essay on american government

332 American Government Essay Topics & Research Ideas

18 January 2024

last updated

American Government essay topics present a comprehensive spectrum for exploration, each varying in depth and complexity. Some themes may include the functionality of constitutional democracy in the United States (U.S.), the examination of civil liberties and rights, or the intricacies of the federal system. Students may delve into the analysis of influential Supreme Court decisions, the evolving role of the Presidency, or the workings of Congressional lawmaking. Contemporary subjects, like campaign finance reform, immigration policy, or the impact of media on political discourse, are also important. Unraveling the politics of environmental policy or the checks and balances system’s practicality offers bright themes. In turn, investigating the role of lobbyists and interest groups or dissecting the dynamics of public opinion and voting behavior can give intriguing insights. Thus, American government essay topics not only foster a deeper understanding of the nation’s political landscape but also stimulate critical thinking and analytical skills.

Easy Government Essay Topics

Understanding Democracy: Basic Concepts and Principles
Different Types of Government: A Comparative Study
Voting Systems: Pros and Cons of First-Past-the-Post
Government’s Part in Economic Development: An Overview
Public Health: Government’s Responsibilities and Duties
Rights and Responsibilities of Citizens: A Closer Look
Elections: Understanding the Electoral College System
Why Do We Need a Constitution? An Elementary Explanation
Importance of Civic Education in a Democracy
Federal vs. State Powers: An Introduction
Social Security: Functions and Challenges
Government Regulation of Media: Freedom vs. Responsibility
Public Transportation and Government’s Involvement: An Overview
Differences Between Presidential and Parliamentary Systems of Government
Local Governments: Responsibilities and Functions
Citizen Participation in Government: Why Does It Matter?
Understanding Public Policy: A Basic Analysis
Freedom of Speech: Government and Constitutional Protection
National Security and Individual Privacy: Striking a Balance

Interesting Government Essay Topics

Privatization vs. Public Ownership: Theoretical Considerations
Decentralization of Power: Unraveling Its Implications
State Surveillance: Dilemma of Privacy vs. Security
National Debts: Examining Their Economic and Political Effects
Monarchies in the 21st Century: An Analytical Perspective
Cryptocurrency Regulation: Assessing Different Government Approaches
Digital Governance: Opportunities and Pitfalls
Constitutional Interpretation: Originalism vs. Living Constitution Theory
Understanding Federalism: A Comparative Analysis
Emerging Role of Artificial Intelligence in Governance
Climate Change Policy: National vs. International Responsibilities
Democracy and Technology: Influence of Social Media on Governance
Public Administration Reforms: Lessons From Around the World
Immigration Policy: Factors Influencing Government Decisions
Separation of Powers: An Inquiry Into Its Real-World Implications
Fiscal Policy during Recessions: Strategies and Outcomes
Authoritarian Regimes in a Digital Age: Unpacking the Complexities
Intelligence Agencies: Examining Oversight and Control Mechanisms
Social Equity and Government Policy: Challenges and Opportunities
Political Dynasties: Assessing Their Influence on Democratic Governance

U.S. Government Research Paper Topics for College

Gun Control Policies: Analyzing the Effectiveness in the U.S.
Unraveling the Complexity of U.S. Immigration Reform
Affordable Care Act: A Comprehensive Analysis Post Implementation
Effects of Social Media on the U.S. Electoral Process
Campaign Finance Laws in the United States: A Closer Look
Government Shutdowns: Causes and Consequences in the U.S.
Federalism in the United States: Changing Dynamics
Dissecting the Patriot Act: Implications for Civil Liberties
Constitutional Rights and Digital Privacy: An American Perspective
Polarization in American Politics: Causes and Effects
U.S. Tax Reform: An Analysis of Recent Changes
Influence of Lobbying on Law-Making in the United States
Supreme Court Appointments: Politics and Consequences
Federal Reserve’s Monetary Policy: A Comprehensive Review
Investigating the Role of Super PACs in U.S. Elections
American Infrastructure Spending: Assessing Need and Impact
Analyzing the U.S. Response to Climate Change
Understanding the U.S. Electoral College: Pros and Cons
U.S. Drug Policy: Lessons Learned From the War on Drugs

U.S. Government Research Paper Topics for University

Native American Treaties and U.S. Government: A Detailed Study
Rise of Partisanship: An Exploration Into U.S. Politics
Education Policy in the United States: A Critical Assessment
American Antitrust Legislation: A Review and Analysis
U.S. Military Strategy in the Post-Cold War Era: A Comprehensive Study
Housing Policy and Inequality in the United States: A Detailed Examination
U.S. Trade Agreements: Analyzing Their Success and Failures
Unfolding American Diplomacy in the Asia-Pacific Region: An In-Depth Review
Citizens United Decision: An Analysis of Its Implications on U.S. Elections
Racial Profiling and Law Enforcement in the U.S.: A Study on Systemic Bias
Space Exploration Policies of the U.S.: A Comprehensive Overview
Gerrymandering in the United States: Analyzing Its Impacts on Representation
Public Health Policy in the U.S.: Lessons From the Covid-19 Pandemic
Women in U.S. Politics: A Study on Representation and Influence
Privatization in the U.S.: A Critical Analysis of Its Effects on Public Services
U.S. Welfare Policy: An Evaluation of Its Efficacy and Inclusivity
Privacy Rights in the U.S.: Analyzing the Balance Between Security and Liberty
Minimum Wage Policies in the United States: A Comparative Study
U.S. Energy Policy: A Study of Transition towards Renewable Resources
Cybersecurity in the U.S.: Analyzing Government’s Role in Protecting National Infrastructure

American Government and Foreign Policy Essay Topics

Middle East Policies: A Review of U.S. Strategy and Diplomacy
Democratization and American Foreign Policy: A Critical Examination
China-U.S. Relations: A Study of Economic and Security Dilemmas
American Strategy in Containing North Korea’s Nuclear Ambition
Shifts in U.S.-Russia Relations: Post-Cold War Analysis
Climate Change and American Foreign Policy: An In-Depth Study
Human Rights in American Foreign Policy: Case Studies From the 21st Century
Evaluating U.S. Intervention in Afghanistan: A Retrospective Study
Cyber Warfare and U.S. Foreign Policy: Exploring Strategies and Consequences
U.S. and NATO: Analyzing the Changing Dynamics of Transatlantic Alliance
Latin America in U.S. Foreign Policy: A Historical Analysis
American Policy in the Indo-Pacific: Security, Diplomacy, and Economics
U.S. Foreign Aid: Analysis of Trends and Effectiveness
Arms Control and American Foreign Policy: A Review of Key Agreements
U.S.-EU Relations: Trade, Security, and Diplomatic Perspectives
American Policy Towards Israel and Palestine: A Critical Evaluation
The Iran Nuclear Deal and U.S. Foreign Policy: A Comprehensive Study
Global Health and American Foreign Policy: Priorities and Challenges
Climate Diplomacy in U.S. Foreign Policy: A Study of the Paris Agreement

American Government and Media Essay Topics

Media Influence on Presidential Elections: A Case Study
Influence of Media in Shaping Public Policy: An Analysis
The First Amendment: Press Freedom and Its Limits
Media Portrayal of U.S. Foreign Policy: A Critical Examination
Partisan Media and Polarization in American Politics: An Exploratory Study
Fake News and Its Influence on American Political Discourse
Public Broadcasting in America: A Historical Analysis
Digital Media and American Politics: Understanding the Shift
Social Media’s Influence on Political Mobilization: Case Studies From the U.S.
Media Bias in Coverage of Gun Control: A Comparative Study
Media Framing of Immigration Policies in the U.S.: A Discourse Analysis
Network News and Its Influence on Public Perception of the Presidency
The Power of Political Cartoons in Shaping Public Opinion
Censorship and Self-Censorship in American Media: A Comprehensive Study
Media Coverage of the Supreme Court: A Critical Review
Cable News and Polarization in U.S. Politics: A Longitudinal Study
The Role of Satirical News in American Political Discourse
Media and Public Perception of Climate Change Policies in America
Traditional Media vs. Social Media in U.S. Political Campaigns: A Comparative Analysis

American Political Parties and Elections Topics

Campaign Strategies in Modern American Elections: An Analysis
Transformative Elections in American History: Case Studies
Minor Political Parties in U.S. Electoral Politics: A Comparative Study
Influence of Lobbying on Election Outcomes: An Empirical Investigation
How Gerrymandering Shapes American Politics: A Comprehensive Review
American Presidential Primaries: A Historical Examination
The Electoral College: An Evaluation of Its Efficacy in Modern U.S. Politics
American Politics and the Issue of Voter Suppression: A Critical Study
Dynamics of Swing States in U.S. Presidential Elections: An In-Depth Analysis
Candidate Image Crafting in American Elections: A Semiotic Analysis
Polarization and Its Effect on American Elections: An Empirical Investigation
Public Financing in American Elections: A Comparative Study
Third-Party Candidates and Their Influence on U.S. Elections: An Exploratory Study
American Midterm Elections and Their Effect on Presidential Governance: An Analysis
Effects of Negative Campaigning in U.S. Elections: A Quantitative Study
Dynamics of Coalition Building in American Political Parties: A Case Study
Presidential Debates and Their Influence on Election Outcomes: An Empirical Investigation
Changes in Electoral Behavior in the American South: A Longitudinal Study
The Effect of Voter Turnout on Election Results: A Statistical Analysis
The Future of American Elections: Predicting Trends in the Digital Age

Government Research Paper Topics About the Executive Arm

Presidential Decision-Making in Times of Crisis: A Comparative Analysis
Foreign Policy Execution and the American President: A Critical Study
Cabinet Appointments and Policy Outcomes: An Empirical Investigation
Transformations in the Executive Office: A Historical Review
Executive Orders: A Quantitative Analysis of Their Use and Effectiveness
Exercise of Veto Power: A Comparative Study Across Presidential Administrations
War Powers and the U.S. Presidency: A Constitutional Analysis
American Presidency and the Pardon Power: A Legal Examination
Executive Privilege: Its Use and Misuse in American Politics
Presidential Succession and Continuity of Government: A Policy Analysis
Dynamics of Executive-Legislative Relations: An Interdisciplinary Study
The Vice Presidency: Evolution and Influence in Modern American Politics
Presidential Campaigns: Financing and Its Influence on Policy Outcomes
National Emergency Declarations and Presidential Power: A Constitutional Study
The Power of Persuasion: Rhetoric and the American Presidency
The Cabinet’s Influence on Presidential Decision-Making: A Qualitative Study
Presidential Nominations and the Confirmation Process: A Policy Analysis
Environmental Policy-Making in the Executive Branch: A Historical Review
Immigration Policy Execution and Presidential Discretion: A Comparative Analysis
National Security and the Use of Executive Power: A Critical Investigation

Legislative Branch of Government Essay Topics in American Politics

Committee Power in the U.S. Congress: A Quantitative Study
Bicameralism and Its Influence on Legislation: A Comparative Analysis
Parliamentary Procedure and Democratic Governance: A Policy Review
Policy-Making Dynamics in the Senate: A Historical Review
Congressional Oversight and Its Effect on Executive Power: A Qualitative Study
Gridlock in Congress: Causes, Consequences, and Solutions
House Rules Committee and Its Influence on Legislation: An Empirical Investigation
Legislative Agendas: Partisanship and Its Effects on Lawmaking
Lobbying and Influence in the Lawmaking Process: A Critical Analysis
Congressional Elections: Campaign Financing and Electoral Outcomes
Redistricting and Its Effect on the Balance of Power in Congress: A Quantitative Analysis
Filibuster and Its Impact on Legislative Efficiency: A Policy Analysis
Political Polarization in the House of Representatives: A Comparative Study
Congressional Ethics and Conduct: A Legal Examination
Minority Representation in the U.S. Congress: A Quantitative Analysis
Leadership Dynamics in Congress: A Historical Review
Term Limits and Legislative Productivity: An Empirical Investigation
Congressional Budgeting Process: A Critical Examination
Lawmaking and the Influence of Interest Groups: A Comparative Analysis
Checks and Balances: The Role of Congress in National Security Policy-Making

Political Behavior and American Government Essay Topics

Identity Politics and Policy Preferences in American Government
Shifts in American Political Behavior: Historical Analysis
Public Opinion, Ideology, and Policy Change in U.S. Politics
Media Consumption and Its Influence on Political Preferences
Digital Democracy: How the Internet Has Transformed Political Participation
Voting Behavior and Electoral Outcomes: An Empirical Examination
Effects of Civic Education on Political Engagement: A Comparative Study
Partisan Realignment and Its Consequences for American Politics
Dynamics of Political Polarization in Contemporary America
Political Trust and Its Relationship With Government Performance
Cultural Factors and Their Influence on Political Attitudes
Citizen Engagement and Its Relationship With Political Accountability
Exploring the Nexus Between Socioeconomic Status and Political Behavior
Environmental Concerns and Their Influence on Voting Behavior
Political Socialization and Its Impact on Political Affiliation
Understanding Populism in the Context of American Politics
Racial Politics and Its Effect on the American Government
Religious Beliefs and Their Influence on Political Behavior
Public Opinion and Foreign Policy: A Historical Analysis

Political Theory and American Government Essay Topics

Applying Rawlsian Justice to American Policy Making
Hobbes and the Foundation of American Political Structure
Lockean Ideals in the American Declaration of Independence
Exploring the Influence of Machiavellian Theory on U.S. Politics
Marxist Interpretations of American Economic Policies
Application of Communitarianism in U.S. Social Welfare Policies
Classical Republicanism and Its Echoes in American Government
Neo-Conservatism and Its Theoretical Foundations in U.S. Politics
Postmodern Perspectives on American Democracy
Utilitarianism and Its Reflection on American Economic Policies
Feminist Political Theory and Its Relevance in U.S. Politics
Concepts of Liberty in American Political Discourse: A Theoretical Analysis
Civil Disobedience: From Thoreau to Modern American Protests
Pluralism and Interest Group Politics in America
Exploring Libertarianism in the Context of U.S. Government Policies
Populism as a Political Theory: Reflections in American Politics
Deliberative Democracy in Practice: U.S. Town Hall Meetings
Contractualism and the American Constitution: A Theoretical Analysis
Understanding Identity Politics through the Lens of Queer Theory in the U.S.
Anarchist Theories and Their Relevance to American Political Movements

