This January, the Convention of States Action team in Maryland held an essay competition for middle and high schoolers across the state. One of our essay winners, Elliott James, tackled the subject of federalism and why it is so important to our government. Enjoy her essay below!
Federalism – Why is it Important?
By Elliott James
Federalism is an important part of American government, but most people don’t actually understand it. For instance, people commonly think that “federal” and “federalism” mean the same thing. They don’t. If you find yourself trying to remember what I mean by federalism, then this is the paper for you! Let’s jump in and learn about federalism, what it is, why it is so important, and things we can do now to protect it.
Federalism is the division of power between different levels of government. In the case of America, the division between state government and federal government. Our founding fathers knew that it was important for states to work together, but they also knew that keeping most of the power at the state level would let citizens exercise “self-governing” (this was kind of an important thing for the founding fathers and the whole point of the American Revolution).
The founding fathers knew that it was important for people to be involved in government, and that having the same people elected over and over again would lead to tyranny. They also knew that States would need to work together and that the federal government would help them do that. So James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington helped to design a federalist system of government for the United States of America. The idea was that having most of the power at state and local levels would allow for more citizens be involved and run for local offices, as well as making elected officials more responsible (because the people they represented would be able to go and talk to them easily).
Now, I think it’s important to make sure you understand what I mean by “state and local government,” because a lot of people don’t understand just how many rules and laws are made by people right down the street from them. There are generally four different levels of government in America: national (federal), state, county, and city. Each of these levels of government also have a separation of power between three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. This is what the founding fathers referred to as “separation of power.” They were very specific in how government power was divided and which level was responsible for what. They knew that by separating the jobs of government between a lot of people and not just giving one person a lot of power, they would be more likely to avoid tyranny in the future.
At the beginning of our Country, there were very specific jobs split between the national level of government and the state governments. The federal government (as it is now called) was extremely limited and only had the power to coin money, regulate trade, and declare war. The rest of governing was left to each state, and they were responsible for things like providing courts of law for counties and cities in that state, running elections, issuing licenses, maintaining county roads, and other things. Each state also developed their own constitution as an agreement between the state government and the citizens of that state (all of them included things from United States Constitution like freedom of speech and the right to defend yourself).
This distinct separation of power is commonly referred to as “layer cake” federalism because there are different jobs between national and state levels of government and outside of collecting taxes, maintaining law and order, and building highways, their power does not overlap. The original design of federalism was important because it basically kept everything in a simple order and limited the federal government.
This kind of all went out the window in the 1930’s during the New Deal when President Franklin D. Roosevelt used his position to encourage states to “pursue nationally defined goals.” This happened right after the Great Depression and people were scared. Just like now, people wanted their elected officials to give them answers. The New Deal made the federal government enormous, and it started doing many of the same jobs as the states. This mixing and sharing of government power is referred to as “marble cake” federalism because it’s a mess.
Working together toward common goals may sound like a good idea, but many times the federal government steps in the way and creates other issues. We have seen this recently with the pandemic. States Governors are much better at making rules to keep their citizens safe because each state deals with different problems. For instance, what needs to happen in Maryland is not what should happen in South Dakota. Additionally, as states do different things, we can learn from each other and make better decisions.
As the size of the federal government has increased people have also become less involved. They also have a hard time getting their representatives to listen to them, and the same people have been in Washington for decades. The founders knew federal congress wouldn’t pay attention the people and wouldn’t limit their own power. The founding fathers created Article V for just this reason, to allow power to return to the people. The federal government has way too much power and is controlling way too many things.
Before the American Revolution, King George refused to listen to his subjects and controlled everything. The founding fathers knew that war was horrible and they designed the Constitution to keep people safe by limiting government and giving them ways to fight against tyranny without having to pick up a weapon. Convention of States would help to bring back federalism, allowing for people to be in more control of their country.
Elliott James is a 6th grader who has lived in Maryland for the last 7 years. As a "Marine brat" she lived in 4 different states by the time she was 5 years old and has a great time meeting new people wherever she and her family end up! Ellie has been homeschooled since 1st grade and loves being able to learn about everything that interests her. She is particularly fond of art, writing, history, and music. Ellie loves piano, ballet, and playing with the animals on their small farm where her family has alpacas, chickens, turkeys, peacocks, bunnies, cats, and dogs. The most recent addition is her new puppy, Matilda, a Great Pyrenees. Ellie isn't sure what she wants to do when she grows up, but she thinks being a writer would be cool.
