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Why Create A Federalist System

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First, let’s define Federalism. “Federalism is a system of government in which a written constitution divides the powers of government on a territorial basis. The division is made between a central or national government; and several regional or local governments. Each level of government has its own area of powers; neither level, acting alone, can change the basic division of powers the constitution makes between them. Each level operates through its own agencies and acts directly on the people through its own officials and laws” (Duhaime; Design, 2010-2013) . In America the term "federal government" is usually understood to refer exclusively to the national government based in Washington but as we have learned that is inaccurate. …show more content…

The framers of the Constitution (Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, George Washington, and others) were reacting to both the British government and the Articles of Confederation. The British government was (and remains) unitary system…one in which power is concentrated in a central government, a Parliament. The Articles of Confederation represented an opposite form of government, a confederation…one which has a weak central government and strong state governments. In a confederation, the state or local government is supreme and the national government only wields powers granted by the states. In the New American federal system, the people keep their basic sovereignty while delegating some power to the central and state governments. James Madison said, "factious leaders kindle a flame within their particular states," national leaders can check the spread of the "conflagration through the other states" (Society, 1998). Meaning no one person can control both the state and central government; that is

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