o take action to protect and promote the health, safety, morals, and general welfare of their inhabitants. All of these are functions that directly affect Americans every day and in every part of their lives.
There are still some powers that both the national and state governments can exercise. They are called concurrent powers, which include the power to tax and borrow money, to take property for public purposes, to enact bankruptcy laws, and to establish laws and courts.
Thus in the course of the U.S. Constitutional Legislation, a federal system was created by separating power between two levels of government, state and national. According to the Constitution, the Federal Government was granted certain powers, the states were given certain powers and there were certain powers that they shared. In order to overcome a series of domestic crises and keep a stable political situation, a strong central government was created. This central government was granted certain important powers while the power of the state governments was limited.
The U.S. Constitution has remained in force because its framers successfully separated and balanced governmental powers to safeguard the interests of majority rule and minority rights, of liberty and equality, and of the central and state governments. For over two centuries it has provided the basis for development of the United States and a guarantee for the stability of the country.
- Bishop, Donald M. (1985). Living Documents of American History [C]. Beijing: Press and Cultural Section U.S. Embassy.
- Jay, John; Madison, James and Hamilton, Alexander (1979). THE FEDERALIST—A Comment On THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES [C]. New York: The Modern Library.
- Locke, John (1690). Second Treatise of Government [M]. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.
- Isaak, Robert (2004). American Political Thinking: Readings from the Origins to the 21st Century [C]. Beijing: Peking University Press.
- Smith, James Morton(1986). Jefferson and Madison [M]. New York: Penguin Books USA Inc..
About the Author
Xiaohong Wei is a full-time staff member at Sichuan Agricultural University, China, where she teaches English. She holds a B.A in English Language and Literature（Sichuan International Studies University, China）, and a M.A degree in Foreign Linguistics and Applied Linguistics (Sichuan University, China). For more than ten years, she has been working as a teacher at Sichuan Agricultural University. Her research interests include intercultural studies, transfer theory, as well as culture teaching and learning. She has been in charge of and fulfilled 3 scientific research projects , and participated in 6 national and provincial research projects. She has published two book chapters and more than 20 articles at academic journals, especially of some renowned universities in China.
Addressee: Xiaohong Wei
Xinkang Road 46#, Yucheng District
Department of Foreign Languages,
Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya’an, Sichuan, China
Post code: 625014