What Do You Know about Federalism?

            The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday is federalism. While writing the United States Constitution, the Framers were concerned about dividing the power of government. They wanted a strong executive, but they did not want another monarch. So, they divided the power of the federal government between three branches – the executive, the legislative, and the judicial. This is called division of power.

The Framers wanted a strong central government, but they wanted it to be small and limited. They also wanted the states to be strong, so, they divided power between the federal government and the sovereign states. The Tenth Amendment states, “The 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.”

Dividing power between the central government and the states is called federalism. A formal definition of federalism is “a system of government in which power is divided, by a constitution, between a central government and regional governments.”

Even though the Framers created a small and limited central government, its size and power have grown over the years. There was little growth during the early decades because federalism divided the power. Between 1789 and 1937, most fundamental governmental powers were shared between the federal and state governments. Then the Supreme Court decided a few cases that expanded federal powers to settle conflicts between the states and the federal government.

Beginning in the early 1800s, the decisions of the Supreme Court rested on a pro-national interpretation of Article I, Section 8, of the United States Constitution. This article specifies the power of Congress, which include the power to tax, raise an army, declare war, establish post offices, and “regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several States and with the Indian tribes.” The Court used the “commerce clause” to expand the federal government control over the economy and made it a national economy.

The powers of the federal government grew again during the administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) during the Great Depression. The Stock Market crashed in October 1929, and by 1932, 25 percent of the workforce was unemployed. Many families were losing their homes. President Herbert Hoover maintained that the federal government could do little to relieve the misery caused by the depression.

FDR entered the White House in 1933 and immediately involved the federal government in the fight against the depression. His proposals became known as the New Deal. Under his direction, the federal government financed several temporary relief and work programs, and the states administered them. FDR’s administration also created several important federal programs designed to provide future economic security in America. With the help of the New Deal, the national government gained power unknown under previous administrations.

The Great Depression was a national emergency, and the federal government usurped power from the states. With each emergency, the states and the people lose power to the central government. The Patriot Act was created after September 11, 2001, and now we are forced to go through security each time we fly or enter a federal building. During the coronavirus pandemic, the government locked down the nation, worse in Democrat states than in Republican-led states.

The Democrat motto, “Never let a good crisis go to waste,” seems to be the mantra of the federal government. It gains more power every single time that our nation faces an emergency. We should also rejoice when we see strong Governors, such as Ron DeSantis of Florida, stand up to the federal government to protect our freedoms. This is what federalism is meant to be.