Federalist paper

The founding fathers of America believed that the individual states would be stronger if they banded together. At the same time, they strongly believed in the rights of each state and the ability of all people to govern them selves. Their fear of a large government that acted independently from the people it governed was one of the uniting factors that fueled their separation from England. Federalism is a form of government in which power is shared between national and state government. As the United States government was being established, the founding fathers knew a centralized government was key; without it several separate states would have become several separate countries. Federalism created a system that allowed large separate states to work together in unity. The founding fathers also knew that the system would create tension between state and federal government and counted on that tension to keep each entity’s power in check. Striking the right balance between state and federal powers is something the US has struggled with continuously. State control is more effective than federal control in representing the desires of individual citizens because local issues are the basis upon which national programs are built. The Tenth Amendment preserves the individual state’s power by stating, “powers not delegated to the united states by the constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or the people (Edwards 74).“ The states had to abide by the laws of the constitution but any obscure law made by the federal government that did not abide by the constitution would not have to be followed by states. For the most part state officials could make their own social, economic and taxation laws, as well as regulate commerce within their borders. The commerce clause allows national governments to regulate interstate and national commerce. This law has become more critical as technology has advanced and there is a great