U.S. History
The Powers of the State
Examining Article IV of the U.S. Constitution
When the founding fathers were creating the nation’s government, one of the biggest
challenges they faced was balancing the amount of power each level of government possessed. A fear
that the national/federal government would become tyrannical motivated the founding fathers to
place a lot of power in state governments. While the founding fathers did not give the states as much
power as they’d possessed under the Articles of Confederation, they gave the state level of
government a significant amount of power under the U.S. Constitution. Article IV of the
Constitution describes the power of state governments.
According to Article IV, section 1 of the U.S. Constitution states must honor the laws passed
in other states. For example, if a
Article IV, Section 1.
same-sex couple adopts a child in
Full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the public acts, records, and
the state of Connecticut, the state
judicial proceedings of every other state. And the Congress may by general
of Florida must recognize that
laws prescribe the manner in which such acts, records, and proceedings shall be
adoption as legal (even though
proved, and the effect thereof.
Florida laws prohibit same-sex
couples from adopting children).
Article IV, section 2 says that states cannot discriminate against the citizens of another state.
For example, Arizona cannot pass a law banning
Article IV, Section 2.
residents of New Mexico from traveling in AZ.
However, states do have the authority to allow their
The citizens of each state shall be entitled to all privileges
and immunities of citizens in the several states.
residents to have some exclusive privileges (i.e. hunting
A person charged in any state with treason, felony, or other
licenses). Additionally, Article IV, section 2 states that
crime, who shall flee from justice, and be found in another
state, shall on demand of the executive authority of the
if a person commits a crime in one state and flees to
state from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to
another state, the criminal must be returned to the
the state having jurisdiction of the crime.
original state upon being apprehended. The part of
No person held to service or labor in one state, under the
laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence
section two that is written in italics refers to slavery.
of any law or regulation therein, be discharged from such
The founding fathers stated that any slave who escaped
service or labor, but shall be delivered up on claim of the
must be returned immediately.
party to whom such service or labor may be due.
Article IV, Section 3.
New states may be admitted by the Congress into this union;
but no new states shall be formed or erected within the
jurisdiction of any other state; nor any state be formed by the
junction of two or more states, or parts of states, without the
consent of the legislatures of the states concerned as well as of
the Congress.
The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all
needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or other
property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this
Constitution shall be so construed as to prejudice any claims of
the United States, or of any particular state.
Section 3 of Article IV makes it illegal
for a state to try and form a new state within its
own boundaries. For example, Connecticut
could not try and make “Hartford” the 51st
state. Doing so would be unconstitutional.
This section of the Constitution gives the U.S.
government the right to own land that has not
been made into an “official” state. This type of
land is often referred to as a “territory.” The
U.S. claims ownership over certain territory such
as Guam (a small island in the Pacific Ocean)
and Puerto Rico.
Article IV, Section 4.
The United States shall guarantee to every state in this union a republican form of government, and shall protect
each of them against invasion; and on application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the legislature cannot
be convened) against domestic violence.
The section of Article IV prohibits any state from adopting a different form of government.
This section of the Constitution makes it illegal for Delaware to become a monarchy or New
Hampshire form adopting a military dictatorship as their new form of government. This section of
the Constitution also requires the federal government to provide protection to states from foreign
invasion (i.e. if Canada attacked Maine, the federal government would have to protect Maine) and
protection from domestic riots.
Why State Government Matters

Imagine if you learned that the school year had been extended from 180 days to 250
days per year. How would you feel?

Imagine that the driving age was raised to 19 years of age. How would you feel?
Both of these hypothetical scenarios could occur, but it is unlikely that such bills would be passed by
the federal government. If these bills were made into law, it would happen through the actions of the
state government.
Most Americans pay little attention to their state governments (i.e. while most people can
identify their state’s governor, few can name any other elected officials in their state government).
Most Americans pay much more attention to the federal government. During the midterm elections
of 2014, countless media stories covered the potential Republican take-over of the Senate (which
occurred, as predicted). What most Americans fail to realize is that their state governments have a
much more direct impact on their lives than does the federal government.
In 2014, the legislative branch of the federal government passed 185 laws. State governments
passed over 24,000 laws during that same time period! These laws affect the lives of the residents of
those states in many different ways. Some states have raised the minimum wage (in fact the
minimum wage in most states is higher than that required by the federal government). Some states
have legalized marijuana is recent years. Other states have passed laws that affect the health care,
education, environment and job safety of the people who live there.
Despite the enormous impact that state government has on the lives of its citizens, most
Americans pay little/no attention. In fact, 25% of people running for seats in their state legislatures,
ran unopposed (meaning they were automatically elected because no one ran against them)! A
woman from Oklahoma who publically stated that African-American children do not work as hard in
school as their white counter-parts was elected in 2014 (she ran unopposed). A man who wanted to
repeal laws protected disabled people in Florida was elected in 2014 (he also ran unopposed). A
Rhode Island man who was arrested for drunk driving and threatened the arresting officer, was also
elected in 2014 (….you guessed it, he ran unopposed).
Name:
Date:
Core:
U.S. History
The Power of the States: Reflection Questions
Directions: Use today’s reading “The Power of the State: Examining Article IV of the Constitution” to
answer the following questions.
1. Why did the founding fathers fear giving too much power to the national/federal
government? ___________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
2. The vast majority of the founding fathers supported slavery. Identify a section of Article IV of
the U.S. Constitution that supports the preceding statement and explain how the section
shows the founding fathers supported slavery.
Section _______________ shows that the founding fathers supported slavery because: _______
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
(do not simply paraphrase/quote the section. You must explain how the section shows that
founding fathers supported slavery!)
3. John lives in Louisiana. The driving age in Louisiana is 15 years of age. John receives a
Louisiana state driver’s license at the age of 15 ½. Two months later, while on vacation in
Connecticut, he drives his car from Hartford to New London. The driving age in Connecticut
is 16 ½. If John were to be pulled over by a police officer, could he be arrested for under age
driving? You must use specific evidence from Article IV of the U.S. Constitution to support
your position.
I think that John _________ (could or could not) be arrested for under age driving in
Connecticut because: ____________________________________________________________
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4. Identify the section of Article IV was most likely a response to Shay’s Rebellion in January
of1787? Explain your answer.
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5. True or False. The state of Rhode Island could legally pass a law prohibiting residents of
Connecticut from owning property in Rhode Island.
This statement is ___________ (true or false) because: _________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
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6. After the 1898 Spanish-American War, the United States government gained control of the
Philippines, an island nation located off the coast of Asia (formerly controlled by the
Spanish). Identify the section of Article IV of the U.S. Constitution allowed the U.S.
government to take over this land. Fill your answer in the blank space below.
Article IV, section ____ allowed the U.S. government to take over the Philippines.
7. Describe how Article IV, section 4 helps to keep the United States of America “unified.” You
must state two different ways that section 4 keeps the states united.
______________________________________________________________________________
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8. Should more Americans be paying attention to the state level of government? Support your
position with two persuasive facts from the text.
______________________________________________________________________________
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