America: The Federal Republic

How Many Levels of Government?

Sovereign Sovereign means to have the highest rank or authority In the United States the people are sovereign FEDERAL SYSTEM: the sovereign people delegate their authority to government to represent them

Federalism FEDERALISM: The practice of dividing and sharing the powers of government between two levels: the national government and the state governments The United States is NOT a democracy; we are a constitutional federal republic

The Supremacy Clause The Supremacy Clause: The Constitution of the United States shall be the supreme law of the land (Article VI, Section II) States cannot make laws that conflict with the Constitution or laws made by Congress

Defending the People Ninth Amendment: The people have rights beyond those expressly written in the Constitution Your rights as a person extend beyond the rights written in our Constitution Tenth Amendment: Rights not specifically given to the federal government remain with the states and the people If a right or power is not expressly given to the federal government, that right or power belongs to the states and the people

Summarize In your interactive notebook, at the bottom of your notes page, write a short paragraph about today’s lesson. Write about: What the main idea of the lesson was AND what you learned today. Your summary should be able to explain today’s lesson to someone who was not in class today.