# data[].attributes.body
Federalism is a political concept in which a group of members are bound together by covenant with a governing representative head. The term "federalism" is also used to describe a system of government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and constituent political units. Federalism is a system based upon democratic rules and institutions in which the power to govern is shared between national and provincial/state governments, creating what is often called a federation. The term federalist describes several political beliefs around the world. Also, it may refer to the concept of parties; its members or supporters called themselves Federalists.

# data[].attributes.headline
Select two of the following and explain how each has been used to increase the power of the "federal government" relative to the states.

# data[].attributes.subject
Select two of the following and explain how each has been used to increase the power of the "federal government" relative to the states.

# data[].attributes.body
"Welfare Reform Act of 1996 & The Tenth Amendment"

What did the WRA of 1996 do?

1. Assisted low income families for a maximum of five years

2. Decreased poverty rates

3. Got rid of the older welfare system that provided money as long as they needed it.

“The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in employment, transportation, public accommodation, communications, and governmental activities.”

It states that disabilities cannot be a basis for denying someone a job or public services. Four different national agencies enforce the ADA: the Department of Labor and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission are in charge of matters dealing with workplace discrimination, the Department of Transportation deals with transit discrimination, the Federal Communications Committee provides adequate telecommunications services to individuals who are hearing or speech‐impaired, and the Department of Justice ensures individuals with disabilities’ right to public services. This reflects the influence of federalism because all of the enforcement is handled by national agencies, and even though some of the actions are carried out by state and local agencies, these are still regulated and enforced by the national government.

# data[].attributes.body
I. The Framers of the United States Constitution

Creating a Federal System

A. Defining Federalism

B. Select four of the following and explain how each has been used to increase the power of the Federal Government relative to the States.

1. Categorical Grants

2. Federal Mandates

3. Selective Incorporation

4. Welfare Reform Act of 1996

5. Block Grants

6. Tenth Amendment

# data[].attributes.body
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. The Constitution, originally comprising seven articles, delineates the national frame of government. Its first three articles entrench the doctrine of the separation of powers, whereby the federal government is divided into three branches: the legislative, consisting of the bicameral Congress; the executive, consisting of the President; and the judicial, consisting of the Supreme Court and other federal courts. Articles Four, Five and Six entrench concepts of federalism, describing the rights and responsibilities of state governments and of the states in relationship to the federal government. Article Seven establishes the procedure subsequently used by the thirteen States to ratify it. Since the Constitution came into force in 1789, it has been amended twenty-seven times. In general, the first ten amendments, known collectively as the Bill of Rights, offer specific protections of individual liberty and justice and place restrictions on the powers of government. The majority of the seventeen later amendments expand individual civil rights. Others address issues related to federal authority or modify government processes and procedures. Amendments to the US Constitution, unlike ones made to many constitutions world-wide, are appended to the end of the document. At seven articles and twenty-seven amendments, it is the shortest written constitution in force. All five pages of the U.S. Constitution are written on parchment. The Constitution is interpreted, supplemented, and implemented by a large body of constitutional law. The Constitution of the United States was the first constitution of its kind, and has influenced the constitutions of other nations.

Neither the Convention which drafted the Constitution, nor the Congress which sent it to the thirteen states for ratification in the autumn of 1787, gave it a lead caption. To fill this void, the document was most often titled "A frame of Government" when it was printed for the convenience of ratifying conventions and the information of the public. This Frame of Government consisted of a preamble, seven articles and a signed closing endorsement.  The Preamble to the Constitution sets out the origin, scope and purpose of the Constitution. Its origin and authority is in "We, the people of the United States". This echoes the Declaration of Independence. "One people" dissolved their connection with another, and assumed among the powers of the earth, a sovereign nation-state. The scope of the Constitution is twofold. First, "to form a more perfect Union" than had previously existed in the "perpetual Union" of the Articles of Confederation. Second, to "secure the blessings of liberty", which were to be enjoyed by not only the first generation, but for all who came after, "our posterity". It is an itemized social contract of democratic philosophy. It details how the more perfect union was to be carried out between the national government and the people. The people are to be provided justice, civil peace, common defense, those things of a general welfare that they could not provide themselves, and freedom. A government of "liberty and union, now and forever", unfolds when "We" begin and establish this Constitution.

The need for the Constitution grew out of problems with the Articles of Confederation, which established a "firm league of friendship" between the states, and vested most power in a Congress of the Confederation. This power was, however, extremely limited — the central government conducted diplomacy and made war, set weights and measures, and was the final arbiter of disputes between the states. Crucially, it could not raise any funds itself, and was entirely dependent on the states themselves for the money necessary to operate. Each state sent a delegation of between two and seven members to the Congress, and they voted as a bloc with each state getting one vote. But any decision of consequence required a unanimous vote, which led to a government that was paralyzed and ineffectual.

A movement to reform the Articles began, and invitations to attend a convention in Philadelphia to discuss changes to the Articles were sent to the state legislatures in 1787. In May of that year, delegates from 12 of the 13 states convened in Philadelphia to begin the work of redesigning government. The delegates to the Constitutional Convention quickly began work on drafting a new Constitution for the United States.

# data[].attributes.body
The Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which is part of the Bill of Rights, was ratified on December 15, 1791. It expresses the principle of federalism, which undergirds the entire plan of the original Constitution, by stating that the federal government possesses only those powers delegated to it by the states or the people. The framers of this amendment had two purposes in mind when they drafted it. The first was a necessary rule of construction. The second was to reaffirm the nature of the federal system.

The Tenth Amendment is similar to an earlier provision of the Articles of Confederation: "Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this Confederation expressly delegated to the United States, in Congress assembled." After the Constitution was ratified, South Carolina Representative Thomas Tudor Tucker and Massachusetts Representative Elbridge Gerry separately proposed similar amendments limiting the federal government to powers "expressly" delegated, which would have denied implied powers. James Madison opposed the amendments, stating that "it was impossible to confine a Government to the exercise of express powers; there must necessarily be admitted powers by implication, unless the Constitution descended to recount every minutia." The word "expressly" ultimately did not appear in the Tenth Amendment as ratified, and therefore the Tenth Amendment did not reject the powers implied by the Necessary and Proper Clause.

# data[].attributes.headline
Select two of the following and explain how each has been used to increase the power of the "federal government" relative to the states.

# data[].attributes.subject
Select two of the following and explain how each has been used to increase the power of the "federal government" relative to the states.

# data[].attributes.body
Categorical Grants & Federal Mandates

Sometimes the federal government orders states to do certain things,  such as obeying housing laws or environmental regulations. These demands are  called mandates. An unfunded mandate is one for  which the federal government provides no money. For example, the federal  government has required state and local governments to live up to the  Americans with Disabilities Act without providing money to make buildings  accessible to handicapped people. State governments resent unfunded mandates  because they drain state coffers.

One way for Congress to pass mandates is to impose regulations and  standards on state and local governments. In the past, Congress has forced  state governments to meet certain environmental standards, for example.  Scholars call this practice regulated federalism.