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Introduction, Constitution, and Federalism

Page history last edited by mberry 13 years, 11 months ago

next section 'The historical introduction and formation of the constitution'

Chapter 1: Introduction, Constitutional Underpinnings and Federalism

Ever since it was written in 1787, then ratified in effect on March 4, 1789, the United States Constitution has been amended, challenged, and interpreted by different parties to gain insight on what exactly the Founding Fathers intended the meaning of the Constitution to be. Furthermore we have come to question through its vagaries, what ideas the Constitution can entail and which ones it denounces. Even now, the Constitution causes tremendous controversy. The Constitution addresses the various power roles and rules of government (specifically, in Articles One, Two and Three). However, despite the checks and balances and the separation of powers, as created by the Constitution, the powers between the national, state and local governments have, at times been unbalanced. Since America was still a territory of England, there have been battles between the local, state, and national governments in a power struggle. Perhaps certain aspects of the American government, such as federalism, have given rise to such power struggles. Federalism is the sharing of powers between the national, state, and local governments but the exact powers between the governments depend on the region. In America, we are under a system of dual federalism. The opposing sides of the Democrats and Republicans, as could have been described in the 1700s and 1800s as the Federalists and Anti-Federalists, are one of the main sources of struggles for power. As the government roles differ according to the opinions of Democrats and Republicans, so do their interpretations of the Constitution. This chaper will explore what the Constitution is and its differing interpretations.

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