These two philosophies have proved essential to this country for many reasons, but primarily they have kept the stability this government has enjoyed. These two systems provide a check and balance over basically all aspects of our democratic government.
First off, federalism is used to describe a government that a constitution is the basis of. This constitutional authority generally divides the government into a central governing body with smaller political bodies such as state, or local government. In the United States, before the constitution, each state held its own power. When the constitution was written it bound these states together under a federal government, which provided an equal authority as the states. Via federalism some issues are solved by the federal government while many others are left to each individual state's decisions. Federalism is a very essential part of many democratic nations in the fact it allows equality throughout the government. No single body of government holds overwhelming power over the government. The states must answer to the central government and vice versa, creating a balance in the government that can satisfy everyone. Another important part of federalism is that it influenced the introduction of the separation of powers to continue the checks and balance within the government.
The separation of power is defined as a political philosophy in which the powers of the government are separated bodies with specific responsibilities and powers. Though this model has never been perfected, it has kept stability within the government of this country for centuries and hopefully centuries more. Within the United States, the primary separation of power is between the executive, judicial, and the legislative branches. However, the flaw of the separation of power is the slowing down of government action, as each action made by one group must be checked and approved by the next until the process is complete. While it is essential to produce a lasting government as uncorrupt and equal as possible, it also has its negative effects. Of course, without the separation of power, the position of president could be simply another name for dictator or king. This is one of the reasons many other democratic nations have, in truth, become dictatorships. The same is true in local and state government. Without a check and balance system due to the separation of power, what would stop a governor from doing as he pleased or stop him from holding the position indefinitely.
Our government is based on democracy, equality, and freedom. With the introduction of these two political methods of government, the United States has proven itself as a solid government. Without them, the look of our government may be much different and much less like what our forefathers wanted to make this nation to appear. While they do not provide perfection on our form of government, they strengthen it and move it closer to the goal of a perfect democracy.
