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FEDERAL GOVERNMENT (Lat. foedus, a le...

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Originally appearing in Volume V10, Page 235 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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FEDERAL See also:

GOVERNMENT (See also:Lat. foedus, a See also:league) , a See also:form of government of which the essential principle is that there. is a See also:union of two or more states under one central See also:body for certain permanent See also:common See also:objects. In the most perfect form of federation the states agree to delegate to a supreme federal government certain See also:powers or functions inherent in themselves in their See also:sovereign or See also:separate capacity, and the federal government, in turn, in the exercise of those specific powers acts directly, not only on the communities making up the federation, but on each individual See also:citizen. So far as concerns the See also:residue of powers unallotted to the central or federal authority, the separate states retain unimpaired their individual See also:sovereignty, and the citizens of a federation consequently owe a See also:double See also:allegiance, one to the See also:state, and the other to the federal government. They live under two sets of See also:laws, the laws of the state and the laws of the federal government (J. See also:Bryce, Studies in See also:History and See also:Jurisprudence, ii. 490). The word "See also:confederation," as distinct from " federation " has been sometimes, though not universally, used to distinguish from such a federal state (Bundesstaat) a See also:mere union of states (Staatenbund) for mutual aid, and the promotion of interests common to all (see CONFEDERATION). The history of federal government practically begins with See also:Greece. This, however, is due to the fact that the See also:Greek federations are the only ones of which we have any detailed See also:information. The obvious importance, especially to scattered villages or tribes, of systematic See also:joint See also:action in the See also:face of a common danger makes it reasonable to infer that federation in its elementary forms was a widespread See also:device. This view is strengthened by what we can gather of the conditions obtaining in such districts as See also:Aetolia, See also:Acarnania and Samnium, as in See also:modern times among See also:primitive peoples and tribes. The relatively detailed information which we possess concerning the federal governments of Greece makes it necessary to pay See also:special See also:attention to them.

In See also:

ancient Greece the most striking tendency of See also:political development was the See also:maintenance of separate See also:city states, each striving for See also:absolute See also:autonomy, though all spoke practically the same See also:language and shared to some extent in the same traditions, interests and dangers. This centrifugal tendency is most marked in the cases of the more important states, See also:Athens, See also:Sparta, See also:Argos, See also:Corinth, but Greek history is full of examples of small states deliberately sacrificing what must have been obvious commercial See also:advantage for the See also:sake of a See also:precarious autonomy. Such examples as existed of even semi-federal union were very loose in structure, and the selfishness of the component See also:units was the predominant feature. Thus the Spartan See also:hegemony in the Peloponnese was not really a federation except in the broadest sense. The states did, it is true, meet occasionally for discussion, but their relation, which had no real existence See also:save in cases of immediate common danger, was really that between a See also:paramount See also:leader and unwilling and suspicious See also:allies. The Athenian See also:empire again was a thinly disguised See also:autocracy. The See also:synod (see DELIAN LEAGUE) of the " allies " soon degenerated into a mere form; of comprehensive See also:united policy there was none, at all events after the League had achieved its See also:original purpose of expelling the Persians from See also:Europe. None the less it is possible, even in the See also:early days of political development in Greece, to find some traces of a tendency towards united action. Thus the unions of individual villages, known as synoecisms, such as took See also:place in See also:Attica and See also:Elis in early times were partly of a federal See also:character: they resulted in the See also:establishment of a common See also:administration, and no doubt in some degree of commercial and military unity. On the other See also:hand, it is likely that these unions lacked the characteristic of federation in that the units could hardly be described as having any sovereign See also:power: at the most they had some municipal autonomy as in the See also:case of the Cleisthenic demes. The union was rather See also:national than federal. Again the Amphictyonic unions had one of the characteristic elements of federation, namely that they were See also:free sovereign states combining for a particular purpose with an elaborate See also:system of See also:representation (see See also:AMPHICTYONY).

But these unions, at all events in historic times, were mainly concerned with See also:

religion, and the authority of the See also:councils did not seriously affect the autonomy of the individual states. Thus among the city-states as well as among scattered villages the principle of cohesion was not unknown. On the other hand the See also:golden mean between an easily dissoluble relationship, more like an See also:alliance than a federation, and a national system resulting from synoecism was practically never attained in early Greek history. There are, however, examples in Greece proper, and one, See also:Lycia in See also:Asia See also:Minor, of real federal unions. The See also:chief Greek federations were those of See also:Thessaly, See also:Boeotia, Acarnania, See also:Olynthus, See also:Arcadia, Aetolia, See also:Achaea, the most important as well as the most See also:complete in respect of organization being the Aetolian League and the Achaean League. 1. The Thessalian League originated in the deliberate choice by See also:village aristocracies of a single monarch who belonged from See also:time to time to several of the so-called Heracleid families. Soon after the See also:Persian See also:War this See also:monarchy (See also:dynasty of the Aleuadae, See also:Herod. v. 63 and vii. 6) disappeared, and in 424 we find Athens in alliance with a sort of democratic federal See also:council representing TO KOWOV eETTaxwv (cf. Thuc. i. 102, ii.

