Examine the nature of American Federalism and how this division of power between the Federal and state governments impacted the Civil Right Movement. As you do so, address three of the following (and only three) assigned concepts in conjunction an assigned question:

1. Concept: Enumerated, Implied and Reserved Powers
Question: What did the founders intend for the relationship between the Federal and state governments? Constitutional speaking is Civil Rights a Federal or a state matter?

2. Concept: Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) and Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (1954)
Question: What was the central question behind both the Plessy and Brown cases, and how did the decisions from both cases impact the Civil Rights Movement?

3. Concept: Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Right Act of 1965
Question: What was the Constitutional basis for each of these acts, and what issues did each act address?

4. Concept: Affirmative Action
Question: What are the goals of Affirmative Action policies, and how successful has Affirmative Action been in achieving these goals?

The key to the assignment is to demonstrate your knowledge of three of the assigned concepts. Assignments should be clearly organized, succinct, informative, coherent, and thoroughly based upon an analysis of the assigned concepts. Always keep in mind that the key to the assignment is to demonstrate your mastery of the three assigned concepts you select, the topic question(s) are included only to place your analysis of the assigned concepts into context. Don’t become overly concerned with the topic to the detriment of a detailed discussion of the assigned concepts.