Balance Of Power In The United States

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As James Madison once said in Federalist No. 51 ““the power surrendered by the people” would be “divided between two distinct governments,” creating a balance of power that would enable the “different governments [to] control each other” (Gaylord 1). There are many different types of societies all throughout the world and this one society is one that triumphs all. A society of over 300 million people who are free to do many things under the law they live in. They have a choice about where they want to live and depending on where they live what types of laws they have to follow. Even though there is a national government that enforces certain laws, there are state and local governments that have similar power in making laws and enforcing laws. …show more content…
According to the Cornell Law School, “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. The United States has a federal system of governance consisting of the national or federal government, and the government of the individual states” (“Federalism” 1). The use of a federal system by the United States is granted through the U.S. Constitution. Cornell Law School additionally discusses that the federal government deals with issues with national concern, whereas domestic concerns are generally the issues that are among state government concerns. One national concern that the federal government has control over is the power to levy taxes. Moreover, there are specific powers that the federal government has that the state government does not have. These specific powers are granted to Congress and include the power to mint money, declare war, establish post offices, and levy taxes. Even though federalism has a clear picture in the U.S. Constitution, there are still setbacks that have changed the way federalism is used in the United …show more content…
There is a current trend towards federalism because it gives ethnic groups some control over their own affairs, allows for sharing over power between political parties, and democracy’s all across the world have been seen as the basic framework of governance over the past three decades. Larry Diamond states “The thinking is that if different ethnic and regional minorities have some autonomy, some ability to determine their own local affairs with respect to education, culture, and economic development, they will feel more secure, and be more willing to accept the authority and legitimacy of the larger national state” (Diamond 4). By giving minorities the abilities to have participation in political affairs, it allows for all people to be heard in our democracy and feel more welcomed to share their ideas. Second, the division of power between the two political parties is essential for United States because it allows citizens to feel the system if fair since one political party can control the federal government and another party can control a state government. If one party controlled everything, then those who don’t agree with the political party could revolt and cause challenge in society. Lastly, federalism is used all through the world, which allows for citizens to believe in the legitimacy of a
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