Public Policy and Administration Topics

Understanding Policy Feedback and Its Implications on Program Sustainability
Public Administration Reforms: Comparative Analysis of Best Practices
Fiscal Federalism and Public Policy Making in Decentralized Systems
Emergent Public Policy Challenges in Cybersecurity
Public Administration and Crisis Management: Lessons From the COVID-19 Pandemic
Public Policy Responses to Technological Disruption
Transparency, Accountability, and Ethics in Public Administration
Policy Diffusion in Intergovernmental Relations: Patterns and Challenges
Incorporating Behavioral Insights Into Public Policy Design
Interrogating the Influence of Lobbying on Public Policy
Urban Planning Policies and Sustainable Development Goals
Gender Mainstreaming Strategies in Public Policy and Administration
Public Administration’s Adaptation to Digital Transformation
Healthcare Policy Reforms: Balancing Efficiency and Equity
Exploring the Nexus of Public Policy and Social Justice
Multiculturalism in Public Policy: Incorporating Diversity in Service Delivery
Trade Policy Negotiations and National Interests: A Diplomatic Tightrope
Fostering Innovation and Creativity through Education Policies
Public Policy Making in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Opportunities and Challenges

Questions About the American Government

American Government System: Why Does It Operate on a Two-Party Structure?
Supreme Court Appointments: How Do They Influence the Balance of Power?
Understanding the Bill of Rights: Which Amendments Have Provoked the Most Controversy?
Federalism in America: How Does It Affect State Policies?
Impeachment Process in the United States: What Are the Criteria and Consequences?
Why Does the United States Employ an Electoral College in Presidential Elections?
American Government and Lobbying: Is There a Need for Stricter Regulations?
Deciphering the Role of Super PACs in American Politics: Are They a Necessity?
How Does Gerrymandering Influence Political Representation in America?
Citizens United Decision: What Are Its Implications on American Democracy?
Understanding the Powers and Limitations of the American Presidency: Is It Truly a Democratic Office?
How Does the American Constitution Protect Individual Rights?
Campaign Finance in American Elections: How Does It Affect Political Outcomes?
Functioning of the American Legislative Branch: What Makes It Efficient?
Why Do Executive Orders Play a Vital Part in the Functioning of the American Government?
Effect of Gridlock in Congress on American Policy Making: Is It Detrimental?
How Does Public Opinion Influence Government Decision-Making in the United States?
Influence of Interest Groups on American Government: Boon or Bane?
Bicameral Legislature in America: What Are Its Rationale and Significance?

State and Local Government Essay Topics in the American System

Decentralization Dynamics: A Study of Power Shifts in State and Local Governments
Strategizing Municipal Finance: Effective Revenue Generation Models
State Sovereignty vs. Federal Guidelines: An Examination of Conflict and Cooperation
Examining the Efficacy of Participatory Budgeting in Local Government
Local Governments and Environmental Sustainability: Policy Design and Implementation
Diversity in Local Government Leadership: A Comprehensive Analysis
Education Policy Formulation at the State Level: A Comparative Study
Municipal Bond Market: Understanding Its Function in Infrastructure Development
Public Health Management at the State Level: Lessons From Pandemic Response
Understanding Land Use Policy: A Perspective From Local Governments
Fiscal Decentralization: Its Effect on State and Local Economic Development
Urban Planning and Local Governments: A Critical Analysis of Current Practices
Evaluating the Effectiveness of State Governments in Disaster Management
State Government Pension Systems: An Analytical Review of Their Sustainability
Public Transportation Policy: A Case Study of State-Level Initiatives
Revenue Sharing Between States and Localities: An Assessment of Current Mechanisms
Local Government and Community Engagement: Strategies for Effective Citizen Participation
Accountability Measures in State Government: An Investigation of Transparency Practices
Public-Private Partnerships in Local Government: A Review of Best Practices
Challenges and Solutions in State-Level Cybersecurity Policy Implementation

The Constitution and Bill of Rights Topics

Interpreting Freedom: First Amendment Controversies in the Digital Age
Second Amendment Debates: Understanding the Constitution and Gun Control
Protection vs. Privacy: The Fourth Amendment in an Era of Technology
The Eighth Amendment: Contemporary Challenges in the Context of Criminal Justice
Dilemmas of Due Process: A Critical Examination of the Fifth Amendment
Origins and Applications: A Deep Dive Into the Tenth Amendment
Historical Analysis of Constitutional Amendments: Understanding Their Significance
Cultural Shifts and Constitutional Interpretation: Exploring the Changing Landscape
Examining the Thirteenth Amendment: The Legacy of Abolition and Modern-Day Implications
Constitutional Equality: The Unratified Equal Rights Amendment
The Nineteenth Amendment and Beyond: Women’s Suffrage and Contemporary Gender Politics
Voting Rights: The Twenty-Sixth Amendment and Current Debates on Age and Citizenship
The Jurisprudence of the Supreme Court: Notable Cases Interpreting the Bill of Rights
Constitutional Debates and Democracy: Analyzing the Balance of Powers
Influence of International Law on Constitutional Interpretation
How the Bill of Rights Influences Modern Social Movements
The Constitution and Indigenous Rights: Historical Context and Present Implications
Reevaluating the Commerce Clause: A Critical Exploration in the Context of Globalization
Constitutional Perspectives on Data Privacy and Protection

The Judicial Branch of Government Essay Topics in American Politics

Deciphering Judicial Independence: Origins, Challenges, and Prospects
Understanding the Supreme Court: Composition, Function, and Influence
Appointment Controversies: Analyzing the Supreme Court Nominations
Federal Courts and Politics: An Examination of Judicial Decision-Making
Checks and Balances: The Judiciary and the Executive Power
Courts as Policy Makers: Exploring Activism Within the Judicial Branch
The Art of Interpretation: Statutory Construction in the Supreme Court
From Marbury to Modernity: The Evolution of Judicial Review
Exploring Sentencing Disparities: An Examination of Federal Courts
Diversity in the Judiciary: Assessing Representation in Federal Courts
Law, Order, and Ethics: A Critical Analysis of Judicial Conduct
Public Perception and Confidence in the Judicial Branch
Case Precedent and Legal Stability: The Doctrine of Stare Decisis
Securing Justice: The Role of Federal Public Defenders
Judicial Power in the Context of Constitutional Crises
Assessing the Effectiveness of Specialized Courts: A Comparative Study
Judicial Restraint and Activism: Ideology in Supreme Court Rulings
The Federal Judiciary and Civil Liberties: Trends and Implications
Administrative Law and Federal Courts: A Study in Regulatory Litigation
International Law in U.S. Courts: Application and Controversy

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Home — Essay Samples — Government & Politics — Federal Government — American Government

Essays on American Government

The American Government is a fascinating and important subject that affects all aspects of our lives. Writing an essay about the American Government can help you understand how our political system works and how it impacts our society.

When choosing a topic for your American Government essay, think about what interests you the most. Do you want to explore the role of the President in shaping policy? Or perhaps you're more interested in the impact of the Supreme Court on civil rights? Once you have a topic in mind, consider the type of essay you want to write - argumentative, cause and effect, opinion, or informative.

For an argumentative essay on American Government, you could explore topics like the Electoral College, gun control laws, or the role of money in politics. If you're interested in writing a cause and effect essay, you could examine the effects of gerrymandering, the impact of political polarization, or the consequences of voter suppression. For an opinion essay, you might want to discuss your views on the role of government in healthcare, immigration policy, or environmental regulation. And if you're writing an informative essay, you could delve into topics like the branches of government, the history of the Constitution, or the functions of Congress.

To give you an idea of what a well-written American Government essay looks like, here are a few examples. For your thesis statement, you might consider statements like "The American Government plays a crucial role in shaping public policy," or "The balance of power between the branches of government is essential for a functioning democracy." In your , you could start with a brief history of the American Government, discuss the purpose of your essay, and provide an overview of your main points. And in your , you could summarize your key arguments, restate your thesis, and offer some thoughts on the future of American Government.

With these tips and examples, you'll be well on your way to writing a top-notch American Government essay!

The Philosophical Underpinnings of American Government

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Three Branches of Government Influence Healthcare

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Us Government and Politics

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An Overview of Radicalization of The West: a Homegrown Threat Helping Law Enforcement in The Capital City and America as a Whole

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US government and civics

Course: us government and civics > unit 1.

Separation of powers and checks and balances

Principles of American government

Federalist No. 51
Multiple points of influence due to separation of powers and checks and balances
Impeachment
Principles of American government: lesson overview
The Framers of the US Constitution structured the government so that the three branches have separate powers. The branches must both cooperate and compete to enact policy.
Each of the branches has the power to check the other two, which ensures that no one branch can become too powerful and that government as a whole is constrained.
This structure ensures that the people’s will is represented by allowing citizens multiple access points to influence public policy, and permitting the removal of officials who abuse their power.

The structure of US government: separation of powers

(Choice A) The ability of the president to veto legislation and the judicial branch to declare laws unconstitutional A The ability of the president to veto legislation and the judicial branch to declare laws unconstitutional
(Choice B) State governments and the federal government have exclusive and concurrent powers B State governments and the federal government have exclusive and concurrent powers
(Choice C) Parts of government act independently from each other and have different responsibilities C Parts of government act independently from each other and have different responsibilities

The structure of US government: checks and balances

(Choice A) Each branch of government acts independently of the other two in order to control the effects of factions A Each branch of government acts independently of the other two in order to control the effects of factions
(Choice B) The branches of government must agree on a balanced budget before they proceed with policymaking B The branches of government must agree on a balanced budget before they proceed with policymaking
(Choice C) Each branch of government has the ability to strongly influence or stop the actions of the other two C Each branch of government has the ability to strongly influence or stop the actions of the other two

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Government 101: The United States Federal Government

A Look at the U.S. Government's Basic Structure and Functions

History & Major Milestones
U.S. Constitution & Bill of Rights
U.S. Legal System
U.S. Political System
Defense & Security
Campaigns & Elections
Business & Finance
U.S. Foreign Policy
U.S. Liberal Politics
U.S. Conservative Politics
Women's Issues
Civil Liberties
The Middle East
Race Relations
Immigration
Crime & Punishment
Canadian Government
Understanding Types of Government
B.S., Texas A&M University

How would you create a government from scratch? The structure of the United States government is a perfect example that gives the people—rather than the "subjects"—the right to choose their leaders. In the process, they determined the course of the new nation.

The genius of the U.S. Constitution is no accident. America’s Founding Fathers had learned the hard way that any government—given too much power—would eventually oppress the people. Their experiences in England left them in fear of the concentrated political powers of a monarchy. They believed that harnessing the government was the key to lasting liberty. Indeed, the Constitution’s famed system of balanced separation of powers enforced through checks and balances was intended to preventing tyranny.

Founding Fathers Alexander Hamilton and James Madison summed it up, "In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself."

Due to this, the basic structure the Founders gave us in 1787 has shaped American history and served the nation well. It is a system of checks and balances, made up of three branches, and designed to ensure that no single entity has too much power.

The Executive Branch

The Executive Branch of government is headed by the President of the United States . He also acts as the head of state in diplomatic relations and as Commander-in-Chief for all U.S. branches of the armed forces.

The President is responsible for implementing and enforcing the laws written by Congress . Further, he appoints the heads of the federal agencies, including the Cabinet , to ensure legislation is executed.

The Vice President is also part of the Executive Branch. He must be ready to assume the presidency should the need arise. As the next in line for succession, he might become President should the current one die or become incapacitated while in office or the unthinkable process of impeachment occurs.

As a key part of the Executive Branch, the 15 federal executive departments develop, enforce, and oversee the voluminous rules and regulations currently in force in the United States. As the administrative arms of the President of the United States, the executive departments make up the president’s advisory Cabinet. The heads of the executive departments—known as “Secretaries”—are appointed by the president and take office after confirmation by the United States Senate .

The heads of executive departments are included in the line of succession to the President, in the event of a vacancy in the presidency, after the Vice President, the Speaker of the House and the President pro tempore of the Senate.

The Legislative Branch

Every society needs laws. In the United States, the power to make laws is given to Congress, which represents the legislative branch of government.

Congress is divided into two groups: the Senate and the House of Representatives . Each is made up of members elected from each state. The Senate is comprised of two Senators per state and the House is based on population, totaling 435 members.

The structure of the two houses of Congress was the greatest debate during the Constitutional Convention . By dividing representatives both equally and based on size, the Founding Fathers were able to ensure that each state had a say in the federal government.

The legislative powers of the United States Congress are explicitly stated in the Constitution. Article I Section I of the U.S. Constitution, which states in part, “All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives”. The 18 specifically enumerated powers of Congress are spelled out in Article I, Section 8. Besides the power to make laws, some of the most significant powers of Congress include:

Declare war
Levy taxes to be spent to benefit the general welfare and the common defense
Oversee the expenditure of public funds
Borrow money
Regulate commerce with and between states, other nations, and Native American tribes
Impeach and try federal officers
Approve treaties negotiated by the executive branch
Approve presidential appointments

Along with the enumerated powers granted to it in Article I, Section 8, Congress exercises a flexible set of “ implied powers ,” which though not expressly granted to it by the Constitution are considered “necessary and proper” to properly apply its constitutionally granted powers.

