Federal Confederate and Unitary Forms of Gov September
Federal, Confederate, and Unitary Forms of Gov. September 23 rd, 2015
Systems of Government �Systems of government are based on one question: � How is the power distributed?
Unitary �The central government does almost everything. �Local powers only do what the central government says they can do (and they can only do it in the way the central government says) �Local powers also take care of things that are not important for or would not make sense of the central government to do (like trash pick up). �This is what England has today
Confederation �In this system sovereign states delegate power to a central government. �These things are mainly things that states can’t do on their own � Defense of the nation � Regulation of trade � Foreign Relations
Confederation (Cont. ) �Two options: � A voluntary or weak association of independent states that agree to follow a powerful central government � Nations can choose to follow or not follow the lead of a weak central government
Confederation (Cont. ) �Where have you heard about this before? �It has been used in the United States twice.
Confederation (Cont. ) �Articles of Confederation (Our first “constitution”) �The Confederate States of America �Video
Federalism �Power is shared with a strong central government. �States or provinces are given considerable self rule
Advantages of Federalism �Easier to run a nation the size of the United States this way. �The members of State and Local governments are closer to the issues of their area. �Helps ensure the separation of powers and prevents tyranny
Disadvantages of Federalism �Overlap: many different governments with different policies and laws can cause confusion. (like the issue of Marijuana) �Lack of accountability: because of the overlap of the governments it can be difficult to assign blame.
The United States (Today) �We have a federal system �Certain powers are delegated (enumerated) to the federal government. �All other powers are the states or local governments. �Prior to this most nations had a unitary or confederate form of government.
Supremacy Clause �Article VI of the Constitution �This constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made…under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the constitution or laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding.
Supremacy Clause � It has been interpreted to mean that the United States Supreme Court can declare that state laws in violation of the Constitution or of federal laws “made in direct pursuance” of the Constitution should not be enforced. � The first Congress also made this power clear in the Judiciary Act of 1789
Powers given to the Federal Gov. � • Article I, Section 8 gives Congress power to organize the militia of the states and to set a procedure for calling the militia into service when needed � • Subsection 18 -The necessary and proper clause or elastic clause. Allowed Congress to make laws necessary and proper. � Article IV, Section 3 gives Congress the power to create new states � • Article IV, Section 4 also requires the national government to protect the states from invasion or domestic violence
State Powers � • State governments have the power over education, family law, property regulations, and most aspects of everyday life. � Congress decides, on the basis of practical and political considerations, whether the federal or state governments should fulfill certain responsibilities. � • In spite of the federal government’s increased power, most of the laws that affect us directly are state laws. These include most property laws, contract laws, family laws, and criminal laws.
- Slides: 18