Federalism Constitutionnet

Leo Migdal

-Dec 3, 2025, 1:32 PM

Federalism is a constitutional mechanism for dividing power between different levels of government, such that federated units can enjoy substantial, constitutionally guaranteed autonomy over certain policy areas while sharing power in accordance with agreed... Thus, federalism combines partial self-government with partial shared government. International IDEA’s Constitution-Building Primers are designed to assist in-country constitution-building or constitutional-reform processes by helping citizens, political parties, civil society organizations, public officials and members of constituent assemblies make wise constitutional choices. They also provide guidance for staff of intergovernmental organizations and other external actors working to provide well informed, context-relevant support to local decision-makers. Each Primer is written as an introduction for non-specialist readers, and as a convenient aide-memoire for those with prior knowledge of, or experience with, constitution-building. Arranged thematically around the practical choices faced by constitution-builders, the Primers aim to explain complex constitutional issues in a quick and easy way.

This revised and reformatted edition was published in October 2017. You can also download this publication from the International IDEA website. Federalism is a cornerstone of the United States' constitutional framework, balancing power between national and state governments. This balance, rooted in the Founders' vision, continues to shape American governance. Understanding the principles and historical phases of federalism offers insight into its ongoing relevance and challenges. The Constitution established federalism by balancing power between the national and state governments.

Central to this balance is the concept that the national government should have limited, enumerated powers. The Founders created this system to prevent any single entity from becoming too powerful, drawing lessons from both ancient and contemporary governments. Article I outlines the powers of Congress, emphasizing its limited scope. These powers include: Enumerated powers aimed to allow the federal government to address national concerns while leaving local matters to the states. An example of this balance is the power to regulate commerce.

Congress can regulate trade between states, but intrastate activities fall under state jurisdiction. The Tenth Amendment reinforces this principle, stating that powers not delegated to the federal government, nor prohibited to the states, are reserved to the states or the people. This amendment highlights that not all power rests with the national authority. Instead, states retain significant control over their own affairs, which is why legislation and day-to-day regulations often vary from state to state. Jeffrey S. Sutton explains that federalism is a singular question in American history with a debate that never goes away.

Federalism is a question, not an answer. It is indeed the singular question in American history: When should the American people address a policy problem with a local or a national answer? It’s the one debate that never goes away. Pick any decade from 1776 onwards, and it reappears, just clothed in a new contest about a new policy imperative. No matter whether it’s novel policy challenges about public education, criminal law, civil liberties, taxation, public safety, privacy—anything and everything that affects the common good—Americans must figure out whether good government demands a local... That federalism is a question, not an answer, may explain why Americans have such a hard time grasping it.

We understand democracy, representative government, states, presidents, courts, and legislatures. But not federalism. If you doubt me, try casually inserting the word federalism into your next conversation with friends. Be prepared to see eyes glaze. The word lacks a common sense because the concept lacks a fixed meaning. It is a little bit of this and a little bit of that—sometimes a state solution, sometimes a national solution, sometimes a cooperative solution.

In addition to shifting shape, the concept doesn’t seem to add up. How could two sovereigns regulate the same people in the same place at the same time? The idea of separating the powers of one government between a President, the Congress, and the federal courts comfortably registers with all of us. But the idea of giving two governments power over the same place—the power, say, to regulate Ohioans in two different ways—puzzles us and, in truth, initially puzzled the Framers. To understand American government, however, requires an understanding of American federalism. It was the Framers’ key innovation in writing the Constitution in Philadelphia in 1787, and it was the central compromise that allowed thirteen skeptical states to ratify the Constitution in 1788.

How did the compromise work? In one direction, the new Constitution gave the national government sufficient power to unify the country and to function on a day-to-day basis. This approach was in marked contrast to the failed Articles of Confederation, which essentially operated as a treaty between thirteen independent sovereigns. In the other direction, the compromise gave the national government only those powers specifically delegated to it, leaving all other powers to the states. When the Framers “split the atom of sovereignty,” in Justice Kennedy’s revealing words, they found a way to pull together thirteen disparate colonies suffering under the ineffective Articles of Confederation and unleashed a new... From then to now, that experiment continues to unfold with fresh answers to America’s evergreen question: When should the same community of people resolve their policy disagreements at the local level or national level...

