The Balance Between State And Federal Government

Name Instructor Course Date To what degree has the federal government upset the balance between state and federal government as envisioned by the founders? The United States is governed by a constitution passed in the late1700’s. The constitution has been under various reviews which have led to various amendments on various acts. The founding fathers of the US envisioned how they would have liked the country to be using the constitution that is the formation of states which were independent of the federal government and the specification of powers that the various governments would possess. The constitution has faced a lot of criticisms due to various factors surrounding its making. For example, it is criticized for having advocated for a system that provoked or promoted racism and slavery amongst other social vices. The constitution was also criticized for the lack of democracy during its formulation. An instance of such criticism is seen from the words of Sanford Levinson in 1987. He termed the constitution as having been formulated without any form of democracy. The US constitution which outlines the structure and powers State and Federal governments amongst other freedoms and rights are taken for review and signing after some time. During the signing exhibition, two questions are normally asked. These questions were whether the participants would sign the constitution and another one was whether the participant had been in Independence Hall on 17th September 1787. It was in such an exhibition in Philadelphia that Sanford Levinson brought about his argument of lack of democracy in the formulation of the constitution (Jordan, 1790-1830). He accused it of propagating slavery and racism amongst other social injustices. However, the Acts that propagated such vices have been amended. Levinson still signed the endorsement after recalling what Frederick Douglas and Richard Nixon had said; he argued that if the constitution was good enough for them, then it was good enough for him. The US constitution envisioned how the country was to be governed, how it was to be divided and the types of powers that the government institutions would have. Various amendments have been made over time on the constitution on matters of governance. For example, the Tenth Amendment which recognizes and states the powers that state government should have. The 1791 Bill of Rights which was passed was aimed at protecting the powers of the states. It was passed after states expressed their fears over the expanded powers of the federal government. Popular founding fathers who worked towards the protection of state powers were James Madison and Thomas Jefferson (Sheehan, pp513). However, there are still concerns about the interference of federal governments on the powers that states have. US founders envisioned a balance where State governments would be independent, and the federal government would not interfere with them. The federal government has to some extent upset the balance, as envisioned by the founders, between federal and state governments. The Tenth Amendment stated that powers which were neither delegated nor prohibited to the States by the Constitution were reserved to the respective States or the people. The amendment was aimed at ensuring that it l...