The Judicial Branch

The laws of the United States are a complex tapestry that weaves through history. At times they are vague, sometimes they're very specific, and they can often be confusing. It's up to the federal judicial system to sort through this web of legislation and decide what is constitutional and what is not.

The judicial branch is made up of the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS). It is made up of nine members, with the highest-ranking given the title of Chief Justice of the United States .

The Supreme Court members are appointed by the current President when a vacancy becomes available. The Senate must approve a nominee by a majority vote. Each Justice serves a lifetime appointment, though they may resign or be impeached.

While SCOTUS is the highest court in the U.S., the judicial branch also includes lower courts. The entire federal court system is often called the "guardians of the Constitution" and is divided into twelve judicial districts, or "circuits." If a case is challenged beyond a district court, it moves to the Supreme Court for a final decision.

Federalism in the United States

The U.S. Constitution establishes a government based on "federalism." This is the sharing of power between the national and state (as well as local) governments.

This power-sharing form of government is the opposite of "centralized" governments, under which a national government maintains total power. In it, certain powers are given to states if it is not a matter of overarching concern to the nation.

The 10th Amendment to the Constitution outlines the structure of federalism in just 28 words: “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.”

These governmental “powers” of federalism are thus classified as “enumerated” powers specifically granted to the U.S. Congress, “reserved” powers granted to the states, and “concurrent” powers shared by both the federal government and the states.

Some actions, such as printing money and declaring war, are exclusive to the federal government. Others, like conducting elections and issuing marriage licenses, are responsibilities of the individual states. Both levels can do things like establish courts and collect taxes.

The federalist system allows the states to work for their own people. It is designed to ensure state's rights and it does not come without controversies.

Basic Structure of the US Government
The Powers of Congress
The Three Branches of US Government
The Executive Branch of US Government
Separation of Powers: A System of Checks and Balances
The Implied Powers of Congress
5 Ways to Change the US Constitution Without the Amendment Process
The Executive Branch of US Goverment
The 10th Amendment: Text, Origins, and Meaning
About the Legislative Branch of U.S. Government
About the United States Senate
Federalism and How It Works
Overview of United States Government and Politics
Line-Item Veto: Why the U.S. President Does Not Have This Power
What Is Federalism? Definition and How It Works in the US
Federalism and the United States Constitution

The Foundations of American Government

Are people good or evil? Your answer probably depends on how you have seen people around you behave. If you have studied history, the answer might further depend on what you think of past wars, as well as how people manage to live alongside one another in peace. People can be both hateful and noble, can’t they? James Madison, an ardent student of political philosophy , put it this way:

If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions. (James Madison, Federalist No. 51)

Madison, along with others who had experienced the British government’s violation of the traditional rights of Englishmen in the years leading to America’s independence, looked to the lessons of human nature and history to determine how best to structure a competent government that would promote liberty.

If you were asked to establish a new government for you and your neighbors, the rules you would make – and the amount of power you would give to future government officials – would probably depend on how much you trust people to behave well. The problem is that people are capable of doing many wonderful things, but history also shows that otherwise peaceful citizens can be persuaded to allow – or even join in – the use of government to abuse others. For example, after five centuries of British monarchs (mostly) recognizing such traditional rights as protection of property rights and trial by jury, the three King Georges in succession began to rule the colonies by fiat. The Declaration of Independence listed specific violations committed by King George III. Among other abuses, he dissolved colonial legislatures, depriving colonists of the right of representation. He made judges dependent on his will alone, leading to the corruption of justice. He deprived Americans of fair jury trials. He stationed standing armies in the colonies in times of peace and required colonists to provide room and board for them. He imposed taxes without representation. He cut off their trade with foreign countries. The majority in Parliament approved these policies. Seeking to offset the debt accumulated during the French and Indian War, Parliament passed a number of measures which the colonies viewed as blatant violations of traditional liberties of Englishmen. In his 1776 pamphlet, Common Sense , the British revolutionary Thomas Paine wrote, “We have it in our power to begin the world over again.” The time had come to cut ties with the mother country and become free and independent states. How to design a system that would “first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself” was the challenge the American Founders faced.

The prevailing view through times past had been that powerful rulers of noble upbringing were needed to keep people from falling back into the tribal warfare that stains much of human history. They believed not only that kings were fit to rule people, but also that God himself gave monarchs that authority – a concept known as “divine right of kings.” The reasoning was that God could have given anybody the right to rule, and He selected the specific people who should govern others.

In his 1776 pamphlet, Common Sense, the British revolutionary Thomas Paine wrote, “We have it in our power to begin the world over again.”

The American Founders – and the American people generally – did not trust a king. They had seen kings behave like spoiled children, destroying businesses they disliked and imprisoning people without just cause. The world was changing, with new inventions making it possible for more and more people to work their way out of poverty. People needed not only to be free from fear of what kings might do to them, but to engage in commerce. The Founders believed that liberty was essential to human progress, and that we all have inherent rights to make decisions about ourselves and our property – rights that not even a king has the authority to take away. As John Locke explained in his Second Treatise of Civil Government , the only legitimate government was one to which the people had given consent. The people themselves have a voice, and need not simply submit to rulers who violate their liberties. If there were no king, could the Founders settle on a pure democracy, in which the majority gets whatever it wants? The Founders rejected this solution, too. They believed history proved that democratic majorities often end up behaving like tyrants – abusing minorities, starting wars, and running up huge debts. As children they had learned about persuaders like the Greek orator and general Alcibiades, who enticed Athenians to wage a disastrous war with Sparta, and Gaius Flaminius Nepos, who violated the Roman constitution to win popularity with the masses. The tyranny of the majority, expressed through corrupt politicians, can happen anywhere, anytime.

History, the Founders believed, showed how otherwise decent people can be swayed by emotion, selfish impulses, and corrupt leaders to do terrible things to one another. The Founders worried that a democracy would become just another version of tyranny.

The point of government, as the Founders saw it, was to enable a people to live without fear of having their persons or property violated, to cooperate to govern themselves peacefully, and to repel foreign threats. Without government, the powerful would rule, and nobody’s rights would be secure. Philosophers like John Locke, who strongly influenced the Founders, argued that citizens form for themselves a “social contract” in which they sacrifice a small amount of their natural freedom to a government whose protection makes them more free to live their lives than would otherwise be possible. When government repeatedly violates this contract by taking more freedom than is necessary – and especially when it violates the rights that it was created to protect – the Founders believed that people have a right and duty to abolish and replace it with something better. That is precisely what they did when they declared independence from Great Britain.

The Founders knew that legitimate governing authority must be just. This did not mean that everybody gets an equal share of everything, but that everyone has the right to be treated equally and fairly by their government. While earlier generations defined nations by the power it takes to rule, the Founders were thinking about a nation of citizens, born with inalienable rights, who should only be governed by virtuous representatives accountable to the people. Earlier philosophers believed ruling authority came from an aristocracy, a military power, or from God.

The Founders believed legitimate ruling authority only comes from the citizens themselves.

But the Founders faced a dilemma: How to give people the power to control their government while also denying to them the power to use government to violate the rights of others. People, even though they frequently live and work alongside one another in harmony, can behave selfishly. It is human nature to pursue what we believe will make us wealthy, powerful, or popular – even to the point of harming others.

Worse still, we can convince ourselves that our bad behavior is actually virtuous. A thief, for example, might tell himself he has no choice, even as poorer people work to survive without stealing. A powerful politician may tell herself that slandering her opponent is excused by all the good she will do once she is elected. People are clever. We are good at justifying our actions – especially to ourselves

The Founders’ challenge, as they built on their experience with a national government under the Articles of Confederation, which many considered too weak, was to establish a government that was not so powerful that people could use it to pursue their own interests at the expense of other people’s rights. As a result, they settled on what is called a constitutional republic .

It was an ingenious solution. Our Constitution’s authors sought to leverage for the common good people’s natural inclinations toward ambition and self-interest. That is why they divided our government’s power between executive, legislative, and judicial branches. It is also why they split Congress into two bodies. They gave members of the House of Representatives smaller districts and shorter terms so they would keep the desires of their constituents first and foremost. But they balanced this more democratic body with Senators who represent entire states, for longer terms, with the expectation that they would therefore have the freedom to make decisions that they considered right even when they were not popular. The Founders gave this Congress the power to make laws, but gave the power of administering those laws to the president and the executive branch. Separate from these was the Supreme Court, its members appointed by the president but with the Senate’s approval. In addition to splitting government power among three branches, the Founders also guarded against a concentration of power by dividing governing authority geographically. The national or central government would have carefully enumerated and limited powers, and all other functions that the people wanted their government to have would be left to state and local decision-making. The significance of state authority is reflected in the manner by which the Constitution was ratified. It did not take effect until approved by nine of the thirteen states through conventions called specifically for that purpose. The Constitution was engineered so that the competing ambitions of government officials – as well as the competing ambitions of different branches and levels of government – would work to form a system of checks and balances.

If all government power rested with just a few people, these few might begin to abuse other’s rights. But because the Constitution spreads government power among many people, and sets up those powers so that they are “checks” on one another, natural self-interest works in favor of “We, the people.” In this way, ambition – properly exercised – becomes a useful tool for the preservation of rights.

Equally important with these checks and balances, however, is the principle expressed in the Preamble of the Constitution itself. “We the People…do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” The Founders knew that all legitimate government authority comes from the citizens. That is why the Constitution is written as a narrow list of government powers. The first eight amendments, meanwhile, make especially clear the kinds of things the federal government is not allowed to do. The Ninth and Tenth Amendments emphasize that rights and powers not listed remain with the states and people.

The Founders tried to design a government that would protect citizens from tyrants and from the tyranny of unrestrained democracy, but they knew that a clever design would never be enough. They counted on citizens to embrace virtues like honesty, respect, humility, and personal responsibility. The American republic was designed to encourage and depend on those citizen virtues.

They also counted on people to be tolerant of one another’s differences and to act justly, standing up to attempts to violate people’s liberty or their right to their own property. Even though the Founders designed a government that harnesses human self-interest to check itself, they knew that freedom will always depend, ultimately, on the willingness of citizens to defend it. While the Founders expected government officials to keep an eye on one another, they knew it was even more important for citizens to keep an eye on government and to vote for capable and trustworthy officers. It is our responsibility to exercise vigilance and to refuse power to anyone who behaves as if the Constitution is not the law of the land. Effective government requires that the governed choose well.

Finally, the Founders expected citizens to be educated, to understand why freedom is important, and to have the wisdom to recognize when laws or ideas that sound good at first might cause long-term harm. John Adams noted that wisdom, knowledge, and virtue are essential to preserving freedom. Each generation must help cultivate these qualities in the next.

The Declaration of Independence – Docs of Freedom

The Declaration of Independence was drafted by Thomas Jefferson in June of 1776. The Declaration announced to the world that the thirteen American colonies regarded themselves independent sovereign states. It articulates the fundamental ideas that form the American Nation: All people are created free and equal and possess the same inherent, unalienable rights. This lesson plan includes six activities. The activities can be taught in sequence as a comprehensive overview of the Declaration of Independence or individual activities can be taught as stand-alone lessons.

Justice for All

By examining primary source documents, students will analyze the Founders’ concept of justice, liberty, and rights; where those concepts came from; and how they have changed over time.

The Constitution

In 1787, many Americans were concerned that the Articles of Confederation did not grant enough power to the central government to protect the rights of the people. Under the Articles, the national government was unable to regulate commerce, taxation, currency, treaties, and protect the rights of individuals and states. The states called a delegation to meet in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787 and from that convention the new Constitution was born.

Equal and Inalienable Rights

All humans are born with equal inherent rights, but many governments do not protect people's freedom to exercise those rights. The way to secure inalienable rights, the Founders believed, was to consent to giving up a small amount of our freedom so that government has the authority to protect our rights. Freedom depends on citizens having the wisdom, courage, and sense of justice necessary to take action in choosing virtuous leaders, and in holding those leaders to their commitments.

Popular Sovereignty and the Consent of the Governed

The Founders believed that the government’s authority needed to come from the people. Under the reign of King George III, the colonists believed that they were deprived of their opportunity to consent to be governed by Parliament through representatives, and, therefore, the British could not force their laws upon the colonies. The Founders made sure to uphold this right in the American Constitution. The people, through their representatives at state ratification conventions, had to ratify the document in order for it to become law.

Rule of Law

The benefits of freedom are safest when officials cannot make arbitrary and unpredictable laws. The rule of law means that laws are stable, limited in scope, and applied to every citizen, including those who make them. Laws must be created in the open, according to clear rules, and must reflect the consent of the governed. Ultimately, the rule of law depends on people with the courage, self-reliance, and wisdom to make prudent decisions, and who have enough tolerance for others to let them live as they see fit.

1.1 What is Government?

Government provides stability to society, as well as many crucial services such as free public education, police and fire services, and mail delivery. It also regulates access to common goods, such as public land, for the benefit of all. Government creates a structure whereby people can make their needs and opinions known to public officials. This is one of the key factors that makes the United States a representative democracy. A country where people elect representatives to make political decisions for them depends on the ability and willingness of ordinary people to make their voices known, unlike an oligarchy dominated by only a small group of people.

1.2 Who Governs? Elitism, Pluralism, and Tradeoffs

Many question whether politicians are actually interested in the needs of average citizens and debate how much influence ordinary people have over what government does. Those who support the elite theory of government argue that a small, wealthy, powerful elite controls government and makes policy to benefit its members and perpetuate their power. Others favor the pluralist theory, which maintains that groups representing the people’s interests do attract the attention of politicians and can influence government policy. In reality, government policy usually is the result of a series of tradeoffs as groups and elites fight with one another for influence and politicians attempt to balance the demands of competing interests, including the interests of the constituents who elected them to office.

