States versus Federal Rights - Essay Example

NameTeacherClassDateStates versus federal rights and relate it with the American promise The conflict between state and federal rights is really just about big government and a devolved government. The first instance of this conflict begun with the work of James Madison who was among the three writers (others were Alexander Hamilton and John Jay) who wrote 85 anonymous for the New York Journal in 1787 and 1788 to ratify the proposed constitution. In these articles, Madison wrote under the pseudonym “Publius” and commented on the checks and balances of competing factions in American politics.

The articles were collectively known as the Federalist Papers (Madison 1) giving birth to the notion of federalist rights. The conflict then between state versus and federal rights ensued.During the infancy of United States, the main idea of the strong federal government champions mainly focused on having a strong centralized government while the advocates of states’ rights believe in minimizing the law of the Federal government and that laws should come from the state. This argument was encapsulated in the Federalist and Anti-Federalist disagreement of Jefferson and Hamilton.

Hamilton and his Federalist idea pushed for a strong and centralized government where laws would come from the Federal government instead of the states. He is for the loose interpretation of law so that the national government will have as much power as possible. He also called on the institution of a central bank that will issue our currency backed by the guarantee of a central bank, imposed taxes and regulate immigration. Jefferson and the anti-federalist or state rights advocates argued that government cannot act if laws were not explicitly stated in the Constitution owing to the fact that states should be the dominant entity in enacting laws.

The merits of these rights are debatable and depend on what one believes. More than the merits of state versus federal rights, the notion that one can argue and assert on what kind of government works best is the one that relates best with the American promise Work CitedMadison, James. “The Federalist, Paper Number 10 “.The McGraw-Hill Companies. Friday, November 23, 1787. Online. Available at