The transfer of power from the central government to state or local government is called "devolution," since this would be the opposite of a smaller power "evolving" into a larger one.
-Devolution is the transfer of power from a central government to sub-national (e.g., state, regional, or local) authorities. It involves the delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a sub-national level, such as a regional or local level.
-For example, supporters of states' rights in the United States favored diffusing power away from Washington, D.C., toward state and local governments.
It impacted politics in the mid-19th century because of the large inflows of immigrants after 1845 from cultures that were different from the existing American culture.
