Throughout the history of U.S. politics there has been a debate between the states and the federal government over power. From the development of Federalism in the Constitution of the United States, to the break down of Federalism in the Civil War, the Federal Government has shown superior authority in several instances, yet the states have displayed its power over the Federal Government as well.
             The Federal Government has shown its authority through the following occurrences. First, the Constitution of the United States established the form and function of our federal system of government. In Article I, section eight of the Constitution, also known as the Elastic Clause, the Federal Government of our country is given power to execute laws and other powers vested by the Constitution. It is the constitutional basis for the many and far-reaching implied powers of the Federal Government. Then, in Article VI section 2, the Constitution sets out the Supremacy Clause, a specific declaration of the supremacy of federal law over any and all forms of State law. No State, including its local governments, may make or enforce any law that conflicts with any provision in the Constitution, an act of Congress, a treaty, or an order, rule, or regulation properly issued by the President or his subordinates in the executive branch. Second, the Federal Government has shown an increase in power in the Supreme Court case, McCulloch vs. Maryland, A Maryland law required federally chartered banks to use only a special paper to print money, which amounted to a tax. William McCulloch refused to use the paper, and the Courts ruled Maryland's law unconstitutional. This showed the authority of the Federal Government over the states in the power to coin money, and to declare states laws unconstitutional. Third, Federalism is enhanced by the Supreme Court's decision in the case of Gibbons vs. Ogden. In this case the Court strengthened the p
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