Center for the Study of Federalism

The U.S. Capitol typifies the United States compound republic that is neither “wholly federal, nor wholly national”. The capitol houses Congress, which is composed of the U.S. House of Representatives, elected based on population, and the Senate, which is based on states.

Federal systems of government divide power and responsibilities between a general government (e.g., Washington, D.C.) and constituent governments (e.g., the states). Both the general government and the constituent governments have constitutional authority to govern individuals directly (e.g., regulate behavior and levy taxes), and each has final decision-making authority over certain constitutionally delegated or reserved matters.

The flag represents the United States’ federal character by having one stripe for each of the original thirteen colonies and one star for each state.

Albert Gallatin (1761-1849) was the fourth (and longest-serving) secretary of the U.S. Treasury (1801-1814). Gallatin plowed a middle ground between Alexander Hamilton’s Federalist nationalism and Thomas Jefferson’s Anti-Federalist states’ rights philosophy. He championed cooperative federalism by emphasizing negotiation among federal and state officials to achieve mutual consent for federal domestic policies, such as road and canal construction, that Congress could not implement directly. Intergovernmental cooperation, he believed, would limit the power of the federal and state governments and, thereby, help preserve republican government and liberty by maintaining an appropriate balance of state-federal power.

CSF is dedicated to supporting civic education through grants funding teaching programs and research on federalism.

Publius: The Journal of Federalism is the world’s preeminent journal on federalism and is published by the Center for the Study of Federalism. Publius was also the pen name of the authors of The Federalist.