Federalism

Federalism was one of the main beliefs of the Founding Fathers. Before the Revolutionary War, the thirteen colonies lacked any integration or central power structure beyond the English monarchy. Even for several years after the Revolutionary war was one, the colonies maintained a loose collaboration under the Articles of Confederation, a body holding no central power beyond that granted by the collective states. The idea for national interest to cede states power seemed impossible to the Founding Fathers.

* Federalism refers to the shared control by two bodies over the same area. The best example of this is the American system which maintains separate States power over jurisdictional lines, but that still submits to a national interest controlled by the federal government. It is important to note that the founding father saw the growing nation as a representation of federalism, but most favored states power over the federal government. One possible explanation for this is the way that colonists saw themselves. In almost all cases the founding fathers saw themselves as say Virginians first, and Americans second. This sentiment illustrates nothing more than the nation was brand new and lacked true identity at that time.

* After Washington’s inauguration, federalism was still strong but with states power slowly starting to ween. The first real effort to guarantee a national interest was completed by Alexander Hamilton. Interestingly, Alexander Hamilton never saw himself as a New Yorker due to his birth in the Bahamas. What he saw of America was the revolutionary fervor and that is all he cared about. Hamilton’s three-pronged financial system establish a system of national debt and banking establish the federal power as the new nation’s purse. The deal was hashed out with Thomas Jefferson for a trade to make the national capital in Virginia–Jefferson stated numerously after this time that it was his biggest regret of his political career.

* States power in the realm of federalism continued to ween until a last ditch effort by Southern states to cede from the Union leading to the Civil War. Many see the Civil War as a fight over the injustices of slavery, which it was in part, but many at the time saw it is a larger pull away from national interest and a fight for self governance.

America is still a society predicated on federalism. The vast majority of laws in this country are still made on the state level. States power would never return to the pre-Civil War days, however, after the introduction of the fourteenth amendment. After the ratification of the Civil War amendment–thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen–the national interest would always trump states power and rights.