When the founding fathers first began drafting the constitution, they wanted to create a system of government known as Federalism. According tot eh 8th grade U.S. History textbook, federalism is "...a system that divided powers between the states and the federal government"(144). The Constitution writers believed that this form of government would make the federal government strong enough to protect its citizens but not so strong that it could harm its citizens. In addition, this system would allow the states to control local issues
The Three Powers of federalism
Reserved Powers Reserved Powers are powers not listed in the constitution that are reserved for the states or people
Delegated Powers These are the powers of government that were given to the federal government. Examples of these types of powers include: coining money and regulating trade
Concurrent Powers Powers that were shared by both the Federal and states government