1. The difference between Federal, Confederation and unitary systems are the following: Federal is when the national and state governments share power. Confederation is when the state has majority of power and Unitary is when all the power is with the national government.
2. The best way to describe the system of Division of power, is that everything somehow either starts or ends with the national government.
3. I’d say the best way that the federal government influenced the actions of NY state and other governments during covid 19 were that they made sure to have as many resources as possible for New Yorkers. Meaning many cites to get tested, once vaccines were available also having more cites that could provide vaccines for nearly everybody.

In my opinion the primary differences in the role citizens in government play among the federal, confederation and unitary systems are the following; In the Federal system the citizens vote for the elected representatives, in the Confederation system the citizens have less say so and the government makes decisions and the Unitary system the citizens do not have any say all the decisions are made by the government. The division of power from my perspective is more on the government then on the citizens. But that is why it is key for the citizens to vote the corrected elected official into office. One that is going to make the necessary changes and ensure the work gets done. Not one that gives false promises. Like our current lovely President. Who I gladly did not vote for.

The federal government shapes the actions of the state and local governments in many ways. One way is that the federal government are the ones in charge of the distribution of grants and aid towards the states. The elected officials of each state cannot make the decisions on their own without the approval of the federal government. Therefore, it’s pretty much like a boss and its employees. An employee cannot get a raise without the approval of his boss. We the state are the employees of the federal government. That is the best way I can explain it to make sense. During Covid 19 which we are still in our former Governor Cuomo wanted to delay the reopening of schools. The former mayor at the time DeBlasio wanted to reopen the schools and send everyone back to work at the office. It is a chain of command. DeBlasio as the mayor could not get what he wanted because Cuomo the governor is in term his Boss. And what he says go. Now both parties in the government respond to the federal government rules and mandate which is our president. But even if the president suggest a state do something the governor of that state has the say so and what he implements or not.

1. There are some distinct differences in the roles of citizens in government when it comes to the federal, confederation, and unitary systems. With the federal system, the people are given the power to elect representatives on the state and federal level who have the authority to govern. With a confederation system, the authority of government was mainly sent to the states, and as a result, the role of citizens varied based on what state you lived in. With a unitary system, the authority stayed with the national government, to which citizens had no say in government whatsoever.
2. The system of division of power refers to the splitting of roles, responsibilities, and categories within a government. For the majority of the time, these distinctions are placed within each branch of government so that each branch knows what policies they are charge of and what power they have in order to its citizens to be prosperous and thrive. It also separates the power given to officials on the state and federal level.
3. The federal government can shape the actions of state and local governments in a variety of ways. For starters, the federal government can provide funding for states in emergencies/times of crisis, whether it be FEMA providing emergency funding for hurricane relief, or stimulus relief during the COVID-19 pandemic. The state government in turn can allocate and distribute those funds directly and efficiently to its citizens. In times of crisis, it is also important for the collaboration of federal and state government in order to guarantee optimal conditions/results for its citizens. With the pandemic and NYC, there was assistance on the federal level when it came to ventilators, medical professionals/equipment, and COVID-19 tests. How those and other things were collected and distributed throughout the city could not have been done without cooperation between the federal and state government.

We as citizens of America have the role of voting for who is gonna represent us and in confederal system they have the most say and sometimes we really in the central government 

The way I understand separation of power is like the division of states into branches. Different responsibilities and power 

The federal government shapes the actions by giving and distributing the grants and aids and gives them opportunities to solve todays problems ,

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

The primary role of citizens in government is that citizens vote for representatives . In the confederation system , citizens will have the most power , because this system is mostly made up of its local governments . In the unitary system, citizens are not involved most of the time and leave everything up to their central government .

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

Division of power also known as ( separation of power ) is the division of a state’s government into branches , independent powers , and responsibilities, so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with those of the other branches .

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 action of state and local through the distribution of grants , incentives , and aid . The federal government influenced the actions of NY and local governments during Covid-19 by providing funds and helping those to get their jobs back .

Veronica Gonzalez

POL 100 (0504) – Intro. to American Govt. – Fall 2022

Discussion Board 7.1

Q1. The primary differences in the role of citizens in the government among the federal, confederation and unitary systems are as follows:    

1. Federal System – authority is divided between a central (federal/national) and state (subnational) government. Citizens are involved in choosing their elected officials to represent their interests and ideas in government.  
2. Confederation System –  states have primary authority and the national level of government is dependent on the states consent. Citizens have direct power because they have control of their local government.
3. Unitary System – authority is centralized solely in the national government and the states are solely dependent on the national government for rule. Citizens leave control of government affairs to the centralized government.

