The Constitution created a federal system of government as a compromise. Under federalism, power is shared and divided between national and state governments. The Founding Fathers really had no other choice except federalism. The weak union created under the Articles would not work yet people did not want to give all the power to a national government.
Federalism was the middle ground–compromise–a way to distribute authority between the states and the national government.
What was the advantages of a federal system of government?
I learnt that the «individual» was the top-most focus of the American society. Every policy devised at the official level would firstly think how it would benefit or affect the individual living inside the American state. In our society, there is greater emphasis on family, society and the country but a lot of attention in the US is paid to individual liberty. The state tries to ensure all forms of liberty for the individual.
This includes the freedom of religion. Every individual is free to practice whatever religion he or she prefers. However, there is no state religion in the US. The government does not have a religion or does it pursue any policy, including the foreign policy, on the basis of religion.
The government of the United States cannot put any curbs on the media. The media is largely independent and free from official control. All media outlets are under private ownership which keeps ascertaining public opinion about their interest in different issues through opinion polls and surveys. The US media rarely discusses the country’s foreign policy.
A lot of attention is paid to domestic issues by the media because not many people in the US take a keen interest in foreign affairs. Newspapers and TV channels keep the interest of their readers and viewers supreme and they avoid printing and broadcasting such material which fails to attract public attention. The government structure in the US is not centralized. The country is divided into independent federal, state and local governments.
Unlike Pakistan, the President of the United States does not appoint the governors of American states nor does he influence them. The American states are empowered to impose taxes on the citizens. Another classic example of decentralized American federal system are the local governments. The local governments are also autonomous and powerful to impose taxes.
There is no national education policy in the US. Every county and state has its own education policy. Federalism is a mixed or compound mode of government that combines a general government with regional governments in a single political system.
