How does the federal system work in US? Please in 250 words and fast please
Answers
Answer:
In a federal system, power is shared by the national and state governments. The Constitution designates certain powers to be the domain of a central government, and others are specifically reserved to the state governments.
Explanation:
Part of the discussion at the 1787 Constitutional Convention focused on basic governmental structures. In declaring independence in 1776, highly centralized unitary government under a king was clearly rejected. In sharp contrast, the first U.S. constitution, The Articles of Confederation, promoted a confederation of the states with very decentralized power concentrated at the state level and a weak central government. As previously discussed, the Articles were not successful, and the 1787 Constitutional Convention convened to make changes in our governmental structure. Rather than tweaking the confederation structure, a third option was essentially invented–what we call today a federal system or federalism. The federal design divides power between multiple levels of government–often state and national. As defined, federalism is an institutional arrangement creating relatively autonomous levels of government, each able to act directly on behalf of the people with granted authority.
As shown in the chart below, under a federal system, the authority is divided between the national government and state governments, with authority to act derived directly from the people. In contrast, a confederation vests power and authority in state governments with national authority delegated by the states. Under a unitary system, authority to act is concentrated with the national government alone–any authority delegated to lower levels of government is exercised at the discretion of the national government.
At the time of the 1787 convention, there were examples of both unitary governments and confederations; however, no examples of the middle option–which we now call a federal system. Among government systems today, there are examples of all three kinds of governmental structures.
American federalism seeks to balance decentralization and centralization forces. We see decentralization when we cross state lines and encounter different taxation levels and voting regulations. Centralization is apparent with the federal government’s unique authority to print money. State border crossings may greet us with colorful billboards, but behind them lies a complex federal design that has structured relationships between states and the national government since the late 1700s.
An unique feature of the American governmental structure is a balance of both horizontal and vertical division of powers. As an institutional/structural design, federalism is intended to both safeguard state interests while creating a strong union led by an effective centralized national government. Federalism divides power between multiple vertical layers or levels of government—national, state, county, parish, local, special district–allowing for multiple access points for citizens. The governments, by design at the national and state levels, check and balance one another.
At each level of the U.S. federal structure, power is further divided horizontally by branches–legislative, executive, and judicial. This separation of powers feature makes the U.S. federal system even more distinct, since not all federal systems have such separation of powers.
