What is Federalism? Federalism is a form of government in which a constitution distributes powers between a central government and subdivisional governments, usually called states, provinces, or republics. Lower entities such as municipalities, towns, and districts are created by the states (or other subdivisional governments) and have no sovereign power of their own. The national and subdivisional governments both exercise direct authority over individuals. Divides power between the national and lower level governments. Each government has distinct powers that the other governments cannot override. Examples: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Mexico, and the United States.

Government under U.S. Constitution (Federation): 1789 -

Advantages of Federalism Federalism checks the growth of tyranny Federalism allows unity without uniformity Federalism encourages experimentation Federalism keeps government closer to the people Training for national officials More arenas for public participation The authors of the Constitution wanted to combine a central government strong enough to maintain order with strong states. The large geographical size of a country. State governments have served as training grounds for national politicians and as laboratories in which new ideas can be tested. Federalism allows for many political subcultures.

Federal Systems Advantages Disadvantages Permits diversity and diffusion of power Local governments can handle local problems better More access points for political participation Protects individual rights against concentrated government power Fosters experimentation and innovation Suits a large country with a diverse population Makes national unity difficult to achieve and maintain State governments may resist national policies May permit economic inequality and racial discrimination Law enforcement and justice are uneven Smaller units may lack expertise and money May promote local dominance by special interests In 1787, federalism was a compromise between centrists who supported a strong national government and those who favored decentralization. Confederation was unsuccessful and unitary was impossible given the attachment to state governments. Federalism has some advantages. First, U.S. citizens tend to connect federalism to freedom because any level can challenge any other level. Second, the nation is very diverse but federalism allows there to be differences on policy while also having the nation in common. Third, experimentation is possible in a federal system because states become laboratories of democracy. Fourth, leaders can cut their teeth on how to run governments at a lower level before they enter the national conversation. Finally, the number of levels allows citizens to be involved in their government as thousands of U.S. adults serve. Federalism has some disadvantages. First, dividing power means that national problems are not responded to quickly – Katrina, 9/11 are examples of this problem. Second, citizens have a hard time holding elected officials accountable because it is hard to see who is responsible when things go well or go badly. Third, there is conflict across state lines. Finally, the more variation in policies there is, the more inefficient the system works.

Number of Governments in the United States 3,143 With about 89,000 separate governmental units in the U.S. today, it is no wonder that intergovernmental relations in the U.S. are so complicated. Actually, the number of school districts has decreased over time, but the number of special districts created for single purposes, such as water, sewage, flood control, has increased from only 8,000 during WWII to over 37,000 today.

Number of Governments In America there are close to 89,000 governments. About half of these units are school or other special districts, and many of the remaining governments are townships and municipalities. there are over 3,000 counties 50 state governments and one federal government.