No. 2 – On Federalism

Posted September 5th, 2019

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New-Model-Federalist-No.-2-On-Federalism

Author’s Note, April 27, 2021 – Updated to incorporate minor edits made while preparing the ebook version. Most notably, added a footnote to page 8 containing an excerpt from Susan B. Anthony’s “Is It a Crime for a U.S. Citizen to Vote?” speech, so as to emphasize the point that a commitment to federalism ought not to equate to turning a blind eye to violations by States of rights that are guaranteed to citizens by the federal Constitution. The added footnote and other proofreading edits caused the body of the essay to extend into a ninth page.

Author’s Note, September 12, 2020 – I modified the footnote on page 5 from the original version, which had referred to the States’ role in governing the militia, but did not mention the role of Congress. Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution allots certain responsibilities in that regard to the state governments and to Congress, respectively.

Author’s Note, May 23, 2020 – I made some changes to the footnotes to include an excerpt from Federalist No. 51, in which James Madison explains how federalism supplements the separation of powers. As a result, the position of paragraphs on the pages after page 4 has changed slightly compared to the original version. No significant changes were made to the body of the essay.