1. Describe the primary differences in the role of citizens in government, among the federal, confederation, and unitary systems.
In a unitary system, the subnational government depends on the national government which has a high concentration of authority. In a Confederation, it is reversed, where the authority is concentrated in the subnational government and the national government’s ability to act is dependent on their consent. In a federal system, however, the National and Subnational governments are dependent on the people for their authority, which is evenly divided between the two governments. The people vote in representatives for both the national and subnational governments and their representatives are meant to act in the best interests of the people.

2. Briefly explain how you understand the system of division of power.
As I understand it, the division of power is accomplished by splitting the government into three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial, on both the national and subnational levels. Within the three branches, there are checks and balances to make sure that one branch does not have more power than another, such as the President being able to veto legislation or the Supreme Court being able to declare acts of Congress unconstitutional. Additionally, there are checks and balances between the national and state levels to make sure that the national government is restricted in its capability to act on behalf of the people.

3. How does the federal government shape the actions of state and local governments? Write your answer based on doing a bit of research on how the federal government has influenced the actions of NY state and local governments, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Federal government shapes the actions of state and local governments by handling larger, overarching aspects of the country while leaving the smaller, individual details for the state and local governments to handle. For example, the federal government may give suggestions based on findings of government agencies, but will ultimately leave it to the state and local governments to determine what is best for public health, safety, and welfare.
In the case of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government closely monitored the cases and funded agencies to better research the virus, potential safeguards, and treatment options. They passed several bills meant to help stimulate the economy and help those who may have lost work due to the pandemic and various shutdowns throughout the country. The federal government made suggestions based on these findings but did not at any point mandate quarantines, vaccines, restrictions, or curfews, instead leaving that up to each individual state to determine what was best for their citizens.
In the case of NY state, Governor Cuomo declared a state of emergency in early March 2020, and shortly thereafter had the state begin to produce its own brand of hand sanitizer to help with price gouging and lack of supply. The Governor began to set social distancing rules into effect, such as limiting social gathering sizes and closing down CUNY and SUNY campuses, and by March 15th, shutting down NYC schools. The Governor signed an executive order mandating the closure of schools for two weeks to pivot to remote instruction, and within four days declared a state-wide stay-at-home order. When the state ultimately was showing signs of being able to re-open, NY state government ultimately determined when and how that would occur, and made it’s own decisions regarding vaccine requirements. Ultimately, these were measures that were supported by the federal government but were decided upon and executed by NY state’s government itself.