1. In a federal system a citizens role is to choose who represents and makes decisions at the state level and national level. In a confederation the citizens uphold the most power. They choose representatives for their states who posses all the power. Lastly in a unitary government the people hold the least influence. All the power it held by the national government. This leads to the citizens and subnational governments depending on the national government.
2. I understand the system of division of power as government authority being decentralized. It is balanced between multiple powers so that one power does not overthrow or overpower the other.
3. The federal government shapes states with its federal grants and loans that it distributes. It forces states to abide by certain criteria in order to receive these grants and loans. They also shape states by recommending guidelines during certain events. For example the CDC a federal agency recommended wearing mask and social distancing during Covid 19. This caused the state of New York and other governments to issue mask mandates and social distancing guidelines.

1. The federal government can only hear cases authorized by the United States.
2. Division of Power is a check and balance to exercising the core function of another.
3. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, the New York State and local governments provided money for different businesses that lost so much money during the pandemic. The federal government provides free testing to everyone as well as paid sick leave for whoever was sick with the virus. They also set up contact and tracking to whoever you came in contact with when you have covid. They were much more the federal and the local do during the time of the pandemic.

1. Describe the primary differences in the role of citizens in government, among the federal, confederation, and unitary systems.
   1. The primary differences in the role of citizens in government, among the federal confederation, and unitary systems are the role of citizens in government are to vote for representatives, in the federal confederation citizens have the most power. With the unitary systems the citizens are not involved and most of the decisions are made by the local governments.
2. Briefly explain how you understand the system of division of power.
   1. The system if division of power is the distribution of political powers. In the reading it states that “federalism is the is an institutional arrangement that creates two relatively autonomous levels of government.”The national government deals with issues that effect the entire country, and the subnational/state government deals with issues that “lie with their regions”, meaning the local government is responsible for taking care of the citizen needs like public safety, eduction, health care, homelessness, and housing. The subnational government will delegate local responsibilities.
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.
   1. The federal government shapes the actions of the state and local government by giving grants that help states with their financial needs like education, agriculture, construction, and the pandemic recovery initiative. The government provided many states with financial assistance/grants in the recovery of the pandemic. Billions of dollars were giving to eligible states for emergency funding and was called The American Rescue Plan or Covid 19 Economic Relief. This grant was for small business to be able to open back as well as pay their employees.

1. In a confederation system, citizens have the most power due to the lack of other local governments. In a federal system, citizens have a choice in representatives, meaning they get to vote them in based on who they like most, and could possibly even get them booted. And last but not least in unitary systems citizens are often left out of big decisions and just let their government call the shots. These are all huge differences in the participation of their citizens. It is wild to think that in some places politics works this way. 
2. The division of power is splitting the power the government has into different categories so it does not all fall onto the leader of the country. For example, there are multiple branches of government not including the president. The reason for the division is to keep the government from having a concentration of power. Something cannot be super powerful without having all its parts. 
3. Federal government shapes actions by providing funds to state and local programs, like health care, cleanliness in the city, and keeping roads safe/streets safe. Things like that. So during covid, they provided help with issues like health, keeping the city safe from most ways to catch covid including options to eat outside, shutting down schools, and providing fewer ways for citizens to catch anything. Along with helping citizens personally, paid sick leave, food options, and lots of health protocols.

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

A citizen’s job in a federal system is to elect representatives and decision-makers at the state and federal levels. In a confederation, the people maintain the most authority. They select representatives with absolute power for their states. Last but not least, the people have the least influence in a unitary government. The national government held all of its power. Due to this, residents and local governments become dependent on the federal government.

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

By letting us know that the government does not have complete control over the authority a country possesses, the article aids in our understanding of the division of power. States do in reality have power. This indicates that the constitution divides power between the federal government and the states.The system of political power allocation is known as the division of labor. Federalism is described as “an institutional system that produces two substantially autonomous levels of government” in the reading. The subnational/state government deals with issues that “lie with their regions,” which means the local government is in charge of taking care of citizen needs like public safety, education, health care, homelessness, and housing. The national government deals with issues that affect the entire country.

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?

By providing funding to run federal programs, the federal government influences the decisions made by state and municipal governments. By giving funding and helping individuals who had jobs return to them, the federal government helped NY state and its local governments during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, they influence states by offering advice during particular occasions. For instance, the CDC, a federal body, advised social withdrawal and mask use during COVID 19. As a result, the state of New York and other governments issued regulations on social distance and mask requirements.

1. Citizens within federal, confederate and unitary government systems have differences with each other when it comes to their roles. In a federal government, citizens have the responsibility of registering and voting for elections as opposed to a unitary government where citizens have little to no say for their country. Additionally within a confederation citizens play no role.
2. A division of power is simply a form of organization within a government structure. Unitary, federal and confederate systems are all organized in a way where the people, the states and the national government all are divided into different positions of power depending on what type of system one may be in.
3. Federal governments shape the actions of state and local governments is through money. Specifically, actions are determined through the distributions of financial aid, grants and through the control of law. For example, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government allowed for “stimulus packages” which granted people up to $1,400 dollars in payment. Also, they were different laws in place due to COVID-19 such as being required to get a vaccine in order to access different areas that you may want to enter.

1. Describe the primary differences in the role of citizens in government, among the federal, confederation, and unitary systems.
2. Briefly explain how you understand the system of division of power.
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.