1. Differences in Citizens’ Roles in Government

Federal System:

In a federal system, power is shared between the national government and state governments. Citizens vote for leaders at both levels, so they have a say in both state and national decisions.

Confederation:

A confederation is a group of independent states that give very little power to a central government. Citizens mostly deal with their own state government and have little direct influence on the central government.

Unitary System:

In a unitary system, the national government has most of the power. Local governments exist, but the central government can change or remove their powers. Citizens mainly vote at the national level.

Summary:

• Federal: citizens participate at multiple levels.
  
• Confederation: citizens mostly deal with states.
  
• Unitary: citizens mostly deal with the central government.
  

2)

The division of power is how authority is shared between different levels of government. In a federal system, national and state governments each have their own responsibilities, and neither can completely take over the other. This gives citizens several ways to participate in government. In unitary systems, power is mostly at the center, and in confederations, power stays mostly with the states.

3)

During the pandemic, the federal government helped New York in several ways:

• Money and resources: Programs like FEMA and the American Rescue Plan gave New York money for hospitals, testing, vaccinations, and emergency support.
  
• Guidance Agencies like the CDC gave advice on how to test, trace, and slow the spread of the virus.
  
• Support without taking over The federal government could not force New York to do specific things, but it helped by providing funds, equipment, and advice.
  

For example, New York made its own rules, like stay-at-home orders and mask mandates, but used federal funds and guidance to help hospitals and local governments respond to the crisis.

In short The federal government shaped what New York could do by giving money, advice, and support, while letting state and local leaders make most of the decisions

1. In my  comparison in federal, confederation, and unitary systems the differences lie in how citizens participate in government and where their political influence is directed. In the Federal System citizens participate in multiple levels of government, Citizens of the Confederation system primary relationship is with their local member state, not the central authority. While the Unitary Citizens interact directly with one central, national government that holds the primary authority.
2. The way I understand the division of power basically is by the government power being split into different parts that distributes the authority of the state among different branches called the legislative, executive, and judicial.
3. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it became really clear how much the federal government can shape what state and local governments actually do. Looking at New York State (and especially NYC),the impact of federal support manifested in several key areas.

1. In government citizens play different roles depending on whether a country uses a unitary, federal, or confederation system. In a unitary system of government, political power is centralized by one authority. Local forms of government still exist, but their power and governance can only be made at the national level. Because of this, citizens primarily interact with and influence the national government, and their political participation is more centralized. In a confederation system, the system is the opposite: the states/provinces that make up the nation hold most of the power, and the overall power that central government has is very limited. Due to this citizens mainly participate through their state governments because the national authority direct power on the individuals cant occur without the states cooperation. In a federal system the power of governance is balanced between the national and state governments, each having its own authority.
2. The division of power can be understood in two ways. First, there is a vertical division of power, this refers to how the authority is split between the central and regional governments. This determines which level of government is responsible for certain policies, this includes education, law enforcement, or national defense. Second, there is a horizontal division of power among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. This balance between the separate branches makes it so that no single branch becomes too powerful. All together, the vertical and horizontal divisions of power structure how the government functions and how its citizens interact with it.
3. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the federal government determined New York’s actions mainly through funding, guidance, and emergency support. Federal disaster declarations opened access to FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) money, this provided help so New York could open testing sites and continue to supply its people emergency services. Congress also provided major relief funds creating a model of what the state and local governments could afford to implement. The federal government also managed vaccine distribution and issued CDC public-health guidance throughout the nation. In which New York followed the federal rules on masking, school operations, and vaccination priorities.
4. In conclusion, the resources and guidelines the federal government imposed had directed how New York responded to the situation while still allowing the state to set its own mandates.

1. Citizens roles in government vary significantly across federal, confederation and unitary systems. In a federal system, citizens actively participate by electing representatives at both national and state levels, fostering a balance of power and representation of diverse interests. Conversely, in a confederation, citizens influence on the central government is indirect, primarily exerted through the election of representatives to regional governments that then make decisions for the entire confederation. Lastly, in a unitary system, citizens directly elect representatives to a central government granting them significant influence over national policies, although this may come at the expense of local autonomy.
2. The division of power separates governmental authority to prevent any single entity from becoming too powerful. This can be achieved through federalism, which divides power between national and state governments or through the separation of powers, which distributes authority among different branches of government like the legislative, executive, and judicial. This distribution ensures checks and balances promoting a balanced and limited government.
3. During covid, the federal government significantly influenced New York and its local governments through several key mechanisms. Federal funding, such as the cares act provided substantial financial aid to support state and local budgets, which were strained by increased healthcare costs and economic downturns. These funds came with guidelines on how they could be used, shaping state and local spending priorities. Additionally, federal mandates and recommendations from agencies like the “CDR” influenced public health policies, including mask mandates, vaccination efforts, and social distancing measures implemented at the state and local levels. The federal government also coordinated the distribution of vaccines and other essential resources further directing state and local responses to the crisis.

1. In a federal system like the United States citizens have roles in both the state and national governments. They can vote for leaders at each level and both have power to make laws that affect people’s lives. In a confederation, most power stays with the individual states so citizens are mainly connected to their state government rather than a strong national one. In a unitary system the opposite happens citizens deal mostly with one central government that controls local areas and decisions.

2. The division of power basically means that no one part of government has all the control. Power is shared between different branches executive, legislative, and judicial and between different levels of government federal and state. This setup helps keep the system balanced and prevents abuse of power.

