GOVT 327
The Philosophy of American Republicanism and Federalism
Michael A. Delos Santos
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The Philosophy of American Republicanism and Federalism
The United States Constitution proved the federal system for the people to help in
running the government. In the federal government there is a broad definition of federalism
where there two or more tiers of government that are present in an established territory and
govern through common institutions with shared and overlapping powers as intended by the
Constitution. The power can be dissolved by the federal government and among several states by
the Framers. The Framers believed that the answer was Federalism.
Power.
The governments get their powers from the people of the United States. The Declaration
of Independence displays this, and it means the government is run by the people. “This form of
government is vastly different from those governments run by kings and queens. If the people
living in a monarchy do not like the way the government is being run, there is little they can do
to instigate or bring about a change.” (Reference.com, 2020). People running the government
was a new concept at the time when the Declaration of Independence was being composed.
Numerous countries do not enjoy the freedom given to the people in the United States. The
United States have elections are the primary way that governments that gives power to the
people. Every four years there is a presidential election and every two years there is a
congressperson election that the citizens can vote for.
Structure of the Federal Government. The structure of the federal government is a
good example of the people given the opportunity to choose who leads them. This is the genius
of the United States Constitution. The Framers had learned the difficult way that any government
that was given too much power would eventually discourage people. They believed that using the
government was the secret to long lasting liberty. The Constitution’s system of balanced
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separation of powers enforced through checks and balances was devised to prevent tyranny. The
system of checks and balances is made up of three branches. It is designed to ensure that not one
single entity has too much power. The three branches are the executive branch, legislative
branch, and judicial branch. The Executive Branch is headed by the President of the United
States. The President implements and enforces the laws that are written by Congress. The
Legislative Branch is lead by Congress. They are given the power to make laws. The Senate and
the House of Representatives divides Congress into two groups. Each member is made up of
members elected from each state. There are a total of 435 members in the Senate. The Senate is
made up of two Senators per state and the House is based on population. Lastly, the Judicial
consist of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Supreme Court is made up of nine
members. The highest-ranking Supreme Court is the title of Chief Justice of the United States.
Dissolve of Power. The bulk of the Framers of the United States Constitution were very
distrusting of how the government used and the way the governments worked to end power from
the people. They also understood a government system would be necessary to function properly.
The Framers did not want to take away complete control of the people. They wanted a governing
body for the people. Therefore, they created Federalism. The use of Federalism in the United
States made the most sense because it allowed the government to have rules and set standards for
the citizens while not having to much power while using checks and balances. It was necessary
for the Framers to dissolve this power because the citizens allowed the govern themselves and
choose the people that were in place to govern them. With having Federalism in place, the
citizens will also be able to decide if an elected official is not doing their job or governing the
country the way they should be. “No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I
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have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received
of my Father.” Official King James Bible Online: Authorized King James Version (KJV), 2022).
Argument Example. The role of government in healthcare has been a widely known
argument for a long time in all states. Neither the Executive nor the Judiciary Branch has been
able to create a health care policy to satisfy everyone. Democracies generally pride themselves
on being able to elect Legislatures that can be independent and accountable to the public.
California in fact is going through a health care situation right now. The Democrats are looking
to take over the state’s health insurance system. They have created a government healthcare plan
call CalCare. This outlaw private healthcare insurance. CalCare has already been approved by
the state’s Assembly’s Health Committee’s legislation. If California’s Legislatures can get the
people to back it, the Legislatures will try to push this up to the Executive and Judiciary
Branches for approval. “Thus, federalism is another necessary protection of the naturally
endowed rights that we all share and this was the overarching goal of the Constitution and the
Bill of Rights.” (Smith, 2015).
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References
Reference.com (2020, April 14) - What's Your Question?. From What Source Do
Governments Derive Their Just Powers?. Retrieved January 22, 2022, from
http://www.reference.com/world-view/source-governments-derive-just-powers-
10616ae7af6aa42e
Official King James Bible Online: Authorized King James Version (KJV), (2022) . Retrieved
January 22, 2022, from http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/
Smith, Dr. Trevor. (2015). “The Founding Philosophy of Amerian Republicanism and Federalism”
– Liberty University, Canvas Presentation. Accessed 23 January 2022. Liberty University.
https://libertyuniversity.instructure.com/courses/250019/pages/watch-the-founding-
philosophy-of-american-republicanism-and-federalism?module_item_id=21339006
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