1.3 Engagement in a Democracy

Civic and political engagement allows politicians to know how the people feel. It also improves people’s lives and helps them to build connections with others. Individuals can educate themselves on important issues and events, write to their senator or representative, file a complaint at city hall, attend a political rally, or vote. People can also work in groups to campaign or raise funds for a candidate, volunteer in the community, or protest a social injustice or an unpopular government policy. Although wealthier, older, more highly educated citizens are the most likely to be engaged with their government, especially if they have intense preferences about an issue, younger, less wealthy people can do much to change their communities and their country.

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Publication date: Jul 28, 2021
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American government essay topics

Problems with American Democracy
Foreign-Born American Can Become the President
The Current Relationship between the American Citizens and the United States Government
The Function of the Articles of Confederation
How politics originated in America
The 3 Branches of the American Government
Making of the New Government
American government: are they cruel or merciful?
Racial Segregation Of the US
An Accurate Assessment of the American Political System
Contributors to our Successful Government
The concept of power balance in the US government
Changes in the American Government
Three Branches of American Government
The United States presidents that Pleased the people most
Problems with the electoral college
President Trump and His Policies
What is the connection between the American government and the media
United States Government Welfare
Contentions between the American government and the citizens
Tension In California Politics
The Roots and Reform of American Government
Gay Marriage and the Government
Corruption in the US Government
How to reduce corruption in the US government
The Woman in the American Government
Electoral College Reform
Major Accomplishments of President Barack Obama
Federalist versus Antifederalists
What impact do social movements have on the American government?
The philosophy of politics
The Involvement of Government with the Daily Life of Americans
The Articles of Confederation
The First American President
Problems with the American constitution
How World War II Transformed American Government and Society
American Constitutional Law
Classical Conservatism vs Classical Liberalism
Historical Ideas That Influenced The American Government
The link between politics and religion
Direct Popular Vote vs Electoral College
How is terrorism affecting the US government?
How international relations have impacted the US in the last ten years
Should American democracy grant more power to the people
The American Republic Government vs Aristotelian Government
Why the American government should regulate internet safety
Privacy and the American Government
American Federalism and the New Deal
Foundations of American Government
How did the fourteenth amendment affect civil liberties in the US after it was passed at the end of the civil war?
Communist Ideas in American Government
What the US citizens think about the government
The Need for Diversity in American Government
Privacy: The American People vs the Government
Development of the American Constitution
Electing Supreme Court Justices
The pros and cons of democracy
The top priorities of the US government
Foundations of the US Government
Current Top Issues of the United States National Government
The Reaction of American Government to September 11
Bill and Bill: The Government and the American People
Do Americans enjoy enough civil rights?
Ideologies Of The American Government
Social Security: Impacts of Its Disappearance
The History of the American Federal Government
Is it the role of the government to prevent gambling addictions, and should they ban lotteries?
Why presidents deserve the privilege to serve for more than two terms if the citizens want them
The US government and Native American
What political decision has changed America the most
American Diets: Why Government Should Not Control It
Illustration of the Founding Principles of America
Checks and Balances System in America
How is the threat of terrorism affecting the American government?
Roosevelt as an American Leader
Why a female president is ideal for the US

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Foundations of U.S. Federalism

by Lee Rosenthal and Gregory P. Joseph

What precisely is American federalism? In their seminal work on federal jurisdiction, Felix Frankfurter and Wilber Katz allude to a “dynamic struggle” between federal and state power, the ebb and flow of competing, sometimes conflicting, spheres of federal and state power and influence. In many respects, the story of American government is the story of how that struggle has been resolved.

The antecedents of American federalism trace to colonial days, when the concept of divided sovereign power began to take shape. At the beginning of the Revolutionary War, the thirteen colonies declared themselves to be free and independent states. During the hostilities and at the War’s end, the newly formed states recognized that they needed to operate together to function adequately on the new national stage and to enter the world stage.

America’s first attempt to codify federalism — the Articles of Confederation of 1781 — failed. Replaced by the Constitution of 1787, this sturdy document and the government it established have survived the tenuous early days of the Republic, a Civil War, serious economic depressions, America’s involvement in two World Wars, and 227 years of innumerable internal and external challenges. This paper briefly outlines how American federalism developed and how it serves as the basic organizing principle of American government.

American Federalism: Prerevolutionary Underpinnings

Reflecting on America’s early political development, Alexis de Tocqueville commented that “[i]n America . . . it may be said that the township was organized before the county, the county before the state, the state before the union.” 1 America’s earliest political associations were forged at a local level. Early colonists found themselves separated from their sovereign’s authority and protection by a vast ocean and from their fellow colonists by a vast geographic expanse. As a consequence, they organized and largely governed their day-to-day lives independently and locally.

In 1643, the first American effort to create a political union among the colonies began in Boston. Faced with the need to defend and maintain security over a large territory — and with little hope of receiving aid from England due to the “sad distractions” of the English Civil War — the New England settlers found themselves “convinced . . . of the necessity of banding together to resist destruction. . . .” 2 Delegates from Massachusetts, New Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven formed the New England Confederation, “a firm and perpetual league of friendship and amity for offense and defense, mutual advice and succor upon all just occasions, both for preserving and propagating the truth and liberties of the Gospel and for their own mutual safety and welfare.” 3 Their union lasted four decades, until James II folded these colonies into the new Dominion of New England in 1684. 4

Approximately a century after forming the New England Confederation, the colonies again found the need to confederate due to mutual pressing concerns, including relations with Native Americans and each other and the possibility of a French attack. Representatives from the British North American Colonies adopted the Albany Plan of Union on July 10, 1754. The Plan provided that each colony would select members of a Grand Council and the British government would appoint a “president General.” 5 One of the most prominent Plan supporters was Benjamin Franklin. His well-known “Join, or Die” political sketch, first published in Franklin’s Pennsylvania Gazette on May 9, 1754, shows a snake cut into eight pieces. Each piece is labeled with the initials of one of the colonies, except that the four New England colonies are represented by “N.E.” at the snake’s head. 6 “Join, or Die” later became a rallying cry for the Revolutionary War and is perhaps the earliest pictorial representation of the nation’s budding federalism. Neither the New England Confederation nor the Albany Plan of Union sought to sever or even to weaken ties with England. To the contrary, Franklin hoped that the Albany Plan would increase the British participation in the colonies. “Britain and her Colonies should be considered as one Whole, and not as different States with separate Interests.” 7 The New England Confederation, and the Albany Plan of Union — even though it failed — formed precedent for the idea that the colonies could join together to pursue mutual interests, while simultaneously retaining individual power over day-to-day political activities.

The Impact of the Revolutionary War: An Impetus to Federalism and the Failure of the Articles of Confederation

The need for some degree of centralization among the various colonies became clear during the Revolutionary War. The demands of raising the army, putting it under a central command, supplying it, and raising funds for it exceeded state and local government capabilities. The revolutionaries recognized that some confederation was needed, but they remained deeply suspicious of centralized power. 8 The implications of failure were not lost on the revolutionaries. In 1775, Silas Dean wrote to Patrick Henry that, “[i]f a reconciliation with G Britain take place, it will be obtained on the best terms, by the Colonies being united, and be the more like to be preserved, on just and equal Terms; if no reconciliation is to be had without a Confederation We are ruined to all intents and purposes.” 9 The wartime urgency and the necessity of union, combined with the fear of a new overarching sovereign, led the revolutionaries to ratify the Articles of Confederation on March 1, 1781. The Articles left the states as the source of sovereign power but created a new central government with its powers derived from the consent of the states. 10

Americans were cautious in creating this new centralized government. “Whatever their collective commitments to new government, the revolutionaries were in no mood to issue blank checks in the form of another strong central government that could become as harmful as the one they fought to remove.” 11 The central government under the Articles was relatively feeble. The states delegated the central government limited powers and even more limited resources. That government was unable to levy taxes or regulate commerce and depended on the states for revenue; there was no executive and no independent judiciary; there were no standing land or sea forces; and any change to the Articles required the states’ unanimous vote. Exercising the limited powers the new government did have, including making treaties and coining money, often required a majority or supermajority vote.

Postrevolutionary Needs

The Articles proved unworkable. Disputes among states were difficult to resolve, and the central government was underfunded and unable to compel delinquent states to pay their shares of common expenditures. By 1784, a disagreement over the use of the Potomac River highlighted these problems:

First, all the other States were asked to agree to send delegates to the meeting, and all the States hardly ever agreed to do anything; second, if the meeting did take place it must agree upon a report to the States, and there was no reason to expect greater harmony in this assemblage than there was in the Continental Congress, where discord reigned; third, if a plan should be agreed upon, under the terms of the call of the meeting every State must accept it before it could become effective, and it seemed preposterous to expect such unanimity from such antagonistic elements. But affairs were rushing to a crisis, and it was clear that something must be done to save the Union from disintegration and America from disgrace. Far-seeing men began seriously to apprehend that soon the people who had won a glorious victory against Great Britain would fall back under the yoke of that or some other foreign power. The most dangerous and demoralizing inclinations of weak human nature were becoming more and more in the ascendancy in the State governments — a tendency to pass law by which the fulfillment of contracts might be avoided, to stamp paper with figures and promises and call it money, to repudiate debts and avoid obligations of honest men. 12 The challenge was to preserve state sovereignty within a national polity that could operate on a world stage, resolve interstate differences, and facilitate common interests. Fears that a central government would accumulate too much power and erode state sovereignty persisted, along with the fear that no central authority could govern such a huge expanse of territory.

The solution the Framers posited and the states adopted was the federalism embodied in the Constitution. “The Framers split the atom of sovereignty. The genius of their idea was that American citizens would have two political capacities, one state and one federal, each protected from incursion by the other.” 13 One scholar has described this federalism “as a new-modeled creation cobbled together out of a mix of necessity (the existence of the states) and theory (the belief that republics could not be easily maintained across a large territory).” 14 The basic structural characteristics of this “more perfect union” formed the basis of the system of American government that continues to the present.

Developing “A More Perfect Union”

Between May and September of 1787, the Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia to address and try to remedy the failures of the Articles of Confederation. Although the word “federalism” appears nowhere in the Constitution, it pervades the structure of the government the document creates.

Article I, Section 8 specifically enumerates the powers of Congress. At the time of the founding, there was little controversy that many of these powers were best suited for national regulation, including the power to provide for a common defense, declare war, raise an army and maintain a navy, regulate naturalization, coin money, regulate international commerce, and punish piracy and violations of international law. 15 Other powers in Article I, Section 8, however, have proved controversial and have been interpreted to permit the expansion of the federal government and restrictions on powers of the states. The Commerce Clause, which empowers Congress to “regulate commerce . . . among the several states . . . ,” 16 is among the most controversial. “Commerce” can be read restrictively, to refer to a category of activities distinct from, for example, manufacturing, farming, or mining, preventing the federal government from using the Commerce Clause to regulate these and similar activities. This narrow reading is consistent with the Supreme Court’s interpretation for the first century after ratification, and with current scholarship on the original meaning of the Clause. 17 The Commerce Clause can also be, and has been, read to allow Congress to regulate any activity that in the aggregate has an effect on a national market, even if the conduct is purely intrastate. 18 The Constitution’s Taxation Clause, which provides Congress with the power to tax and spend to “provide for the . . . general Welfare of the United States,” 19 similarly has been “controversial since it first saw the light of day.” 20 Does this phrase mean that Congress can spend only in connection with the powers otherwise granted to Congress or for any good purpose? Does it permit Congress to regulate through spending? These questions have been the subject of heated debate, 21 and the answers have had a substantial impact on the balance of federal and state power. 22

Finally, the Necessary and Proper Clause, which grants Congress the power to “make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution” its other enumerated powers, 23 has profound federalism implications, depending on how broadly or narrowly the term “necessary” is interpreted. 24 In addition to Article I, Section 8, other parts of the Constitution provide key features of the federalist system. Article I, Section 10 prohibits states from regulating in certain areas. Article VI makes the “Constitution, and the Laws of the United States . . . and all Treaties made . . . the supreme Law of the Land.” Under the constitutional structure, all powers the Constitution neither delegated to the federal government nor prohibited to the states are reserved to the states or to the people. This structure was later made explicit in the Tenth Amendment.

In their Federalist Papers , Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay promoted state ratification of the Constitution. In Federalist No. 9, Hamilton attempted to assuage the concerns that the states would lose sovereignty under the new Constitution:

So long as the separate organization of the members be not abolished . . . though it should be in perfect subordination to the general authority of the union, it would still be, in fact and in theory, an association of states, or a confederacy. The proposed Constitution, so far from implying an abolition of the State governments, makes them constituent parts of the national sovereignty . . . and leaves in their possession certain exclusive and very important portions of sovereign power. 25

In Federalist No. 51, Hamilton argued that federalism would help limit the ability of the proposed new central government to abuse its powers:

In the compound republic of America, the power surrendered by the people is first divided between two distinct governments, and then the portion allotted to each subdivided among distinct and separate departments. Hence a double security arises to the rights of the people. The different governments will control each other, at the same time that each will be controlled by itself. 26 The Federalist Papers repeatedly address concerns that the proposed federal government would run roughshod over the states. 27 Federalist No. 39 focused on the limited powers of the federal government and the continuing sovereignty of the states:

Each State, in ratifying the Constitution, is considered as a sovereign body, independent of all others, and only to be bound by its own voluntary act. In this relation, then, the new Constitution will, if established, be a FEDERAL, and not a NATIONAL constitution. . . .

