The Founders always mistrusted the power of government. They wrote the Constitution to make a strong government, but to limit its authority. One way they did this was to create a federal republic. Specific powers were given to the national government, and others remained with the states or the people. These two separate powers, the national government and the state governments, could co-exist because the national government was only given the powers specified in the Constitution. Among these were the powers to regulate trade between states, coin money, raise armies, and collect taxes. This type of political system is defined as federalism. States have their laws, but they are also subject to the laws of the federal government. This separation gives the states greater autonomy to create laws based on the will of their citizens.
