1)Describe what factions are, why the Founders thought they were inevitable and dangerous, and how the US Constitution is designed to mitigate the effects of factions.

2)Why did the American colonists declare their independence from Great Britain?

3)Why is the 14^th Amendment important?

4)How has the commerce clause been used to enhance the power of the Federal government at the expense of state governments?

Describe what factions are, why the Founders thought they were inevitable and dangerous, and how the US Constitution is designed to mitigate the effects of factions.
-Factions are groups of people who share something in common. Factions unite together and want their interest to pass above anyone else's which is why the founders had this fear of factions. They feared that because they want benefits for themselves, they would control the government in a way that would not benefit everyone. These factions would then create a division between the people. The founders then created a system that would account for these factions because in the end they were going to happen. 
-They saw factions as inevitable due to the nature of man. That is, as long as people hold differing opinions, have differing amounts of wealth and own differing amount of property, they will continue to form alliances with people who are most similar to them and they will sometimes work against the public interest
-To control the effects of factions, the founders created a system known as federalism. Federalism is the division of power and functions through a constitution between the national and state government. They wanted to create more division because they did not want just one group to strive for benefits for themselves. Through the system of checks and balances, they were able to create this division that would keep the powers in check. Three branches were created that would balance one another in order to keep this power in check. The Constitution's two-tiered (i.e. federal) government helps mitigate this dilemma because state and local legislatures handle local issues, leaving only certain policy issues to the national government

-By merging the American republics into a single broad polity, the Constitution expanded their size. Larger republics have more interests and political parties than smaller republics, diluting the influence of any particular party. As a result, a national union has an advantage over smaller (state) republics in that a group in one state is less likely to spread to others.

-The consequences of factionalism are mitigated more effectively by representative government than by direct democracy. Since elected officials must balance all of the conflicting demands put on them by different constituents, they are unlikely to be tempted by fleeting passions, unlike the masses who rule under direct democracy.

Why did the American colonists declare their independence from Great Britain?
-The start of the American Revolution was due to what the colonists believed to be unfair taxation towards them. In order to pay for the debt, the British government accumulated, taxes were imposed on the American colonists. This resulted in a boycott of British goods which forced them to rescind the taxes. Though the political strife was far from over. A demand for social and political change was brought on by the American colonists. 
-Further rebellion was then caused because of the Tea Act of 1773.  Known as the Boston Tea Party, the act caused the American colonists to dump chests filled with tea overboard. Because of the incident, it was then decided to form the First Continental Congress in order to represent the colonies. These Continental Congresses eventually led to the declaration towards independence. 
-Americans declared their dependence by simply issuing the Declaration of Independence, adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, the 13 American colonies severed they are because, political connections to Great Britain. While perhaps true, Franklin also hoped to convince the French to supply the colonists with aid. The main purpose of America's Declaration of Independence was to explain to foreign nations why the colonies had chosen to separate themselves from Great Britain. The Revolutionary War had already begun, and several major battles had already taken place

Why is the 14th Amendment important?
The Fourteenth Amendment was important because it was like a way to impose the Bill of Rights on the states. Though the Supreme Court did not interpret it this way in the beginning. The Supreme Court limited the application of its protections on a state. It was as if the amendment had not yet been adapted. 
Though later this changed. The Supreme Court increasingly applied the protections of the Fourteenth Amendment on the states. The principle of selective incorporation was established. This was the process by which different protections in the Bill of Rights were incorporated into the Fourteenth Amendment, which guaranteed the citizens protection from state and national governments. 
The Citizenship Clause granted citizenship to All persons born or naturalized in the United States. The Due Process Clause declared that states may not deny any person "life, liberty or property, without due process of law. It was ratified in 1868 in order to protect the civil rights of freed slaves after the Civil War. It has proven to be an important and controversial amendment addressing such issues as the rights of citizens, equal protection under the law, due process, and the requirements of the states

How has the commerce clause been used to enhance the power of the government at the expense of state governments?
-Commerce clause is a provision of the U.S. Constitution (Article I, Section 8) that authorizes Congress to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with Indian Tribes.
-Congress was granted the authority to control interstate trade through the commerce clause. The clause granted Congress a strong and enumerating authority. It was both a grant of authority and a limitation on the states' regulatory authority.
-States were forbidden from enacting laws that discriminated against interstate commerce. The courts agreed that the Commerce Clause could be used to restrict state activity on broader grounds.
-Depending on the definition of the Commerce Clause by the United States Supreme Court, the consequence of the clause has varied greatly.
-During the Marshall Court period (1801-1835), the Commerce Clause was interpreted to grant Congress authority over a wide variety of intrastate and interstate commerce, as well as conduct that had previously been deemed unrelated to commerce. Following the conclusion of the Lochner period in 1937, Congress's use of the Commerce Clause to allow federal regulation of economic matters essentially became unrestricted. Since United States v. Lopez (1995), Congress's use of the Commerce Clause has been restricted to areas of trade or some other form of restricted area (whether interstate or not), as well as development (whether commercial or not).