The strongest motive for the grouping to gether of previously independent or separate states is defense. 'This was the reason for the original United States of America of 1776 and is the binding force in Switzerland and Ger many. Hence all the federations have a central system of armies, navies and war. Only one federation, the United States, leaves to the states any considerable share in organizing and training soldiers; and that could be altered by an act of Congress. In practice, these federal forces are much more effective than any com bination of state armies could possibly be; and the effect of war in federations is always to give additional strength and weight to the cen tral power.
Finance and Commerce.— The federations are all organized upon the idea that the states remain free to lay internal taxes for their own governmental purposes, including local and municipal taxes, and also to incur public debts; but certain fields of taxation are everywhere withdrawn from the states, particularly import duties. Where the federation and the states both tax the same thing, as for instance the American income taxes, the federation has the first right to share in the proceeds. In addi tion, all the federations have a machinery of federal taxation almost without limit, and they all have federal debts which in every case were much enlarged during the European War.
Commerce is in general a federal concern, except that in the United States the States have a recognized right to the control of move ments of persons and commodities which begin and terminate within the same State. In all the federations the general commerce from state to state and from any part of the con federation to a foreign country is controlled from the centre. This involves shipping and railroads. Three of the federations, Australia, Switzerland and South Africa, have entered on the policy of national ownership of the whole network of railroads; and all the others exer cise a strong governmental control over the railroads, including a few federal owned lines. Several of the federal governments also have granted subsidies to steamer lines, and the United States has entered upon a new system of government merchant steamships.
The tendency everywhere is for federal governments to gain power as against the states; partly because what might be called the natural federal powers, such as have just been discussed, enlarge with the growth of business, commerce and international relations; partly by constitutional amendments which transfer areas of power to the central authority; and partly by changes of public sentiment which permit the central governments to exercise powers which were earlier considered to be reserved for the states. An example is the growth of national legislation on labor in the United States. An example of the centralizing effect of the larger exercise of national powers is the effect on Germany and the British colo nial federations of the Great War of 1914. The combined powers over war, finance and com merce gave to the federal governments a power and pre-eminence which could not all be resumed by the states after war was over.
Coherence of Federations.— The books mention many reasons for the building up of federal governments — such as common origin in the states, which combine common language, common religion and common race. None of these unities of feeling are essential. Switzer land has three official languages; in Germany there are three state religions; the United States is made up of a score of races. Yet no
federation can long exist unless the people of the various states are accustomed to the same general system of law, government and civili zation. Granting these, states will adhere to each other in a federation, if they find in it a protection for their interests and a security from foreign attack which makes the feder ation stronger and safer than any of the mem bers could be by themselves.
Modern federal governments have passed through some terrible shocks. In 1846 in the Sonderbund Krieg, an unsuccessful attempt was made by part of the Swiss cantons to form a separate union. In 1861 a third of the United States threw off their connection with the Federal government and formed the sep arate Confederate States of America. In 1867 Prussia went through the forms of secession from the old Germanic Confederation. In each of the three cases the struggle was followed by a much stronger sentiment of union which included the communities that had tried to withdraw.
The success of the United States govern ment in breaking up the Southern Confederacy was a proof to the world of the ability of a well-organized confederation to meet the issue of civil war. It was also a setback to the constitutional theory that states can enter a federal union, reserving to themselves the con stitutional right of withdrawing whenever they felt that they would be better off outside the union. Such a principle once admitted by a federal nation would make of its constitution and government what Washington called the American Confederation — *a rope of sand." The principle of federal government has made great headway during the last 60 years. It made possible Germany and the British colo nial unions. In many ways federation eases the shocks of government in a great country, by taking contested questions out of the national legislature and thus allowing for differences of feeling in the different parts of the union. The British people have for some years been con sidering a plan of Imperial Federation, a scheme which was further brought to the front by the war. Various suggestions have also been made for a World Federation, which would look after international commerce and keep the peace of the world. Such a combination of great empires would go far beyond the prin ciples which have been worked out in any ex isting federation. See CONSTITUTION; DEMOC RACY; EXECUTIVE; GOVERNMENT; SOVEREIGNTY; UNITED STATES: ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION GROWTH OF GOVERNMENTAL MACHINERY—THE INTERPRETATION OF THE CONSTITUTION—STATE CONSTITUTIONS.
Dodd, W. E., 'Modern Con stitutions' (2 vols., 1909) ; Freeman, Edward A., 'History of Federal Government' (Ancient times only; 1893) ; Hart, Albert Bushnell, 'In troduction to the Study of Federal Govern ment' (with bibliography, 1890) ; Howard, G. E., Federal Institutions— An Analytical Reference (1907) ; Lefur, Louis, and Posener, Paul, 'Bundesstaat and Staatenbund' (1902) ; Foley, A. P., (The Fed eral Systems of the United States and the British ; Westerkamp, J. B., 'Staaten bund and (1892) ; New York Public Library, 'List of Books and Articles Relating to Constitutions, etc.' (1904) ; specific works on the various federal countries, espe cially Greece; Holy Roman Empire; Nether lands; Switzerland; Germany; United States; Canada; Australia; South Africa.