What was federalism originally designed to do

Federal systems must have at least two levels of government. As you know, America has a federal government that consists of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches headquartered in Washington, DC. The other level comes from the 50 state governments, each with their own powers and sovereignty. Under this system, the states remained sovereign and independent, and a newly created Congress served as a last resort to resolve disputes.

But the articles had some weaknesses. These flaws prompted the Constitutional Convention of There, delegates from the 13 states drafted the Constitution to address the problems with the Articles of Confederation.

The Constitution created a stronger central government to oversee national issues while keeping most power in the states. In the United States, the federal government has the power to regulate trade between states, declare war, manage the mail, and print money—among several other powers. State governments have their own set of powers too. Notably, all power not granted to the federal government is reserved to the states and the people.

Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite. And then there are shared powers, also known as concurrent powers. Both the federal and state governments have the power to tax and establish courts, for example. After winning the war in , the new American citizens were very hesitant to create a powerful, centralized government. Proponents of term limit legislation argued that the Constitution Article 1, Section 4 allowed each state to fix the time, place, and manner of elections for Senators and Representatives of Congress.

The Supreme Court ruling reaffirmed the concept of dual citizenship enunciated in in the Slaughterhouse Cases and Bradwell v. The Court ruled that a state could not add to the qualifications for federal office as enunciated in Article I of the Constitution. Further, Justice Kennedy, in a concurring opinion, noted that term limits violate the "fundamental principles of federalism. The Act has been challenged as a violation of state sovereignty.

The Supreme Court will render its decision sometime in The case will have important federalism implications and will provide a clue to the direction of the Supreme Court in matters of federalism and state sovereignty.

Federal financial support for the independent federal agency, which began its work in , terminated in Wilson, James Q. DiIulio, Jr. American Government Institutions and Policies.

Lexington, D. Heath and Company, Jackson, Andrew. For and Against the Bank Renewal Bill. Andrew Jackson: Veto Message. In The Annals of Anierica. Chicago, Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc. Gibbons v. Calhoun, John C. Wilson ed. O'Connor, Karen and Larry J. American Government. Webster, Daniel. Congressional Debates. Foot's Resolution.

Washington, In Gales and Seaton's Register, v. Gales and Seaton, Prigg v. Scott V. Munn v. Wabash, St. Slaughterhouse Cases. Bradwell v. Plessy v. Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. Williams v.

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The Articles of Confederation were written and ratified while the Revolutionary War was still raging. As a result, the newly independent United States was buried in debt by and unable to pay the long-overdue wages of Revolutionary soldiers. The U. Alexander Hamilton called for a new Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in where the Articles of Confederation were ultimately thrown out in favor of an entirely new form of government.

Instead, the founders initially chose the opposite form of government, a confederation. States were scuffling over borders and minting their own money. The solution was to find a middle way, a blueprint of government in which the powers were shared and balanced between the states and national interests.

That compromise, woven into the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, became known as federalism. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights created two different kinds of separation of powers, both designed to act as critical checks and balances.