Assignment:
1. The concepts of federalism and sovereignty are tightly intertwined. Explain the connection between these concepts. Be sure to connect your discussion to the structure of government in the United States.
2. Provide an argument for why individuals should be more concerned with state and local politics than national politics. Be sure to connect your discussion to the issue of federalism.
3. To what extent are state legislatures similar and different? Be sure to address this issue in terms of structure and expectations of legislators. What do these similarities and differences mean for state residents?
4. Why are majority-minority districts important for racial and ethnic minorities? Who determines the composition of these districts? Include a discussion of how majority-minority districts were legalized.
5. Consider the extension of the power of the line-item veto to various state governors and the lack of this power for the president. What does this mean for the concept of executive authority at these different levels of government?
6. What explains the relative lack of racial and ethnic minority governors? What does this mean for racial minority interest representation at the state level?
7. Historically, what has been the nature of the relationship between racial and ethnic minorities and state and local law enforcement agencies and officers? How has this been addressed since the 1960s?
8. Discuss the issues of home rule and statehood in Washington, DC. Who controls Washington, DC?
9. Municipal governments often have a great deal of authority in the areas of law enforcement, neighborhood maintenance, and economic development. Why are these areas of particular importance for racial minorities? What is the effect of greater racial and ethnic minority representation in municipal government?
10. Compare and contrast three constitutional clauses that give the national government significant authority. Be sure to define each clause and demonstrate its effects on federalism.
11. People often use the claim that "Blacks have not been enslaved since the end of the Civil War and that the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments provided equality for them in society" to justify the belief that this group is solely responsible for not having better economic, social, and political outcomes. Evaluate the validity of this claim in the context of battles over federalism.
12. The extradition clause, the full faith and credit clause, and the privileges and immunities clause all establish national rules concerning how states must relate to each other. What is the effect of these clauses on the nature of federalism in the United States? Be sure to define and examine each of the clauses.
13. Despite the Supreme Court previously expanding national government power in the McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) and Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) cases, in the case of civil rights and race-particularly Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)-the Court validated the power of the states. Discuss why there was significant variation in the degree to which the Court sided with the national government versus state government.
14. Consider Justice John Marshall's rulings in the Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831) and the Worcester v. Georgia (1832) cases. What might account for the differentiation in the rulings?
15. Evaluate the differences among categorical grants, unfunded mandates, and block grants. Under which forms of federalism are you mostly likely to find each of these? Why? Be sure to define the different forms of federalism and examine the degrees of power held by various levels of government.