Federalism and Media Effects on the Government, Essay Example

This research paper will discuss what is Federalism and why did our founding fathers choose to follow this method of government. Further, I will discuss the current issues surrounding Federalism with our current system of government in which we call a democracy. Finally I will discuss how the media created the formation of a federalist government and how the media has affected the creation of our current democracy.

Federalism is a system of government equally shared between the states, the federal and the central government of the United States. An example of federalism is where under Section 8 of Article I of the United States Constitution Congress have certain powers to coin money, regulate interstate commerce, declare war and establish immigration wars. However, though this is the same geographic regions, the states do not have powers to coin money, enter into treaties and declare war.

The reason our founding fathers decided to follow a federalist type of power in the states is to designate certain powers to certain branches of government and to prevent certain branches of government from becoming too powerful thorough what is known as  a separation of powers.

Current issues surrounding federalists, such as the 10^th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, only the states have the power to regulate driver’s license laws and collecting property taxes. “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.” This is to ensure that rights delegated under the U.S. Constitution are vehemently mandated or kept with the people and by the people.

Perhaps the greatest separation of powers that was attempted to be abridged was seen through the 14^th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution through the infamous case Brown v. Board of Education (1954) where segregation rights were at hand. Separate school facilities based on race were at hand which were unequal and in violation of the said amendment. It was held that no state shall make or enforce any law that shall abridge the rights, privileges or immunities of citizens that shall deprive them of life, liberty or process without the due process of law or to deny equal protection of law. The court based their decision on Plessey v. Ferguson (1986) where it was distinguished the states denied blacks equal protection under the law when they disallowed blacks from testifying in suits they were not party to.

Federalism believes in equal protection in all branches of the law and equal protection is afforded by keeping each branch of government separate and under control. Today the United States is a democratic nation and still practices federalism. For the most part there is no overlapping in the three branches of government, though some of the branches are allowed to use discretionary powers such as right to declare war without Congress’ approval in times of emergency. This can be construed as an abuse of a federalist society.

The media allows people the access to choose a political power and influences government to make choices that are congruent with what society wants. This is unfortunate because the media does not always know what is best for the economy. However if the media represent the majority of what change people want, the media can be a positive influence on the political arena.