Characteristics of US Federalism GapFill

The notion of federalism was an extremely important component of any new nation that would be created out of independence from the British. The newly created states   were in no rush to give up their newly acquired freedomwanted primacy over any federal governmentwanted there to be a weak national executivewere in no mood to compromise. In order to provide some protection for the states, the   EleventhTenthSeventhTwelfth Amendment was passed, giving states all powers that aren't specifically written in the Constitution for the federal government. Of course, federalism has evolved over time. In its initial phase, dual federalism  developed federal government supremacysaw coequal and distinct areas of policy, with states doing most of the governingensured states' supremacy over the federal governmentsaw states and federal government unsure how to navigate their new roles. 

The next phase of federalism (cooperative federalism) involved a shift in power which   saw less cooperation between states and federal governmentled federal government to be seen as supreme over states' governancemoved towards an overmighty executivedeveloped a better understanding of respective roles. During this phase, there was greater cooperation over policies that had traditionally been the purview of the states. However, from the presidency of Ronald Reagan until the start of George Bush's presidency, it has been said that to some extent there was  an attempt to redefine federalisman attempt to seek a more collegiate working relationshipan attempt to roll back government powers and return them to the statesan attempt to work towards the 'dual federalism' model. It is more difficult to define federalism in the twenty-first century given that the states and federal government have different views of federalism. 

There have been a number of clashes between states and federal government in recent times. 'Obamacare' is an example of how state and federal power is sought, especially as Obama pushed for reform in an area that is technically reserved for the states. More recently, the use of medical or recreational marijuana has been a topic of hot contention.   The 'Cole Proclamation'The Bush ActionThe Clinton ConsultationThe 'Cole Memo' stated that the Department of Justice would not enforce federal laws and restrictions on states which had legalised its use except in certain circumstances, demonstrating how federalism is still operating and how the states do still hold some power.

The nature of federalism was demonstrated by President Trump's rescinding of this order, yet limiting the impact of 'Obamacare' shows how presidents both expand the power of the federal government and also give back power to the states. During the COVID-19 lockdown in America, Trump has been keen to reopen business and the economy. However, in an attempt to 'open states up', Trump was   attempting to change the ultimate authority to speed up the recovery effortforced to back downforced to delegate responsibility for his effortsforced to seek further guidance as he conceded that he could only give guidance as opposed to clear instructions as to what would happen. This is another example of how the states' powers are protected in the Constitution.