Lesson Objective: Students will be exposed to the first way that communities can foster change — through government. They will learn about the various levels of government and what their roles and responsibilities are. They will examine strengths and weaknesses of our government system. They will be prepared to examine examples of government action in our region and how government fosters change.

Explain to the students that they will be discussing federalism and the role of the levels of government in the United States.

Use the following questions, along with material from the student's textbook, to begin the discussion:

Federalism is a system of government in which power and resources are distributed between a central authority (the federal government) and a number of smaller political units (states, provinces or territories). In this system, the states surrender their individual sovereignty to the federal government, but retain limited powers of government.

The word federal comes from the Latin term fidere meaning "to trust." Source: "Federalism." Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2000. http://encarta.msn.com (22 July, 2000).

(Note: Most attention in this section is given to the county and city level of government.)

Federal. The federal government is made up of three branches -- the executive, the legislative and the judicial. The laws of the national government are "the supreme law of the land" and prevail over state laws.

State. Any powers not specifically granted to the federal government in the constitution revert to the states. States regulate business, conduct elections, provide for public schools, and protect the health and safety of the people. The states also establish local government within the state such as cities and counties.

Some powers shared by the federal and state governments include the power to tax, borrow money, and invoke eminent domain.

Eminent domain is the taking of private property by the government for the public good. The owner of the property must be paid at least a fair market value price for the property.

County. "The major functions of the U.S. county are law enforcement, judicial administration, construction and maintenance of roads, provision of public assistance to the needy, and the recording of legal documents. Some counties may also provide health protection, hospitals, libraries, parks, weed control, fire protection, and agricultural aid.

The principal organ of county government is usually a board of commissioners or supervisors, whose members are elected either from county subdivisions or districts or from the county at large. The board usually has three or five members, and a four-year term is common. In addition to members of the board, the voters of a county elect certain other officials, most commonly a sheriff, treasurer, clerk, coroner, assessor, superintendent of schools, surveyor or engineer, and recorder or register of deeds. The local prosecutor, though in legal terms a state officer, is often elected from the county.

County government is mostly financed from local property taxes and state-aid funds, though fees and fines constitute minor revenue sources. Occasionally counties levy sales taxes or other non-property taxes, or operate public enterprises that yield revenues."

Source: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc. http://www.britannica.com.

City. The functions and responsibilities of the city include law enforcement; building regulation to ensure a minimum of safety and to ensure that houses or workshops are not constructed on public land or in improper places; fires service; protection of the health of the citizens; primary and secondary education; water supply, sewage, refuse collection and disposal; and construction, maintenance, and lighting of streets.

A common type of city government is the city-manager system. In this system a small council numbering from three to nine members are elected at large. The council passes ordinances, adopts the budget, decides rates of taxation, and engages the manager. The mayor (if there is one) has a role that is chiefly ceremonial. The city manager is the real chief executive. The city manager position is generally set out in the city charter, which states that the council shall not interfere with the manager's administrative functions. The manager has a duty to provide the council with whatever information they need to determine matters of policy.

Source: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc. http://www.britannica.com.

Tribal Government. Federally recognized tribes enjoy a direct government-to-government relationship with the U.S. government wherein no decisions about their lands and people are made without their consent. Powers of tribal governments include the right to define conditions of membership, regulate domestic relations of members, prescribe rules of inheritance for reservation property not in trust status, levy taxes, regulate property under tribal jurisdiction, control conduct of members by tribal ordinances, and administer justice.

Federally recognized tribes are tribes and groups that have a special, legal relationship with the U.S. government. There are 550 federally recognized tribes in the US.

Source: Bureau of Indian Affairs. http://www.doi.gov/bureau-indian-affairs.

• Scale. The federalism system of government is designed so that each level of government deals with issues that are appropriate to its size. For example, the federal level deals with national security and the declaration of war -- issues that affect all of the people in the nation. The local level deals with the upkeep and repair of city streets -- an issue that is only important to the people who live in that city.
• Distribution of power. Another strength of the federal system is that it was designed to distribute power and authority across a range of entities. The idea was to protect the people against the whims of one all-powerful ruler.

• Overstepping bounds. Some people feel that recently the federal government has breached the distribution of power and has assumed powers beyond which the framers of the Constitution had in mind. "State's rights" is a term commonly used to express the sentiment that most decisions are best left up to the individual states.
• Overlapping jurisdiction. In the federal system it is sometimes unclear who is in charge of what. Using the example of water, the regulation of the resource depends on what kind of water one is concerned with. Ground water, marine water, storm water run-off, water in wetlands, and potable water may all be regulated by different government agencies at different levels of government. The state and the federal government may each have an agency to deal with the same resource or issue. They often have different rules, regulations, procedures and terms that they use to conduct their business.
• Differing mandates. The various agencies regulating a resource such as water may have very different mandates that prescribe their position and interest. While the purpose of one agency may be to protect fish and wildlife, another agency's purpose may be to assure water is available to a new housing development and still another agency may be looking out for the interests of farmers. Reconciling these differences in mandate can be very challenging.

Students can describe the federalist system of government. They understand the various levels of government and some of the powers and responsibilities of each of these levels. They have critiqued this system of government, discussing some its strengths and limitations.

Students will have an opportunity in the next day's discussion to look at a specific example of an issue in their region and how the federalist system plays out. Examining an issue that is close to home will help them understand how the system works and how change is made.