Under the Constitution, power is divided between the national and state governments. This sharing of power is known as federalism. Federalism in the United States can be seen as the result of the political views of the founders, who were suspicious of strong government and wanted to establish a political system in which power was divided and controlled. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The Constitution allows two types of powers to the national government: delegated power and implied powers. Designated powers are those powers specifically assigned to Congress by the United States Constitution. These include the power to tax and spend money, the power to mint money, and the power to regulate interstate commerce. Implied powers are not written into the Constitution but have been used to expand the credentials of the national government. The necessary and correct clause hardly gives Congress unlimited powers; the clause only permits Congress to enact all laws necessary and proper to give effect to the foregoing powers and other powers granted to the national government. The Constitution barely assigns specific powers to the states. State powers are called reserved or residual powers and are based on the Tenth Amendment. States have the authority to pass laws that promote the health, welfare, safety, and morals of their citizens. Typically, this has allowed states to legislate in a wide range of areas, from transportation to voting to health and domestic relations. States, however, have no authority over areas assigned to the national government, such as foreign affairs and interstate commerce. How the framers of the Constitution were concerned with the division of powers between the federal government and the state governments When the framers of the Constitution came along with the United States Constitution, they intentionally did not give the national government much power over the states. In fact, they prevented the federal government from controlling many segments because they wanted the states to continue to govern most matters themselves. For this reason, legislators developed federalism. The mechanisms they have implemented to have a cohesive republic Disputes over who governs are common and have arisen throughout history. So, who decides which entity is responsible for a given matter? Who decides whether or not this is a constitutional use of the federal government's powers? To ensure a cohesive republic, lawmakers established the institution of the supreme court which determines conflicts over states' rights versus national powers. The Supreme Court, therefore, defines the division of powers. Keep in mind that the Supreme Court evolves over time because the Court's decisions change equally. To have a cohesive republic, the framers of the Constitution granted some express powers to the federal government, while reserving the remaining powers to the states. Aside from the express powers of the federal government, the “necessary and adequate” clause has paved the way for growth in the realm of “implied control” (Welch, Susan, 2012). The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution reserves powers not specifically assigned to the national government “respectively to the States or citizens” (Bardes et al, 2010). Along with states' traditional police powers and shared (concurrent) powers, the Tenth Amendment provides the constitutional basis for state power in political relations. Federalism also involves the complex relationships between different states. The “full faith and credit clause” of the Constitution.
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