Week 10 — American Government & Politics: the U.S. Case

Why this matters

A business major whose company follows rules set at more than one level and a volunteer in a national nonprofit with a chapter in town both meet this question: which level decides what, and who wins a clash?

In plain language

This week reads one country's rulebook, the United States Constitution of 1787, starting with levels: how power is split between a national government and the States, which is called federalism (dividing power between levels of government). The second question is about sources: where national power comes from. There are enumerated powers (the powers written down), implied powers (the tools for doing a written-down job), and reserved powers (what is left to the States or the people). You will read one famous court case that tested those sources and one famous phrase that is not in the Constitution at all. You will not be told whether federalism is good or bad; you will be shown how to weigh the strongest case on each side.

• Already covered: Week 6 named federalism; Week 9 traced judicial review to Marbury.
• This week: levels of power, sources of power, the checks, and McCulloch.
• How they connect: you see both divisions at work in one real constitution.
• Where we're going next: Week 11, parties, elections, and voting systems.

Focus

How does one constitution divide power, and what happened when the division was tested?

By the end of this module, you should be able to:

• [ ] tell unitary, confederal, and federal arrangements apart
• [ ] sort a power as enumerated, implied, or reserved
• [ ] use the supremacy clause only to break ties between valid laws
• [ ] rebuild McCulloch v. Maryland and place the wall of separation phrase

To-do

Plan your week

1. Read Chapter 10 (45 minutes), then the lecture and slides.
2. Do the lecture tutorial (60–90 minutes) and practice set (20 minutes).
3. Do the Political Analysis Workshop (90 minutes), the discussion, and the assignment.
4. Take the quiz.

This week's checkpoint: settle one clash between two levels by asking first whether the national law is valid.

You've got this

Take it in order, and ask your instructor early.

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