A FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
It the previous section, Government, we identified the United States as being a Republic. We can refine this even further. The United States Government is a "Federal"(D) government, not a "National"(D) government as many, mistakenly, refer to it. While, at first glance, the two may seem to be the same thing, there is a very important difference between the two that has a profound effect on the powers of either. To understand this we need to go back and look at the very beginnings of our "government".
In quick summary, the two differ by the way the governments are formed. In a national government, all of the people within that "nation" vote, as a single body, on the formation and form of their government. Two examples of this type of government are Great Britain and New Zealand. In a federal government, a number of independent and sovereign(D) groups ("nations" or "states", for example) form a limited central government known as a Federation(D). The United States of America is an example of this type of Government.
In either case, the document that actually creates the government is called a Constitution(D). The type of government, National or Federal, is determined by the nature of the constitution that created it. In a national constitution, the powers of the central government, created by that constitution, are broader in that they apply to the nation as a whole. In a federal constitution the powers of the central government, created by that constitution, differ in that the constitution gives certain, limited, powers to the central government, affecting the nation as a whole, and prohibits others from it, reserving those prohibited powers to the sovereign groups that formed the government (in America, the States). Our, current, Constitution clearly identifies those groups in it's name; Constitution for the United States of America. This concept, of Federalism(D) is present in both of our constitutions.
Yep, that's right, we had two. The one we know as "The Constitution for the United States of America" is, actually our second Constitution. Our first Constitution was the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, which are most often known as the Articles of Confederation. Both constitutions were "ratified"(D) by, previously selected, representatives of the states not by a "general vote" of the people within the states. The independent and sovereign States, not the people, ratified both documents. Thus, in the case of either constitution, the central government created was a federal government, not a national government. Even though the term "federalism" is not used in either of the Constitutions, the principals that underlay the concept are deeply engrained within it.
In summary, the United States Government is a form of government, containing elements of both a Federation(D) and a Republic(D), known as a Constitutional Republic.(*) The issue of Republicanism was so important an issue to the founders that they even placed a requirement for it in the Constitution"
Article IV, Section 4:
The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the
Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence.
In quick summary, the two differ by the way the governments are formed. In a national government, all of the people within that "nation" vote, as a single body, on the formation and form of their government. Two examples of this type of government are Great Britain and New Zealand. In a federal government, a number of independent and sovereign(D) groups ("nations" or "states", for example) form a limited central government known as a Federation(D). The United States of America is an example of this type of Government.
In either case, the document that actually creates the government is called a Constitution(D). The type of government, National or Federal, is determined by the nature of the constitution that created it. In a national constitution, the powers of the central government, created by that constitution, are broader in that they apply to the nation as a whole. In a federal constitution the powers of the central government, created by that constitution, differ in that the constitution gives certain, limited, powers to the central government, affecting the nation as a whole, and prohibits others from it, reserving those prohibited powers to the sovereign groups that formed the government (in America, the States). Our, current, Constitution clearly identifies those groups in it's name; Constitution for the United States of America. This concept, of Federalism(D) is present in both of our constitutions.
Yep, that's right, we had two. The one we know as "The Constitution for the United States of America" is, actually our second Constitution. Our first Constitution was the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, which are most often known as the Articles of Confederation. Both constitutions were "ratified"(D) by, previously selected, representatives of the states not by a "general vote" of the people within the states. The independent and sovereign States, not the people, ratified both documents. Thus, in the case of either constitution, the central government created was a federal government, not a national government. Even though the term "federalism" is not used in either of the Constitutions, the principals that underlay the concept are deeply engrained within it.
In summary, the United States Government is a form of government, containing elements of both a Federation(D) and a Republic(D), known as a Constitutional Republic.(*) The issue of Republicanism was so important an issue to the founders that they even placed a requirement for it in the Constitution"
Article IV, Section 4:
The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the
Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence.
NEVER FORGET !