[T]he proposed government cannot be deemed a NATIONAL one; since its jurisdiction extends to certain enumerated objects only, and leaves to the several States a residuary and inviolable sovereignty over all other objects. It is true that in controversies relating to the boundary between the two jurisdictions, the tribunal which is ultimately to decide, is to be established under the general government. . . . Some such tribunal is clearly essential to prevent an appeal to the sword and a dissolution of the compact . . . . 28 Federalist No. 39 maintained that there must be some arbiter to resolve disputes among the states and that this limited sacrifice of state sovereignty was preferable to resolution by “the sword and a dissolution of the compact.” Equally noteworthy is the distinction drawn between a national and federal government, the former indicative of a boundless overarching power, the latter representing a government of limited enumerated powers.

While the Federalist Papers emphasized that the states retained their sovereignty, the authors stressed that some limits on state sovereignty were essential for the welfare of the American people:

[I]f, in a word, the Union be essential to the happiness of the people of America, is it not preposterous, to urge as an objection to a government, without which the objects of the Union cannot be attained, that such a government may derogate from the importance of the governments of the individual States? Was, then, the American Revolution effected, was the American Confederacy formed, was the precious blood of thousands spilt, and the hard-earned substance of millions lavished, not that the people of America should enjoy peace, liberty, and safety, but that the government of the individual States, that particular municipal establishments, might enjoy a certain extent of power, and be arrayed with certain dignities and attributes of sovereignty? We have heard of the impious doctrine in the Old World, that the people were made for kings, not kings for the people. Is the same doctrine to be revived in the New, in another shape that the solid happiness of the people is to be sacrificed to the views of political institutions of a different form? 29

There was fervent opposition to the federalism built into the Constitution. Robert Yates and John Lansing, New York’s delegates to the Constitutional Convention, wrote to New York Governor George Clinton on Dec. 21, 1787, that, in addition to lacking authority to consider the idea of a new government, a central authority would also oppress faraway citizens:

[W]e entertained an opinion that a general government, however guarded by declarations of rights, or cautionary provisions, must unavoidably, in a short time, be productive of the destruction of the civil liberty of such citizens who could be effectually coerced by it, by reason of the extensive territory of the United States, the dispersed situation of its inhabitants, and the insuperable difficulty of controlling or counteracting the views of a set of men (however unconstitutional and oppressive their acts might be) possessed of all the powers of government, and who, from their remoteness from their constituents, and necessary permanency of office, could not be supposed to be uniformly actuated by an attention to their welfare and happiness . . . . 30

They were also concerned that “the expense of supporting” the new government “would become intolerably burdensome” and that many citizens would be “necessarily . . . unknown” to the national representatives given the size of the new country. 31

The antifederalists were well aware that the stakes were high:

If the constitution, offered to your acceptance, be a wise one, calculated to preserve the invaluable blessings of liberty, to secure the inestimable rights of mankind, and promote human happiness, then, if you accept it, you will lay a lasting foundation of happiness for millions yet unborn; generations to come will rise up and call you blessed. . . . But if, on the other hand, this form of government contains principles that will lead to the subversion of liberty — if it tends to establish a despotism, or, what is worse, a tyrannic aristocracy; then, if you adopt it, this only remaining asylum for liberty will be shut up, and posterity will execrate your memory. 32

Many antifederalists, fearful of a powerful central government, demanded a Bill of Rights, which, in 1791, became the first ten amendments to the Constitution.

The Ninth Amendment states: “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.” Writing in 1833, Justice Joseph Story noted that the Ninth Amendment “was manifestly introduced to prevent any perverse, or ingenious misapplication of the well known maxim, that an affirmation in particular cases implies a negation in all others . . . .” 33 The Tenth Amendment reads: “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 Tenth Amendment made explicit that “what is not conferred, is withheld, and belongs to the state authorities, if invested by their constitutions of government respectively in them; and if not so invested, it is retained BY THE PEOPLE, as a part of their residuary sovereignty.” 34

On June 21, 1788, the ninth state, New Hampshire, ratified the Constitution, and it became effective. 35 According to one scholarly view, federalism was “the greatest of American contributions to the art of government.” 36 Alexis de Tocqueville celebrated this singular achievement: “This Constitution . . . rests upon a novel theory, which may be considered as a great invention in modern political science . . . . [A] form of government has been found out which is neither exactly national nor federal . . . . [T]he new word which will one day designate this novel invention does not yet exist.” 37

Federalism In Practice: The Early Precedents

The federal courts quickly became the arbiter of federalism, defining the relative powers of the federal and state governments. In 1810, the Supreme Court, then a young institution still establishing its authority, ruled in Fletcher v. Peck 38 that Georgia’s legislature could not invalidate a contract because the federal Constitution did not permit bills of attainder or ex post facto laws. Chief Justice John Marshall carefully noted that the Court did not intend any “disrespect of the legislature of Georgia, or of its acts.” 39 Despite this deferential tone, Fletcher v. Peck established the principle that the Supreme Court has the power to strike down an unconstitutional state law.

In 1816, the Supreme Court ruled that it could also override state courts in Martin v. Hunter’s Lessee . 40 Four years earlier, the Supreme Court had ruled in Fairfax’s Devisee v. Hunter’s Lessee 41 that the Jay Treaty between the United States and Britain precluded Virginia from appropriating the property of a loyalist. The Virginia Supreme Court ruled that it was not bound by the Supreme Court’s ruling, stating: “The court is unanimously of opinion, that the appellate power of the supreme court of the United States does not extend to this court . . . .” 42 In Martin , the Supreme Court reemphasized that it walked carefully when it reviewed state-court judgments. “The great respectability, too, of the court whose decisions we are called upon to review, and the entire deference which we entertain for the learning and ability of that court, add much to the difficulty of the task which has so unwelcomely fallen upon us.” 43 The Supreme Court again balanced this respect and deference with the recognition that “[t] he constitution of the United States was ordained and established, not by the states in their sovereign capacities, but emphatically, as the preamble of the constitution declares, by ‘the people of the United States.’” 44 The Supreme Court ruled that state courts were subject to its appellate jurisdiction on constitutional matters. By 1816, the Supreme Court had declared that it could overrule state courts and invalidate unconstitutional state laws.

That same year, Congress chartered the Second Bank of the United States, a private corporation that handled all fiscal transactions for the federal government. Two years later, Maryland passed legislation to impose a tax on the Bank, which Bank employee James M’Culloch refused to pay. The Maryland state courts upheld the legality of the tax. In M’Culloch v. Maryland , 45 the Supreme Court made two critical rulings. First, it declared that the Necessary and Proper Clause of Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution granted Congress discretion in choosing the means by which to execute its enumerated powers: “Let the end be legitimate, let it be within the scope of the constitution, and all means which are appropriate, which are plainly adopted to that end, which are not prohibited, but consist with the letter and spirit of the constitution, are constitutional.” 46 Despite the absence of an enumerated power to incorporate, the Supreme Court held that creating the Bank was constitutional under Article I, Section 8 as “necessary and proper” to carry out Congress’s other enumerated powers. Second, the Court concluded that while Article I, Section 8 gave Congress the power to create the Bank, Article VI’s Supremacy Clause meant that Maryland lacked the power to tax that Bank. “The government of the Union, though limited in its powers, is supreme within its sphere of action . . . and its laws, when made in pursuance of the constitution, form the supreme law of the land.” 47

In 1824, one of the most significant cases on congressional powers came before the Supreme Court. Gibbons v. Ogden 48 involved competing steamboat ferry owners whose vessels operated in the waters between New York and New Jersey. Ogden obtained an exclusive license from the State of New York authorizing him to operate along the contested route and sought an injunction to stop Gibbons from operating along the same route. In response, Gibbons argued that a 1793 act of Congress regulating coastal commerce allowed him to compete with Ogden. He lost in the trial and appellate courts in New York, but the Supreme Court reversed. The Court’s decision for Gibbons rested on its first interpretation of the Commerce Clause, which provides that “Congress shall have power . . . [t]o regulate commerce . . . among the several States . . . .” 49

The Court found that the word “commerce” included navigation among the states, and the word “among” before the phrase “the several States” meant that Congress’s commerce power did not “stop at the external boundary line of each State, but may be introduced into the interior.” 50 The New York law granting Ogden an exclusive license was a “nullity” in light of Congress’s conflicting act and the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause. 51 Gibbons significantly expanded the authority of the federal government by recognizing Congress’s broad power to regulate commercial activity. By the Civil War, the federal courts had established several key principles of federalism, including the power of federal courts to invalidate unconstitutional state laws, to nullify conflicting state-court rulings, and to ensure the supremacy of federal law enacted within the enumerated powers the Constitution delegated to the federal government. Nonetheless, during this period, the federal government remained small and had little impact on the lives of most citizens. Most Americans identified more with their states than with the nation.

The Civil War and Reconstruction

Civil war: federalism in crisis.

The Civil War threatened the survival of the American experiment. Could states legitimately claim a right to secede from the nation? President Lincoln vehemently opposed the idea. “Plainly, the central idea of secession, is the essence of anarchy.” 52 There was the bond of geography: “Physically speaking, we cannot separate.” 53 And there was the bond of the constitution itself: “[N]o State, upon its own mere motion, can lawfully get out of the Union.” 54 Secessionists strongly disagreed. Future Confederate President Jefferson Davis, announcing his departure from the United States Senate following Mississippi’s decision to secede, declared: “I have for many years advocated, as an essential attribute of State sovereignty, the right of a State to secede from the Union.” 55

He explained:

Secession belongs to a different class of remedies. It is to be justified upon the basis that the States are sovereign. There was a time when none denied it. I hope the time may come again, when a better comprehension of the theory of our Government, and the inalienable rights of the people of the States, will prevent any one from denying that each State is a sovereign, and thus may reclaim the grants which it has made to any agent whomsoever. 56

The South’s defeat in the Civil War greatly expanded the power of the federal government and “destroyed the doctrine that the Constitution was a compact among sovereign states, each with the right to interpose or nullify an act of Congress, and each with the ultimate right to secede legally from the Union.” 57 Under modern conceptions of federalism, states retain sovereignty. The Civil War, however, removed any doubt that the federal government — which derives its sovereign power from “the People,” not the states — is supreme when acting within the scope of its enumerated powers. “The Constitution does not protect the sovereignty of States for the benefit of the States or state governments as abstract political entities, or even for the benefit of the public officials governing the States. To the contrary, the Constitution divides authority between federal and state governments for the protection of individuals, and for other constitutional ends.” 58

Post Civil War: Reconstructing Federalism

When the Civil War ended, the country entered “Reconstruction,” a period that included rebuilding the roles of the federal and state governments. There was significant disagreement in the country about how to treat the former Confederate states, implicating whether the basic relationship between the federal and state governments that existed before the War was to be restored, or whether it was necessary to make fundamental alternations in that relationship to prevent the continuation of the causes of the conflict.

Ultimately, three constitutional amendments, commonly referred to as the Reconstruction Amendments, were ratified in the five years after the Civil War ended, altering the balance of federalism in America. The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery 59 and the Fifteenth Amendment guaranteed African Americans the right to vote. 60 The Fourteenth Amendment imposed substantial restrictions on state power and expanded the power of the federal government. 61

Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment, which overruled the Supreme Court’s 1857 ruling in Dred Scott v. Sandford 62 holding that African Americans were not entitled to any of the rights of citizenship, provides that “[a]ll persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside” and prohibits states from passing any law that abridges “the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States.” 63 The breadth and meaning of the phrase “privileges or immunities” remains uncertain. One theory is that the phrase was intended to be limited to certain natural rights, such as property ownership. Others argue that the phrase was intended to extend to all positive law, whether provided by state law or the Bill of Rights. 64 However, “the standard view of the effect intended by the drafters of the Privileges or Immunities Clause seems to be that it ‘has been a mystery since its adoption.’” 65

Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment also prohibits the states from depriving “any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law,” or “deny[ing] to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” 66 The Due Process Clause has since been interpreted to incorporate almost all of the provisions of the Bill of Rights against the states, 67 and the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses have since been interpreted to restrict or bar state regulation in diverse areas, including contraception, 68 abortion, 69 and same-sex marriage. 70 Significantly, Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment grants Congress the power to enforce the Fourteenth Amendment, providing a potentially broad grant of federal power.

The restriction of state sovereignty was a principal basis for the opposition to the Fourteenth Amendment, as reflected in a published letter of Interior Secretary Orville Browning that President Andrew Johnson — a Reconstruction opponent — reportedly approved:

The object and purpose are manifest. It is to subordinate the State judiciaries in all things to Federal supervision and control; to totally annihilate the independence and sovereignty of State judiciaries in the administration of State laws, and the authority and control of the States over matters of purely domestic and local concern. . . . [I]f adopted, every matter of judicial investigation, civil or criminal, however insignificant, may be drawn into the vortex of the Federal judiciary. 71

Supporters of the Fourteenth Amendment found Browning’s attack to be little more than the same states’ rights argument that had led to, and been defeated by the Union’s victory in, the Civil War:

In a few words the great fear of Mr. Browning is that this amendment in its operation will do away with State sovereignty, legislative and judicial, and will put the legislatures and courts of the several States under Congress and the federal courts . . . . We hold that this old Southern theory of our government was demolished at Petersburg and surrendered at Appomattox Court House with Lee’s army; and so we dismiss this branch of the argument. 72 The Fourteenth Amendment was ratified in July 1868. By 1870, however, support for a very strong version of Reconstruction had begun to wane. As part of this trend, the Supreme Court narrowly interpreted the Privileges or Immunities Clause when it first addressed the Fourteenth Amendment in the Slaughter-House Cases . 73 These cases concerned a Louisiana law permitting only one slaughterhouse in the New Orleans area, ostensibly to promote health and safety. Competing butchers were allowed to slaughter, but only at the approved slaughterhouse. Critics contended that the state law unconstitutionally deprived the other butchers of the “privilege” of practicing their profession, violating their “privileges or immunities” under the Fourteenth Amendment.

