The U.S. Constitution delegated very few powers to the federal government. These powers are still mostly limited to customs and borders, military, federal courts of limited jurisdiction, resolving trade disputes among the States, treaties and international diplomacy.
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To strengthen the power of the central government. The preceding Articles of the Confederation gave too much power to the states, and left too little power to the central government, as shown by Shays' Rebellion. A stronger central power was necessary, and thus the Constitution was born.
Federalism is a form of government in which a constitution is created that will distribute powers between a central government and subsidiary governments. This is the type of government that the founding fathers created for the United Stated.
The three-branch system established a strong central government without giving too much power to any one group.
The U.S. Constitution addressed a key weakness of the Articles of Confederation by establishing a stronger central government with the power to levy taxes and regulate trade. It also created a system of checks and balances among the three branches of government to prevent any one branch from becoming too powerful. Additionally, the Constitution provided for a more structured framework for governance, including the establishment of a federal court system and a process for amending the Constitution itself.
When the Constitution was written there were two groups of thought about running a government. There were the Federalist and the anti Federalist. Just as the names suggest the Federalist wanted a strong central government while the anti Federalist wanted a weaker central government and more power for states rights.