Federalism

Defining federalism has never been a simple task. As colonies, the states had developed independently and, even after the Revolutionary War, they remained "distinct, different and insular communities."1 Consequently, bringing the states together in a federal system was fraught with controversy. The states had become very jealous of their independence and autonomy and many people were suspicious of the new Constitutional arrangement that would require the states to give up power to the national government. Indeed, it was the states' reluctance to surrender even the smallest amount of sovereignty that had made the government under the Articles of Confederation so weak (see "Self Rule").

The events that had prompted the states to send delegates to the Constitutional Convention, however, had also made them much more willing to accept limitations on state power than they had been before. If a stronger national government could help solve the states' trade and commerce problems, they were willing to relinquish some of their independence. Then as today, however, there was controversy about just how much independence would have to be given up to make the national government strong enough to achieve the ends it was being created to pursue.

The Framers of the Constitution created a federal system with a national government strong enough to unify the states in their pursuit of common goals without completely robbing the states of their independence. If they had not done so, it is unlikely that the ratifying conventions in the several states would have approved the Constitution. Indeed, the inclusion of the federal principle in the Constitution was a critical factor in its ratification. The benefits of federalism, however, have reached far beyond the ratification debates.

1. Philip B. Kurland and Ralph Lerner. The Founders' Constitution (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987).