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Federalism has been defined as the sharing of power between the states and the national government. It has been a major historical and political issue throughout U.S. history and has played a major role in the development of our great republic. Prior to the establishment of the federal government by the U.S. Constitution, there existed two political factions. Hamilton and his colleagues, the original Federalists, believed only a strong central government could provide …

…state and local governments. When the federal government was established by the U.S. Constitution in 1787, it only exercised limited or enumerated powers, such as making treaties and printing money. The Tenth Amendment of the Bill of Rights, clarified that all other powers belonged to the states: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people."