A major strength of federalism lies in the fact that it promotes both national and state activities in which it avoids concentration of political power.
The United States government is based on federalism. Federalism is a method of government that allows two or more entities to share control over the same geographic region. Each person in the United States is subject to the laws of that city, county, state and our federal government.
In a federalist government, the power is divided between the national government and other governmental units. In the U.S., this means the power is divided between our federal government and our state and local governments.
This is different from a unitary government, where one unit holds the power. It's also different from a confederation, which is an association of independent governmental units. The Articles of Confederation originally established the United States as a confederation, where each of the states operated separately and independently from one another.
The United States Constitution set up our current federal government and replaced the Articles of Confederation. The Constitution recognizes the federal government as the highest governmental power, though it also acknowledges that the American people are subject to several different powers.
Did you ever wonder why you don't need a passport to go from New York to California, but if you were to move from one state to another, you would need a new driver's license?
Or why you can use the same currency in all states, but not be subject to the same speed limits? Or why you have to pay both federal and state taxes? Visit ushistory.org to find out more.