Under the Constitution, the principle of "federalism" is the reason that power and responsibility are

shared by state and national governments

divided into three branches of government

limited to what is listed in the amendments

granted to the states through amendments

Federalism is based on democratic rules and institutions in which the power to govern is shared between national and state governments.

The movement arose out of the discontent with the Articles of Confederation and the creation of the Constitution.

The Federalist Papers, written by Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, examined the benefits of the new Constitution and analyzed the political theory and function behind its various articles.

Anti-Federalists believed that the legislative and executive branches had too much unchecked power and that the Bill of Rights should be coupled with the Constitution to prevent a dictator from exploiting citizens.

With the Great Depression and the New Deal, America has moved from dual federalism to associative federalism.