This video lesson from Khan Academy provides an introduction to the federal bureaucracy. This lesson is intended for students taking high school or college level American Government and Civics courses, including the AP Government course.

In which Craig Benzine teaches you about federalism, or the idea that in the United States, power is divided between the national government and the 50 state governments. Craig will teach you about how federalism has evolved over the...

One of the most important innovations in government to arise from the Philadelphia Convention was federalism.

Framers like James Madison believed that the competing interests in a country as large and diverse as the United States would make it harder for any one group to gain too much power.

The Framers were concerned about states restricting individual freedom, so they gave the federal government some power of the states.

This episode discusses the origins of federal grants-in-aid programs.

What authority does the national government have over the states? We find out on today's podcast.

How does the Constitution protect political independence? We find out on today's podcast.

The Framers saw the need to limit state power. Find out how on today's episode.

The Framers saw the need to limit state power. Find out how on today's episode.

The words "slave" and "slavery" never appeared in the Constitution, perhaps because the Framers were ashamed of it.

The Framers of the Constitution had to make many compromises on the issue of slavery. Today we learn some of them.

The Framers of the Constitution never defined citizenship, but left it up to the states.

Gouverneur Morris suggested that suffrage should be limited to landowners. This caused an uproar.

The American system of federalism is introduced.

The system of federalism causes some conflict between Congress and the states over the regulation of interstate commerce.

Federalism in the United States is structured differently from the government of Great Britain.

Today we discuss federal grants-in-aid and and the impact of these on state education policy.

Concludes discussion of American federalism by learning about the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The system of federalism is able to check the power of federal administrative agencies, for example, when a state policy is in conflict with a federal one and subsequently influences change at the federal level.

Introduces the topic of federalism.

Covers the role that the states take within the system of federalism.

The powers of the states are implied from what they are not permitted to do.

Discusses the similarities and differences between state courts.