The U.S. Constitution created a federal structure in which power is shared by the national government and the states. As part of what Alexander Hamilton in The Federalist No. 9 called their new science of politics, the framers employed this new federal design in conjunction with their extended republic argument and their new conception of separation of powers to make it possible for... Their goal was, in James Wilson’s words, to establish a new government that would “deserve the seemingly opposite epithets—efficient and free.” The primary purpose of the framers’ new design was to provide for a strong central government.

They believed that this was essential, for the “imbecility” of the central government under the Articles of Confederation was so great that, in the words of Alexander Hamilton in The Federalist No. 15, “We may indeed with propriety be said to have reached almost the last stage of national humiliation. There is scarcely anything that can wound the pride or degrade the character of an independent nation which we do not experience.” There was obviously a need for a “more perfect union” and, in... The new federalism created by the framers eliminated the ineptitude and imbecility that existed under the Articles of Confederation. To begin with, they enhanced considerably the power of the new federal government. Not only could it now operate directly on the individual citizen, just as the state governments did, but it could also deal with internal matters: for example, it now could regulate commerce among the...

Moreover, the federal government was made supreme over the states on those matters to which it had been delegated power. As Article VI spelled out, “This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof . . . shall be the supreme law of the land.” While the federalism the framers created clearly strengthened the central government, it also helped to avoid majority tyranny by preserving the presence of powerful states capable of checking and controlling not only the central...

It granted the new central government only those powers expressly or implicitly delegated to it in the Constitution and allowed the states to retain all powers not prohibited to them. It permitted the states to regulate intrastate commerce and the health, safety, and welfare of the citizenry (i.e., the police power), and it even authorized them to exercise certain powers concurrently with the central... Finally, the framers’ federalism also reduced the prospects for majority tyranny by blending federal elements into the structure and procedures of the central government itself. To take an obvious example, it mixed into the Senate the federal principle of equal representation of all the states. When joined with bicameralism and separation of powers, this principle serves, in the words of The Federalist No. 62, as “an additional impediment .

. . again improper acts of legislation. No law or resolution can now be passed without the concurrence first of a majority of the people, and then of a majority of the states.” This division of power between the federal and state governments also provided another remedy for the ills of democratic ineptitude. With two levels of government at their disposal, the people were able to assign their sovereign power to whichever level they believed would be more productive in promoting the common good.

The Declaration of Independence states that “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” This assertion means that good government is organized and built upon the consent... The people give their consent to their representatives and make their will known through direct communication, voting, and a variety of civic activities. Federalism ensures that representatives listen to the people, know the popular will, and that they are responsive to the needs of the people. Federalism is the principle of having different levels of government—national, state, and local—each with constitutionally defined powers. In a large republic, federalism represents a dialogue between national authority and local self-rule in states and communities. When the Framers gathered in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787, they faced many challenges.

One of the greatest challenge was how they would maintain a republic across a geographically large and diverse nation. Distance created a diversity of interests, needs, and problems that required government support in unique ways. To help overcome this challenge, the Framers developed the system of federalism. In this system, each level of government exercises unique powers, but they also have concurrent, or shared, powers that they each can exercise. For instance, taxation is a concurrent power. Thus, federalism in a large republic provides for national power with some uniformity while preserving state and local self-government that is responsive to the common good among unique communities and allows for greater diversity.

James Madison notes in Federalist #39 that a discussion of federalism begins with an understanding that a republic is “a government which derives all its powers directly or indirectly from the great body of... Thus, the people can govern themselves freely and without intrusive government. But often, the nation confronts challenges that require uniformity in the exercise of powers such as in matters of interstate commerce, treaties, and defense. These are duties of a national government. The Constitutional Topics pages at the USConstitution.net site are presented to delve deeper into topics than can be provided on the Glossary Page or in the FAQ pages. This Topic Page concerns Federalism.

Federalism is not mentioned explicitly in the Constitution, but federalism is one of the many concepts that the Constitution embodies. There are three major types of government in the place in the world today. The most prevalent is the unitary system. In a unitary system, power is held at the national level, with very little power being held in political subdivisions, such as provinces, counties, parishes, or towns. The least common is the confederation. Confederations are unions of equal states, with some power being held at the national level.

Federalism Constitutionnet

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