Lesson 11: Federalism and Its Alternatives
In this lesson, we will learn about two types of government – the unitary
system and the confederal system – and contrast them with what we have in the
United States, federalism. We will then look at the arguments in favor of
federalism and some of its key benefits, as well as look at some potential
disadvantages.
When talking about the kind of government we have in America,
it makes sense to cover forms of governments for other independent nations first.
The Unitary System is one form of independent government with a centralized
governmental system in which ultimate governmental authority rests in the hands
of the national, or central, government.
In an independent nation like France or Britain,
power flows from the national government to the states or regions.
Another independent form of government is the Confederal System.
A Confederal System consists of a league of independent states in
which the central government created by the league has only limited powers over
the states.
In other words, in a Confederal System,
the power flows from
the states to
the national government. An example of this form of government was the first
government formed by the Articles of Confederation.
When you put both the Unitary and
the Confederal Systems together,
you have a Federal System like we have in America.
Power flows from the national government to the states and
from the states to the national government.
At the Constitutional Convention,
a conflict existed between advocates for a strong national government and those
who were opposed to it. A compromise had to be struck and that compromise was
Federalism.
Federalism retained power to the states while granting more power to the
national government that it needed to handle the issues it faced.
In the days of horse and
buggy, communication was an issue because it took so long to travel.
Federalism offered a solution for a way to govern large,
spread-out populations rather than leaving it solely in
the hands of a faceless national government.
Federalism offers the United States some really great benefits. First of all,
the system is a great training ground for future leaders. Most people who
become president or members of Congress served at the local level first.
Another benefit is that
it offers the national government a testing grounds for new laws. The
legalization of marijuana started in Colorado and Washington. The Federal
government can observe how successful it is in those states before it decides
to act on a national level.
Political interests arise from
various groups such as race, sex, wealth, education, and religion.
Federalism allows for voices of these varying interests to have an equal chance
to influence government.
There are
arguments against Federalism as well. One argument that is often true is that
strong local politics can act to impede national progress.
Another argument is that
local governments can easily be manipulated by a single political group.
Minority groups can be denied rights by the majority.
Finally, when some feel that justice cannot be served in local politics,
they call on the national government to
solve the issue. This increases the power of the national government at the
expense of the states.