Proponents of federalism argue that one way federalism is significant is that it fosters state loyalties: Many Americans feel close ties to their home state, and federalism maintains that connection by giving power to the states whilst still allowing the executive to retain the ultimate power. This is significant as those anti-federalists are appeased through the power given to the states preventing the tyranny of a large executive whilst retaining a powerful federal government.
Moreover federalism is a practice in pragmatism: Running a country the size of the United States, with such a diverse population, is much easier to do if power is given to local officials. Likewise, state and local officials are closer to the problems of their areas, so it makes sense for them to choose policies to solve those problems. This means that federalism allows for significantly more representation of the populace in politics and representation is a major part of us politics as the slogan of anti-colonists states ‘no taxation without representation.’
Even more so federalism creates laboratories of democracy: State governments can experiment with policies, and other states (and the federal government) can learn from their successes and failures. For example California has frequently led the nation in environmental regulations: Many measures adopted by California are subsequently adopted by other states. This is significant as federalism allows for policies to be tested on a small scale before being implemented at a national level.
It is even more significant in that through the separation of powers it ensures the separation of powers and prevents tyranny: Even if one person or group took control of all three branches of the federal government, federalism ensures that state governments would still function independently. Federalism, therefore, fulfils the framers’ vision of a governmental structure that ensures liberty.
However critics argue that federalism falls short and is insignificant. As it prevents the creation of a national policy: The United States does not have a single policy on issues; instead, it has fifty-one policies, which often leads to confusion and as such it is insignificant.
Moreover it is insignificant in that it leads to a lack of accountability: The overlap of the boundaries among national and state governments makes it tricky to assign blame for failed policies.
Even more so it can be argued that federalism is insignificant as it cannot function well due to ignorance. Most Americans know little about their state and local governments, and turnout in state and local elections are often less than 25 percent. Citizens consequently often ignore state and local governments, even though these governments have a lot of power to affect people’s lives and as such federalism is insignificant to the U.S citizen’s life.
In conclusion federalism is ultimately significant as it allows the anti-federalists and federalists alike are allowed to find a middle ground in federalism as it prevents the centralisation of power and the tyranny of government whilst still allowing a federal government to hold ultimate power and create a singular vision and direction in American policy.