Since the founding of the United States of America, the question of whether the country should follow a federal or a consolidated national type of governance has been a pressing one. Many have questioned which style is most in line with the political culture of the United States. Certain concepts have defined the political culture of the United States as we know it. These values can be defined as equality, liberty (Harrison et al. 14), capitalism, consent of the governed (Harrison et al. 15), as well as the importance of an individual, family, and community (Harrison et al. 16). Having established the central values of the United States’ political culture, it is worth discussing how some of them align with the concepts of federalism and anti-federalism. Huberfield characterizes federalism as a system that enhances “sovereignty, accountability, and protection of liberty and equality” (247). It can be argued that federalist policies are best suited for the United States because they align with such national values as liberty, equality, and capitalism.
On a superficial level, neither federalism nor anti-federalism interfere with the concept of equality. As put by Knauer, “federalism is an institutional choice; not an ideology” (7). The ways that the government can be structured do not seem to be directly linked with the notion of equality for all people regardless of origin. However, recent discussions show this may not necessarily be the case. In particular, when exploring the implications of federalism on LGBTQ equality, it has been shown that federalism facilitates marriage equality (Knauer 63). Namely, LGBTQ advocates have used federalism “to advance the legal strategy that ultimately led to nationwide marriage equality” (Knauer 2). Moreover, Kincaid describes the United States as a “multicultural federation”, further underscoring the success of federalism in establishing a state that adheres to equality (107). These findings together indicate that federalism aligns with the political value of equality.
To discuss the implications of federalism and anti-federalism on the liberty of the citizen, it seems natural to claim that preoccupation with the liberty of the individual is the essence of anti-federalism. Indeed, it seems that it was the preoccupation with liberty, fueled by the recent independence from the tyrannical British crown, that was the reason behind the implementation of decentralized governments by the Articles of Confederation (Harrison 40). When the Articles were to be replaced by the Constitution, a prominent anti-federalist concern was that the Constitution would give up too much power to the national government, therefore threatening civil liberties (Harrison 54). However, a possible counterpoint is that liberty results from the distribution of sovereign authority and therefore is safe under federalism (Partlett 1683).
It appears unambiguous that capitalism in particular has been largely facilitated by federalism. For example, the economy of the United States under the Articles of Confederation has struggled due to the lack of a nation-wide economic policy, a nation-wide currency, which led to struggles with taxation and building infrastructure (Harrison 41). Under these conditions, farmers and other agents of capitalism struggled, plunging the country into turmoil (Harrison 41). It can be concluded that the capitalism of the United States has been dependent on federal policies to thrive.
Having reviewed how federalism and anti-federalism coincide with the main American values of liberty, equality, and capitalism, it seems that the federalist way of governance is more suitable for the country. It has been shown that federal policies have enhanced the equality in the United States and led to the flourishing capitalism, while not hampering with the American liberty despite the concerns of the past. Therefore, it can be concluded that federalism is the embodiment of the political culture of the United States.
Works Cited
Harrison, Brigid C., et al. American Democracy Now. 6th ed., McGraw-Hill Education, 2019.
Huberfield, Nicole. (2019). Epilogue: Health Care, Federalism, and Democratic Values. American Journal of Law & Medicine, vol. 45, no. 2–3, pp. 247–252. Web.
Kincaid, John. “Origins and Consequences of American Multicultural Federalism: Constitutional Patriotism, Territorial Neutrality, and National Polarization.” Federalism and National Diversity in the 21st Century, edited by Alain G. Gagnon and Arjun Tremblay, Palgrave MacMillan, 2020, pp. 107–130. Web.
Knauer, Nancy J. The LGBTQ Equality Gap and Federalism. American University Law Review, vol. 70, iss. 1, 2020, pp. 1–73.
Partlett, William. Criminal Law and Cooperative Federalism. American Criminal Law Review, vol. 56, 2019, pp. 1663–1691. Web.