The Supreme Court ruled that the Privileges or Immunities Clause protected the privileges of United States citizenship but did not require the states to grant its citizens any particular privileges. The Court stressed that it considered these questions as vital to federalism and therefore to the nation:

No questions so far-reaching and pervading in their consequences, so profoundly interesting to the people of this country, and so important in their bearing upon the relations of the United States, and of the several States to each other and to the citizens of the States and of the United States, have been before this court during the official life of any of its present members. 74 The Court analyzed the historical underpinnings of the Fourteenth Amendment, emphasizing the “pervading purpose” of the Reconstruction Amendments as freeing the slaves, securing that freedom, and protecting the new freemen from oppression. The Court refused to interpret the Privileges or Immunities Clause as a dramatic general reworking of the federal-state balance:

The adoption of the first eleven amendments to the Constitution so soon after the original instrument was accepted, shows a prevailing sense of danger at that time from the Federal power. And it cannot be denied that such a jealousy continued to exist with many patriotic men until the breaking out of the late civil war. It was then discovered that the true danger to the perpetuity of the Union was in the capacity of the State organizations to combine and concentrate all the powers of the State, and of contiguous States, for a determined resistance to the General Government.

Unquestionably this has given great force to the argument, and added largely to the number of those who believe in the necessity of a strong National government. But, however pervading this sentiment, and however it may have contributed to the adoption of the amendments we have been considering, we do not see in those amendments any purpose to destroy the main features of the general system. Under the pressure of all the excited feeling growing out of the war, our statesmen have still believed that the existence of the State with powers for domestic and local government, including the regulation of civil rights — the rights of person and of property — was essential to the perfect working of our complex form of government, though they have thought proper to impose additional limitations on the States, and to confer additional power on that of the Nation.

But whatever fluctuations may be seen in the history of public opinion on this subject during the period of our national existence, we think it will be found that this court, so far as its functions required, has always held with a steady and an even hand the balance between State and Federal power, and we trust that such may continue to be the history of its relation to that subject so long as it shall have duties to perform which demand of it a construction of the Constitution, or of any of its parts. 75 The Equal Protection Clause of Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment was effectively nullified when the Supreme Court ruled in 1896 that “separate, but equal facilities” were constitutional in Plessy v. Ferguson , authorizing state-sanctioned segregation. 76 It was not until 1954 that the Supreme Court reversed that decision in Brown v. Board of Education , ruling that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.” 77

Progressive Era: Federalism Grows

Rapid industrialization in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries raised a variety of economic and social issues that in turn produced a series of political reforms. This period has been described as characterized by a “growing conviction that government at all levels ought to intervene in the socioeconomic order to enact antitrust and regulatory legislation, labor and welfare measures, and tax reform.” 78 The nation adopted several constitutional amendments, including the Sixteenth, which authorized direct federal income taxes, and the Seventeenth, which provided for the citizens in each state to elect their senators directly rather than through their state legislatures. Federal power continued to expand and become entrenched.

The Sixteenth Amendment: Taxation

The Sixteenth Amendment, ratified on Feb. 3, 1913, is considered the first Progressive Era constitutional amendment. In 1895, in Pollock v. Farmers’ Loan & Trust Company , 79 the Supreme Court had invalidated a federal income tax as an unconstitutional direct tax because it was not apportioned to the states based on their respective populations. The Sixteenth Amendment overturned this ruling. 80 Some opponents saw this as a federal “power grab” designed to further weaken the states:

A hand from Washington will be stretched out and placed upon every man’s business; the eye of the federal inspector will be in every man’s counting house. . . . An army of Federal inspectors, spies and detectives will descend upon the state. . . . I do not hesitate to say that the adoption of this amendment will be such a surrender to imperialism that has not been since the Northern states in their blindness forced the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments upon the entire sisterhood of the Commonwealth. 81 Following the Sixteenth Amendment, the federal government began using its expanded resources to pass legislation approving federal funding for social welfare programs, including the 1921 Sheppard Towner Act to fund child and maternity care, described as the “first venture of the federal government into social security legislation.” 82 Over time, the Sixteenth Amendment significantly impacted the balance of federal-state power. Together with an expansive interpretation of the congressional spending power, the taxing power permitted the substantial growth of the federal government in myriad areas it previously had not occupied or regulated.

The Seventeenth Amendment: Direct Election of Senators

The Seventeenth Amendment, adopted on May 31, 1913, provided for the voters of each state to elect their Senators directly, rather than having state legislatures select them. This abrogated one of the original, fundamental structural protections for the states by affording direct state influence over the operations of the federal government.

Incorporating the Bill of Rights

The Reconstruction Amendments profoundly impacted the federal-state balance by applying the Bill of Rights through the Fourteenth Amendment (“incorporating” the Bill of Rights in the Fourteenth Amendment) to limit or invalidate state action. Before the Civil War, the Supreme Court held that the Bill of Rights did not apply to the states. In 1833 the Supreme Court ruled in Barron v. City of Baltimore 83 that the Constitution’s Fifth Amendment prohibition against government confiscation of property without just compensation was a limit only on the power of the federal government. “Had the people of the several States, or any of them, required changes in their Constitutions; had they required additional safeguards to liberty from the apprehended encroachments of their particular governments; the remedy was in their own hands, and could have been applied by themselves.” 84 Years after the Civil War, in 1875, the Court ruled that the First Amendment right to free assembly and the Second Amendment right to bear arms did not apply to the states. 85

In so holding, the Court emphasized the existence of more than one sovereign in the federal system:

We have in our political system a government of the United States and a government of each of the several States. Each one of these governments is distinct from the others, and each has citizens of its own who owe it allegiance, and whose rights, within its jurisdiction, it must protect. The same person may be at the same time a citizen of the United States and a citizen of a State, but his rights of citizenship under one of these governments will be different from those he has under the other. 86

This changed over time, as the Supreme Court slowly applied specific protections afforded by the Bill of Rights to the states. The Court relied on the commandment in the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause that no state may “deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law.” In 1925, the Supreme Court used the Clause to apply the First Amendment to the states. In Gitlow v. New York , 87 the Court stated: “For present purposes we may and do assume that freedom of speech and of the press — which are protected by the First Amendment from abridgment by Congress — are among the fundamental personal rights and ‘liberties’ protected by the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment from impairment by the States.” 88 In 1931, the Supreme Court relied on the Clause to remove any doubt that the First Amendment rights of freedom of the press applied to the states 89 and, in another case, to recognize that a defendant’s right to legal representation in capital cases applied to the states. 90 As recently as 2010, the Court recognized that the Second Amendment applies to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment, restricting the states’ ability to regulate gun ownership. 91

Expanding Federal Power: The New Deal

After his election in 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt initiated a series of economic and regulatory programs to address the Great Depression. Congress passed the National Industrial Recovery Act, authorizing the promulgation of fair competition codes. The Roosevelt administration adopted a series of these codes, including one governing the poultry industry. That led to the Schechter Poultry Corporation case, invalidating the legislation as exceeding constitutional limits on federal powers.

The Schechter Poultry Corporation was charged with violating the Live Poultry Code. Schechter sued, claiming that the federal government had exceeded its authority by issuing the code. The Supreme Court agreed, holding that Article I of the Constitution vested the Congress, not the President, with the power to legislate, and the National Industrial Recovery Act unconstitutionally authorized the President to do so. The Court also held that the Code regulated intrastate commerce, making the Code unconstitutional because the Commerce Clause authorized Congress to regulate only interstate commerce. 92 Between 1933 and 1936, the Supreme Court invalidated other pieces of New Deal legislation. In 1936, buoyed by his landslide reelection, President Roosevelt proposed a plan that would reshape the Court, allowing him to select additional justices who would approve his policies. Dubbed “court packing” by his critics, his plan was opposed even by some of his fervent supporters. It was never enacted, in part because the Supreme Court began approving Roosevelt’s New Deal legislation. 93 A series of decisions gradually recognized the Commerce Clause as providing constitutional authorization for expanding federal government power.

In 1937, the Supreme Court ruled in NLRB v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation 94 that Congress may regulate isolated economic activities, like labor relations, under the Commerce Clause, because that activity has a “close and substantial relationship” to interstate commerce. In United States v. Darby , 95 the Court found the Fair Labor Standards Act constitutional under the Commerce Clause, barring states from enacting lower standards to obtain a commercial advantage over other states. In Wickard v. Filburn , 96 the Supreme Court declared that the Commerce Clause empowered federal regulation of wheat grown by a farmer for his own use, on his own farm, that never crossed state lines, because of its effect on interstate commerce. “A new era of judicial construction had been launched” and “[a]reas of authoritative action that previously had been left to the states’ sphere of sovereignty or to the private sector now fell within the powers of Congress.” 97

Federalism Today

How America interprets the balance of federal and state power has changed over two hundred years. Those changes reflect, and helped us survive, challenges that almost destroyed the nation. How best to strike that balance continues to pervade critical aspects of modern American government, including healthcare, race, civil liberties, the environment, and foreign policy. 98 Federalism also directly affects tax policy, 99 elections, 100 and domestic relations. 101 Yet more than 200 years after the nation’s founding, fundamental questions implicating federalism remain unsettled. That is nowhere more apparent than in the Supreme Court’s June 2015 decision on same-sex marriage, Obergefell v. Hodges . 102

Historically, the view had been that “[t]he whole subject of the domestic relations of husband and wife, parent and child, belongs to the States and not the laws of the United States.” 103 Over time, Supreme Court decisions began to recognize limitations on the states’ traditional power to regulate marriage. In Loving v. Virginia , 104 for example, the Supreme Court applied the Fourteenth Amendment to overturn a Virginia prohibition on interracial marriage. In Kirchberg v. Feenstra , 105 the Court similarly applied the Fourteenth Amendment to strike down state laws deeming the husband “head and master” of the household.

The Supreme Court initially declined to apply Fourteenth Amendment principles to state restrictions on same-sex marriage. The first time the Supreme Court addressed same-sex marriage, it issued a “one-line summary decision . . . in 1972, holding the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage did not present a substantial federal question.” 106 As recently as two years ago, in United States v. Windsor , 107 the Supreme Court relied on the states’ primacy in domestic relations to strike down a congressional attempt to define marriage as “a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife” for purposes of federal statutory law. 108 This year, however, the Court held in Obergefell that “the right to marry is a fundamental right inherent in the liberty of the person, and under the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment couples of the same-sex may not be deprived of that right and that liberty.” 109 The definition of marriage is no longer the exclusive province of the states. 110 Recent jurisprudence under the Second Amendment, addressing the right to bear arms, presents another example of the fluid nature of American federalism. For years, states were thought to have virtually unbridled authority to regulate the ownership, possession and use of firearms within their borders. That understanding changed dramatically in a short period. In 2008, the Supreme Court held in District of Columbia v. Heller 111 that the Second Amendment conferred an individual right to keep and bear arms, precluding the District of Columbia from banning handguns in the home and requiring firearms to be kept inoperable at all times. Subsequently, in McDonald v. City of Chicago , 112 the Court ruled that the Second Amendment applies to the states through the doctrine of incorporation. Together, Heller and McDonald dramatically altered firearms regulation by prohibiting the states from banning handgun possession outright, and by circumscribing the states’ ability to regulate firearms to an extent that remains to be determined.

In addition to these examples, Commerce Clause jurisprudence continues to present a source of contested but expansive federal power, with uncertain scope. In 2000, for example, the Supreme Court ruled in United States v. Morrison 113 that the federal Violence Against Women Act’s civil remedy for victims of gender-motivated violence exceeded congressional power under the Commerce Clause. By contrast, in 2005, the Court concluded in Gonzales v. Raich 114 that federal criminalization of intrastate marijuana growers and users did not violate the Commerce Clause. Perhaps most notably, in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius , 115 the Court held that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was constitutional under Congress’s power to tax, but was not a proper use of the Commerce Clause power because although the federal government can regulate interstate commerce, it cannot compel it. 116 Recent interpretations of the Supremacy Clause also illustrate some of the shifting contours of federalism. Under the preemption doctrine, when Congress acts within the scope of its enumerated powers, or a federal agency acts within the scope of its statutory mandate, their action may preempt conflicting state laws or, if federal action is sufficiently pervasive, may even bar state regulation within that field. 117 Over the past decade, state laws have been held preempted under this doctrine in such divergent areas as aviation, 118 food and drug regulation, 119 immigration, 120 trucking 121 and locomotive equipment, 122 arbitration agreements, 123 regulation of emissions, 124 state age-verification requirements for the shipment and delivery of tobacco, 125 and even the treatment and processing nonambulatory animals in a slaughterhouse. 126 At the same time, preemption has been denied in multiple other contexts. 127

As this discussion suggests, the only safe prediction about the future of American federalism is that none can be made with certainty. But while the interpretation of the balance of federal and state power has changed from the colonial period to the present, federalism continues to be a foundational principle defining America and a principal tool used to build its government.

The Supreme Court continues to look to the Framers for guidance in resolving important questions raising federalism issues or implicating federalism concerns. In District of Columbia v. Heller , 128 for example, the Court noted that “[d]uring the 1788 ratification debates, the fear that the federal government would disarm the people in order to impose rule through a standing army or select militia was pervasive in Antifederalist rhetoric.” 129 The Court echoed the concerns America’s founders had over 200 years ago about the danger to democracy posed by the new federal government. “But the threat that the new Federal Government would destroy the citizens’ militia by taking away their arms was the reason that right — unlike some other English rights — was codified in a written Constitution.” 130

As the nation has grown and become established, so have both federal and state power. That path has been neither smooth nor linear. Dispute and even armed conflict have marked the way. But throughout, the Constitution has served as the source of federal and state government powers and their limits. The courts continue to be the first, and often last, arbiters of the struggle to define both. That has worked so far, although far from perfectly or, at times, even well. But no one has devised an alternative approach, much less a better way.

