Federalism in the United States facts for kids

Federalism in the United States is a way of sharing power between the national government and the state governments. The U.S. Constitution explains how this works. It says which powers belong to the national government and which powers belong to the states. The main goal of federalism is to create a good balance of power. This way, neither the states nor the national government can become too strong.

How it Started

Early Government in America

When America was a colony of the British Empire, it was ruled by King George III. Many American colonists felt that the British government was unfair. They believed it did not care about their rights.

The Founding Fathers of the United States started to believe in an idea called republicanism. This idea said that people should choose their own government. It also said that the government's job was to protect people's natural rights. If the government failed to do this, the people had the right to change it. By 1775, these ideas were very popular in the colonies.

In the 1760s and 1770s, the British government passed laws that made colonists pay taxes. These taxes were on things like printed materials and goods made outside the colonies. Many Americans saw these taxes as unfair. They had to pay taxes but had no say in how the tax laws were made or how their money was spent.

In 1775, the American Revolutionary War began. The next year, the colonies declared their independence. They became the new country called the United States. By 1783, with help from France, Spain, and some Native American tribes, the United States won the war. They gained their independence from the British Empire.

America's First Constitution

After gaining freedom, most Americans did not trust a strong national government. They remembered how the British government, far away, had made rules for their lives. They saw government as a threat to their freedom.

Because of this, the United States' first constitution, the Articles of Confederation, gave most of the power to the states. The Articles created a national government, but it had very little power. For example, the Continental Congress could sign treaties and declare war. However, it could not raise taxes to pay for an army. Also, all big decisions needed all state governments to agree. This made it very hard for the national government to get anything done.

Federalism in Early America

The Founding Fathers and regular Americans soon saw that the Articles of Confederation were not working well. Some leaders began to suggest federalism as a way to fix these problems.

Many more Americans started to support federalism after Shays' Rebellion in 1786-1787. This rebellion began as a protest by poor farmers in western Massachusetts. It grew into an armed uprising. Neither the national government nor the state government had enough soldiers or money to stop the rebellion. Merchants in Massachusetts had to pay for a private army to end it.

During the rebellion, Massachusetts' state government took away people's right to habeas corpus. This meant they could keep people in jail without a trial. They also took away the right to speak badly about the government. Many Americans realized that under the Articles of Confederation, their government could not protect them or their rights. This was not the republican government they had fought for.

Creating a New Federalist Government

In 1787, fifty-five delegates met at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. There, they developed ideas for a new type of government called federalism. They decided:

• The national government would have more power than before. But power would be divided between the states and the national government. This would stop the national government from becoming too powerful.
• States would have representatives in the national legislature, the United States Congress. These representatives would speak for the people in their state. They would vote on all national laws.
  • Small and large states would have an equal number of representatives in the United States Senate. This was to stop large states from having all the power.
• The new national government would have three separate parts. These parts would divide and balance power among them. Each part would make sure the other two never became too powerful.

The delegates at the Constitutional Convention wrote a new Constitution. The last part of the Constitution, Article 7, said that nine states needed to approve the Constitution for it to start. The Federalist movement began working to get the Constitution approved.

A New Constitution

Some of the Founding Fathers strongly supported federalism. These included James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay. They wrote the strongest defense of the new Constitution in a book called The Federalist Papers. This was a collection of 85 essays that supported federalism. Their goal was to convince people to vote to approve the Constitution.

Even though they were published without real names listed, Madison, Hamilton, and Jay wrote the essays. The essays explained the new Constitution and all the protections it offered. They answered many arguments against federalism. They also explained how the Constitution would help protect people's rights. For example, in "Federalist No. 10," James Madison wrote that federalism would help protect the republican values most Americans believed in, like personal freedoms.

People who did not support the new Constitution were called "Anti-Federalists". These included Founding Fathers like Patrick Henry and George Mason. They worried that the new Constitution made the national government too strong. They wanted the states to have more power. They also did not like that the Constitution had no bill of rights. Without a bill of rights, they worried the national government would take away their rights.

The Federalists promised to add a bill of rights to the Constitution after it was approved. Also, George Washington said he supported the new Constitution. After this, the states approved the Constitution.

Changes to the Constitution

The new Constitution started on March 4, 1789. That same year, Congress wrote and suggested twelve amendments (changes) to the Constitution. Three-fourths of the states had to approve these amendments to add them to the Constitution. The states approved ten amendments on December 15, 1791. Together, these became the Bill of Rights.

The Tenth Amendment set the rules for federalism in the United States. It said that any powers the Constitution did not give to the national government belonged to the states. This was meant to calm people's worries that the national government would try to take more and more power from the states.