Federalism's Role In Our Government

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for the general welfare of society. Hume was greatly influenced by John Locke and said that the concept of right and wrong is not rational but arises from a regard for one’s own happiness.
Federalism was incorporated into the Constitution in order to make sure that the national government did not gain too much power. After the revolution, many people feared a monarchy or any form of government in which the central ruling body had too much power. The framers wanted the states to have much more power than the national government, and allowed the national government jurisdiction only in areas that concerned the nation as a whole. Areas such as war, negotiation, and foreign commerce were some of the only circumstances in which the national government had absolute power. By limiting the national governments power in this way, the frames felt that they had ensured the sovereignty of the individual states. Also, people have a tendency to feel better connected to their state ...

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to its previous state of power. Madison also stated more points in the Constitution through which state governments would have more power than the national government. He says that the only way the national government could take over the state governments would be if the people continuously elected men to office that wanted to betray both people and states.
The “necessary and proper” clause was included in the Constitution to allow for an “active and powerful government.” It is also known as the elastic clause and basically stated that the national government had the ability to pass any law that was necessary and proper to carry out national business. John Marshall expanded ...

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