America: land of the free, home of the multi-layered government system we call federalism.
Federalism is the constitutional division of power between
the U.S. state governments and the national government, also known as the federal government.
By design, the U.S. has different levels of government,
ranging from the smallest areas of the country to the entire United States of America.
Before we dive into this unique system of government, it's important to address
what government is and why we have it.
Simply put, a government is a particular system used for overseeing a specific area.
Like a country or state. It's made up of people who control and make
decisions, like passing laws, for that area. Sometimes those people are elected, and other
times they're appointed or hired by government officials. Having a government is important in
order to keep people safe and protected. Consider this scenario: you're on the bus headed to school,
but roads are in poor condition. And there are no lanes, speed limits, stop signs, or traffic
lights. The roads would be chaotic, and you probably wouldn't feel safe. In its basic form,
government is people coming together to organize a set of rules that we can agree to and abide by.
It puts the civil in civilization! The framers of the U.S. Constitution sought to create a system
that divided power between the government of the U.S. and the governments of individual states.
The national government has certain powers defined by the U.S. Constitution that states do not have,
such as the powers to declare war, coin money, and regulate international trade.
Other powers belong exclusively to the states. These reserved powers include conducting
elections, issuing marriage and driver's licenses, ratifying amendments to the U.S. Constitution,
and establishing local governments for cities and counties. There are also shared powers between
state and federal governments, including the power to collect taxes, maintain law and order,
and build highways. And the layers don't stop there! Government powers extend to cities
and counties within a state. In Georgia, there are 159 counties and over 530 cities,
also known as municipalities, within these counties. Counties serve several purposes, such
as providing courts of law, holding elections, building and repairing county roads, and providing
services like police and fire protection, libraries, schools, and public transportation.
Within those counties are cities which vary in power. Generally, a city holds
the power to maintain law enforcement, collect taxes, and provide water and trash services.
These local forms of government are important because they have a more direct interest in what's
going on in their immediate community. If you've been counting, that's a total of four territorial
divisions of government. So how do they apply to the citizens of the United States? Imagine the
tiered levels of government as a Russian nesting doll, with you in the center as the smallest doll.
These second smallest doll is city government, and all the laws in that city apply to you.
The county-level government falls over the city government and you. All the laws and regulations
set forth by the county apply to the city and to you. But the city laws don't necessarily apply to
the entire county because there can be multiple cities within a county. The state government doll
covers all of the counties, cities, and people in the state. A law passed at a state level cannot be
overridden by a local government. Finally, you have the largest doll: the federal government.
The federal government reigns supreme. Literally. Article 6 Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution
is the supremacy clause, which establishes that federal laws are the supreme law of the land.
This means that national laws take priority over any conflicting state laws. Say for example
Georgia wanted to pass a law making the voting age 21 years and older. This would be unconstitutional
because it violated the 26th Amendment that states all citizens in the United States who
are 18 years and older cannot be denied the right to vote based on their age. Although the
federal government may pass laws that apply to all states, cities, and people, its power is limited
by the U.S. Constitution. In fact, the 10th Amendment, the last entry in the Bill of Rights,
was created in order to restrict the range of power exercised by the federal government. The
10th Amendment states that any power not listed in the U.S. Constitution is reserved for the states
or the people. Another way to illustrate these divisions of power is to think about it in this
way.... Classroom rules differ from one teacher to another. One teacher may allow free seating
while another provides assigned seating. But the school rules, like dress codes and bell schedules,
apply to all classrooms. And the school district's code of conduct applies to all students in every
school in the district. That means that pulling the fire alarm or intentionally blocking school
traffic are offenses in any classroom in any school in the district. Just like government,
these rules are intended to keep people safe. Now that you know how the United
States separates governments responsible for lawmaking, can you think of any other examples of division of power?
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