How The Constitution Divided The Powers Of The Federal Government

Danielle Trubish
8-20-17
AP Government/Economics
Mr. McKinnon Post Revolutionary War, American colonies created a federal government under laws called the Articles of Confederation. The colonies were unfairly treated by Great Britain and decided it was time to gain their independence. In 1786, at the Annapolis Convention, delegates from five states called for a Constitutional Convention in order to discuss possible improvements to the Articles of Confederation, but very few delegates attended. The Constitutional Convention addressed the problems of the weak central government that existed under the Articles of Confederation. The convention took place in Philadelphia in 1787, where the Constitution was written, which established America’s
Federalism is the system that divided power between the national government and the state governments. The powers of the national government are recorded in Article I of the Constitution and the Tenth Amendment makes it clear that powers not listed in Article I are reserved for the states. Article One of the Constitution creates the legislative branch of the federal government, the United States Congress. The Tenth Amendment explains that any power not delegated to the United States by the Constitution or to the states is given to the states or the people respectively. The Congress is a bicameral legislature consisting of a House of Representatives and a Senate. The House of Representatives is made up based on population of states while the Senate is made up of an equal number of delegates from each state. Thus, the idea of federalism was intended to protect the national government from becoming excessively powerful. Federalism allows different states with different interests and resources to create laws and set policies to suit the specific states needs. However, the states can all come together as one nation under one collective