When the founders gathered in Philadelphia to write the Constitution, one of their most pressing questions was: How do you create a federal government strong enough to do its job without giving it so much power that states and citizens lose control over their own affairs?
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Their answer was federalism. The Constitution gave the federal government some responsibilities, while leaving the rest to the states and the people. James Madison described federal powers as “few and defined” and state powers as “numerous and indefinite.” Dividing power is key to protecting individuals and avoiding tyranny.
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The recognition that the people closest to an issue are generally in the best position to deal with it is as foundational to the Constitution as the separation of powers among the three branches at the federal level. The closer a government is to the problem, the more responsive it can be to the people affected by it.
That proximity also makes government more accountable. People select representatives who answer directly to them. Before coming to Congress, I spent years working on public lands and natural resource issues in rural Utah. I worked with ranchers, county commissioners, land managers and others who didn’t always see an issue the same way. In my experience, the best solutions came from getting people who knew the land around the same table.
If you want to know how a grazing decision will affect a ranching operation, it is important to talk to the family that has worked that land for generations. If you want to know which roads are important to a rural county, spend time with the people who drive them. If you want to reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfire, work with the people who manage forests, fight fires and live in the communities at risk.
A map and a rule written in Washington cannot replace local knowledge. While the federal government plays a role, Washington should not always have the final say on issues best handled locally. That’s the genius of federalism. Power is divided and diffused.
Federalism doesn’t assume that states will always get everything right. Rather, it is a recognition that our system works better when power is spread out, when states have room to govern, and when decisions are made as close as possible to the people who have to live with them. When bad decisions can be addressed and reversed, governments have more room to innovate while remaining accountable. That process works most efficiently at the state and local levels.
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Utah is not California. We are not New York. And what works in a major city on the East Coast may make very little sense in Beaver, Kane or Garfield counties.
The Constitution endures partly because it leaves room for states and communities to respond to their own circumstances. The founders were trying to hold together states with different economies, interests and priorities. They understood that a country as large and diverse as ours could not function well if every decision came from one central government. Imagine what they would think of the size of our country today and the range of interests we now have to balance!
Almost 250 years later, America is larger, our government is bigger, and the issues we face are more complicated. Through all those changes, our constitutional principles have guided us and withstood the tests.
On Constitution Day, we celebrate a document written in 1787. Nearly two and a half centuries later, that document still shapes practical questions about where decisions are made and who gets a voice.
The principle of federalism is just as brilliant now as it was then. Divided power has held this nation together. The amendment process has allowed us to refine and strengthen those principles, and even to correct course by repealing an earlier amendment. Through it all, the individual remains at the center of our system of government, with power divided so that no single level of government controls every part of American life. That’s a principle worth defending on Constitution Day and every day.
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