Separation of Powers The framers of the Constitution wanted to create a national government capable of governing while preserving the sovereignty of state government. The efficient government was not the goal: the limited government was. Consider if we only had a sovereign national government, where state governments had to conform to national policies. On one hand, it might make national policies easier to put into place because the states would all have to do the same thing. On the other hand, we would be reliant on the wisdom of the U.S. Congress and the President to find the best policies to address public concerns.

1. Discuss the Constitutional structure of the U.S. government and the advantages and disadvantages of this structure in terms of policymaking. 2. Do the current partisan battles suggest that we may need to adjust our policymaking system? What might be done?