National Civics Bee Practice Test 2026 – The Complete All-in-One Guide to Ace Your Exam!

Federalism describes how power is divided and shared between the national government and the states. The Constitution assigns certain powers to the national government—like coining money, regulating interstate and international commerce, and defending the country—while reserving other powers to the states, such as running schools, handling local elections, and licenses. Some powers are shared or concurrent, such as collecting taxes and enforcing laws. The Tenth Amendment reinforces that powers not given to the national government belong to the states or the people, and the Supremacy Clause keeps national law supreme in conflicts between levels of government. This framework is different from checks and balances, which focuses on how the three branches restrain each other; separation of powers, which is about dividing government duties among those same branches; and popular sovereignty, which centers on the idea that the people hold ultimate authority. For example, national government authority covers nationwide issues like currency and trade between states, while states handle local education policy and policing.