Q2. My understanding of the system of division of power is that each level of government (federal/national and state/subnational) has their own specific powers and responsibilities in order to keep functioning and that the powers delegated to the executive, legislative and judicial branches allows for law and order to be kept and enforced for both the government and the citizens. This division of power also serves a purpose and that is that no one branch has more power than the other. The division of powers exercised in our US government doesn’t divide us but rather it makes us dependent on each other and encourages cooperation for the benefit of both the country and its citizens.  

Q3. One way that the federal government shapes the actions of state and local governments is through the distribution of monetary aid. States are in need of monetary aid (grants, incentives) that only the federal government is able to provide. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many states were in need of federal money that would provide specialized equipment and materials that would help in providing protective measures for NYC residents. Additional aid was provided to educational facilities, i.e. DOE, CUNY, in order to provide safe environments for students and financial relief for these institutions and students to continue operating. In addition, state and local governments devised their system of Covid-19 protection measures based on the recommendations made by federal government agencies such as the CDC. CDC recommendations became key for how NY was able to combat the effects of Covid and protect its citizens.

1. The primary differences between the role of citizens in government, among the federal, confederation, and unitary systems are in the Federal system citizens votes for representatives, in the Confederation system citizens have more power since this system relies on the local government, and the Unitary system citizens are mostly aren’t involved and let the central government control everything. The citizen’s role is influential under a unitary system because local opinions flow up the chain of command without any major obstacles between separation of powers.
2. My understanding of the system of division of powers is that there are 3 branches, The legislative, The executive, and the Judicial branch. The division of powers refers to the process of dividing government into different branches and giving different responsibilities and powers to each branch. The legislative branch works on making laws, The Executive works on signing laws, and the judicial branch decides wheater its constitutional or not, they each work together because it keeps everything balanced and the power isn’t overpowered because of how they organized the system.
3. The Federal Government may shape the actions of states and their local governments by attracting them with money in the forms of grants, financial aid, and other incentives. A state chooses to do something a certain way due to the financial compensation it will receive for doing so. Like during COVID-19 the government was giving out grants to students that could help them pay their rent, food, personal use, to help pay off their tuition, etc. They helped in a good way because many people found themselves without jobs and during that rough time the government helped them. Also, the government was giving out stimulus checks to parents so they can make ends me since we are part of the working class. The president is working on giving students the chance to have their loans forgiven which is something good because people struggle to pay these school debts all their life and this could help millions of students and reduce lots of anxiety because of the loan forgiveness.

1. 1. Describe the primary differences in the role of citizens in government, among the federal, confederation, and unitary systems.
2. The differences in the role of citizens between government, federal, confederation and unitary systems are citizens among federal, citizens can vote. With the confederation system, citizens relie on their local government such as police to take control. Citizens leave the control to be taken by government within the unitary system.
4. 2. Briefly explain how you understand the system of division of power.
5. Understanding the system of division of power that is known our government is broken down into three categories, legislative, executive and judicial. Legislative consists of 100 U.S Senators and 435 House Representatives. As these individuals are represented as the U.S Congress, they are known for making laws, approving federal judges, federal justices, passing the national budget and declaring war. Executive consists of the president and Vice President. Both enforce laws that congress sets along with working with their cabinet to make discussions upon defense, treasure and homeland security. They also appoint government officials, commands arm forces and meet with other nations. Judicial consists of all courts including federal district courts and the U.S supreme. For the Supreme Court, 9 Justices are appointed for life as they settle state disputes, hears court appeals and determines if laws are constitutional. Both courts interpret laws and punishes those who breaks them.
7. 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.
8. The federal government shapes the actions of state and local governments by federal government gives out distribution of grants, incentives and aid. Federal government throughout locals give them the opportunity to solve common problems such as funding and education. They’re main responsibilities are to manage public services such as parks, libraries, schools, police and fire services.

1. At the federal level, a citizen’s role is to vote for representatives. In confederated systems, citizens have the most power because in a confederated system of government decisions are made by local governments where the people have a louder voice. In a unitary system, citizens are uninvolved in politics and rely on a central government. It appears to me from the examples I’ve found that unitary systems are often reliant on class structures in order to exist.
2. When the Revolution was won and the founding fathers were re-organizing their “first continental congress” into a legitimate government, they divided authority into three subdivisions. The legislative branch (congress) The executive branch, (the white house) and the judicial branch (the courts). By splitting the government into three pieces there is less of a likelihood that any one branch will gain dominance over the other two, and this preserves liberty.
3. The legislative branch controls federal law which trumps state law. This means that congress has influence over the entire US. In addition, the executive branch (the president) has the right to declare a state of national emergency. A good example of this was the travel ban during the beginning of the pandemic, or the regulations put on businesses across the country forcing them to shut down until further notice.