Paper Summary:

The paper discusses how the concept and practice of federalism within the United States arguably affects the practice of American democracy. The paper defines federalism as the distribution of power in an organization between a central authority and the constituent units. The paper examines the arguments for and against federalism; it reinforces the basic tenets of American democracy but may also effectively destroy individual liberties. The writer maintains that this is the greatest failing of federalism to safeguard American-style democracy today and in the years to come.

From the Paper:

"However, there also have been, and continue to be, many valid arguments against Federalism in the United States, as it was first conceived and practiced by the Founding Fathers in the late 18th century. One is that, within smaller localized governmental units, such as local and state governments, individuals are able to participate directly in government, while at the federal level such government participation by individual citizens is impossible or nearly so ("Federalism", Wikipedia)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Carman, Harry L., Syrett, Harold C., and Wishy, Bernard W. A History of the American People. Vol. 1: to 1877. New York, Knopf: 1960. 271-273.
• Constitution of the United States. 2000. Microsoft Encyclopedia Encarta, 1-32.Retrieved March 21, 2006, from Microsoft Works Suite 2000 (CD-ROM), Disc 3.
• Hamilton, Alexander, Jay, John, and Madison, James. The Federalist Papers 1778. Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. March 8, 2006. Numbers 15 through 22; Numbers 37 through No. 85. Retrieved March 21, 2006, from: <http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/18.html>.
• "Federalism." Webster's New American Dictionary. New York: Merriam-Webster, 1995. 190.
• "Federalism." Wikipedia. March 15, 2006. Retrieved March 21, 2006, from:< http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federalism.html>

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