Overview
Federalism is a system of government in which the same territory is controlled by two levels of government. Generally, an overarching national government is responsible for broader governance of larger territorial areas, while the smaller subdivisions, states, and cities govern the issues of local concern.
Both the national government and the smaller political subdivisions have the power to make laws and both have a certain level of autonomy from each other.
United States
In the United States, the Constitution has established a system of “dual sovereignty,” under which the States have surrendered many of their powers to the Federal Government, but also retained some sovereignty. Examples of this dual sovereignty are described in the U.S. Constitution.
Supremacy Clause
Article VI of the U.S. Constitution contains the Supremacy Clause, which reads, "This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding." This effectively means that when the laws of the federal government are in conflict with the laws of a state's government, the federal law will supersede the state law.
Article I, Section 8
Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution describes specific powers which belong to the federal government. These powers are referred to as enumerated powers.
Tenth Amendment
The Tenth Amendment reserves powers to the states, as long as those powers are not delegated to the federal government. Among other powers, this includes creating school systems, overseeing state courts, creating public safety systems, managing business and trade within the state, and managing local government. These powers are referred to as reserved powers.
Concurrent Powers
Concurrent powers refers to powers which are shared by both the federal government and state governments. This includes the power to tax, build roads, and create lower courts.
Further Reading
For more on federalism, see this Florida State University Law Review article, this Vanderbilt Law Review article, and this Stanford Law Review article.
One way to limit the power of the new Congress under the Constitution was to be specific about what it could do. These enumerated, or listed, powers were contained in Article I, Section 8—the great laundry list of congressional chores. These included: to lay and collect taxes; pay debts and borrow money; regulate commerce; coin money; establish post offices; protect patents and copyrights; establish lower courts; declare war; and raise and support an Army and Navy. But the very end of this list contained one more power: to make all laws “necessary and proper” to carry out the enumerated powers. Also known as the Elastic Clause, this phrase allowed Congress to stretch its enumerated powers a bit to fit its needs. For instance, in McCulloch v. Maryland [1819], the Supreme Court ruled that under the Necessary and Proper Clause Congress had the power to establish a national bank to carry out its powers to collect taxes, pay debts, and borrow money. Broad interpretation of the Elastic Clause has allowed expanded Congressional power.
Federalism content written by Linda R. Monk, Constitutional scholar
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The relationship between the states and the federal government
States and the federal government have both exclusive powers and concurrent powers. There is an ongoing negotiation over the balance of power between the two levels.
The relationship between the states and the federal government
Transcribed Image Text:Last euit was 2 minutes ago 100% Normal text Garamond BIUA 11 三 6 7 A] National policy change rarely emerges from state or local government experiment B] The system of checks and balances between state and federal government can fail under certain conditions C] State governments are slower to implement policy than the national government D] Pressure at the national level can force state and local policy changes 2. Which of the following is an accurate comparison of the exclusive and concurrent powers of the federal government? Exclusive powers of the federal government Concurrent powers shared with the states A Make laws Conduct elections В Regulate commerce Establish local governments C Charter banks and corporations Regulate the postal system D Declare war Levy taxes 3. Read the passage and answer the following question. revising the federal system we ought to inquire 1. into the properties, which such a government ought to possess, 2. the cts of the confederation, 3. the danger of our situation & 4. the remedy. Character of such a government ought to secure 1. against foreign invasion, 2. against dissensions between members of the 1:.: 1.i.1. III I!