Transcript Duros_Poster - Arizona State University

Federalism and “Domestic Violence”
Article IV, Section IV of the U.S. Constitution
Elizabeth Duros
Cesar Chavez High School
Introduction
In the summer of 1787, the framers of the United States Constitution
created a government the world had never seen before. They used the
following six key principles for guidance: popular sovereignty, limited
government, separation of powers, checks and balances, judicial review,
and federalism. Those six key principles have become the backbone of
the United States of America. Without them, there would be no America.
The six key principles have been taught in high school government
classrooms over the years. The principle of federalism, however, can be
difficult for students to grasp at times. Federalism is a system of
government in which a written constitution divides power between a
central, or national, government and several regional governments. To
help students see the concept of federalism, the following pyramid can be
shown:
Federal
Federalism
State
Local Community
The framers wanted the local community to take care of local concerns.
They wanted state governments to take care of regional concerns. Lastly,
they wanted the federal government to take care of concerns at the
national level. Teaching students Article IV, Section IV of the U.S.
Constitution will show them a different angle on the constitutional
principle of federalism.
Article IV, Section IV of the United States Constitution reads:
“The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a
Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against
Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive
against domestic Violence.”
This particular section of Article IV discusses how the national
government has specific obligations to the states. The first two promises
are easy to cover with students, but the third promise may be difficult for
them to comprehend. If a high school student is asked to define
“domestic,” they might talk about the domestic house cat or fighting in
the home. In this case, however, “domestic Violence” does not just
mean fighting or rioting in the states; it also pertains to natural disasters.
Linking Federalism and
“Domestic Violence” to the
National Geography Standards
Element One: THE WORLD IN SPATIAL TERMS
Standard One: How to use maps and other geographic
representations, tools, and technologies to acquire, process, and report
information.
Linking Geography to the Arizona
Civics/Government Standard
Strand Three:
Concept Two:
Performance
Objective Three:
government
CIVICS/GOVERNMENT
Structure of Government
Examine the United States federal system of
Element Five:
Standard Fifteen:
ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIETY
How physical systems affect human systems
A house is engulfed in flames
as floodwaters and crashing
waves destroy beach homes
on Galveston Island as
Hurricane Ike approaches the
Texas Gulf Coast in 2008.
http://www.shareordie.in/pict
ures-of-the-year-2008-bytime/
Along the Gulf Coast and eastern seaboard, many people visit
resorts or build their own vacation homes. The physical
environment offers beauty and various recreational opportunities.
However, the ocean can ruin what humans build. Hurricanes are a
potential hazard for those who visit and reside in this part of the
United States. The National Hurricane Center, along with the
Federal Emergency Management Agency, have stressed the
importance of hurricane awareness and preparation. State and
local governments within the region have also set up their own
preparation and evacuation plans. Individuals need to be selfaware of the potential dangers in this type of physical
environment.
After covering acts of “domestic Violence” that could happen in their
community, students should then examine the process in which a
community is declared a disaster area. There are six steps to the major
disaster declaration process:
Step 1: Local Government Responds. If overwhelmed, turns to the
state for assistance.
Step 2: The State Responds with state resources, such as the National
Guard and State agencies.
Step 3: Damage Assessment by local, State, Federal, and volunteer
organizations.
Step 4: A Major Disaster Declaration is requested by the governor,
based on damage assessment.
Step 5: FEMA Evaluates the request and recommends action to the
White House.
Step 6: The President Approves the request or FEMA informs the
governor it has been denied.
This map shows seven earthquake-generated
tsunami events in the United States from the
years 900 to 1964. The earthquakes that caused
these tsunamis were: Prince William Sound,
Alaska, 1964, magnitude 9.2; Chile, 1960,
magnitude 9.5; Alaska, 1946, magnitude 7.3;
Puerto Rico/Mona Rift, 1918, magnitude 7.3 to
7.5; Virgin Islands, 1867, magnitude
undetermined; Cascadia, 1700, magnitude 9;
and Puget Sound, 900, magnitude 7.5. Map not
to scale. Sources: National Geophysical Data
Center, NOAA, USGS
A 1992 California earthquake and tsunami raised concerns for many
living along the West Coast. In 1994 the Senate Appropriations
Committee requested the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) to develop a plan that would help reduce the
risk of tsunamis for people living on the coast (Bernard, 2001). The
NOAA held various workshops to address the concerns. In February
1996 NOAA joined with representatives from Alaska, California,
Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington, the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) and the United States Geological
Survey (USGS) to form the Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Federal/State
Working Group. The group developed a plan with five
recommendations on how to reduce the risk of tsunamis for those
who live on the coast.
Federalism and “Domestic
Violence” Lesson Example
Continued
When the framers created the Constitution, they wanted a strong, central
government that would unite the formal colonies. Nonetheless, they
also wanted the states to have certain rights. They divided the power
between the national government and state governments. The United
States of America has grown from thirteen states to fifty states. Each
state has its own, unique identity and geographic features, but each is a
proud member of America. In return, the national government has
specific obligations to those fifty states. As mentioned before, one of
those promises is to protect them against “domestic Violence.”
Federalism and “domestic
Violence” Lesson Example
When covering “domestic Violence”
in Article IV, Section IV, students
could give examples of potential
natural disasters in their community.
The city of Phoenix has experienced
flooding over the years; an excellent
example of “domestic Violence.”
Students could go to The Flood
Control District of Maricopa
County website and explore the
history of Maricopa County flooding
starting from the year 1889.
The Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) has a
process in which to give aid to local
communities and states in times of
natural disasters. Students could
research the number of times the
Phoenix-metropolitan area has been
declared a disaster area due to floods.
This process looks fairly simple on
paper, but there have been
problems over the years. The
response to Hurricane Katrina in
2005 infuriated many and FEMA
was all over the news. The
confusion in New Orleans before
and after the hurricane shed light
on what went wrong in the major
disaster declaration process.
However, changes have been made
since then. Students could
brainstorm on what their local
community might do in response to
a disaster, along with the state and
federal governments.
Conclusion
Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, AZ '65–'66 Flood
Aerial photography courtesy of
Arizona Department of Transportation
Federalism is a system of government in which a written constitution
divides power between a central, or national, government and several
regional governments. Article IV, Section IV lists the three
obligations the national government must provide to the states. The
third promise, to protect the states from “domestic Violence,” can be
used to teach students the constitutional principle of federalism. The
disciplines of geography and government can be brought together
when teaching students about how the local, state and federal levels
of government respond to natural disasters.
References
1. McClenaghan, W.A. (2007). The US Constitution,
Magruder’s. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
2. Bernard, E.N., (2001). ITS 2001 Proceedings,
NTHMP Review Session, Number R-1: 21-27.
3.
4.
5.
6.
www.usgs.gov
www.fcd.maricopa.gov
www.fema.gov
www.hurricanekatrina.com