The problems of federalism, like many aspects of the work judges across legal systems confront, are real. A great judge and legal scholar, Benjamin Kaplan of Massachusetts, described one aspect of why judges’ work is so difficult and so compelling. Rules and principles, however long established and seemingly clear, cannot “solve [the] problems fully and forever. If the problems are real ones, they can never be solved. We are merely under the duty of trying continually to solve them.” 131

The judiciary has many grave responsibilities. Shaping and protecting federalism continue to be among the most important and enduring of those obligations. It is a responsibility and a joy that we in the United States and the United Kingdom share.

Also In This Edition

Table of Contents
Judicial Honors (Spring 2017)
A Model Trial Judge: U.S. District Judge Sim Lake
Cain questions court funding, highlights best practices for proportionality
Saving Our Profession: It’s Up to Us
Judicial Excellence after Earl Warren
Why We Read the Scalia Opinion First
Rebuild our Courts: State Chief Justices Call for Action to Achieve Civil Justice for All
Mindfulness and Judging
#Engage: It’s Time for Judges to Tweet, Like, & Share
A Speech Code for Lawyers?
Hold the Parentheticals, Please
Picking Judges: How Judicial-Selection Methods Affect Diversity in State Appellate Courts
National Security. Civil Liberties. Can We Have Both?
Lastly: A Judge Honors the Activist Who Brought Her to Jail
As I See It: Updates from the Center for Judicial Studies
Salary by Committee
Editor’s Note: Relentlessly Relevant

About Lee Rosenthal

Lee Rosenthal is chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. She serves as vice president of the American Law Institute and as a member of the Bolch Judicial Institute Advisory Board.

About Gregory P. Joseph

Gregory P. Joseph, partner at Joseph Hage Aaronson LLC, is a past president of the American College of Trial Lawyers; former chair of the American Bar Association Section of Litigation; and a former member of the Advisory Committee on the Federal Rules of Evidence.

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Essay on Law

Essay On The American Government

Type of paper: Essay

Topic: Law , Government , United States , Congress , Politics , President , Democracy , Elections

Words: 1800

Published: 02/01/2020

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Essay outline

The United States government is a model federal government composed of fifty states and one capitol.

The first United States government was composed in 1789 making it one of the earliest governments in a constitutional country.

The legislature The people have the right to elect the leaders that they want to legislative offices. House of Representatives This house is made up of 435 members with voting rights. Each member represents a congressional district.

The judiciary

This is an important department that interprets the law and applies it. The executive The executive is comprised of the president and cabinet secretaries. Challenges The resistance to changes that are brought about by democracy Onset of international bodies that have contradicting policies The American Government The United States government is a model federal government composed of fifty states and one capitol. The government has three different branches which are; the legislature, judiciary and the executive. All the branches of the government derive their powers from the supreme law of the United States which is the constitution. In addition, the abilities of these branches of the government are further regulated by the congress through special amendments and creation of some departments in the executives to serve this course

The first United States government was composed in 1789 making it one of the earliest governments in a constitutional country. The outline used in the formation of the government is clearly documented in the constitution. The outline indicates that the United States Government is a federal system where power is divided among various levels of authority. However, there have been a lot of debates on how much power should be devolved to the states The governments’ functions are delegated to governors that are elected in each state. The governors are responsible in executing the policies of the federal government and also the state government where he is president or chief executive officer. The powers of the state governments are limited and controlled by the constitution and other amendments made by the congress through legislation. The laws made by the national government are supposed to be followed by all citizens or people living in the country, however, the state laws apply to people who live in the state or people visiting the state. Schmidt asserts that ‘the national government possesses sovereignty over all external affairs such that it is only the federal government that is supposed to engage with other governments as opposed to state governments’ (136). Nevertheless, the federal government can also control domestic affairs through laws meant to provide for the interests of the government. However, this has been as source of controversy where national laws conflict with states laws. The citizens may be subject to two sets of law and might be damaging since the public might lose faith in their government.

Branches of the United States government

The legislature The people have the right to elect the leaders that they want to legislative offices. A person must get the approval of the people through a democratic process.

The congress has the powers to make laws that; the power to impose taxes on the people, regulation of money value, the establishment of roads and post offices, enhancing science development through giving patents and also the creation of sub-courts that are subject to scrutiny by the supreme court. Congress has also the powers to; declare war on an enemy, enacting laws to combat piracy and other hostile actions House of Representatives This house is made up of 435 members with voting rights. Each member represents a congressional district. The members of this house serve a term of two years and the members can be reelected into office after expiry of their term. Free and fair elections must be held to elect the members of this house as provided for in the constitution. This is one of the reasons why the government of the United States has massive support from the citizens. It is a clear case where democracy triumphs.

Each state is represented by two senators, withal factors aside. The house has 100 members duly elected by the people. The senate has powers to advice on appointments made by the president. The officers approved include cabinet secretaries, military officers, and the diplomatic teams like ambassadors. For a law to pass, it must be discussed and approved by both houses (Janda 160). Moreover, the houses can re-pass the bill that has been vetoed by the president to make it a law without the presidential approval. The congress possesses powers to impeach a non performing president. The other persons at the mercy of congress are the judges and the federal officers who can be removed from office by the congress. The last steps in the impeachment process are done in a trial at the senate such that to provide a clear reason as to why the impeachment is necessary. To determine the outcome of a trial, the senate takes the opinion shared by the majority. The judiciary This is an important department that interprets the law and applies it. The operation of the judiciary involves listening and determining cases as provided by the law. The members of the judiciary in the USA are appointed by the president with the approval of the congress and the senate. The judiciary is instrumental in the democracy since it is the courts that determine the disputes arising from elections. Moreover, the election rules and regulations are enforced by the judiciary. This is the reason why the United States has such a stable democracy. The executive The executive is comprised of the president and cabinet secretaries. The president is elected by universal suffrage where voters engage in a democratic process to choose their commander in chief. The American government is democratic since all the members are chose by the people or the representatives of the people.

Despite this triumph of democracy in the United States, there have been several factors that hinder full implementation of democracy.

Challenges to democracy in the United States The federalism government through the constitution advocates for democracy in that the rule and governance must be defined by the will of people. The American government has actually tried to implement this mostly through delegating power to the state governments alongside many other ways. Ensuring that democracy prevails is a process that has to take time some first to start and later requires a lot of efforts to maintain it. When loopholes are allowed into the democratic system the result is always worse and might term the whole system as non-democratic. Therefore, any government that wishes to practice democracy has to maintain a public agreement with the citizens as these offers the government authenticity to rule. Despite the much efforts made to enhance democracy by the US government, unite states of America has not yet been fully democratic as several challenges have been encountered in several stages of developing and implementing it. During the first stages of developing democracy, that involves getting the skills necessary for democracy and implementing them, challenges come out. Many countries, including the US have the tendency to resist change. Due to this any new system implemented takes an extraordinary long time. Moreover the states of the United States of America although termed as a developed country still show some unsatisfactory development. The inclusion of women representatives in the governing body has remained inadequate (Pitney 56). Mostly in the political part of government where leaders are elected by majority votes the number of women is always the minority an issue that retards the level of democracy as women will always feel less represented. The main cause of these small numbers is actually the culture that terms man as the head while ladies are less involved in decision making with the society taking time to adopt any changes. Globalizing the world has made nations to be fully interactive and they enjoy the benefits accruing from it mutually. International bodies such as UN have been formed to enhance relations among countries. This has caused a great problem to the democracy as most of the international aid s come up with some principles that contradict democracy. Opting to be self-reliant is the only way to curb this challenge but no country is willing to o so due to the many shortcomings accompanied. Therefore any country that joins hands with others and allows the intervention of international bodies has to prepare to accommodate any unfriendly policies that retard democracy. Mostly these organizations tend to advocate on economic issues and mostly make it hard for the democratic countries while paving ways for the autocrats who have maintained a high economic positions and stable prices. Bessette urges that choosing to be democratic might seem to be a very easy decision, however there comes a problem in implementing it, (254). Inculcating the views of every citizen and giving them from to react to government made decisions might contradict the policies of improving the welfare of citizens. Good governance attracts foreigners to invest in that country and thus efforts are made countries to maintain democracy in these countries. The largest challenge occurs when there are conflicting countries in the neighborhood. It’s actually impossible to control the neighbor’s action and thus introduces flaws in democracy. Changes in the international framework that occur on daily basis retard democracy. According to Jerry Goldman, Scarce resources like oil that are only found in certain countries harden democracy as the government aims at market more than the welfare of the country (234). In the US these resources are not available but the desire for power gives a similar effect on the democracy. Technological forces together with the improvement of private enterprise pose a great challenge to democracy as new ways a discovered to improve productivity. Economic status has termed democracy to be of less importance. Poverty and unemployment encourages violence as citizens sometimes feel that violence will make things work better. In most countries this is the cause of government overthrow a situation that automatically leads to autocracy. In America these has not been witnessed but several instances show some sort of inadequacy of the government especially in the aspect of sharing power. The US government, despite the fact that there are several state governments maintained most decision making in the federal government.

Janda Kenneth, Jeffrey M. Berry, Jerry Goldman, Hula W. Challenge of Democracy Essentials: American Government in Global Politics, 8th Edition. Cengage Learning, 2011. Print Schmidt Steffen W. Mack C. Shelley, II, Barbara A. Bardes American Government and Politics Today. Cengage Learning, 2010. Print Bessette M., Pitney John, Jr. American Government and Politics: Deliberation, Democracy and Citizenship, Election Update. Cengage Learning, 2011. Print.

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The United States of America’s Culture Essay

Introduction, american culture, works cited.

Culture in the United States has been characterized with tension from the European ideals and the domestic originality. The overall culture of America include beliefs, arts, traditions, values, customs, innovations and ideals drawn from the locals and from foreigners across the boarders. American culture in a mixture of ideas and ideals from varied quarters, factors like democracy, civil liberty, Christianity, traditions, moral elements and entertainment have all been intertwined into a single unit feature appearing as the American culture.

Due to the several parameters that constitute it, America culture is so dynamic and has kept on changing with the variation in demographic composition. “American culture is divided into about 49 subcategories which are soaked up into a single distinct culture called “the American Culture” (Bogle, p.56). This paper will deal the issues that make up the American culture and what various writers have to say about those issues.

To be an American, demands that citizens have to be devoted in upholding the rule of law, liberty, equity and justice to all. Being an American means that one has the advantage of being under a government that oversees the welfare and interest of everyone within and outside its boarders. The American society does not only look at the comfort of everyone in need, and not only regardless of its border boundary.

The culture promotes freedom of choice and association…therefore in this context, being an American means living in a cohesive society of mixed values owing to its diversity. A critical analysis of American cultures spills over to several miles from the boarders due to their great influence worldwide, the same applies to what constitutes American Culture which is a combination of mixed practices like sports, music, art and fashions to mention a few. Issues related to race, class, ethnicity, sexuality, gender and censorship are the ones that shape the culture. “Every individual that proclaims to be an American is taught to uphold American cultural values like positive attitude, leadership skills, entrepreneurship and craftsmanship among others” (Gaspar de Alba, p.124).

American culture is structured by their system of governance, laws and regulations and how people relate with each other owing to their original disparity. From face value, it can be said that America has no culture; Gaspar refers to individuals who hold such opinion to hear fish denying the existence of water (p.125). It is only that the American culture is shared by a vast majority which makes a culture of its own, unique in every aspect.

Americans believe that they can compete in literally everything and enjoy equal opportunity with every other player worldwide. The strong desire of Americans to be democratic and free from oppression of all kinds, has characterized the activities in America, events that are so extraordinary that only Americans themselves can understand and explain. These are however just general views on what the American culture really is, the next section of this paper will go to the specifics, and zero in into the following factors that determine the true culture of America. That is; language, literature, faith, national holydays, sports, arts beside other popular cultures as given by different writers.

Regarding language, about sixty five percent of America’s populations speak English as their native language, making America the second most populated English speaking nation in the world after India. The federal government has no official language but the latest report indicate that the society is pushing to have English be made the official language. Apart from English, other languages that are spoken in America include Spanish, French, Navajo as well as some minority immigrant languages which have persisted to date. Literature in America traces its origin to Europe.

It is the foreign culture from this end of the world and has characterized American literary voce foe centuries (Lipsitz, p.41). American writers have managed to capture the literary arena by wining Nobel Prize in Literature severally. “It is believed that the mixed values that make the American culture are the reasons behind great literary skills…the perfect blend works well for the artists” (Lipsitz, p.43).

America is believed by some researchers as the most religious nation among the developed world considering its demographics. Religion plays a very important role in the life of American citizens. There is freedom of worship in America and no single person is discriminated on the basis of religious affiliation. “The American society is composed of Quakers in Pennsylvania, Roman Catholics in Maryland, Puritans in Massachusetts and many more who practice whatever religion they feel deem fits them best” (Marsden, p.45). Marsden adds that the nation has established a law that respect religion and prohibits the federal interference in religious matters.

Any America citizen has to observe all National Holydays that define memorable and significant events in the countries history. Some of the National holydays recognized by the American culture include but not limited to ; Thanksgiving day observed by traditional Americans, Easter, St. Patrick’s and Lent, by Christians and the Independence Day, observed by everyone with American affiliation whether within or outside boarders. Independence Day is celebrated every Fourth of July to mark the day America was declared independent from the Kingdom of Great Britain (Lipsitz, p.46).

Sports in an important component in American culture, it is though very unique from other countries even the neighboring ones. America prefers to go domestic as far as sports are concerned. In the beginning op in the priority list of the most preferred sports is baseball which dates back to 1869 when it first went professional. Currently, the most famous sport is the American football followed by Basketball and Ice hockey. American culture has a unique architectural style. America has very little to remind them of their history, probably because it has a very young country and still has a shortened past.

