The "Federal" in Federalism
Federal: Set of Chairs
Name:
If Not Federalism, Then What?
When the Founders wrote the Constitution, they could have chosen any type
of government. What if they had chosen something
else? Would it have
lessened the power struggle between the states
and the central government?
Maybe, but there are benefits and drawbacks
to any type of government. The
following activity compares federalism
with two other forms of government.
Read about each type and
mark each characteristic S if it's a strength
and W if it's a weakness. What
role does the central government play?
A federal form of government splits power between independent
states and a central government. The
power rests in both places,
and each gets its authority from a
governing document, like the
U.S. Constitution. Independent
branches inside the central
government may also
share power.
There is national unity, but local governments can act as well
Citizens have more opportunities to be heard
Services can be duplicated by different levels of government
Disputes occur between national power and states' rights
A confederation of states is
like a bunch of different chairs
grouped together. They hold
power independently but
work collectively.
Unitary: One Big Chair
The states and central
government must work together
and balance each other out, like
a set of chairs around the table.
Confederal: Many Different Chairs
The confederal form of government is an association of independent
states. The central government gets its authority from the
independent states. Power rests in each individual state, whose
representatives meet to address the needs of the group. America
tried a confederal system before the Constitution. It didn't work
because the states did not give the central government enough
power to do its job.
Keeps the power of government at the local level
States cooperate without losing their independence
Central government may be too weak to be effective
Laws may differ from state to state; no uniformity
In a unitary form of government, all the power rests in a central
government. The country may be divided into states or other sub-units,
but they have no power of their own. For example, England depends on
its Parliament, a legislative body, to create and enforce the laws in the
country. The leader of the nation, the Prime Minister, is a member of the
Parliament and does not have any more power than its members.
Uniform laws, policies, and enforcement across the country
Little conflict between state and national governments
Government may be slow to meet local problems
Difficult to meet all the needs of all the citizens
¡CIVICS
A unitary government is like
one really big chair, with all
of the government's power
sitting in one place.
Reading p.3
