Introduction

Enduring Knowledge: Federalism divides power, delegating certain powers to the national government and reserving other powers to the state governments.

Analyze the photograph. What is happening in the photograph? If the citizen who is receiving the ticket feels the speed limit should be changed, who would he or she contact to change the law? Assuming this small road is a state or a county road, is the national government or the state government responsible for setting the speed limit?

There are certain powers that are reserved to the state like providing for public safety. Traffic laws like speed limits are left up to the state and local governments. There are also certain powers delegated to the national government.

Open Speeding Ticket in a new tab | Speeding Ticket text version

A policeman issues a speeding ticket.


Lesson Objectives

Following successful completion of this lesson, students will be able to:

  • define federalism.
  • identify which powers are delegated to the national government and which powers are reserved to the states.
  • explain how powers can also be concurrent or shared between the national and state governments.

The above objectives correspond with the Alabama Course of Study: Government objective(s): 4.

This lesson incorporates the following Literacy Standards: R1, R4, R5, W2, and W4.
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