Arizona governor blocks cash from schools mandating masks

This lesson includes a variety of activities and primary source excerpts, providing students with a comprehensive study of federalism. Through the Constitution’s system of federalism, power is divided between national and subnational governments. Federalism allows citizens to make policy decisions at state and local levels. Decentralization draws individuals out of private life and compels civic engagement.

The delegates to the Constitutional Convention embraced the difficult duty of crafting a government that appropriately distributed the power between the national government and the states. For the Founders, the principle of federalism was a means of protecting liberty by limiting and dividing government power. This lesson explores the principle of federalism, how it is constructed in the Constitution, and  the relationship between national and state powers.

The balancing of liberty and security is difficult, particularly in times of crisis. During the COVID-19 pandemic, both national and state governments across the country have exercised expansive powers to enact policies in an effort to slow the spread of the virus.

Since the beginning of the twentieth century, the executive has been the branch of government that Americans look to for leadership during times of crisis. The current COVID-19 pandemic is no exception, as people increasingly are expecting their governors and the president to make policy decisions to mitigate the impact of the virus.

This Homework Help narrative explores the history of the Founding of the U.S. and the reasons why federalism was created as an important part of our constitutional system. The video challenges viewers to consider this question: why we have a system with local, state, and federal laws?