3. During the COVID-19 pandemic the federal government had a big influence on what state and local governments did. For example the federal government provided funding for vaccines and testing and the CDC gave out national guidelines that states like New York used to make local rules. Even though states could decide how to apply those rules the federal government’s support and direction played a huge role in how New York responded to the crisis.

1. Describe the primary differences in the role of citizens in government, among the federal, confederation, and unitary systems.

Citizens of a federal government vote for representatives on several levels local, state or national levels. Thus, power is divided between the central government and the regional government which perform their separate duties. The citizens have the power to influence both by voting and managing local affairs. Examples are The United States and Germany. In a confederation, citizens interact mainly with their own state or regional governments. The national government is weak and the states have the majority of the power. The citizens vote for state leaders and they represent them in central decisions. Confederations are rare now but the early U. S. was one under the Articles of Confederation. In a unitary system, citizens deal largely with the central government, which has the most power. Local governments exist, but they must do as the central government directs. Citizens vote for national governmental leaders and have but little say in local affairs. Examples of this are France and Japan

1. Briefly explain how you understand the system of division of power.

Power division assigns authority to various branches or levels of government in different hands in order that no one group can dominate. In a federal state, power is divided between several groupings of national and state governments, each assigned specific responsibilities. Within each grouping, as in the U.S.A., powers of legislation, executive and judicial function are separated, each exercising checks and balances, so that no branch is allowed to overstep its bounds. Citizens control these governmental functions by voting, as indicated above, although to a limited extent at each level of government.

1. 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.

The federal government dictates state and local actions through funding, guidelines, and mandates. You can see this with clarity in New York during the COVID-19 pandemic. Federal assistance and rules directed the actions of New York state and localities, whether in testing capabilities or ways to spend recovery funds. Federal money allowed states to take significant actions. Congress passed the CARES Act in 2020. It provided New York state with $5.1 million from the Coronavirus Relief Fund. Local governments received $2.4 million in addition. The state used $4.5 million to hire public health personnel. You hear examples like purchase of PPE or ventilators. These funds paid for overtime and resources which the states could not afford by themselves. Other funds under the American Rescue Plan provided $5.88 million for New York City. New York City spent the funds on 10,000 jobs to clean streets and aid in rent payments for 10,000 families. These funds provided the requirement to promote equity. These funds were directed to neighborhoods of Black and Latino residences especially hit by the loss of jobs. The guidelines from federal agencies dictated ways to respond to the need. The CDC pushed for containment measures. As a result, it delayed the response in New York City that included such measures as social distancing until March 2020. You learn from the reviews that the federal rules concerning testing limited the kits to those in transit, therefore New York City waited for final approval from the FDA prior to expanding the tests. Later on the guidelines from the CDC relating to masks were incorporated into the mandates of the city in April of 2020. The mandates and funds were established to enforce compliance. FEMA unlocked the doorway to reimburse certain expenses for testing done in New York City. In April of 2020, ventilators went to the localities via the use of federal stockpiles. The Javits Center became an alternative hospital as a result of that federal assistance. The arrival of vaccine doses came direct from the CDC to New York City. The state and local rules caused delays in administering the vaccine manufacturers supply, but the quantum of vaccines given to the localities with a total of 4.8 million vaccinations by New York City by midway through 2021 due solely to the supplies from the federal government. The tools just described were used to show how the federal priorities can be turned into action in local areas. New York realized they were able to avoid deeper cuts to service mainly resulting from this type of assistance. Additionally indicates reductions in mortality were attained as a result of the assistance. Each $1000 expended on a per capita basis showed deaths from 38 per 100,000 statewide. This process is a way to establish resilience. States lead the way pursuant to the federal levers established directing what should be done in terms of overall objectives.

1. In a federal government citizens have the duty of electing government officials at state and federal level. In a confederation citizens have a strong influence on their local government. In a unitary system a citizen has no real influence or power on their government. 
2. I understand that our government is divided into factions which are meant to check each other’s power. The federal government divides power between state governments and the central government. Our government is also divided into the executive, legislative, and judicial branches with checks and balances. 
3. The federal government shapes the actions of state and local governments by allocating budgets and supplies. We saw in the COVID-19 pandemic the federal government shaped the way New York City responded by allocating extra money and resources to New York.Specifically,  the American Rescue Plan which allocated 5.8 million dollars to NYC’s recovery from the pandemic and 1.45 billion from the CRF according to the  NYC OMB COVID 19 Funding Tracker.

1. The main difference between the federal, confederation, and unitary systems is how power is shared. In a unitary system, the national government has almost all the power, and local governments follow its decisions. In a confederation, the states have most of the power and the national government is weak. A federal system, like in the United States, shares power between national, state, and local governments. This allows citizens to take part in all three levels by voting and being involved in their community.
2. The division of power means that the national and state governments each have their own responsibilities. The federal government handles big national issues like defense, foreign policy, and the economy, while state governments focus on local problems like education, safety, and transportation. Some powers, like taxes, are shared. This separation keeps one level from becoming too powerful and lets states make laws that fit their people’s needs.
3. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government played a big role in how New York State and local governments responded. The federal government provided funding for vaccines, medical supplies, and financial aid through programs like the CARES Act. It also gave national guidelines through the CDC about masks and social distancing. New York followed these rules but could still decide when to reopen schools and businesses. This shows how in a federal system, the national and state governments must work together to protect citizens during emergencies.