How does American Federalism work?
Using your Guide to Writing a Social Studies Essay (on misterclark.us), provided rubric, your textbook, and any
additional outside scholarly research, write a 750 word essay answering the following question on federalism.
How and why did the founders create America’s system of federalism?
• How does federalism limit the powers of both the national government and the states?
• How does federalism extend opportunities for citizen participation?
Your essay needs to include at least two Constitutional Application/References, two related quotations, two current events, and
two historical reference.
Due: Friday, October 25
CATEGORY
5
3
Clearly stated claim
______/5
Clearly stated claim, that follows a
clear path and helps to answer
questions provided
Understanding
______/5
In-depth understanding of key
concepts/themes/issues/relationship
identified, fully defined and
extensively described
Organization
______/5
Information is very organized with
well-constructed paragraphs
Information is
organized with wellconstructed paragraphs.
Constitutional
Application:
_____/5
full, accurate, and appropriate
application of knowledge (e.g.,
historical and current application,
examples, effects, results,
problems, issues, future issues)
full, accurate, and appropriate
application of knowledge (e.g.,
historical and current application,
examples, effects, results,
problems, issues, future issues)
accurate and
appropriate with partial
application
_____/5
No grammatical, spelling or
punctuation errors.
Format:
Followed all proper format steps
Supporting
Evidence
______/5
Mechanics:
_____/5
A stated claim that
partially answers
question or provides
clear path
Good understanding of
key
concepts/themes/issues/
Relationship identified,
1
0
A vague claim
An undeveloped
claim
mostly accurate and
appropriate with
minor errors and
inappropriate
application
Information is
organized, but
paragraphs are not
well-constructed.
mostly inaccurate
and inappropriate
with little or no
application
mostly accurate and
appropriate with
minor errors and
inappropriate
application
mostly accurate and
appropriate with
minor errors and
inappropriate
application
mostly inaccurate
and inappropriate
with little or no
application
Almost no
grammatical, spelling
or punctuation errors
A few grammatical
spelling or
punctuation errors.
Many grammatical,
spelling or
punctuation errors.
Followed most proper
format steps
Followed 2 format
steps
Only Followed 1
format step
accurate and
appropriate with partial
application
The information
appears to be
disorganized.
mostly inaccurate
and inappropriate
with little or no
application
Your essay needs to include at least two Constitutional Application/References, a related quotation, two current events, and at
least one historical reference. Some questions will lean towards one issue more than another.
Federalism Essay Aide
Questions
List out each question you must answer. This will be your checklist for your final draft.
1. How and why did the founders create America’s system of federalism?
2. How does federalism limit the powers of both the national government and the states?
3. How does federalism extend opportunities for citizen participation?
Definitions
Before you write the draft, make sure you have defined the following:
 federalism
 citizen participation
Page numbers in your book/readings
List the pages from your AP book on which you can find information about your questions. Briefly annotate each citation
Constitutional Evidence
List the Article and clause number or Amendment numbers that contain evidence relevant to this question. Briefly annotate each
citation.
- This essay will have 2-3 Constitutional references. You need to site all of the relevant Articles and Sections
- EX: Article IV Section 1 (Full, Faith and Credit)
Case Law evidence
List case names you have heard of that may be relevant to this question. Briefly annotate each citation.
- There are several Supreme Court that apply to federalism such as Barron v. Baltimore, McCullough v. Maryland, Gibbons v.
Ogden, US v. Lopez.
Other documents
List any other key documents/speeches/texts that may be used as evidence when answering the question. Briefly annotate each
citation. (Don’t just write – The Federalist Papers, tell me which number and how it applies.)
- Books on Federalism
Historical Background
Briefly list historical events that may have an impact on your answer. Also include historical events that could be used as evidence to
support an answer.
EX: The Civil War, the Nullification Crisis, the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions, the 14 th Amendment
Contemporary Issues
What issues have occurred in the past five to ten years that may impact your understanding of the question? Why do you think the
authors wrote this question for the competition?
EX: Immigration in Arizona, Health Care, No Child Left Behind
Your essay needs to include at least two Constitutional Application/References, two
related quotation, two current events, and at least two historical reference. Some
questions will lean towards one issue more than another.