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ARTICLE REVIEW: AMERICA AND THE FOUNDING ASSIGNMENT
Michael Bland
Liberty University: Helm’s School of Government
Dr. William Bowen
May 22, 2022
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Thomas, Clarence. 2000 "Why Federalism Matters." Drake Law Review 48, no. 2: 231–238.
This article talks about remarks made by Clarence Thomas, who is an subordinate justice
at the U.S supreme court. Clarence Thomas tries to explain why Federalism matters in the
country. Clarence Thomas addresses members who are cited on a bench. They are in a law
school. The members are Mr President, faculty members, Dean Goplerud and the renowned
guests. Dwight is recognized to have been much generous to the school. This has made it
possible for the law school to have a student scholarship. Mr Opperman has made a significant
contribution to American law by making the law accessible to law scholars, the public, lawyers,
and the entire world.
Clarence Thomas continues to share his views about the American constitution. He
emphasizes what main points make the American constitution different from other constitutions
around the world. Clarence Thomas tries to figure out what critical aspects of American law have
enabled great financial and governmental stability and social affluence for more than 20 years.
Clarence Thomas highlighted two things which are the main contributors. The first one, and I
quote, is "the principles upon which the American constitutional order is based are universal
principles, applicable to all people at all times", and the second one is "our founders made a
significant advance in the science of politics, an advance that allowed them to create a
government strong enough to defend itself and the liberties of its people, yet limited enough that
it would itself not become the destroyer of those selfsame liberties."(PAGE NUMBERS)
Based on Clarence Thomas's argument in the article on the two main contributors, it is
evident that Clarence Thomas found his thoughts on observational information he obtained when
he travelled to various nations around the world. He has supported his points with evinced
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information. The points are also well explained, making his arguments understandable to all the
members.
Rubin, Edward L. 2001. "Puppy Federalism and the Blessings of America." The Annals of
the American Academy of Political and Social Science 574, no. 1 (March): 37–51
According to the article, Federalism is well-defined as a system in which major
components of a policy have a decisive power to influence the roles and rights of the central
authority. Federalism enables these subdivisions to preserve standards or policies that differ from
centralized administration. There is a big difference between federalization and a centralized
form of government. In most circumstances, the government carries a centralized form of
government when carrying out policies or norms of the country. On the other hand, a country
uses Federalism when the largest population in a given area has disagreements and may not
continue living together harmoniously. Federalism is mostly applied in countries suffering from
the civil war, such as Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan. Countries such as the United States would not
apply the concept of Federalism to their government since the country has not experienced any
civil war recently. For a county like America, the policy of centralization is the most applicable
since it enables economic growth and development.
Edward L. Rubin has explained how the political resources and how are useful?? in a
country. Edward L. Rubin has used the United States to explain the concept of Federalism and
the blessings of America. According to Edward L. Rubin, the United States enjoys many
blessings and has huge resources. One of the most valuable political resources is the intelligence
of countrywide unity. The Americans believe they constitute a one individual and one polity.
Edward L. Rubin explains that the major reason why America is a blessing is that the country
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allows the people to dispense Federalism. The author adds that the American system allows
people to ignore any political questions that may underlie Federalism.
SYNTHESIS
Federalism, which our founders brought, is very relevant to the current to our state??.
The articles discussed by Thomas and Rubin have tried to get the concepts of Federalism to the
current government and how state leadership has applied the concept of Federalism to improve
the quality of life of people. According to Thomas and Rubin, federalizations are being initially
formulated to bring development and growth and unite people together. The founders of
Federalism defined the concept of Federalism as a system of government in which a dual levels
of government controls a territory. In general, an encompassing federal government governs
greater geographical regions, whilst smaller subunits, states, and municipalities regulate
problems of local interest. Both the central government and the lesser local jurisdictions have the
authority to create rules and have some independence from one another.
In response to the prompt question, Thomas explains a different idea on the relevance of
federalization. Thomas appreciates the founders of Federalism for creating a base for universal
principles. Thomas argues that the founders of Federalism allowed the formation of a strong
government that strong to protect itself and the citizen’s property. Thomas explains that
Federalism is relevant for the benefit of the individual. Thomas established that Federalism
safeguards an individual's property. The concept of Federalism has been to address the awful
tragedies in human life. This would include segregation and slavery. The two issues were
addressed by the federalists and came to an end. In relevant to the question, Thomas has
addressed the relevancy of Federalism which makes his argument valid and focused on the good
of Federalism.
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On the other hand, Rubin tries to explain that the country's nature determines the
relevance of Federalism. Rubin explains that federalizations are relevant to nations which are in
conflict. He tries to explain that Federalism is relevant to individual gain and is not relevant to
nations rich in resources. Rubin gives an example of the United States and says the nation is rich
in resources and has no civil conflicts. Rubin claims that the United States does need to
implement the idea of Federalism. He claims that countries rich in resources, like the United
States of America, should implement the concepts of centralization to enhance and protect the
resources. Rubin explains that it for the reason why countries with plenty of resources have
maintained their state of wealth and have better development and economic growth as compared
to developing countries
Thomas and Rubin have some points that differ in their article regarding the relevance of
Federalism. Thomas tries to explain how Federalism is the beginning of success in a country
because more emphasis is given to the people. Thomas believes that Federalism offers someone
liberty and a sense of belonging. This is contrary to Rubin, who explains that Federalism is good
for individuals in areas in which conflicts and disagreements are prevalent. According to Rubin,
Federalism is only beneficial if people are categorized into subunits that share the same norms.
While the two authors differ on how they explain the concepts of federalization, they both
agree that federalization is very important to humans and is responsible for bringing a significant
change to individuals. According to Thomas, federalizations made benefit and safeguard
individual interests while safeguarding the culture and norms of the individual. Both articles
agree that federalization addresses the negative tragedies that may happen to an individual. In the
article written by Thomas, federalization has been applied in the past to address the issue of
segregation and slavery. Rubin also dictates that federalization is better used in locations where
