What is federal government? View the federal government definition and explore its benefits and limitations. Learn about the U.S. federal system of government.
Updated: 11/21/2023
Federal Government System | Definition, Benefits & Limitations
Table of Contents
- What is Federal Government?
- Federal Government in the United States
- Benefits of a Federal Government
- Limitations of Federal Government
- Lesson Summary
- FAQs
- Activities
Prompts About Federal Government:
Essay Prompt 1:
In at least three to four paragraphs, write an essay that defines federal government and describes the characteristics of a federal government. Consider what factors help determine a nation's need for a federal government.
Example: A federal government is suitable for a nation of large size and diversity.
Essay Prompt 2:
Write an essay of approximately two to three paragraphs that explains how the division of power between the federal and state government exists in the United States. Be sure to explain the role of the 10th amendment.
Example: All power not specifically delegated to the federal government is in the hands of the individual states.
Essay Prompt 3:
Write an essay of at least three to four paragraphs that describes how the federal government can influence state governments through block grants and categorical grants.
Example: The federal government can deny funding to a state that does not comply with federal laws.
List Prompt 1:
Make a list of at least seven powers reserved for the federal government in the US.
Tip: Refer to the chart in the lesson, but do try to recall as many from memory as possible!
List Prompt 2:
Make a list of at least five powers given to the states in the US federal system.
Example: Have state and local elections.
What is an example of a federal government?
The United States is an example of a nation with a federal government. The US Constitution is an example of a legal document that sets up a federal government.
What is the role of the federal government?
Generally speaking, the role of the federal government is to govern the nation as a whole. Different federal governments in different nations have different responsibilities. In the United States, the federal government runs the military, conducts diplomacy, and has a number of other important administrative duties.
What does the "federal government" mean?
A federal government is a central government of a nation. In a federal system, the nation is divided up into a number of regional governments, such as state or provincial governments, that are subordinate to the central system.
Table of Contents
- What is Federal Government?
- Federal Government in the United States
- Benefits of a Federal Government
- Limitations of Federal Government
- Lesson Summary
A federal system of government is one in which there is a central government, as well as a number of semi-autonomous states or provinces that exist within the central government. In most federal governments, including the one that exists in the United States, the central government has more power than the state or provincial governments.
Federal governments usually exist in geographically diverse nations. Germany and Australia are two other countries that have federal governments.
The opposite of a federal government is a highly centralized government. In these sorts of governments, regional and local governments have little or no autonomy from the central government. France is an example of a highly centralized government.
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Principles of Federal Government
The key components of a federal government are that it is made up of various states or provinces and that these states and provinces are subordinate to the central government. Usually, the principles that define how a federal government operates is found in that government's constitution.
Not all federal governments work in the same way. In countries such as Switzerland, for example, the different cantons, or member states, may have different languages from one another, while other countries have established a national language that must be used throughout the federation.
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The federal government of the United States is the nation's national government. It is based in Washington, DC, the United States' capital city. This government consists of three parts: the executive branch, legislative branch and judicial branch.
The federal government of the United States was created by the Founding Fathers. Originally, the federal government ran according to the text of the Articles of Confederation; however, this document was soon proven to be ineffective. Eventually, the Founding Fathers met to create a stronger federal government. In 1788, they created and ratified the Constitution. It is this document that has formed the structure of the US federal government for over two centuries.
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Division of Power
In the United States, there is a separation of powers between the three branches of the federal government. This means that the executive, legislative, and judicial branches all have separate duties and responsibilities.
- The president of the United States is head of the executive branch. Beneath him are the various cabinet secretaries, including the attorney general and the secretary of state. The executive branch is tasked with enforcing federal laws, running the military, and completing a variety of other tasks related to the governance of the country.
- The legislative branch, which is made up of the Congress, makes the laws of the federal government. It also has the responsibility of government oversight. The US Congress consists of two houses, the House of Representatives and the Senate.
- The judicial branch of government consists of the federal courts. The highest federal court is the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has a number of responsibilities, the most important of which is interpreting the Constitution.
