Week 3

9/11 Agenda

1. Sunday Shows

Politics & Theories Underlying the U.S. Constitution

1. Why the U.S. Constitution?
2. What are the main differences between the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution?
3. What were the major debates during the Constitutional Convention?
   1. What compromises did the founders make to resolve these disagreements?
4. In creating a new constitution, what did the Founders fear most?
   1. Theoretically, how do we mitigate this fear?
   2. How, specifically, does the Constitution mitigate this fear?
      1. How does the Constitution separate power?
      2. How do U.S. political institutions “check and balance” each other?
5. What were the Federalist papers?
6. How does the American constitutional structure compare with parliamentary governments?

Agenda 9/13

1. Finish notes from Monday
2. Federalism
   1. What is federalism? Why does it exist in the US and in other countries?
   2. How does the Constitution divide powers between the federal (national) and state governments?
   3. Current controversies over federalism
   4. Why has political power grown more centralized (or nationalized) over time?
      1. How does fiscal federalism shape inter-governmental relations?