The classroom simulation of a Congressional committee could arguably be called a success. One might wonder why the adjective “probably” is included, and it is for a very simple reason. Although most students took their work seriously, a significant number did not actually attempt to do the necessary work required by their role. This may be due to a fundamental misunderstanding of the exercise. It is important to know that although one might infer that this is a statement about failure, this essay aims to explore the opposite. The exercise successfully demonstrated the ideals of federalism and civil liberties, while providing insight into the fundamental nature of the system and how those who wanted to could invariably exploit it. This last part of the statement contains a caveat that the exploitation is extremely limited but nonetheless significant. So first, what lessons did the simulation illustrate about constitutional ideals such as federalism, civil liberties, and/or civil rights? According to the Legal Information Institute at Cornell University Law School, federalism is defined as “. a system of government in which the same territory is controlled by two levels of government. Generally, an overarching national government governs matters that affect the entire country, and smaller subdivisions govern matters of local concern. The national government and smaller political subdivisions have the power to make laws and both have a certain level of autonomy from one another. » So, for the purposes of the simulation, it was the federal or state branch of government that was trying to pass a bill. This level of government was represented in the form of a congressional committee including a majority of the Democratic Party which...... middle of paper ...... ps have access to the legislative branch, but this access at a price. and this in no way guarantees success. Works Cited on Federalism. (nd). LII / Legal Information Institute. Accessed April 20, 2014, from http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/federalism Linder, D. (January 1, 2014). The right to privacy: is it protected by the Constitution?The right to privacy: is it protected by the Constitution? Accessed April 20, 2014, from http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/rightofprivacy.html Patterson, T.E. (2012). Ch. 3 Federalism: forging a nation. We the People (tenth ed.). McGraw-Hill Humanities. Patterson, T.E. (2012). Ch. 4 Civil Liberties: Protection of individual rights. We the People (Tenth ed.). : McGraw-Hill Humanities. Patterson, T.E. (2012). Ch. 5 Equal rights: fighting towards equity. We the People (Tenth ed.). : Humanities McGraw-Hill.