Answer to Question 1
An ideal response will:
1. Identify this case as the one challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act.
2. Describe the two legal questionswhether the necessary and proper clause authorized the expansion of Medicaid and whether the commerce clause provided the authority to order individual Americans to buy health insurance.
3. Explain the Supreme Court's decision on both of these questions. In the case of the first question, the Court ruled that states had to be given the option to accept federal money or continue running the program as usual. In the case of the second question, the Court ruled that the commerce clause could not be used to force individuals to purchase an unwanted product.
4. Evaluate the consequences of this decision for American federalism. In particular, note that while the Court upheld the Affordable Care Act, it still limited the federal government's authority over the states.
Answer to Question 2
An ideal response will:
1. Form a coherent argument with specific support.
2. Explain that the United States has a large and heterogeneous population with significant regional differences. A pro-federalist argument may state that the federalist system allows a large and diverse population to have unity without requiring uniformity; an anti-federalist or earlier federalist argument might highlight a removed or ineffective federal bureaucracy or a failure to address regional differences.
3. Address problem-solving by state and national government.
4. Discuss issues of security and commerce.
Heading for the ocean on a beach at the Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park
Ethical Decision-Making Model
Sol Duc Falls in Olympic National Park, Washington.