Lesson 12: How Did the Delegates Distribute Powers between National and State Governments?

Lesson Objectives

When you have finished this lesson, you should  be able to

• describe the major powers and limits on the national government, the powers that were specifically left to states, and the prohibitions the Constitution placed on state governments,
• explain how the Constitution did and did not address the issue of slavery, as well as other questions left unresolved in Philadelphia, and
• evaluate, take, and defend positions on how limited government in the United States protects individual rights and promotes the common good and on issues involving slavery at the Philadelphia Convention.