22, iv. 78), and probably composed of delegates from the towns. The See also:

local feudal nobles, however, seem to have put an end to this government by council, and a See also:dictator (See also:tagus) was appointed, with authority over the whole military force of the federation. Three such See also:officers, See also:Lycophron, See also:Jason and See also:Alexander, all of Pherae, endeavoured vainly to administer the collective affairs of the federation, the last by means of a revived republican council. The final failure of this See also:scheme coincided with the disappearance of Thessaly as a sovereign state (see THESSALY). 2. The form and the history of the Boeotian federation are treated fully under Boeotia (q.v.). It may probably have originated in religious associations, but the guiding power throughout was the imperial policy of See also:Thebes, especially during its See also:short-lived supremacy after 379 B.C. 3. The federation of Acarnania is of See also:peculiar See also:interest as being formed by scattered villages or tribes, without settled, still less fortified, habitation. In the early See also:part of the 4th See also:century a Kowov rwv 'AKapvavwv met at Stratus (Xen. See also:Hell. iv.

6. 4). See also:

Late in the same century towns began to form, without, however, disturbing the federation, which existed as late as the 2nd century B.C., governed by a representative council ((3ov)u ), and a common See also:assembly (Kowov) at which any citizen might be See also:present. 4. The See also:foundation of the Olynthian federation was due to the need of See also:protection against the See also:northern invaders (see OLYNTHUS). It was in many respects based on liberal principles, but Olynthus did not hesitate to exercise force against recalcitrants such as See also:Acanthus. 5. The 4th century Arcadian league, which was no doubt a revival of an older federation, was the result of the struggle for supremacy between Thebes and Sparta. The defeat of Sparta at See also:Leuctra removed the pressure which had kept separate the Arcadian tribes, and TO Koivov Twv 'ApxfiSwv was established in the new city, See also:Megalopolis (q.v., also ARCADIA). 6 and 7. The Aetolian and Achaean leagues (see AETOLIA, and ACHAEAN LEAGUE) were in all respects more important than the preceding and constitute a new See also:epoch in See also:European politics. Both belong to a See also:period in Greek history when the See also:great city states had exhausted themselves in the futile struggle against Macedon and See also:Rome, and both represent a conscious popular determination in the direction of systematic government.

This characteristic is curious in the Aetolian tribes which were famous in all time for habitual See also:

brigandage; there was, however, among them the strong See also:link of a racial feeling. The governing council (ro KoWov Tw) AiraWov) was the permanent representative body; there was also a popular assembly (vravacr&tucbv), partly of a See also:primary, partly of a representative See also:kind, any one being free to attend, but each state having only one See also:official representative and one See also:vote. Of all the federal governments of Greece, this league was the most certainly democratic in constitution. There was a complete system of federal officers, at the See also:head of whom was a See also:Strategus entrusted with powers both military and See also:civil. This officer was annually elected, and, though the chief executive authority, was strictly limited in the federal deliberations to presidential functions (cf. See also:Livy See also:xxxv. 25, " ne See also:praetor, quum de See also:bello consuluisset, ipse sententiam diceret "). The Achaean League was likewise highly organized; joint action was strictly limited, and the individual cities had sovereign power over See also:internal affairs. There were federal officers, all the military forces of the cities were controlled by the league, and federal See also:finance was quite separate from city finance. 8. Of the Lycian federation, its origin and duration, practically nothing is known. We know of it in 188–168 B.C. as dependent on See also:Rhodes, and, from 168 till the time when the See also:emperor See also:Claudius absorbed it in the provincial system, as an See also:independent state under See also:Roman protection.

The federation was a remarkable example of a typical Hellenic development among a non-Hellenic See also:

people. See also:Strabo (p. 665) informs us that the federation, composed of twenty-three cities, was governed by a council (KOavov vv 4&pwv) which assembled from time to time at that city which was most convenient for the purpose in hand. The cities were represented according to See also:size by one, two or three delegates, and See also:bore proportionate shares in See also:financial responsibility. The Lycian league was, therefore, in this respect rather national than federal. Of ancient federal government outside Greece we know very little. The history of See also:Italy supplies a few examples, of which the chief is perhaps the league of the cities of See also:Latium (q.v.; see also See also:ETRURIA). See E. A. See also:Freeman, Federal Government in Greece and Rome (2nd ed., 1893, J. B. See also:Bury), and See also:works quoted in the special articles.

