The Meaning of ‘‘Federal’’
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‘‘democracy’’ meant to the delegates. Not until the late 1820s did the term
‘‘democracy’’ become at all popular in America’s practical politics.
In addition, the delegates were generally agreed, from the beginning,
that the Articles of Confederation needed strengthening and improvement. This was true even of Luther Martin, George Mason, and other delegates who favored a weak central government. It was clear enough to
everyone that somehow a means must be found by which the ‘‘general’’
government (that is, the existing government of the Articles) might improve the flow of commerce and raise revenue, because the economy was
stagnant and national debt was becoming ruinous. It was clear, too, that
at least in foreign affairs the general government must be enabled to act
with greater firmness and authority.
But there were also points of disagreement among the delegates, the
most significant being the question of whether the United States should
remain a confederacy of sovereign States or whether a new form of national government should be undertaken. Allied to this dispute was the
argument as to whether large and small States should remain equal in
power under any new constitution, or whether representation in a new
national government should be in accord with population and wealth,
and so confer a heavy preponderance of political power upon the more
populous, larger states. By the end of the Convention in September, all of
these and most other differences were resolved.
The Meaning of ‘‘Federal’’
In America today, the tendency is to contrast ‘‘federal government’’ with
‘‘state government’’—almost as if to suggest ‘‘central government’’ versus ‘‘regional government.’’ But that is not an adequate distinction.
Until nearly the end of the eighteenth century, the word ‘‘federal’’
was a synonym for the word ‘‘confederate.’’ In politics, a federation was
a league of states or cities. This had been the definition of such words
from ancient times.
The member-states or member-cities of a ‘‘federation’’ or ‘‘confederation’’ did not acknowledge or create a central government. They remained
independent, but were joined together loosely by a treaty or some other
agreement by which the members pledged themselves to cooperate with