Forum Moderators: open
I'm curious ... what has it come to mean in contemporary terms? I only ever hear it in reference to the "national" governement, over which state and other local have no power.
"federal [google.com]" is also an adjective used to describe something belonging to a federation... Seems a pretty good word to describe the national government of a country called the "United States of America"...
-b
"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."
My personal take on federalism is it's when the U.S. government trumps state governments. Anti-federalism is the other way around -- and arguably, more in keeping with the Founders' language, above.
Of course, conflicting views [law.umkc.edu] of the delicate balance between state and national governmental powers are the stuff of which landmark laws (and/or law school exams, and/or massive message board threads:) are made.
I especially like this sentence: "Anti-federalism is the other way around -- and arguably, more in keeping with the Founders' language, above."
Which unfortunatly seems to have been forgotten by the federal government, and given up by the states in thier pursuit of uneeded funding.
[edited by: lawman at 1:04 am (utc) on Mar. 20, 2006]
Why did you call the national govt the federal govt
Because it is a federal govt. Most industrialized countries have that system. The USA does, Sweden does ...
That's not the only meaning of the word though--"federal" is also an adjective used to describe something belonging to a federation... Seems a pretty good word to describe the national government of a country called the "United States of America"...
I was talking about the USA when I said that I have only heard it in a "national government" context.
I'm curious ... what has it come to mean in contemporary terms?
In contemporary terms, federal government means national government. Sorry, I thought it was obvious.
Hurricane Katrina also made this point very clear. The local and state governments had to grant the federal government permission to assist in the rescue and reconstruction, were slow to do so, resulting in and continuing to be, one of the worst government responses to a natural disaster in the history of the United States.
The United States of America is a federal republic
A federation can exist without it being a republic and vice versa. We can save "republic" for another thread.
The term National Government would imply national powers and legal authority that do not exist,
Is it your position that using the term National Government implies something different than using the term Federal Government when referring to the same entity? If so, what is the implication when using the term Central Government?
as the individual states also yield powers and legal authority that are separate from and not shared with the central government.
Yes, I agree. See my definition first post.
"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."
a form of government in which the powers of the central government are limited.
Well... up until the federal legislative and judicial branches decided everything falls under the interstate commerce clause.
