Welcome to PO201: State and Local Government: A critical survey of the major trends in state and local government in the United States. Through our eight weeks together, we will explore federalism, intergovernmental relations, forms of government, state political culture, and state public policy. While previous government courses you may have taken have focused on national or international politics, here we will focus on your state, your city, and even your school district. In so doing, you will participate in weekly discussions as well as exams and short paper assignments, as well as a longer core assessment paper during Unit 7.

Unit 1: Overview

Introduction

A natural place to start in a study of state and local politics is federalism, a system which enumerates certain federal powers while reserving certain powers to the states. In this unit, we will trace the history of federalism, as well as examine the ways in which we interact with state and local governments in our everyday lives. Our first discussion will ask you to think about the ideal balance between federal and state governments.

Unit Learning Outcomes

At the conclusion of the unit, the learner will be able to:

At the completion of this unit, the learner will be able to:
Explain the history of federalism in the United States (CLO 1, CLO 2)
Illustrate the role of state and local governments in everyday life (CLO 3, CLO4, CLO 5)