Student Handouts

• Handout A: Federalism Venn Diagram
• Handout B: Article I Sections 8, 9, 10 of the Constitution and the Tenth Amendment
• Handout C: State Power – Criticisms and Responses
• Handout D: Excerpts from Roger Sherman, June 6, 1787 (From Madison’s Notes on the Philadelphia Convention)
• Handout E: Excerpts from Federalist No. 39, James Madison (1788)
• Handout F: Excerpts from Democracy in America, Advantages of the Federal System, Alexis de Tocqueville (1835)
• Handout G: An Overview of Federalism at the Founding and Early Republic
• Handout H: How Has the Supreme Court Interpreted the Commerce Clause?
• Handout I: Commerce Clause Timeline

Optional (Supplemental) Videos:

All videos can be found on the Bill of Rights Institute’s YouTube Channel

• Federalism | BRI’s Homework Help Series (4:40)
• Bill of Rights For Real Life: Federalism (10:08)
• Federalism and the Clarification of Slavery | Dr. Nicholas Cole | BRI’s Constitutional Conversations (5:03)
• U.S. v. Lopez | BRI’s Homework Help Series (5:56)
• What is Self-Governance and Why is it Important? | Dr. David Bobb | Constitutional Conversations (4:53)

• Alexis de Tocqueville
• Article I
• Articles of Confederation
• Commerce Clause
• Constitution
• Decentralization/devolution
• Democracy
• Due process
• Electoral College
• Federalism
• Federalist No. 39
• Founders
• Framers
• Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
• Great Depression
• James Madison
• Jim Crow
• Republic
• Separation of powers
• Sixteenth Amendment
• Tenth Amendment
• United States v. Lopez (1995)

To begin, activate students’ prior knowledge by having them complete Handout A: Federalism Venn Diagram in order to differentiate which functions of government are best delegated to which level, state or federal. Discuss students’ answers as a whole group.

BRI Homework Help Video Federalism: https://youtu.be/QyCe2vxhp_Y

Have students use Handout B: Article I Sections 8, 9, 10 of the Constitution and the Tenth Amendment to review passages from the U.S. Constitution in order to understand how it distributes government powers. Students will write a title for each section or amendment, compare the ways in which power was divided between the states and federal government, explain the Founders reasoning for dividing power, and identifying the ways in which rights are protected in these articles and amendments. Have students discuss how their answers on Handout A might change based on their understanding from Handout B.

Then students will consider a short essay to learn how the legacy of slavery is related to the principle of federalism by reading Handout C: State Power – Criticisms and Responses. Use the critical thinking questions to discuss with students how federalism was related to slavery and segregation in American history.

Have students read the following primary source excerpts to establish an understanding of how thinkers in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries expected the principle of federalism to be applied. This activity might be done jigsaw style. (Divide the class into 3 sections, forming study groups, and assign one of the three documents to each section. Then form new groups to discuss all three documents. These sharing groups should consist of one or two students who worked on each of the three selections.)

• Handout D: Excerpts from Roger Sherman, June 6, 1787 (From Madison’s Notes on the Philadelphia Convention)
• Handout E: Excerpts from Federalist No. 39, James Madison (1788)
• Handout F: Excerpts from Democracy in America, Advantages of the Federal System, Alexis de Tocqueville (1835) 

Have students work in their sharing groups to complete Handout G: An Overview of Federalism at the Founding and Early Republic to analyze the roles of the national and federal government according to each author.

Have students trace how interpretations of the Commerce Clause have changed the nature of federalism in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries by reading Handout H: “How Has the Supreme Court Interpreted the Commerce Clause?” and completing Handout I: Commerce Clause Timeline.

Whole group discussion: How has the Constitutional principle of federalism shaped government policies over time? Use specific documents and historical examples to support your comments.

Students will create a poster of federalism highlighting one part of American history. Students could research one topic within the lesson: a SCOTUS case, Jim Crow laws, New Deal programs; Commerce Clause.  Students must answer the question within their poster: How has the Constitutional principle of federalism shaped government policies over time?