The paintings that show their skills in architecture are all based on modernity like the skyscrapers; it basically represents Mediterranean style i.e. electric…a fact which is not surprising with the multicultural nature. Related to Architecture is the American sculpture which depicts the past history with religion, it shows the ancient practices of the Roman Republicans and Protestants Christians. Just like their architecture, the fashion in America is modern and informal as well as what Lipsitz refers to as electric in (p.47).

American dressing code is basically casual with the most dominant style being blue jeans. “The blue jeans have become so common in the country to an extent that it can pass as arguably the American contribution to world fashion” (Bogle, p.71). America’s films, heater, music and dance are all affiliated to the Western Europe, just like many other ideals. The country is multiethnic and instead of having ethnic affiliations which can be quiet numerous, racism comes into play.

This is where individuals classify themselves as men of color (non white) and whites. To some extent, even the Native Americans were discriminated against due to their minority status. But American government has walked a good walk in fighting racism; hopes are that someday racism related incidences would be a thing of the past is very much alive among the American public. Acts of democracy would have been embraced and neither social class nor gender is used to bar anyone from taking advantage of a great opportunity. Government policies of the modern America have been geared to amicably address gender biasness and class differences, the policies have gone a long way in doing away with such social ills that are reaping value from the culture (Gaspar de Alba, pp.125-127).

From the facts presented in this paper, it can be said that whatever the American culture is, hopes also lie with the schools and other cultural based institutions to help pass cultural values from one generation to the other. The parents are better positioned to help in this initiative. Emphasis should be put on the teachings on customs and tradition the child draws from the parents. American culture as it has been determined offers opportunity for all in the society through the help of the government which avails necessary resources. The culture honors the principle of equity which seems to be the chief driving force steering the nation to greatness.

Bogle, D. An Interpretive History of American. New York: Viking Press. (1973). pp. 56 72.

Gaspar de Alba, A. Chicano Art Inside/Outside the Master’s House: Cultural Politics and the CARA Exhibition. Austin: University of Texas Press. (1998). pp.122-127.

Lipsitz, G. Time Passages: Collective Memory and American Popular Culture. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. (1990). pp. 41-47.

Marsden, G. Religion and American Culture. Orlando: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, (1990). Pp. 45-46.

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The Morning

America’s affordable housing crisis.

The housing crisis is likely to be solved in cities and states, not Washington.

A row of similar-looking homes with cars parked in driveways.

By Conor Dougherty

President Biden worries about high housing costs. So do Republicans in Congress. The consensus reflects a major problem: Tens of millions of families, across red and blue states, struggle with rent and home prices. The reason is a longstanding housing shortage.

But action in Washington won’t make a huge difference. America’s affordable housing crisis is likely to be solved in cities and states. In today’s newsletter, I’ll explain how many are already doing so in bipartisan fashion.

Local laboratories

Home prices are up about 60 percent over the past decade, adjusted for inflation. About a quarter of renters — some 12 million households — spend more than half their income on housing, far in excess of the one-third level that is considered healthy. Homeless camps have expanded, and “ super commuters ” — who drive for 90 minutes or longer to work — have migrated well beyond the expensive coasts to smaller cities like Spokane , Wash., and fast-growing metropolitan areas like Dallas and Phoenix.

Generally, Republican-led states have been more affordable than Democratic-led ones. They tend to have fewer construction and environmental rules, which allows the housing supply to expand faster. But as rent and home prices climb beyond middle-income budgets in more places, states are racing to add housing.

The legislation in each state varies. But in general it removes permitting and design barriers so new construction can be approved faster. States are also trying to alter zoning rules to allow a greater diversity of units in more neighborhoods.

One way is to allow more backyard homes — known as granny flats. That way, homeowners can build a space for a renter or family member. Another is to shrink lot sizes so several smaller cottages can be built on parcels currently reserved for only one larger home. Cities and states are also altering zoning rules so duplexes and triplexes can be built in neighborhoods that are currently designated for single-family homes. All these methods aim to increase density within a city’s existing footprint.

Already, Democrats and Republicans in Montana and Arizona have united for housing legislation. A similar coalition has taken shape in other states, including Texas, Minnesota and North Carolina . Even in California and Oregon, whose governments are both dominated by Democrats, Republican votes have helped pass housing bills.

“Some issues become a horseshoe,” said Cody Vasut, a Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives who wants to drastically restrict abortion — but also liberalize land use laws. “We have different views of government, but sometimes we arrive at the same conclusion.”

These coalitions are not always successful. Last week, for instance, the Arizona governor, Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, vetoed a bill that would have allowed smaller homes and lot sizes. She called it “a step too far.”

Most of these laws are too new for us to know their ultimate outcomes. But there’s ample evidence that building more housing reduces prices. In Austin, Texas, for instance, a surge in rent and home prices during the pandemic led to a boom in construction. Now prices are falling, and landlords offer months of free rent to fill empty units.

New coalitions

Why can political parties cooperate on this issue but so little else? Housing politics are hyperlocal and don’t hew to neat ideological lines. Neither party has a hard position that members feel beholden too.

One thing most people agree on is that America has too few homes. According to Freddie Mac, the mortgage finance giant, the nation is short about four million units . The deficit is particularly acute in both low-cost rentals and the entry-level starter homes favored by first-time buyers.

Economists say much of the blame falls on local governments. City councils hold most of the power over where and what types of housing get built, but they are beholden to homeowners who often pack meetings to complain that new developments would destroy nature and snarl traffic.

This is called NIMBYism, short for “Not in my backyard.” The remedy, in both red and blue states, has been to pass laws that strip cities’ power to say no.

State legislatures are close enough to voters to share their concerns about rising housing costs — but far enough that they don’t have to answer for every new local development. They are the Goldilocks level of government for housing reform.

Related: I want to hear from readers about their housing situations. You can submit stories here .

THE LATEST NEWS

Baltimore bridge collapse.

The cargo ship that collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore lost power shortly before the crash, officials said. See how the bridge collapsed .

After the ship put out a distress call, workers stopped cars from driving across the bridge. “These people are heroes,” Maryland’s governor, Wes Moore, said.

The Coast Guard is searching for the bodies of six of the eight construction workers who were on the bridge. Two were found alive; the others are presumed dead, an official said.

Biden said that the collision appeared to have been an accident and that he wanted the federal government to rebuild the bridge.

Several automakers said that they would reroute their shipments.

Supreme Court

Most of the Supreme Court justices sounded inclined to reject a bid to restrict nationwide access to an abortion pill , mifepristone, during arguments.

Several justices seemed skeptical that the plaintiffs, doctors who don’t prescribe abortion pills, had a right to challenge the F.D.A.’s approval of the drug. Read more takeaways .

The female justices had candid exchanges about women’s health, The Washington Post reports.

2024 Election

The Biden campaign joined TikTok to try to reach younger voters. The videos have prompted jokes and criticism.

Barack Obama regularly calls top Biden aides to strategize about Biden’s re-election campaign .

More on Politics

NBC News cut ties with Ronna McDaniel , the former Republican Party chairwoman, after hosts criticized the network for hiring her as a commentator. A Times review found that she had helped Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election .

Trump’s social media company surged on its first day of trading on the Nasdaq, adding billions to his wealth .

The judge overseeing Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial imposed a gag order prohibiting Trump from attacking witnesses or prosecutors.

Trump posted a video urging his supporters to buy the “God Bless the USA Bible,” priced at around $60. Trump gets royalties from sales .

A new law in Florida will prohibit children under 14 from having social media accounts, The A.P. reports. It is set to take effect next year.

Israel-Hamas War

An Israeli hostage said she had been sexually assaulted and tortured in Gaza. Read her story .

Hezbollah and Israel fired at each other across the border with Lebanon. At least one person died in Israel and seven were reported killed in Lebanon.

Top Israeli and U.S. defense officials met to discuss Israel’s plan to invade Rafah .

Israel is deploying facial recognition to conduct surveillance in Gaza, according to Israeli military and intelligence officials.

The authorities in Gaza said 12 people drowned while trying to retrieve airdropped aid that had fallen into the Mediterranean.

MORNING READS

Holi: The Indian festival is becoming more popular worldwide. Read about the tradition .

Scams: A woman posed as a down-on-her-luck Irish heiress. The man she conned out of thousands started a podcast to track her down .

The Great Read: A legal pot pioneer was busted in Idaho. He has a plan .

Lives Lived: Lee Berry was one of the Panther 21, members of the Black Panther Party who were prosecuted in New York in 1970. His account of abuse in jail was a catalyst for Leonard Bernstein’s Park Avenue fund-raising party that Tom Wolfe satirized in a withering magazine takedown. Berry died at 78 .

N.F.L.: League owners approved significant changes to kickoff rules, which will go into effect this season.

College basketball: Iowa and West Virginia drew an average of 4.9 million viewers for their second-round women’s N.C.A.A. tournament game, a pre-Final Four record.

ARTS AND IDEAS

French identity: Aya Nakamura, one of France’s most popular singers, might perform at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics. The choice has become a flashpoint in the nation’s culture wars. Nakamura was born in Mali and raised in a Parisian suburb, and her music mixes French lyrics with Arabic and West African dialects.

“In a country often ill at ease with its changing population,” Roger Cohen and Aurelien Breeden write , “she stands on a fault line.”

More on culture

Beyoncé’s coming album, “Cowboy Carter,” is an extension of the artist’s exploration of how Black creativity fuels all corners of popular music. Read Jon Caramanica’s essay .

Stephen King’s “Carrie” was published in 1974. Margaret Atwood explains its enduring appeal.

“Trump is mashing together the Bible and the Constitution like it’s a Pizza Hut-Taco Bell”: The late-night hosts discussed Trump’s latest business venture .

THE MORNING RECOMMENDS …

Stir together a one-pot crisp gnocchi with sausage and peas.

Prepare kids for puberty with these items .

Clean your oven .

Here is today’s Spelling Bee . Yesterday’s pangram was adjourn .

And here are today’s Mini Crossword , Wordle , Sudoku and Connections .

Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow.

Conor Dougherty covers housing and development, focusing on the rising costs of homeownership. He is based in Los Angeles. More about Conor Dougherty

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The Founders worried that a democracy would become just another version of tyranny. The point of government, as the Founders saw it, was to enable a people to live without fear of having their persons or property violated, to cooperate to govern themselves peacefully, and to repel foreign threats. Without government, the powerful would rule ...
American Government Essay example
American Government Essay example. Each type of government holds different views as to the role the leaders and citizens should perform in their country .Different types of government include, oligarchy where the government is run by the best leaders, Tyranny, where they believe those in power should have complete control over its people.
AP United States Government and Politics Exam
Argument Essay: Develop an argument in the form of an essay, using evidence from required foundational documents and course concepts Exam Questions and Scoring Information Note : Some questions and scoring guidelines from the 2023 and earlier AP U.S. Government and Politics Exams may not perfectly align with the course and exam updates that ...
Ch. 1 Introduction
Figure 1.1 In the United States, the right to vote is an important feature of the nation's system of government, and over the years many people have fought and sacrificed to obtain it. Today, many people ignore this important means of civic engagement, while others are prevented from taking part. (credit: modification of work by the National ...
Federalism and the Constitution
Footnotes Jump to essay-1 See Bond v. United States, 572 U.S. 844, 857-58 (2014) (Among the background principles . . . that our cases have recognized are those grounded in the relationship between the Federal Government and the States under our Constitution. Jump to essay-2 The Federalist No. 45 (James Madison) (The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are ...
American Government Essays (Examples)
People form a state to provide a neutral magistrate that can protect the lives, liberty, and property of the people of the state. Moreover, the power of the legislators are limited in the social contract, because their laws are only legitimate if they achieve a common good. 1. Read Federalist Papers #10, 51, and 78.
Ch. 1 Summary
Government provides stability to society, as well as many crucial services such as free public education, police and fire services, and mail delivery. It also regulates access to common goods, such as public land, for the benefit of all. Government creates a structure whereby people can make their needs and opinions known to public officials.
Top 100 American Government Essay Topics for Students
American government essay topics. Problems with American Democracy. Foreign-Born American Can Become the President. The Current Relationship between the American Citizens and the United States Government. The Function of the Articles of Confederation. How politics originated in America. The 3 Branches of the American Government.
What is American federalism?
What precisely is American federalism? In their seminal work on federal jurisdiction, Felix Frankfurter and Wilber Katz allude to a "dynamic struggle" between federal and state power, the ebb and flow of competing, sometimes conflicting, spheres of federal and state power and influence. In many respects, the story of American government is ...
Essay On American Government
Essay On American Government. Decent Essays. 814 Words. 4 Pages. Open Document. Government, or societies perception of it, is kind of an abstract concept. The world is constantly changing, so what a society expects of it's government is fluid as well. The problem with this concept is that governmental systems are very hard to change, and ...
The American Government Essay
The executive is comprised of the president and cabinet secretaries. The United States government is a model federal government composed of fifty states and one capitol. The government has three different branches which are; the legislature, judiciary and the executive. All the branches of the government derive their powers from the supreme law ...
The United States of America's Culture
The overall culture of America include beliefs, arts, traditions, values, customs, innovations and ideals drawn from the locals and from foreigners across the boarders. American culture in a mixture of ideas and ideals from varied quarters, factors like democracy, civil liberty, Christianity, traditions, moral elements and entertainment have ...
American Government Final Reflection
American Government Final Reflection. Good Essays. 1136 Words. 5 Pages. Open Document. Final Reflection/Position Paper American Government March 10, 2013 Final Reflection/Position Paper The purpose of this paper is intended to summarize my views on what has influenced my understanding of politics and government prior to taking this class, and ...
America's Affordable Housing Crisis
The consensus reflects a major problem: Tens of millions of families, across red and blue states, struggle with rent and home prices. The reason is a longstanding housing shortage. But action in ...