Why States? The Challenge of Federalism

Federalism is a core component of the infrastructure of freedom. It checks the centralization of the national government and protects a sphere of state autonomy and local self-government, the result of which is a great open space for the flourishing of civil society. In this booklet, former Deputy Secretary of Education Eugene Hickok makes the case for federalism, tells of its early practice and explains how modern bureaucratic government, the rights revolution, and judicial supremacy have come to take its place — all to the detriment of liberty and civic virtue. Only by understanding the principle and knowing its history can we hope to restore the primacy of American federalism, the future of which will shape what this nation is to become.