, the civil war changed the pattern of the United States. The period of dual federalism continued, national government had further steps into the scope of power of state