Table of Contents Categories
  • Federalism terms
    •   Encyclosphere.org ENCYCLOREADER
      supported by EncyclosphereKSF

    Federation

    From Ballotpedia - Reading time: 2 min
    Federalism Banner-Blue.png
    Federalism
    Federalism Icon 200x200.png
    •Key terms
    •     Court cases
    •Major arguments
    • State responses to federal mandates
    • Federalism by the numbers
    • Index of articles about federalism


    A federation is a group of states that give their sovereignty to a central governing authority that enforces certain laws and regulations. The powers of a central government are outlined in a federation's constitution.[1]

    The United States is a federation of states under the U.S. Constitution. Between 1781 and 1789, the U.S. was a confederation under the Articles of Confederation.[1]

    Background[edit]

    The United States has maintained stronger distinctions between federations and confederations as political concepts even though the words have the same etymology.[2] In federations, the ties between the members are stronger.[2]

    Calling something a federation implies that it has a stronger central government while confederations are unions of sovereign states that emphasize the autonomy of the members.[2]

    See also[edit]

    External links[edit]

    Footnotes[edit]

    1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Diffen, "Confederation vs. Federation," accessed July 28, 2021
    2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Britannica.com, "Confederation," accessed February 21, 2022
    v • e
    Federalism
    Terms
    v • e
    Ballotpedia
    About
    Editorial Content
    Geoff Pallay, Director of Editorial Content and Editor-in-Chief • Ken Carbullido, Vice President of Election Product and Technology Strategy • Daniel Anderson, Managing Editor • Ryan Byrne, Managing Editor • Cory Eucalitto, Managing Editor • Mandy Gillip, Managing Editor • Doug Kronaizl, Local Elections Project Manager • Jaclyn Beran • Marielle Bricker • Joseph Brusgard • Emma Burlingame • Kelly Coyle • Thomas Ellis • Nicole Fisher • Brianna Galatioto • Joseph Greaney • Thomas Grobben • Jaime Healy-Plotkin • Tyler King • Glorie Martinez • Roneka Matheny • Nathan Maxwell • Ellie Mikus • Jackie Mitchell • Ellen Morrissey • Mackenzie Murphy • Kaley Platek • Samantha Post • Adam Powell • Ethan Rice • Spencer Richardson • Victoria Rose • Briana Ryan • Myj Saintyl • Maddy Salucka • Maddie Sinclair Johnson • Abbey Smith • Janie Valentine • Joel Williams • Samuel Wonacott • Trenton Woodcox • Mercedes Yanora
    Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 | Original source: https://ballotpedia.org/Federation
    Encyclosphere.org EncycloReader is supported by the EncyclosphereKSF