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Federalism in historical, political, and social context

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1. Provide three (3) examples of how federalism has evolved from its origins to the American political system in place today.
2. Examine three to five (3-5) factors that have allowed the concept of federalism to shape American political behavior.
3. Discuss at least two (2) factors that illustrate how the relationship between the states and the U.S. federal government influences the creation of American policies overall.
4. Use at least three (3) quality academic resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites to not qualify as academic resources.

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Solution Summary

How has Federalism shaped American political consciousness, and how has it evolved from a constitutional arrangement to the present-day reality? What is the relationship between state and federal powers, and how has this relationship changed over time?

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Here are some good examples of how federalism has evolved:

- Partisanship and polarization
+ the American political system began with partisan politics and a tendency among the population to relish mudslinging and drama in the political sphere. What changed dramatically in the mid- to late-19th century was the emergence of a two party system that has largely gone unchallenged since then
- The American electorate and its growth to include more diversity
+ as the electorate expanded, lawmakers needed to respond to changing constituencies, which put pressure on political parties to evolve to meet the demands of voters.
+ the expanding electorate also created the concept of a "popular" politician, in the sense that those running for office began to proclaim themselves "the peoples'" candidate in order to appeal to as broad an audience of voters as possible
+ these contributed to making political campaigns more expensive, which then caused candidates to rely on wealthy donors, both individuals and organizations
- Debates over how large the federal government should be
+ the founders fundamentally feared the concentration of power at the hands of the few, and were fearful of a large and monopolizing political force or a central government power
+ the federal system was conceived as a sort of referee or adjudicating force rather than as a governing one, and was to focus on external affairs, ...

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