Federalism has been an issue for the United States since we were declared a nation 228 years ago. Federalism is having two or more governments that govern the citizens of a country. A decentralized government is where the states govern the people, and a centralized government is where there is a national government to rule all the states. Each leaves little power to the other. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get Original Essay The Articles of Confederation left many examples of how the United States began with a decentralized government. He made sure to leave virtually no power to the central government. In fact, one article claims that states have supremacy over governmental power within their borders. The national government could only coordinate, not control. Another problem with the Articles of Confederation was that the national government did not have the power to tax the states, which would have led to many problems with future technology. The Articles of Confederation were also very difficult to amend. Each state had one vote in Congress, regardless of its population, and an amendment to the Articles of Confederation would only pass if the votes were unanimous. If any of the 13 states had a difference of opinion, it could prevent laws from being passed. After many problems, the founders of the United States developed the Constitution, having been influenced by two social contract theories (one that people work together and will agree, and the other that the government can be replaced), and the idea of ​​dividing the government into three distinct branches. To solve the problem of states being supreme, they declared the Constitution to be supreme, so national laws were above state laws. When they saw a problem with how it was almost impossible to create new laws, they created the system of checks and balances. When amending the Constitution, it can pass with 2/3 of Congress and 3/4 of the state legislature approving the amendment. In the Articles of Confederation, the amendment could never have passed because a state would not accept it. Additionally, they gave Congress powers enumerated in Article I of the Constitution, which gave Congress the power to tax, thereby correcting the error in the Articles of Confederation. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized document from our expert writers now. .Get a Custom Essay Many people believe that federalism is still a problem even today. An example of this is the creation of social assistance. Since the Great Depression, the national government had funded Social Security, Medicaid, and other programs helpful to the needy who could not survive without these programs. However, the Supreme Court interpreted that welfare would be funded by the states. One of the reasons they say welfare was transferred to be paid by the states was the reputation that people who received welfare had acquired. Some examples of characteristics associated with welfare include: out-of-wedlock pregnant women use up the funds, and fathers who fail to pay child support may cause mothers to look for money elsewhere. But what should the government's responsibility be? state or national? The government funds almost everyone else.