What does federation refer to

Constitution or of national law. The Supremacy Clause established the U. Constitution, Federal Statutes and U. Constitution, Federal Statutes, and U. The Federalist Papers are a series of 85 essays advocating the ratification of the Constitution.

James Madison similarly defends the Supremacy Clause as vital to the functioning of the nation, noting that state legislatures were invested with all powers not specifically defined in the constitution, but also having the federal government subservient to various state constitutions would be an inversion of the principles of government.

In Ware v. Hylton , the Supreme Court relied on the Supremacy Clause for the first time to strike down a state statute. The state of Virginia passed a statute during the Revolutionary War allowing the state to confiscate debt payments to British creditors.

The Court found this Virginia statute inconsistent with the Treaty of Paris with Britain, which protected the rights of British creditors. In McCulloch v. Maryland , the Supreme Court reviewed a tax levied by the state of Maryland on the federally incorporated Bank of the United States.

The Court found that if a state had the power to tax a federally incorporated institution, then the state effectively had the power to destroy the federal institution, thereby thwarting the intent and purpose of Congress.

The Court found that this would be inconsistent with the Supremacy Clause, which makes federal law superior to state law. In Martin v. Virginia , the Supreme Court held that the Supremacy Clause and the judicial power granted in Article III give the Supreme Court power to review state court decisions involving issues arising under the Constitution and laws of the United States. In Ableman v. Booth , the Supreme Court held that state courts cannot issue rulings contradictory to decisions of federal courts, citing the Supremacy Clause, and overturning a decision by the Supreme Court of Wisconsin.

In Pennsylvania v. Nelson the Supreme Court struck down the Pennsylvania Sedition Act, which made advocating the forceful overthrow of the federal government a crime under Pennsylvania state law.

The Supreme Court held that when federal interest in an area of law is sufficiently dominant, federal law must be assumed to preclude enforcement of state laws on the same subject; and a state law is not to be declared a help when state law goes farther than Congress has seen fit to go.

In Cooper v. Board of Education. The state of Arkansas had adopted several statutes designed to nullify the desegregation ruling. The Court relied on the Supremacy Clause to hold that the federal law controlled and could not be nullified by state statutes or officials.

In Edgar v. Mite Corporation , the Supreme Court ruled that a state statute is void to the extent that it actually conflicts with a valid Federal statute.

There has been some debate as to whether or not some of the basic principles of the United States Constitution could be affected by a treaty. In the s, a Constitutional Amendment known as the Bricker Amendment was proposed in response, which would have mandated that all American treaties shall not conflict with the manifest powers granted to the Federal Government.

Congress has numerous prohibited powers dealing with habeas corpus, regulation of commerce, titles of nobility, ex post facto and taxes. Section 9 of Article 1 of the U. Constitution provided limits on Congressional powers. These limits are as follows:. Checks and balances is a governmental structure that gives each of the branches a degree of control over the actions of the other.

To prevent one branch of government from becoming supreme, to protect the minority from the majority, and to induce the branches to cooperate, government systems employ a separation of powers in order to balance each of the branches.

This is accomplished through a system of checks and balances which allows one branch to limit another, such as the power of Congress to alter the composition and jurisdiction of the federal courts. The Constitution and its amendments outline distinct powers and tasks for national and state governments. Some of these constitutional provisions enhance the power of the national government; others boost the power of the states.

The U. Constitution : The Constitution originally established that, in most states, all white men with property were permitted to vote. White working men, almost all women, and other people of color were denied the franchise until later years. The legislative branch Congress passes bills, has broad taxing and spending power, controls the federal budget and has power to borrow money on the credit of the United States.

It has sole power to declare, as well as to raise, support, and regulate the military. Congress oversees, investigates, and makes the rules for the government and its officers.

It defines by law the jurisdiction of the federal judiciary in cases not specified by the Constitution. Congress is in charge of ratifying treaties signed by the President and gives advice and consent to presidential appointments to the federal, judiciary, and executive departments. The branch has sole power of impeachment House of Representatives and trial of impeachments Senate , meaning it can remove federal executive and judicial officers from office for high crimes and misdemeanors.

The executive branch President is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. He executes the instructions of Congress, may veto bills passed by Congress, and executes the spending authorized by Congress. The president declares states of emergency, publishes regulations and executive orders, makes executive agreements, and signs treaties ratification of these treaties requires the vote of two-thirds of the Senate.

He makes appointments to the federal judiciary, executive departments, and other posts with the advice and consent of the Senate, and has power to make temporary appointments during the recess of the Senate. The judicial branch Supreme Court determines which laws Congress intended to apply to any given case, exercises judicial review, reviewing the constitutionality of laws and determines how Congress meant the law to apply to disputes. The Supreme Court arbitrates how a law acts to determine the disposition of prisoners, determines how a law acts to compel testimony and the production of evidence.

The Supreme Court also determines how laws should be interpreted to assure uniform policies in a top-down fashion via the appeals process, but gives discretion in individual cases to low-level judges. The amount of discretion depends upon the standard of review, determined by the type of case in question. Federal judges serve for life. Privacy Policy. Skip to main content. Search for:. Federalism in the Constitution.

Federalism Federalism is the system where sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and constituent units. Learning Objectives Discuss the origins and development of federalism in the United States from the ratification of the Constitution to the Great Depression, and identify the structure of federalism.

Key Takeaways Key Points Federalism is based on democratic rules and institutions in which the power to govern is shared between national and state governments. The movement arose out of the discontent with the Articles of Confederation and the creation of the Constitution.

The Federalist Papers, written by Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, examined the benefits of the new Constitution and analyzed the political theory and function behind its various articles. Anti-Federalists believed that the legislative and executive branches had too much unchecked power and that the Bill of Rights should be coupled with the Constitution to prevent a dictator from exploiting citizens.

With the Great Depression and the New Deal, America has moved from dual federalism to associative federalism. Key Terms sovereignty : The state of making laws and controlling resources without the coercion of other nations; supreme authority over all things. The basic philosophy during this time was that the U. Both the 16th and 17th amendments bolstered the power of the national government and further divided state and federal power.

The Powers of National Government The federal government is composed of three branches: executive, legislative, and judiciary, whose powers are granted by the Constitution. Learning Objectives Describe the power-sharing arrangements enshrined in the Constitution. The Constitution grants powers to Congress and any disputes are decided by the Supreme Court.

The executive power is vested in the President, although power is often delegated to the Cabinet members and other officials. The judiciary explains and applies the laws. This branch makes decisions on various legal cases. Key Terms bicameral : Having, or pertaining to, two separate legislative chambers or houses. Congress : The U. Style: MLA. English Language Learners Definition of federation. Kids Definition of federation.

Get Word of the Day daily email! Test Your Vocabulary. Test your visual vocabulary with our question challenge! Love words? Need even more definitions? Just between us: it's complicated. Ask the Editors 'Everyday' vs. What Is 'Semantic Bleaching'? How 'literally' can mean "figuratively". We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

The earliest use of federal had to do with a treaty or covenant, especially a covenant between God and an individual. Soon after American independence, federal was used to refer specifically to the national government of the United States.

Words nearby federal fed , fedayee , feddan , fedelini , federacy , federal , Federal Aviation Administration , Federal Bureau of Investigation , Federal Capital Territory , federal case , Federal Constitution. Words related to federal civil , communal , domestic , ethnic , governmental , internal , interstate , nationwide , public , social , civic , mutual , national , popular , universal , urban , concerted , consolidated , cooperative , homogeneous. How to use federal in a sentence Several public agencies came together in to sue the federal government over its inaction.

The Courier of the Ozarks Byron A.