Federalism in the United States
However, British rule had made most Americans distrust federal governments.  Many Americans did not like the thought that people far away from them could make rules about their lives, like the British government had.  They saw government as the biggest threat to their freedom.  Because of this, the United States' first constitution, the Articles of Confederation, gave most of the power to the states.  The Articles created a federal government, but gave it very little power.  For example, the Articles allowed the Continental Congress to sign treaties and declare war, but it could not raise taxes to pay for an army.  Also, all major decisions required all of the state governments to agree.  This made it very difficult for the federal government to get anything done.