Question

How has federalism evolved from the founding of the republic to contemporary times?

How does federalism play out in any contemporary issue of your choice?

Answer 1

Federalism is a division of power between the Federal Government and the individual state governments. Federalism has changed over certain events in the American history. The first system of federalism was dual federalism. This meant that the states have their responsibility and the national government had its responsibilities. These were distinct in nature. This was essentially based on the 10^th amendment which states that all powers not constitutionally given to the federal government are reserved to the states. Using dual federalism each government entity has responsibility for those matters that are best addressed at that level of government. For instance, the state handles most things themselves but the federal government handles issues like our national defence. Since the responsibilities and roles hardly overlapped, dual federalism is also known as layer cake federalism. However, this shape slowly transformed into what was called the marble cake federalism. In the ‘New Deal’, federal legislation implementing various programs and policies geared towards reviving the economy. In response to the Great Depression, the federal government was regulating areas it hadn’t previously regulated. By 1945, the US used a system of federalism known as cooperative federalism. Here, the federal and state government responsibilities are intertwined. It is difficult to tell where one government power ends and the other begins. This is jointly funded, administered and determined. However, the states still retain many areas of traditional authority.