Module Introduction

Who governs? This is the prevailing question in American politics. In fact, in every pressing political matter of the day, this is the resounding cry: Do the people rule or does power emanate solely from the states and/or the national government? The constitutional principle of federalism functions to address this concern.

As a part of the doctrine of separation of powers, federalism was fashioned as “double security” for the rights of the people (Hamilton or Madison, 1788). Premised upon the notion that states are “closer” to the people and are, thus, better positioned to protect citizen’s rights, federalism’s design was to construct a divide between national and state powers. This distribution of power, while somewhat articulated in Article IV of the Constitution, is much more pronounced in the Tenth Amendment wherein it is expressed that “powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” Such verbiage, appears to create a clear line of demarcation between national and state powers. However, the evolution of American society, alongside changes in the international order, has consistently challenged the validity of this principle.

Chief among these challenges was the American Civil War, with the consequences of such — the abolishment of slavery — being the most marked restraint on states’ rights in American history. Followed by the New Deal recovery, shifts in social order (Jim Crow segregation), America’s war on terror, and even the ongoing marijuana and healthcare debates, federalism, as a constitutional principle, remains as a regularly contested part of American federal government. And for good reason. At the Constitutional Convention of 1787, it was the states that came together to form the national government. Early on, it would seem that the national government was created to be an agent of the states, but as time would have it, the states, by virtue of court rulings, have morphed into agents of the federal government.

I recommend you to search and review — What is Federalism? Why is it important? ⁽¹⁾