USG.3.1

=Compare and contrast governments that are unitary, confederate, and federal.=

Focus Question: What are features of



**Basic Forms of Government**from the CIA World Factbook.


 * This is includes a nation-by-nation listing of all the nations in the world.
 * Includes links from the listing to fact page about each country.

Here is a video showing a very basic comparison between the three, using an island metaphor!



**Unitary Form of Government: Governmental power is consolidated in the central government.** An example of a Unitary Form of Government is **The United Kingdom**. China is traditionally considered a unitary state, but this opinion article discusses how China might benefit from federalism, over their current model. Link to How China is Ruled from BBC News
 * The United Kingdom is made up of four different governments (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland)
 * While each government has the power to make laws for their respected provinces, the ultimate power lies with England.
 * For more information on The United Kingdom's Unitary Government, click here

Understanding China's Political System

**Confederate Form of Government: States form a centralized government with limited power** An example of a Confederate Form of Government would be the **United States during the Articles of Confederation (1783-1789)**.
 * Under the Articles of Confederation, each state had the power to make their own laws, limiting the power of the centralized government. The purpose was to prevent the state from becoming too powerful, like Great Britain, while still providing the 13 Colonies with a unified defense system.
 * The ultimate flaw with the Articles of Confederation was that each state had too much individual power; and the centralized government did not have enough.
 * For more information on The United States during the Articles of Confederation, click here
 * The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History gives a lesson plan detailing the key traits, flaws, and events concerning the Articles of Confederation which led the the Constitutional Convention.
 * Crash Course with John Green gives a concise but thorough overview on the Articles of Confederation.

**Federal Form of Government: Governmental power is shared between the central government and the states** The current **United States Government** is an example of a Federal Form of Government.
 * The United States has a centralized government in Washington, D.C. which is comprised of the three branches of government (For more information on the 3 United States Branches of Government, click here), the Executive, Judicial, and Legislative, but each state also has it's own smaller scale version of that governmental system.
 * The Constitution outlines the duties of the centralized government, and the Tenth Amendment of the Bill of Rights establishes that any powers not given to the Federal government belong to the states and the people. Basically the states in many ways are under the authority of the federal government, but they still have some degree of autonomy over a lot of things.
 * For example, the states have authority over the drinking age in each territory. In 1984, the United States Federal Government passed a law which ordered the Secretary of Transportation to withhold 5% of a state's federal highway funds, unless they raised the drinking age to 21.
 * In the court case **//South Dakota v. Dole//**, South Dakota argued that this was a violation of state sovereignty, in light of the Twenty-First Amendment and brought the Secretary of Transportation at the time, Elizabeth Dole, to court.
 * The courts decided that the Federal Government using its authority to "encourage" state decisions, was not out of bounds, or a violation of either the Tenth or Twenty-first Amendment, since the legislation was in pursuit of the general welfare of the country, and the funds represented by 5% were not unduly coercive.

**Exam Question:** The biggest difference between unitary, confederate and federal governments lie in: a) The length of how long officials hold governmental positions b) The economic activity supported by each form of government c) The allocation of powers between central and local governments d) The government's support for a nation's primary religion Correct Answer is C