The Role of the National United States Government and Balance of Powers
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The Role of the National United States Government and Balance of Powers
In the United States, the federal, state, and local governments have exclusive and concurrent powers. Some of the constitution’s policies and regulations are obligations to these governments to serve one another diligently. For instance, the federal government is responsible for regulating interstate commerce activities, coining money, declaring war, raising and supporting armies (Elliott, 2020). These are some of the laws that the national government is mandated to abide by to support state and local governments’ functionality. States are constrained from entering into treaties with other nations, levy taxes on importations and exportations, and coining money which only the federal government is responsible for.
The concept of balancing powers between the federal and state governments has been ongoing for a very long time, which has changed and expanded the nation’s constitution over time. From history, we understand that the division of powers between the states and federal governments was clear. However, since the Civil War in the 1860s, the national government’s powers began to intertwine and overlap state and local powers. Periods like the Great Depression forced the federal government to step in and offer highly-needed support in regions that were controlled at the state level (Elliott, 2020). Cases such as McCulloch vs. Maryland contributed to the expansion of national government as it declared that Congress has implied authority for implementing enumerated powers.
References
Elliott K. K. (2020). The Relationship between the States and the Federal Government. Retrieved from https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-government-and-civics/us-gov-foundations/us-gov-relationship-between-the-states-and-the-federal-government/a/relationship-between-the-states-and-the-federal-government-article