Among the later European confederations the Swiss See also:

republic is one of the most interesting. As now constituted it consists of twenty-two sovereign states or cantpns. The government is vested in two legislative See also:chambers, a See also:senate or council of state (Standerat), and a national council (Nationalrat), constituting unitedly the federal assembly. The executive council (Bundesrat) of seven members elects the See also:president and See also:vice-president for a See also:term of three years (see See also:SWITZERLAND: Government). Before the See also:French Revolution the See also:German empire was a complex confederation, with the states divided into electoral colleges, consisting—(1) of the ecclesiastical See also:electors and of the See also:secular electors, including the See also:king of Bohemia; (2) of the spiritual and temporal princes of the empire next in See also:rank to the electors; and (3) of the free imperial cities. The emperor was elected by the first See also:college alone. This imposing confederation came to an end by the conquests of See also:Napoleon; and the Confederation of the See also:Rhine was established in 18o6 with the French emperor as See also:protector. But in 1815 the Germanic confederation (Deutscher Bund) was established by the See also:congress of See also:Vienna, which in its turn has been displaced by the present German empire. This, in its new organization, conferred on See also:Germany the See also:long-coveted unity and coherence the lack of which had been a source of weakness. The constitution See also:dates, in its latest form, from the See also:treaties entered into at See also:Versailles in 1871. A federation was then organized with the king of See also:Prussia as president, under the hereditary See also:title of German emperor. Delegates of the various federated governments form the Bundesrath; the Reichstag, or popular assembly, is directly chosen by the people by universal See also:suffrage; and the two assemblies constitute the federal See also:parliament.

This body has power to legislate for the whole empire in reference to all matters connected with the See also:

army, See also:navy, postal service, customs, coinage, &c., all political laws affecting citizens, and all See also:general questions of See also:commerce, See also:navigation, passports, &c. The emperor represents the federation in all See also:international relations, with the See also:chancellor as first See also:minister of the empire, and has power, with consent of the Bundesrath, to declare war in name of the empire. The United States of See also:America more nearly resembles the Swiss confederacy, though retaining marks of its See also:English origin. The original thirteen states were colonies wholly independent of each other. By the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union adopted by the See also:Continental Congress in 1777, and in effect in 1781–1789, the states See also:bound themselves in a league of common See also:defence. By the written Constitution, drafted in 1787 and in operation since 1789, a stronger and more centralized union was established—in theory a federal republic formed by the voluntary See also:combination of sovereign states. A. common citizenship was recognized for the whole union; but the federal government was to exercise only such powers as were expressly delegated to it (See also:Amendment of 1991). The powers of the central government are entrusted to three distinct authorities—executive, legislative and judicial. The president, elected for a term of four years by electors chosen for that purpose by each state, is the executive head of the republic. The vice-president, ex officio president of the Senate, assumes the See also:presidency in case of resignation or See also:death. Legislative power is vested in a Congress, consisting of two Houses: a Senate, composed of two members elected by each state for a term of six years; and a See also:House of Representatives, consisting of representatives in See also:numbers proportionate to the See also:population of each state, holding their seats for two years. The supreme judicial authority is vested in a Supreme See also:Court, which consists of a chief See also:justice and eight See also:associate justices, all appointed for See also:life by the president, subject to See also:confirmation by the Senate.

The See also:

extension of responsible constitutional government by Great See also:Britain to her chief colonies, under a See also:governor or viceregal representative of the See also:crown, has been followed in See also:British See also:North America by the union of the See also:Canadian, maritime and Pacific provinces under a federal government—with a senate, the members of which are nominated by the crown, and a house of See also:commons. elected by the different provinces according to their relative population. The governor-general is appointed by the crown for a term of five years, and represents the sovereign in all matters of federal government. The See also:lieutenant-See also:governors of the provinces are nominated by him; and all local legislation is carried on by the provincial parliaments. The remarkable federation of the Dominion of See also:Canada which was thus originated presented the unique feature of a federal union of provinces practically exercising sovereign rights in relation to all local self-government, and sustaining a constitutional autonomy, while cherishing the colonial relationship to Great Britain. The See also:Commonwealth of See also:Australia (q.v.), proclaimed in 1901, is another interesting example of self-governing states federating into a united whole. There is, however, a striking difference to be observed in the powers of the federal governments of Canada and Australia. The federal parliament of Canada has See also:jurisdiction over all matters not specially assigned to the local legislatures, while the federal parliament of Australia has only such jurisdiction as is expressly vested in it or is not expressly withdrawn from the local legislatures. This jurisdiction is undoubtedly extensive, comprising among others, power to legislate concerning See also:trade and See also:industry, criminal See also:law, See also:taxation, See also:quarantine, See also:marriage and See also:divorce, weights and See also:measures, legal See also:tender, copyrights and See also:patents, and See also:naturalization and aliens. There was also an early See also:attempt to federate the See also:South See also:African colonies, and an See also:act was passed for that purpose (South African Act 1877), but it expired on the 18th of See also:August 1882, without having been brought into effect by the sovereign in council; in 1908, however, the Closer Union See also:movement (see SOUTH See also:AFRICA) ripened, and in 1909 a federating Act was successfully passed. See also See also:Bluntschli, The Theory of the State; W. See also:Wilson, The State; See also:Wheaton, International Law.

End of Article: FEDERAL GOVERNMENT (Lat. foedus, a league)

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