Federalism: Challenges to the Placement of Power Argosy Online University Abstract Federalism was first brought to light with the writing and authorization of the constitution of 1787. Federalism is a political concept in which a group of members are bound together by covenant with a governing representative head. The term "federalism" is also used to describe a system of government in which control is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and part political units. Over the years Federalism has undergone several challenges to its placement of power between the government and state. Some supporters say that a state should have more power than the federal government and then there are others who say the Federal government should be the ruling body alone.
Article III of the US Constitution establishes the judiciary branch - the Supreme Court. Although the US Constitution includes democratic principles such as checks and balances and the separation of powers to ensure the equal balance of power amongst the government branches, the legislative branch was designed to be most powerful. The organization and qualifications of Congress also contribute to the democratic shortcomings of the US Constitution. One of the biggest of these government decisions is electing the president, for which the system of the electoral college is in place. The US Constitution did not abolish slavery, and an interesting guarantee regarding slavery was included in Article IV of the Constitution.
The federal government is superior to state government, and, because of this federal law will override state law. The Fourteenth Amendment in the United States Constitution designates that the Bill of Rights valid in each state. According to the Constitution federal law is designated to govern items passed in legislation by the United States Congress.
That these powers are permitted to the congress as elastic clause. The example is that the Constitution is relatively simple and straight forward document that is set to the branches of government which these powers fall into the category in the Bill of Rights 10th Amendment. According to the Constitution that the level of government that takes precedence in the conflict will be the Supreme Law of Land and the national which in this case is the Federal Government which are under the constitutional principles. It means whenever there is a conflict between state and federal laws it takes precedence which is known as the Supremacy Clause. The McCulloch vs. Maryland is an example of a proper clause in the United States Constitution.
The Constitution created a strong national government. It also divided the U.S. government into three parts, or branches, each with its own powers and responsibilities. To keep any one branch from becoming too powerful, the Constitution included a system of checks and balances. Under this system, each branch limited the power of the others. There are three branches of the federal government, the executive, the judicial, and the legislative.
The 14th Amendment 1868 due process clause this dictates that neither state or Government could get in the way of personal rights this is an extremely effective away to protect the civil liberties of its citizens . This is an extremely effective way at protecting the civil liberties as it is enforced by the Supreme Court there are many cases such as the New York Times vs. United States the Nixon administration sought an injunction against both the New York times and the Washington Post, in order to stop the publication if content
The principle was adopted by the Founding Fathers due to their fear of totalitarianism. Montesquieu argued for separation of powers in his book L’Esprit de Lois, where he stated that separation of powers will avoid tyranny ‘When the legislative and executive powers are united in the same person…there can be no liberty.’ On the contrary to the US, the UK’s powers are fused; the Prime Minister is both the executive and part of the legislature. In the US system there is also a separation of personnel, this means that no person can be a member of more than one branch at the same time. When Senator Al Gore was elected vice-president in 1992, he had to resign from the Senate. Similarly, in 2008, Barack Obama too had to resign from the Senate.
However, if the broader definition is adopted that states the existence of rules which determine governments operation and institutions, then a constitution exists in the United Kingdom. A.V. Dicey claimed that the United Kingdom Constitution was based on twin pillars of Parliamentary sovereignty and the rule of law. The United Kingdom constitution is characterised as being unitary and unwritten, however the division between written and unwritten constitutions is debateable. No constitution is exclusively written or unwritten.
An example is the American Constitution adopted by the founding fathers on September 17, 1787. With an unwritten constitution, there is no single document that sets out the rules or principles of the state and hence it is necessary to look at the various sources of constitutional power. An unwritten constitution means that the laws, policies and codes that regulate the government and society have not all been enacted into laws. These laws and policies have developed overtime through sources such Parliamentary Acts and statutes, common law or precedents, customs or conventions and more recently the E.U Law. The UK unwritten constitution, is a result of historical growth and development over many years and even though there is no single document which states these principles and rules there are separate statutes such as Human Rights Act 1998(?)
PT 1: The American Constitution: Structure & Ideology Last Week - Negative Liberty – Leave me alone mentality - Education itself is not government involvement. But progressing people - American Tradition puts the Constitution as a contract (by consent) - Self Rule – “We the People” - Power works through the office of the president (we the people govern) - Virginia Plan/New Jersey Plan - The U.S. Constitution is not simply a model to be given to other countries to copy. It goes back to the Constitution being a compromise. Article 1: Congress (7 Articles) - Longest section of the Constitution (2,243 words) - Compromised of 10 sections [Framers thought Congress would be the most important aspect in government.] [What is the opposite of freedom?