Free Federal And State Government Relations Argumentative Essay Example

There has been strained relationship between the national government and the state governments with the state government attempting to gain autonomy from the federal government. This paper seeks to analyzing the relationship between federal government and the state government in view of the powers of each, and consequently determining which is more powerful.
The federal government is constitutionally mandated to control money, and hence, it is the major contributor in the economic control of all the states. Moreover, it can declare war while the state government cannot. The federal governments controls all the foreign relations and hence, determining the relationships between United States and other countries in the world. Consequently, the federal government control all oversees trade and interstate trade. On the other hand, the state governments oversee trade within the state, ratify amendments, manage public health, and safety within the state and education. From the above, it is evident that the federal government is by far more powerful over state governments. The fact that federal government control currency, can declare wars, and manage international relations makes it superior and more powerful to state governments. On top of the distinct functions, the state governments and the national government share taxation roles, and making and enforcing of laws. Individual states can make laws, but not laws that contradict the national laws and hence, the federal government remains superior to state governments.
John B. Judis (2013) notes that the state governments or its alliances have attempted to nullify the powers of the federal government in vain. Nevertheless, it is notable that the political powers and the internal control of states have increased overtime. Laura M. Brown (2013) notes that the both constitutionally and by common practice, state politics control most of the daily lives than the federal politics. Arguing from this perspective, the state governments have more power than the national government. The fact that the state government can make laws and implements them gives them the power to control most of the internal environment of the states. Since each person lives within a state, the person adheres to more of state laws than federal laws. The differences in the states can confirm that each state is gaining more powers within itself. Arizona has attempted to make a law that exempts goods manufactured and sold within its boundaries from federal commercial laws.
However, even with the increased powers, the larger environment is determined by the federal government and hence, the federal government has an upper hand on major aspects making it still powerful than individual state governments.

Works cited

John B. Judis. “Federal Government Is More Powerful Than State Government.” The New York Times. July 16, 2013. Accessed from http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2013/07/16/state-politics-vs-the-federal- government/federal-government-is-more-powerful-than-state-government on February 7, 2015.
Laura M. Brown. “States Matter: America Is a Federal Republic.” The New york Times August 18, 2013. Accessed from http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2013/07/16/state-politics- vs-the-federal-government/states-matter-america-is-a-federal-republic on February 7, 2015.