Each branch has some authority to check and balance the other branches. This ensures that no single branch becomes too powerful. For example, the power of the executive branch is checked by the legislative branch via the power of government oversight.
National and State Government
While the federal government of the United States has supreme authority within the entire country, a great deal of the responsibility of governing is delegated to the states. Each of America's 50 states has its own executive, legislative and judicial branch. A state's governor acts much like the president of the United States. They are the head of the executive branch of their state government and have a number of important powers.
The 10th Amendment to the Constitution specifically grants individual states the right to make their own laws, as long as they do not conflict with the Constitution or other federal regulations. This means that no state government may violate federal law or take on responsibilities specifically allotted to the federal government.
One example of the federal government imposing laws that states must follow is the national speed limit enacted in 1974. In order to enforce this law among the states, the federal government withheld funding for highway repairs in states that did not agree to the new restrictions. In order to receive the necessary money, states had to comply with the federal law.
In addition to enforcing national laws and holding back funding to compel compliance, the federal government also offers categorial and block grants to states. These funds are offered for specific purposes and often come with certain requirements and restrictions. Because the federal government retains control over how the funds are used, these grants strengthen federal influence over state policy; some critics consider this a form of bribery.
State and Local Government
Within states, there is a further devolution of power to local governments. Local governments are the governments of cities, towns, and counties. The duties and responsibilities of these local governments vary from one state to the next. However, local governments are subordinate to both the state and federal governments.
Local governments are usually responsible for local policing, schools, trash collection, and other similar activities. An example of a powerful local governmental official is the mayor of a city. Some mayors, such as the mayors of New York City and Chicago, have a great deal of political power due to the size of their cities.
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One of the main benefits of a federal government is that it does not concentrate too much power in any one place. It disperses power among the state and local governments and gives more opportunities to citizens to participate in government. Many argue that a federal system of government is more administratively efficient than highly centralized governments. One possible reason for this is that federal systems delegate power to smaller units of government and are consequently more accountable to citizens.
Federal governments often exist in countries with very large populations, such as India. India is the second most populated nation on Earth, and the various states and territories of the country are linguistically and culturally diverse. Delegating power to local governments in India helps to relieve the burden on the central government to run such a large nation.
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Most federal governments have limitations. In the United States, many of these limitations are spelled out in the Constitution. For instance, the federal government may not deprive people of certain civil liberties, such as the right to free speech. However, even within well-functioning federal governments, there are many difficulties and limitations. One difficulty is that large and wealthy states may have more influence over the central government than smaller states. Additionally, having so many state and local governments may prevent needed action in times of crisis.
The limitations of the federal government have long been a source of major contention in US history. The most famous example of this is the US Civil War (1861-1865). This war broke out due to the wish of Southern states to preserve the institution of slavery. Southerners felt that the federal government was becoming too strong and that it was trying to abolish slavery. The South lost the Civil War, which not only resulted in the abolition of slavery but also contributed to the continued growth of the power and scope of the federal government.
As the federal government became more and more powerful in the 20th century, it increasingly became involved in issues such as healthcare, education, and civil rights. Many conservative political leaders over the past 80 years have called for a halt to the expansion of federal power and the delegation of political authority to the states. The argument over the power and scope of the federal government is an ongoing issue in American politics.
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Federal systems of government are common throughout the world. The United States is one major nation that uses this system. Usually, countries that are geographically diverse use federal systems of government. These systems delegate a great deal of political power to states, provinces, or other regional entities. Most federal systems have constitutions that determine which government official or branch of government is in charge of the different aspects of public life.
In the United States, the federal government of the United States is granted ultimate authority in the country by language in the body of the Constitution. The 10th Amendment was added as part of the Bill of Rights, and it grants individual states to make their own laws as long as they do not conflict with Constitutional or other federal regulations.
Still, the federal government can strongly influence how state and local governments run. It may withhold funding to compel states to adopt federal laws like the national speed limit, or offer categorical and block grants to coerce states to comply with laws and regulations.
