Peterson Panel Discussion
Hayden Kolling, Rachael Gensheimer, Nicholas Leslie, Tyler
Searle, Chris Hawthorne, and Malia Miller
Period 5 - Turpin - AP Government
According to the Federalist, how does
federalism preserve liberty?
Divides powers into tiers
Prevents tyranny in majority
State and national governments
Explain the concept of “dual sovereignty”
Two distinct governments (national and state)
Governments control each other and control themselves
State
● State legislatures could nullify
federal laws
● Maintain their own militia
● Reduces threats to liberty
domestically.
National
● Raise army and wage war
● Protects liberty from foreign
aggressors
How is liberty established in a new nation? For
the United States, how would the election of
1800 support your answer? What was the role of
federalism?
Must give up power to rival political group
Thomas Jefferson (DR) vs. John Adams (F)
Federalism supported Democracy
What was the price of dual sovereignty?
Civil war
State powers too often trampled the rights of religious, racial,
and political minorities
Since the New Deal, why has the constitutional
power of the national government expanded so
dramatically?
Dual Sovereignty virtually lost all it’s meaning
Court interpretations of the constitutional clauses on
commerce and spending
A “looser” interpretation of the constitution
Roosevelt “packed the court” leading to new ideology
Explain why most national efforts to influence
state/local governments come in the form of
federal money. Cite a specific example to support
your answer.
They offer monetary incentives for the states to pass laws
that they want
The grant from Congress to States for highway maintenance
had 5% of it conditioned on the legal drinking age for all
States to be raised to 21