What is Federalism? By definition, federalism is a system of government in which a written constitution divides the powers of government on a territorial basis between a central or national government and several regional governments, usually called states. With this division of powers, the littler states have the power to govern themselves, yet they have to answer to the national government which has the ultimate control.
The National government has most of the power in regards to the country. That being said, it is a government of delegate powers. It gets these powers from the constitution, which overrules what other lawmakers want to say. Some people feel that the constitution should be overruled in some instances but, since our country was founded off the ideals stated in it, I don't think we should.
What some people don't realize is how much help the national government is obligated to give states. The constituion states that "guarantee to every state in this Union a Republican Form of Government." I think this is a good thing because, it doesn't matter where you go in the US, you will be able to live in a republic. This is alot better than traveling around and living in a dictatorship in one place, and a democracy in another.
One thing the constitution talks about is how the national government has to grant state's rights in controling their own amount of territory or land. What that means is that, even though Florida may want more land, they can't just take it from the surrounding states. Also, they can't go to the government to try to have them take it away from a different state. This protects all the interests of each and every state, which is a very good thing.
No States can make alliences with each other, as stated in the constituion. This law was made so that another civil war doesn't happen. I think this is kind of wrong because, if the national government is doing things/passing laws that are not in favor of the states, I think they should be able to rise up against the government.
The Privilege and Immunity clause seems very nice for citizens. It grants all US citizens all the same rights in all states. This is nice because then I can travel from state to state without having to go through checkpoints like they have to do in Europe.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Assignment #2
1. What does Federalism mean by definition and what does Federalism mean to you?
-Federalism is a political concept that means all the members are bound together by some sort of agreement. To me, the idea of Federalism is that as a country, we should all band together and agree to be great.. Which isn't exactly happening in this country..
2. List and describe the three powers of the National Government.
-The legislative branch has the powers to,
*Coin Money
*Establish Post Offices and Roads
*Issue Patents
*Declare War
*Raise and Support Armies
-The Executive Branch has the powers to,
*Chief Diplomats in Forgien afairs
*Military Commander in Chief
*Deal with Congress
-Judicial Branch has the power to,
*Create New laws
*Strike Bills down as unconstitutional
3. The division of powers was created so that this country would never fall victim to an unruly government such as the one's in 16th Century England, or that of Nazi Germany. In it, there are three branches to the national government. Each serves a specific purpose. The Legislative branch deals with passing laws and regulations, The Executive oversees Legislative but can be denied by Legislative, and the judicial branch deals with the Legality of Bills and declaring things unconstitutional or not. There are set checks and balances built into this form of government making it hard for any one branch to gain too much power.
4. What is the Supremacy Clause and what is its function?
-The Supremacy Clause in an article that gives the constitution supreme authority over all of America. It functions to run the country in the way set by the fore fathers.
5. http://www.usconstitution.net/consttop_fedr.html
-This site talks more about how federalism works and what it is like in America. It is very nice to see the easy step by step laid out in the website.
-Federalism is a political concept that means all the members are bound together by some sort of agreement. To me, the idea of Federalism is that as a country, we should all band together and agree to be great.. Which isn't exactly happening in this country..
2. List and describe the three powers of the National Government.
-The legislative branch has the powers to,
*Coin Money
*Establish Post Offices and Roads
*Issue Patents
*Declare War
*Raise and Support Armies
-The Executive Branch has the powers to,
*Chief Diplomats in Forgien afairs
*Military Commander in Chief
*Deal with Congress
-Judicial Branch has the power to,
*Create New laws
*Strike Bills down as unconstitutional
3. The division of powers was created so that this country would never fall victim to an unruly government such as the one's in 16th Century England, or that of Nazi Germany. In it, there are three branches to the national government. Each serves a specific purpose. The Legislative branch deals with passing laws and regulations, The Executive oversees Legislative but can be denied by Legislative, and the judicial branch deals with the Legality of Bills and declaring things unconstitutional or not. There are set checks and balances built into this form of government making it hard for any one branch to gain too much power.
4. What is the Supremacy Clause and what is its function?
-The Supremacy Clause in an article that gives the constitution supreme authority over all of America. It functions to run the country in the way set by the fore fathers.
5. http://www.usconstitution.net/consttop_fedr.html
-This site talks more about how federalism works and what it is like in America. It is very nice to see the easy step by step laid out in the website.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Assignment #1
What are your views on the latest political ads on TV? What candidate(s) do you like or dislike and why?
-I feel that some of the latest political ads are pretty dang pointless. All they do is bash the other canidates while not saying anything about themselves, or putting their records out there for others to see. I like Kristi Noem because she actually has some pretty funny, and family oriented ads. Unlike Herseth, who only bashes Noem, Kristi puts her family into her ads and actually talks about what she wants to accomplish in Washington.
What role do you feel that you will play in politics and government in the future? What ways are you participating currently?
-Someday I hope to be a senator or work in government in some way shape or form. I feel that the government needs to be redone and I want to participate in that in the near future. I'm participating right now by reading up on what is going on, and I will also vote in the coming elections.
-I feel that some of the latest political ads are pretty dang pointless. All they do is bash the other canidates while not saying anything about themselves, or putting their records out there for others to see. I like Kristi Noem because she actually has some pretty funny, and family oriented ads. Unlike Herseth, who only bashes Noem, Kristi puts her family into her ads and actually talks about what she wants to accomplish in Washington.
What role do you feel that you will play in politics and government in the future? What ways are you participating currently?
-Someday I hope to be a senator or work in government in some way shape or form. I feel that the government needs to be redone and I want to participate in that in the near future. I'm participating right now by reading up on what is going on, and I will also vote in the coming elections.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)