Answer to Question 1
Answer: An ideal response will:
1. Describe the nature of the confederation formed by the Articles of Confederation as a loosely connected group of states with a national government that derived all its power from the states themselves.
2. Discuss a problem experienced when the United States had a confederal government. For example, a weak national government could not effectively respond to the needs of a growing nation.
3. Discuss the advantages of a federal system and how it would increase the power of the federal government without making it too powerful.
Answer to Question 2
Answer: An ideal response will:
1. Define New Federalism as the federalstate relationship proposed by the Reagan administration in the 1980s. Administrative powers were returned to the states.
2. Describe how block grants work under New Federalism.
3. Evaluate the impact of block grants on the states in the 1980s.
4. Provide a conclusion.