Federalism: Yesterday and Today

A Publius Essay | 20 October 2014 | Publius

[Publius]

For those who wish to do some reading on their own, there are several books to recommend.

• States’ Rights and the Union, by Forrest McDonald, is the definitive book on Federalism, and no library should be without it.
• Robert Remini’s seven volumes of The Life of Andrew Jackson is a lot of reading, but Remini has condensed his monumental opus into one volume for the layman.
• Remini’s Henry Clay: Statesman for the Union is another book that looks at that period of history, but from a different angle.
• The Great Triumvirate: Webster, Clay and Calhoun, by Merrill Peterson, tells how three men ran the country from Congress for 40 years while presidents came and went.

[Publius]

Federalist/Anti-Federalist ping. This is a 7000 word essay. Read it when you have the time.

[Publius]

Use your judgment as to pinging the Article V list.

[Publius]

Ping. As promised.

[Publius]

Canteen ping, as promised.

[AZamericonnie]

You did use some words more than once. ;-}

Thanks for the ping Prof!

[left that other site]

Thanks Publius! It looks like an interesting read. :-)

[PapaNew]

I guess the Federalist/Anti-Federalist ping list which I am not on, is a different list from the Article V ping list which I am on.

Don’t want to overdo the ping list thing but this looks interesting. Publius, how often does the F/A-F ping-list go out on average?

[Publius]

I rarely invoke that ping list because there are so few really good articles on the subject. It may be an act of ego on my part that I would invoke it here, but I think I have some reasonably good educational material.

[Lee'sGhost]

This topic drives me crazy...because every time I read this stuff I’m STILL left with the same problem: So, when somebody uses the word “federalist,” do they mean strong central government or strong state rights? And do THEY know the difference? Because if they don’t, everything is still confused.

[Publius]

You have hit the crux of the problem. Federalist meant — and should mean today — a greater emphasis on state authority than federal (or national authority). Hamilton’s little ploy still confuses people today. Thanks to Hamilton, people still tend to think of a Federalist favoring a greater national authority, when in the strictest sense of the word, it should mean the opposite.

[PapaNew]

Well, I’ve printed out this article to read later. The whole Federalist/Anti-Federalist thing interests me, so could you add me to that ping list as well?

[Publius]

Done.

[Lee'sGhost]

Thanks. Definitely bookmarking. Very informative and poignant...especially the last sentence.

[Publius]

This essay started as a lecture I gave to a Tea Party organization in Georgia three years ago. I really had to work to get those last few paragraphs to sound right.

[PapaNew]

Thanks.

[kosciusko51]

Thank you for this. Bookmarked for later.

[Lee'sGhost]

Outstanding!

[Jacquerie]

Check it out ping.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

Possible major federalism action coming from Arizona right now.

http://ballotpedia.org/Arizona_Rejection_of_Unconstitutional_Federal_Actions_Amendment,_Proposition_122_%282014%29