Federalism

Article I of the Constitution establishes the Congress of the United States and vests it with “All legislative Powers herein granted.” The powers of Congress are then listed in Section 8 of the First Article, explicitly setting forth what is in the congressional jurisdiction. The Founding Fathers intentionally created a government that was neither completely national nor completely federal, but an ambiguous mixture of both. Far from wanting to weaken the states or abolish them completely, the aim of the Constitution was to establish an “energetic government” (to use the words of Alexander Hamilton in The Federalist Papers) which would relieve the states of the burdens of international issues while strengthening their ability to govern their internal growth and economic development.

It was also generally believed by the political science of the eighteenth century that republican government could thrive only in small jurisdictions. In his book Spirit of Laws in 1748, Montesquieu wrote, “It is natural for a republic to have only a small territory, otherwise it cannot long subsist.” In arguing against the Constitution in the Virginia ratifying convention in 1788, Patrick Henry argued, “One government cannot reign over so extensive a country as this is without absolute despotism… I call for an example of a great extend of country, governed by one government, or Congress, call it what you will.” (The Americans: The National Experience, Daniel Boorstin, Chapter 46) The Framers of the Constitution believed, therefore, that the states would have to play a vital role in securing a republican form of government for the American people. Thomas Jefferson wrote in an 1800 letter to Gideon Granger:

Our country is too large to have all its affairs directed by a single government....The true theory of our Constitution is surely the wisest and best, that the States are independent as to everything within themselves, and united as to everything respecting foreign nations. Let the General Government be reduced to foreign concerns only...and our General Government may be reduced to a very simple organization, and a very inexpensive one; a few plain duties to be performed by a few servants. (Letter to Gideon Granger, August 13, 1800, Thomas Jefferson, Works 4:331.)

So the Constitution was meant to establish a system of federalism in which the Congress legislated according to its delegated powers, and the states were left free to legislate in all other areas reserved for them. However, many were still nervous about potential federal encroachment onto the prerogatives of the states, and they attacked the “necessary and proper” and “general welfare” clauses of Section 8 of the Article 1 of the Constitution as overly broad. James Madison insisted in Federalist 41 of The Federalist Papers that an expansive reading of Section 8 was not only unlikely, it was unnatural:

...shall the more doubtful and indefinite terms (i.e. the terms “general welfare” and “necessary and proper”) be retained in their full extent, and the clear and precise expressions (i.e. the specific Art.1, Section 8 delineations of power) be denied any significance whatsoever? For what purpose could the enumeration of particular powers be inserted if these and all others were meant to be included in the preceding general power? Nothing is more natural nor common than first to use a general phrase, and then to explain and qualify it by a recital of particulars. But the idea of an enumeration of particulars which neither explain nor qualify the general meaning, and can have no other effect than to confound and mislead, is an absurdity...

To further calm the concerns of the original thirteen states, the First Congress passed the Tenth Amendment to solidify the constitutional principle that the powers of Congress are delegated powers and all others are reserved to the States:

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

The states, then, were to play a central role in the American scheme of government, not only because eighteenth century Americans were overly paranoid over the loss of states’ sovereignty, but because experience had shown them that dividing up the power of government into smaller units would protect their freedom and liberty. Again, Thomas Jefferson:

...The way to have good and safe government, is not to trust it all to one, but to divide it among the many, distributing to every one exactly the functions he is competent to. Let the national government be entrusted with the defense of the nation, and its foreign and federal relations; the State governments with the civil rights, laws, police, and administration of what concerns the State generally; the counties with the local concerns of the counties, and each ward direct the interests within itself. It is by dividing and subdividing these republics from the great national one down through all its subordinations, until it ends in the administration of every man’s farm by himself; by placing under every one what his own eye may superintend, that all will be done for the best. What has destroyed liberty and the rights of man in every government which has ever existed under the sun? The generalizing and concentrating all cares and powers into one body.... (Letter from Thomas Jefferson to Joseph C. Cabell, Feb. 2, 1816, Works 6:543, p.421.)

The Civil War and the nationalizing pressures of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries have forced the balance of power between the federal government and the states to maintain flexibility. Ever practical, Americans have not tied ourselves to one vision of federalism. We have adjusted the federal system to order our affairs and protect our liberties to fit with the times. The federal government has grown beyond its originally-delegated powers to encompass areas such as management of economic policy, drug-usage enforcement, welfare, social security, and medical insurance. These had become national problems beyond the ability of any single state to cope and demanded the energy and resources of the national government. Nevertheless, the states have always been understood to govern the everyday affairs of their people: education, code enforcement, land use, contracts, maintenance of law and order, and general health and welfare laws. These are areas in which the Constitution has not delegated authority to the Congress, so the states retain responsibility.

Federalism, then, has evolved not as an ideological bulwark to protect some antiquated notion of states' rights. Rather modern-day federalism is an integral part of our governing structure. It helps to diffuse power and encourage competition among governments, experimenting with solutions to diverse problems and compromises to societal debates.