Representation of Federalism in USA

Federalism is often capitalized as the distribution of power in an organization such as a government between a central authority and the constituent. In the case of the United States federalism is represented as the division of power between the states and the federal government itself. Within this division of powers comes advantages and disadvantages which greatly impact society and the way people look at the federalist government structure.

The first primary view of federalism will be carried out with the advantages.

As this form of government is carried out in the United States it is sure to be strong and cleverly planned out. The first pro would be that it provides more protection on individual rights and supports the opinions of the American people. The reason to why this form of government provides more protection to individual rights would be that it is not the government or the state that make the decisions but rather the people of the U.S. When electing the president or when electing primary leaders such as supreme court leaders or members of the state we have full control of who we would like to elect and this election then plays a vital role in the decision process of higher testimonies later on.

Another prime example of an advantage to federalism would be it provides more protection against dangerous leaders such as dictators of people trying to influence or control the country greatly, and to prohibit, the inability of government to advance policies and solutions. In this scenario if the leader of the U.S were to decide on a dictatorial form of rule the government has no say on the issue and it is the people who decide rather than higher officials which may alter the belief of the people and not contribute to a successful country. A prime example of this would be stated in the constitution and on the 10th amendment it says that “Powers not delegated to the United states constitution” or higher personnel are “reserved for the states and or the people.”

The second primary view of Federalism would be the disadvantages. The first con to this topic would be that this type of government can create problems within the national and state authority. With federalism both state and national government resume power but under some circumstances these two powers can come into a bind with each other and not knowingly suppress two ideas without each one knowing who has the higher power in that scenario. For example if National was to propose an idea at the same time as state and they have equal representation it is hard to conceive either idea because of the fact that both have equal justice and votes. Another vital disadvantage to federalism would be that  with 50 different states some of them will have poor policies while others will have good policies therefore; some states will be corrupt,unresponsive, or just in all ineffective in general. An example of this would be wyoming not wanting to raise the drinking age to 21 in the 80’s. With congress passing a law of 21 everyone was on par except for this one state and therefore congress threatened 10% of their federal highway funds. Wyoming in this situation was ineffective to this law for a while and this is primarily one of the down draws to federalism.

American Revolutionaries were majorly divided at the outlook of federalism back then because of the Articles of Confederation and the viewpoint within this article on a national government. In the Confederation it stated more power within state governments and this is why more people back in the day sought after state instead of national power. With the abolishment of the Articles of Confederation and bringing forth the constitution of the U.S, this article represented more of a view on national government power and more people made the move to this side rather than supporting just state power.

After the civil war Great Britain’s central power seemed to be the strongest to the U.S people but they just couldn’t justify all the power within the government and not the people. After long riots and multiple opinions within the public, federalism came into play where it divides the power between the state (the people) and the national government. The reason behind the revolutionaries hot debate between the two had greatly had to do with opposing Britain’s viewpoints and creating a better homeland for future American generations. As stated by Abraham Lincoln, “This nation shall have a new birth of freedom; and … this government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” This quote said by U.S president shows the importance of rule by the people and for the people which is essentially how federalism was mated into the U.S ideals.

 In the case of the United States federalism is represented as the division of power between the states and the federal government itself. Within this division of powers comes advantages and disadvantages which greatly impact society and the way people look at the federalist government structure. Even after these pro’s and con’s federalism is a vital role at today’s society and how we “The people” carry a form of leadership and right of opinion.

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