1787: Constitution creates the first federal system 1800s: dual federalism / layer cake federalism
1861–1865: Civil War
1933: New Deal / cooperative federalism / marble cake federalism
1964: start of Great Society
1980s and 1990s: new federalism / devolution revolution
2010: progressive federalism

Write a short essay about the above events, and describe your opinion on how the role of local, state, and national governments has changed during US history. Do you think one of these eras had the correct balance of power between local, state, and national governments compared with the other eras? Do you think that the balance of government power should continually shift to meet new events? How do you think local, state, and national governmental power might change in the future?