State Laws versus National supremacy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

State Laws versus National supremacy - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that federalism is a structure of government with one central government and other smaller units such as states in the United States of America. It is a system of government in which the sovereignty is sub divided into the central government and other constituent units such as provinces or states. State rights refer to the political supremacy set aside for the American state governments other than the federal government in line with the American Constitution. Supremacy Clause is available in Article six of the American national constitution. It states that federal treaties and statutes form the supreme laws of the land and provides that these are the supreme and highest forms of law in the legal system of U.S. and mandates that all state statutes must follow the Federal law whenever a conflict occurs between the state law and federal law. The architects of the New Federalism, a program that permitted states to decisions concerning local iss ues, were George Bush and Ronald Reagan. For 200 years, the relationship between the two governments has shifted more towards the national supremacy, though several observers today believe that the power balance is beginning to stretch out back to the states. One major sign that the national government was growing in the 1960s was the great number of categorical grants that existed during that time. There has been a debate on power distribution between the national government and the U.S. States began as early as 1787 with the founding of the Republic and continues up to today.