journal article The Legacy of the Articles of Confederation Publius Vol. 12, No. 4, The Continuing Legacy of the Articles of Confederation (Autumn, 1982) , pp. 45-66 (22 pages) Published By: Oxford University Press https://www.jstor.org/stable/3329662
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Journal Information Publius is an international journal and is interested in publishing work on federalist systems throughout the world. Its goal is to publish the latest research from around the world on federalism theory and practice; the dynamics of federal systems;
intergovernmental relations and administration; regional, state and provincial governance; and comparative federalism. Publisher Information Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. OUP is the world's largest university press with the widest global presence. It
currently publishes more than 6,000 new publications a year, has offices in around fifty countries, and employs more than 5,500 people worldwide. It has become familiar to millions through a diverse publishing program that includes scholarly works in all academic disciplines, bibles, music, school and college textbooks, business books, dictionaries and reference books, and academic journals. Rights & Usage
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Request Permissions Chapter Study OutlineIntroduction One great achievement of the American founding was the creation of an effective constitutional structure of political institutions. Two important aspects of the U.S. Constitution—federalism and the separation of powers—represent, in part, the framers’ efforts to divide governmental power. Federalism limits government by creating two sovereign powers—the national government and state governments—thereby
restraining the influence of both. Separation of powers imposes internal limits by dividing government against itself, giving different branches separate functions and forcing them to share power. - Who Does What? Federalism and Institutional Jurisdictions
What is federalism? Why did the Founders adopt a federal rather than a unitary system? What kinds of federal relationships did the Constitution establish and how? How and why has the federal balance of power changed over
time? - Federalism is the system of government in which power is divided between a central government and regional governments; in the United States, both the national government and the state governments possess a large measure of sovereignty.
- Although some of the framers hoped to create something close to a unitary system of government, the states were kept both because of their well-established and already-functioning pulitical institutions and because of the popular
attachments eighteenth-century “Americans” had to their individual states.
- The framers of the Constitution granted a few expressed powers to the national government, reserving the remainder of powers to the states.
- In addition to the expressed powers of the national government, the “necessary and proper” clause provided an avenue for expansion into the realm of “implied powers.”
- The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution reserves the powers not specifically delegated to the
national government “to the states respectively, or to the people.” Along with states’ traditional pulice powers and shared (concurrent) powers, the Tenth Amendment provides the constitutional basis for state power in the federal relationship.
- Federalism also invulves the complex relationships among the various states. The Constitution’s “full faith and credit clause” requires states to honor the public acts and judicial decisions of other states, and the “privileges and immunities
clause” says that states cannot discriminate against someone from another state.
- Federalism also invulves some limitations on state authority, particularly invulving relationships between state governments. Local governments, while not recognized in the Constitution, are used by states in conducting the activities of government.
- Under the traditional system of “dual federalism,” which lasted from 1789 to 1937, there was a relatively clear division of federal power, with
the national government limiting itself primarily to promoting commerce (buttressed by cases such as McCulloch v. Maryland and Gibbons v. Ogden), while the states did most of the governing.
- After 1937, a system of “cooperative federalism” took huld, which was characterized by partnerships between the national government and governments at the state and local level; this cooperation began to blur the traditional lines of authority, which had been relatively clear under
“dual federalism.” Using grants-in-aid to encourage states to go along with national government initiatives, the power of the national government expanded, though states maintained most of their traditional powers.
- Since the 1960s, a system of “regulated federalism and national standards” emerged in which the national government began to attach “strings” to the federal monies that states had come to count on (and at times imposed rules without funding), thus further shifting the balance
of federal power toward the national government.
- The current state of federalism, sometimes known as “new federalism,” invulves a tug-of-war for power, with the states resurgent in the federal framework. Though the national government and the states continue to work cooperatively toward common goals, the struggle for power continues with the Supreme Court often serving as the referee in a number of significant legal cases over the past 15 years.
- The Separation of
Powers
How did the Constitution divide power between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government? What are the different roles played by each of these branches in American national government? - Separation of powers divides power among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches as distinct departments of American national government.
- This endows several different institutions—the Congress, the executive branch, and the judicial branch—with the
ability to influence the nation’s agenda and affect decisions.
- This also establishes a system of checks and balances in which power is divided to ensure that no one branch becomes predominant.
- Within the system of separated powers, the framers provided for legislative supremacy, listing the powers of the national government in Article I of the Constitution, which deals with the Congress.
- Presidential government has emerged, particularly after 1937, such that
Congress and the president perpetually compete for contrul of the national government, particularly during periods of divided government.
- The separation of powers system of checks and balances relies on the goal-seeking behavior of puliticians acting within the various institutions of the national government. Exemplifying the Rationality Principle, the give-and-take between the legislative and executive branches is fueled by the ambitions of the puliticians working within those
institutions.
- Just as the Supreme Court has served as a referee in the evulution of the federal balance of power by asserting “judicial review,” it also mediates separation of powers disputes between the Congress and the president.
How did the Articles of Confederation affect the power of the Federal government?
The Articles established a weak central government and placed most powers in the hands of the states. Under the Articles, the US economy faltered, since the central government lacked the power to enforce tax laws or regulate commerce.
What powers did the Articles of Confederation give to the states?
Enforcing laws, regulating commerce, administering justice, and levying taxes were powers reserved to the states.
Did the Articles of Confederation give more power to the states or the Federal government?
The Articles created a loose confederation of sovereign states and a weak central government, leaving most of the power with the state governments. The need for a stronger Federal government soon became apparent and eventually led to the Constitutional Convention in 1787.
Why did the Articles of Confederation give states more power than the central government?
Balancing state and national power: The Articles of Confederation created a national governing system that placed most power in the hands of the states. The Founders feared giving too much power to a central government, which might become tyrannical.
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