State Federalism

There were various key aspects in module one, which included chapters one, two and three. Among these aspects is the important concept of federalism, which essentially defines the relationship and interactions between the national government and the states. As well as how federalism has transitioned and progressed throughout history of the U.S as society, the economy and the system itself has changed. Another key aspect is state constitutions, which outline state governments and provide a framework in which the government operates and creates legislation. Similar to federalism, state constitutions have also changed with time and have made various adjustments to accommodate these changes. Understanding state federalism and state constitutions …show more content…
Federalism is a key component to understanding not only how power is divided within the national government in branches but also how power is separated and defined with the national government and the states. It is also essential in determining how the states interact with the national government and which entity is more powerful. In order to completely comprehend these interactions and the overall relationship it is important to examine how federalism has changed and evolved and how the balance of power has shifted from the states to the national government. In the earlier stages of the federal system, federalism was largely state-centered. (31) States were more powerful than the newly established national government, as a result of precautious taken by the authors of both the national and state constitutions. However it became apparent that the balance of power being tipped in the states favor was not effective for a functional government, especially following the Civil War, which was in part caused by the growing debate on state’s …show more content…
States are usually coerced to comply with federal regulations, laws and polices by the use of sanctions, mandates and grants. Sanctions are designed to influence a state to adjust their own legislation in accordance to the federal law. If a state fails to comply the national government takes away federal funding until the state follows through. Mandates are slightly similar in that the national government passes a law in which the states have to follow, however these laws typically require some sort of funding which the national government can chose to provide or to leave the states to use their own resources. Unlike mandates and sanctions, grants do not usually involve a punishment, instead they a similar to financial aids given to the state from the national government. Although grants come in many different forms they are still designed to assist states in projects, or other