The structure of power is, without a single doubt, one of the most important things that define a country. Federations differ considerably from unitary states and confederations. However, even the same type of government can have some distinctions in different countries, or in different periods.
The United States of America is probably the most well-known example of a federation. As is characteristic of a federal state, its powers are distributed between the federal government, also known as the national government, and state governments. The powers fall into three categories; the classification reflects in their distribution. The first category embraces the so-called enumerated powers, listed in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution and granted by it to the national government (Schmidt, Shelley, II, and Bardes 64). The second category consists of the powers, which are “not delegated to [the national government of] the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states” and are referred to as the reserved powers, for they are “reserved” to the state governments by the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution (Schmidt, Shelley, II, and Bardes 64). Finally, there is a third group of powers, which belong to both national and state governments; these are called the concurrent powers (Schmidt, Shelley, II, and Bardes 64). A bright example of a concurrent power is the ability to levy a tax, present on both levels of government.
According to Zimmerman, “The existence of concurrent powers in the U.S. federal system offers states the opportunity to address a serious national problem if Congress fails to act” (148). Thus, the power is distributed between the nation and separate states. Nevertheless, the latter cannot overrule the policies, accepted by the national government.
With the passing of time, the balance of power between the two levels of government shifted several times. The changes were usually brought about by the processes and events in the history of the USA. At the early stages of the country’s development, it was centralized, with the Congress being a supreme authority. 1819 marked the beginning of the Marshall era, named after Chief Justice John Marshall. During this period, the Supreme Court held the most power (Dautrich and Yalof 74). Almost twenty years later, the era of dual federalism began, which lasted about a century. During this time, the sphere of influence of the national government was severely limited by the state governments (Dautrich and Yalof 74). The Congress exhibited next to none of the concurrent powers, retaining only the enumerated powers. The situation changed in 1937, as the national government ruled freely in the wake of the Great Depression (Dautrich and Yalof 74). This period, known as the cooperative federalism, was followed by the new federalism, which started in the 1990s, as the states’ influence began to increase again (Dautrich and Yalof 74). As a result, the gap between the two levels of government was eliminated, with the power distribution becoming less layered and more intertwined.
In my opinion, the current version of federalism in the USA is the most efficient one. This way, the states benefit from the national financing without losing their independence. At the same time, the federal government maintains a certain influence over the state governments, while allowing them freedom to make important choices and decisions on the issues, with which they are best familiar. Therefore, such distribution of power combines the most appealing advantages of a federal system.
Works Cited
Dautrich, Kenneth, and David Yalof. The Enduring Democracy. Boston: Cengage Learning, 2014. Print.
Schmidt, Steffen, Mack C. Shelley, II, and Barbara Bardes. American Government and Politics Today: Brief Edition, 2014-2015. Stamford: Cengage Learning, Print.
Zimmerman, Joseph F. The Initiative: Citizen Lawmaking. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2014. Print.