Why is the United States so complex in their laws, shouldn't it be uniform?

Since the ratification of the Constitution there has been a running contention between those who want a strong central government and those who do not such a thing. It is difficult for many not from this country (and some within it) to understand that it was never meant to have uniform laws. The Constitution defined a general government (the federal government) and what it could do including where it could enact laws. Areas not delegated to that general government were the areas of the States and there the States enacted laws which could be unique to that State.

In 1868 the 14th Amendment was enacted and that provided the justification to apply many federal responsibilities and limitations to the States. Although not all agreed with such an interpretation, that “expansion” of federal intrusion into what was State areas has continued to expand and from that some things have become more uniform in terms of law. Even so, there is much not uniform and with the current members of the Supreme Court that moving away from uniformness will continue, at least we can hope so.
The United States Constitution outlines what areas the Federal government has authority over. All areas not covered specifically in the Constitution are left up to each of the individual states to govern.

Similarly, each state in the US has its own Constitution that governs what areas the state government has authority over. All other areas are left up to individual communities within the state.

I believe this is the best way to be as each community has different values, morals and standards. What is right for New York City is not necessarily right for Austin, Texas. Rural communities have different needs and values than urban areas. The Constitution of the United States and each state's constitution allows the means necessary for each community to govern itself according to guidelines that meet the communities needs.
It would help if you didn't skip your American History class at school.
becoz their leaders are not well uniformed, people are good, but their selection of their leaders are not good.
Many laws are decided by the individual states or cities. We shouldn't have so many damn laws I think. What was the purpose of taking and fighting and dieing to start a new land just to pass millions of laws that make us just like every other country sometimes worse. Stupid. Way to go and ruin a perfectly good free land. Thanks lawmakers.
The great feature of the United States is that the states are free to enact laws that benefit their citizens and take care of their needs or desires, as long as they do not conflict with legitimate federal laws. Florida's needs for laws are very different from Alaska's. New Englanders like their town meeting form of government. Uniformity is dull and stultifying. If you don't like the way things are in one state, and you can't get people to change, you can pick up and move to a different state that might be more to your liking. No passports, no visas, no customs.


Answers:
Uniform with what? Are you talking about the various state laws?

State law makers were always free to make whatever laws that they wanted to govern their citizens. The ratification of the thirteenth amendment put a stop to making laws that infringe on our inalienable rights, so to speak. Ever since then the only restriction on the various states' laws have been a test of conflict with federal laws or if they unconstitutionally violate the rights of the citizens.

Now, however, some states are working to make their laws more similar to other states' laws that serve a similar purpose by adopting model laws, which they are also free to amend if they want.

The bottom line is, if a person doesn't like the laws in one state, they can go to a different state that has different laws.
i'm guessing you're referring to the federal laws versus state laws.
the reason for this is because each state was autonomous until it joined the union. you know the state quarters, well they're being released in the order that the states joined the union. So, once the union was formed it had it's own law makers and no one was going to tell a state that it's laws are silly and should be done away with. Who is going to try to disregard a law and still get elected??

that's why the US has some really dumb laws, b/c they were made up a long time ago and no one wanted to ever change it.
it's also why some things are legal in certain states and not in others.
Because it's more money for the lawyers if the laws are extremely complicated and lawyers made the laws.
b/c its mostly from the 17th century laws which is old english, so its harder for us to interpret it, in today's world!!
What do you mean uniform? If you mean geographically, the constitution limits the power of the federal government and leaves many issues up to the individual states. That's what the a federation is all about. If you mean in terms of the outcome of similar cases, every case is different, and it's never as simple as 'the punishment for murder is life in prison regardless of circumstances.'
If you are talking state laws, NO!! As a Federal Republic every state has a right to figure out how they want to percieve certain issues, we are not a marxist nation, like China where we are ruled from the top down.

Complexity comes from to many people sueing on to many issues.