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Evaluate the view that the US federal government has become too powerful (30)
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Evaluate the view that the US federal government has become too powerful (30)
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Evaluate the view that the US federal government has become too powerful (30)Federalism is a theory of government by which political power is divided from a national
government into state governments, each having their own areas of substantive jurisdiction-
rather than having one national government. Dual federalism gave states more power, but this
was changed by Roosevelt in the 30’s to give the federal government more power. The
president can also choose to limit the federal government from having too much power,
however this can be difficult in natural disasters such as 9/11. There are also checks and
balances on the federal government from the separated powers- the legislature and judiciary,
however these can be ineffective, or give the legislature/ judiciary too much power. Overall, the
federal government can have too much power, especially in natural disasters, but some
presidents can choose to reduce their power.
The most traditional form of federalism, dual federalism, gives the states more power as the
federal government is confined to only dealing with foreign and interstate affairs, while the
states are allowed control over everything else. The Supreme Court often ruled against federal
interference in state affairs. However, this changed in the 30’s. Roosevelt wanted to provide
employment, relief and infrastructure projects after the Wall Street crash. The ‘New Deal’ was
introduced, which allowed the federal government to take more responsibility for local affairs.
was a major departure from traditional Federalism. This completely altered the balance, and
gave the federal government significantly more power. This is called cooperative federalism.
Also, the 10th amendment- which states that any undelegated powers in the Constitution are
‘reserved to the states or to the people’- not to the federal government, giving the states more
power. The federal government is also limited by the president who gives more power to the
states. Nixon believed in giving the states more power and decreasing government intervention
by spending less on anti-poverty projects. He also introduced General Revenue sharing- which
were block grants rather than categorical grants, allowing states to spend money how they liked.
President Reagan believed that the “government is the problem”, and thought Nixon didn’t go
far enough. He reduced federal aid to the states by 18 billion dollars. He also allowed the state
to take over welfare and food stamps. However, this scheme was rejected. President George
W. Bush wanted to give states more freedom as he thought federal power should decrease.
However, because of natural disasters including 9/11, hurricane Katrina and the Global
Financial Crisis 2007-08, he had to spend a lot of money to deal with these problems even
though he didn’t want to. This included money towards education, Medicare and national
defence, and eventually the economy and jobs after the Wall Street crash 2008, which gave
significantly more power to the federal government. Overall, the federal government can have
too much power, especially in natural disasters such as Bush in 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, but
some presidents can choose to reduce their power, such as Nixon and Reagan.
The Constitution was made to separate powers with checks on each other to prevent tyranny.
However, the powers aren't separated, the institutions are. The constitution is often called the
‘doctrine of shared powers’. As the constitution is entrenched, this makes it harder to pass laws,
ensuring changes to the constitution aren't made over a temporary issue. It requires ¾ of
Congress’ approval and ¾ of all 50 states ratification to pass, ensuring both the federal
government and a super-majority of states favour a proposal. This prevents the federal
government from having too much power as at least 38 states need to agree with a proposal.
However, the 18th Prohibition amendment 1918 still passed, which banned alcohol and ended
up being a disaster. It was repealed within 14 years, meaning they have too much power. On
the other hand, fundamental human rights don’t pass. The Equal Rights Amendment still was
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