HOW DOES THE SYSTEM OF FEDERALISM AFFECT THE WAY THE CONSTITUTION IS STRUCTURED?
(A)STATE AND FEDERAL POWER ARE SHARED.
(B)INDIVIDUALS ARE GIVEN MORE POWER AND RIGHTS.
(C)INDIVIDUALS RIGHTS ARE GUARANTEED.
(D)CHECKS AND BALANCES ARE ESTABLISHED.
The system of federalism affects the way the Constitution is structured by dividing the powers of government between the national government and state governments. This division of powers is fundamental to the Constitution's structure.
(A) STATE AND FEDERAL POWER ARE SHARED.
Federalism means that the Constitution delineates certain powers to the federal government while reserving others for the states. The Tenth Amendment explicitly states that powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. This creates a shared power structure and a balance between different levels of government.
(B) INDIVIDUALS ARE GIVEN MORE POWER AND RIGHTS.
While federalism itself isn't directly about giving individuals more power and rights, the structure of government it creates -- with a balance between state and federal authority -- can help protect individual rights. The division provides multiple access points for citizens in governance and can ensure that different layers of government can act as checks on each other, thus indirectly protecting individuals’ rights. The Bill of Rights and other constitutional amendments specifically enumerate individual rights.
(C) INDIVIDUALS RIGHTS ARE GUARANTEED.
The Constitution, particularly through the Bill of Rights and subsequent amendments, guarantees individual rights. While federalism creates the structure for power-sharing between state and federal entities, it is these constitutional amendments that explicitly guarantee individual rights, rather than the system of federalism itself.
(D) CHECKS AND BALANCES ARE ESTABLISHED.
The concept of checks and balances relates more to the separation of powers between different branches of the federal government (executive, legislative, and judicial) than to federalism. Federalism does, however, create a broader system of governance where different levels of government can check each other to prevent overreach, but the term "checks and balances" is typically used to refer to the internal mechanisms within the federal government, not between the federal and state governments.
The correct answer that best describes how federalism affects the structure of the Constitution is (A) STATE AND FEDERAL POWER ARE SHARED. This captures the essence of power distribution created by the federal system within the United States Constitution.