federalism summary

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Below is the article summary. For the full article, see federalism.

federalism, Political system that binds a group of states into a larger, noncentralized, superior state while allowing them to maintain their own political identities. Certain characteristics and principles are common to all successful federal systems: a written constitution or basic law stipulating the distribution of powers; diffusion of power among the constituent elements, which are substantially self-sustaining; and territorial divisions to ensure neutrality and equality in the representation of various groups and interests. Changes require the consent of those affected. Successful federal systems also have a sense of common nationality and direct lines of communication between the citizens and all the governments that serve them. Examples of modern federal systems include the U.S., Brazil, Germany, and Nigeria. See also Federalist papers; Federalist Party.

Constitution of the United States of America Summary

Constitution of the United States of America, the fundamental law of the U.S. federal system of government and a landmark document of the Western world. The oldest written national constitution in use, the Constitution defines the principal organs of government and their jurisdictions and the basic

Louis Brandeis Summary

Louis Brandeis was a lawyer and associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1916–39) who was the first Jew to sit on the high court. Brandeis’s parents, members of cultivated Bohemian Jewish families, had emigrated from Prague to the United States in 1849. Brandeis attended the public schools of

states’ rights Summary

States’ rights, the rights or powers retained by the regional governments of a federal union under the provisions of a federal constitution. In the United States, Switzerland, and Australia, the powers of the regional governments are those that remain after the powers of the central government have

Roger B. Taney, photograph by Mathew Brady.

Roger B. Taney Summary

Roger B. Taney was the fifth chief justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, remembered principally for the Dred Scott decision (1857). He was the first Roman Catholic to serve on the Supreme Court. Taney was the son of Michael and Monica (Brooke) Taney. Of English ancestry, Michael Taney