What Is Federalism Federal Evolution in United States Essay

What Is Federalism Federal Evolution in United States - Essay Example It is this type of federalism that the founders envisioned, and its main purposes were to provide for an equitable sharing of resources, and also avoid tyranny. Under dual federalism, the federal government was limited to its enumerated functions, which includes defense, and all manner of foreign policies. The occurrence of the great depression in America signified an end to the concept of dual federalism; instead there emerged the concepts of cooperative federalism. This is an aspect where by the national government is a strong institution as compared to the state governments. This form of federalism began with Frankline Roosevelt, and a case that helped to validate the emergence of a strong national government is the Helvering vs. David. In this case, the court gave a ruling that the functions of social security provision were a responsibility of a national government (Seddon, 2013). This gave the national government legitimacy to carry out powers which were not enumerated to it. Finally, the concept of new federalism evolved in the 20th century with the coming in of president Ronald Reagan. This is because he initiated the concepts of devolution by giving out grants to state governments and allowing them to use this money as they pleased (Seddon, 2013). Previously, any money advanced to the state governments was closely monitored and regulated. This changed with Ronald Reagan. Q. 2: One factor that allowed the concept of federalism to gain root in America is the need to distribute power amongst the various states that formed America. Federalism describes the basic structure of the government of America, and there arose disagreements by the founding fathers on the best method of distributing power and sharing resources. This was during the constitutional convention. Delegates at this constitutional convention feared creating a strong national government, as well as a strong state government (Seddon, 2013). Creating these strong institutions could lead to tyra nny. To prevent it therefore, there was a need to create a federal state. The need for allowing people to engage in American politics also allows the concept of federalism to shape the American politics. Americans can participate in politics in a number of ways. They can write to their senators urging them to support a particular issue, or they can even make presentations to their city councils, or local school boards. Due to Federalism, Americans are able to elect their president, members of congress, governors, and senators. On this basis, federalism allows political participation (Gallagher, 2012). The need for equitable sharing of resources makes it possible for Americans to allow the concept of federalism. The states and the federal government are able to share and distribute resources in an equitable manner. In fact, states and the federal government have their agencies all over the nation, just for the provision of services (Seddon, 2013). For example, the constitution allows states to form their own policies and implement them. This is if the policies do not breach the constitution. This is because the constitution provides a guideline on how the federal and the state government ought to relate with one another. Q.3: One factor that determines how states influence the policies of the Federal government is on the successes and failures of a given policy by the states. On this basis, states usually act as role models for the federal government, and this is because the federal government will implement policies that these states are successful in