Informal Amendments The constitution changes informally as well as formally 1 unwritten constitution 2 Judicial interpretation judicial review 3 Changing political practice 4 Technology 5 Demand for new policies 6 Flexibility James Madison If gradual democratization produced majority rule what would he have predicted Redistribute property and wealth his concern Two logical explanations for why his prediction isn t true A we don t actually have majority rule B he was simply wrong about his assumption Federalism A system of organizing governments How many nations today have federal systems 12 Unitary governments majority nations have this but not the US Confederation Intergovernmental relations working among the national state and local governments Why is federalism important 1 Our fed system decentralizes our politics 2 Decentralized our policies Division of Power 1 Writers of the constitution carefully defined fed gov and its role in relation to other governments 2 3 Article VI Supremacy clause tried to clear up which government should prevail in disputes A Constitution B Laws C Treaties only federal government can make it made by national government 4 Judges sworn to protect the constitution as supreme law of the land first 5 Questions remain concerning the boundaries of the national governments powers A Encroaching upon states rights and legalities B Tenth Amendment powers not delegated nor prohibited can be determined by state C various interpretations came out in a result National Supremacy 1 McCulloch v Maryland 1819 issue regarding the national bank being taxed by state A Resulted in national supremacy B National policies take precedent over state policies 2 Civil War had a lot to do with states and fed governments supremacy 3 Civil Rights Movement century later the policy issue dealt with equality Brown v Board of Education school segregation was unconstitutional The conflict between states and national gov over equality issues was Through 1960s the fed gov enacted laws and policies to end decided in favor of the national gov segregation in school housing public accommodations voting and jobs 4 More than a relationship between national and state and local governments ArticleIV A Full faith and credit driver s license can be used everywhere B Extradition states required to return a state s criminal back to that state C Privileges and immunities of citizens INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS TODAY Dual to Cooperative Federalism 1 Dual Federalism 2 Cooperative Federalism