State vs. Federal Power

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Dear Student,
Hi and thank you for using Brainmass. The solution below should get you started. I made Arizona as an example as I think it would be best to illustrate how power is exercised between State and federal governments this way. I have also listed the references and some resources online that you can use for your project. If you have any questions regarding the solution, just let me know via the feedback section and I'll try to help you further. Good luck with your studies.

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OTA 1058787Xenia Jones
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Has State Power increased vs. that of the Federal Government?

Which is more powerful, the State government or the Federal government? The answer here is simple if we look at the hierarchy of power. The Federal government has control over all States that are part of the union via the national constitution. Former Pres. Harry Truman had a sign in his office that said 'the buck stops here'; this translates into the fact that in the end, it is his office and him that decides the fate of the nation as long as he was President. Before becoming a part of the union, a candidate State had to ensure that its constitution is in accordance with the Federal Constitution and before it can be approved, it is reviewed by a Congressional Committee and the President. Consider for example the Statehood experience of Arizona.

The Case of Arizona: An example

Arizona almost did not become its own State. In a Republican effort to keep the territory which is now both New Mexico & Arizona, the Arizona territory was included in the proposed State of New Mexico. Vehemently opposed by Arizonans it created a divide between them and the residents who identified with New Mexico. Since 1891, Arizona had been trying for Statehood. It was a territory known as part of the last frontier & borderland with Mexico being that it was a territory ceded by Mexico to the US in 1848 as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in the conclusion of the Mexican-American War. Over the wars that the US had with Mexico due to territory, Arizona had been a base for the US Army and since time immemorial, for the various Native American tribes (i.e. Pima, Yaqui) who lived as nomads in the land, using the territory as a base to raid Mexican trading posts. By 1891, the residents of ...