Federalism Viewing Guide

Access our Homework Help video on the constitutional principle of federalism and use our viewing guide below to follow along!

Overview : How can you ensure that local interests are represented in a large country? The Framers of the United States Constitution established a system of distributed powers, called federalism, in order to ensure local control, while still allowing effective governing.

1.  What is the definition of federalism?

2.  What was the first governing document for the newly independent colonies after the Revolutionary War?

3.  What were the shortcomings of that document?

4.  What was one of the main goals of the Philadelphia Convention in framing a new governing document?

5.  What were the opponents of the Constitution called, and what were some of their concerns with the new document?

6.  What were the supporters of the Constitution called, and how did they respond to critics of the new document?

7.  How do you think federalism solves the problem of ensuring local interests are represented in a large and diverse country?