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Video Transcript
Definition of a Federal Government
Are you a fan of Hollywood cop films? If you are, you may know that a common plot line in these movies is jurisdiction friction, or when some kind of tension between local police (usually the hero) and federal investigators (usually the antagonist) takes place over who has control of an investigation. Take, for example, the film Rush Hour. In this movie, an LAPD police officer (Chris Tucker) tries to help a fellow Chinese cop (Jackie Chan) find the abducted daughter of the Chinese Ambassador to America. While they face many road blocks, one of the biggest obstacles in their investigation is the FBI, which orders Tucker and Chan to stop their investigation because it is outside of local jurisdiction and a matter of federal jurisdiction.
What this common Hollywood plot line reveals is the nature of a federal government. A federal government is a system of dividing up power between a central national government and local state governments that are connected to one another by the national government. Some areas of public life are under the control of the national government, and some areas are under control of the local governments. For this reason, cop films like to create drama by making the federal government and local government bump heads over who should be investigating the crime at hand. Federal government systems usually have a constitution that specifies what areas of public life the national government will take control over and what areas of public life the state governments will take control over.
Benefits of A Federal Government
Why does the United States have a federal government but not Great Britain? The answer has to do with size. Federal governments are best used in large countries where there exists a diverse group of people with diverse needs but a common culture that unites them together.
For example, think of the difference between Wyoming (the least densely populated state) and New Jersey (the most densely populated state). Clearly, the needs at the local level of each state will be different, so they should have different local governments to address those needs. Nonetheless, both states share a common culture and interest and, therefore, are united by the national government.
Federal governments help address the wide variety of needs of a geographically large country. It is no wonder, then, that federal governments exist in large countries, like the United States, Mexico, Germany, Canada, Australia, Brazil, and others.
Federal Government in the United States: Division of Power
In the United States, the Constitution created the federal system by limiting the activities of the national government to a few areas, such as collecting taxes, providing for defense, borrowing money on credit, regulating commerce, creating a currency, establishing post offices and post roads, granting patents, creating lower courts, and declaring war. The 10th amendment of the Constitution, on the other hand, gave all other powers to the states. As a result, any specific power not given to the Federal government is a power of the state government. The chart explains which powers are given to the federal government and which are given to state governments.
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In theory, the United States federal system has a clear division between what states oversee and what the federal government oversees. But the reality is that the federal government can and does influence state governments through block grants and categorical grants. These grants are large chunks of money that the national government gives to state governments in exchange for complying with federal requirements. Therefore, the national government can influence areas normally set aside for local governments by bribing the local governments to comply.
An example of how the federal government can influence local governments is the national speed limit enacted in 1973. Based on prior research, the federal government found that if people drove at 55 mph, their cars would use less gas. Because there was a gas crisis at the time, federal legislators decided to lower the speed limit nationwide to 55 mph. But as you might remember, Congress is not in charge of regulating highways. That duty falls to state governments. But Congress threatened any state that did not institute the 55 mph speed limit with a loss in federal funding for highways. States quickly complied. Though the law has since been repealed, this example shows how the federal government can influence local and state governments. Therein lies the beauty of a federal government system.
Lesson Summary
A federal government is a system of dividing up power between a central national government and local state governments that are connected to one another by the national government. Federal governments are best used in large countries where there exists a diverse group of people with diverse needs but a common culture that unites them together.
In the United States, the Constitution created the federal system by limiting the activities of the national government to a few areas, such as collecting taxes, providing for defense, borrowing money on credit, regulating commerce, creating a currency, establishing post offices and post roads, granting patents, creating lower courts, and declaring war. The 10th amendment of the Constitution, on the other hand, gave all other powers to the states. The federal government can and does influence state governments through block grants and categorical grants. These grants are large chunks of money that the national government gives to state governments in exchange for complying with federal requirements.
Learning Outcomes
View this lesson on the federal government, then see if you can subsequently reach these goals:
- Describe the workings of a federal government system
- Point out the reasons that a federal government system is beneficial
- Recognize the influence that the federal government can have on state and local governments in the United States
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Federal Government System | Definition, Benefits & Limitations
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