Which of the following scenarios would be most likely in of a unitary system of government?

President Trump tells governors to open 'essential places' of worship

As the US approaches 100,000 coronavirus deaths, President Donald Trump is calling on governors to allow houses of worship to open.

• Kent Syler is a professor of political science and special projects coordinator for the Albert Gore Research Center at Middle Tennessee State University.
• John R. Vile is a professor of political science and dean of the University Honors College at MTSU.

In 1787, the authors of the U.S. Constitution established a federal system that divided power between the national and state governments.

They did so for practical and political reasons including the large geographical size of the country, fear of a too powerful and repressive federal government, and as a compromise between those favoring a government that centered on the states, or a unitary government like that in England, without sovereign state entities.

A successful system

Apart perhaps from the Civil War, there are solid arguments that federalism has largely worked. A strong national government ensures a strong national defense and regulates interstate and foreign commerce while often using its superior ability to raise taxes to provide aid to states and localities that need it.        

State and local governments have, in turn, served as training grounds for national politicians and as what Justice Louis Brandeis described as “laboratories” of democracy to test new ideas and new programs.

Federalism has also allowed for many political subcultures, bringing government closer to the people and enabling cities and states the flexibility to match their governments to their communities. Under the 10th Amendment, such states and localities exercise primary police powers over health, safety and property rights.

COVID-19 brings federalism into focus

Few issues have done more than COVID-19 to highlight the strengths and risks of this system.  Some states took preventive action before the national government. Others have proven to be leaders in the fight.  There is currently renewed debate as to whether some states may be prematurely relaxing restrictions on citizens and businesses.

Hear more Tennessee Voices: Get the weekly opinion newsletter for insightful and thought provoking columns.

If lockdowns continue too long, they could worsen the economic situation.  If the lockdowns end too soon, the virus could spread and kill thousands. As people cross state lines, they bring diseases with them, meaning that a bad decision in one state or set of states might well result in deaths in others.   

Still, the experimental openings of cities and states remains much less risky than reopening the entire country. As we see which policies work best, the lessons we learn could provide a roadmap to getting America safely back to work.

Conservatives typically argue that state and local governments can handle local problems better than the national government.

When President Donald Trump declared, "When somebody's the president of the United States, the authority is total," he described a power more akin to an absolute monarchy like that which the U.S. repudiated in 1776 than the power of the head of one of three branches of the national government, but the statement also challenged governors and mayors who have in some cases stepped in long before the president recognized the current crisis.  

The fact that the president now seems to be largely deferring to state governors and city mayors indicates that he realizes that solving the coronavirus is a cooperative venture, not only with the two other branches of the national government but also with states and localities.

Collaboration is the best solution

Recent history suggests that the public welfare is best served when these entities work together.  This system works most effectively when a president refuses to deflect unwarranted blame on those in the front lines. 

The most likely scenario for dealing realistically with the coronavirus is expressed by the motto “E pluribus unum.”  As a nation that seeks a common good through many entities, we know that together we stand, divided we fall.

Kent Syler is a professor of political science and special projects coordinator for the Albert Gore Research Center at Middle Tennessee State University. Email:

John R. Vile is a professor of political science and dean of the University Honors College at Middle Tennessee State University. Email: