What Is The Power Of The Federal Government

In order to control the government, the Constitution was tailored to form a marriage between national and federal governments. The character of the government can be judged by looking at five areas; foundation, source of power, operation of power, extent of power and authority to make future changes. The foundation, the very authority with which the Constitution can be made law, through the direct representation of the people, is federal, which is how state government is being defined. The source of power is both national and federal. The House of Representatives is national, since the representatives are elected directly by the people. Since the Senate was made up of senators elected by officials from each state, this power is federal. The Senate is elected by the people, but indirectly. The operation of said power is national, although it is a checked power and not the supreme power in all situations. State and local governments cannot be overruled, meaning the extent of power is federal. In order to make future changes to the Constitution not only national, but federal approval is necessary. Also, more than a majority is needed to amend the …show more content…
To conceive a truly successful government, the state and national governments must work together as a unit, national government controlling external affairs and state government concerned with internal