Philosophically speaking, Federalist theory argues that: ". . . federalism provides a robust constitutional system that anchors pluralist democracy, and that it enhances democratic participation through providing dual citizenship in a compound republic" ("Federalism", Wikipedia). Three of the twelve Founding Fathers of America, moreover, argued specifically in The Federalist Papers (Hamilton, Jay, and Madison, 1788), which consisted of 85 separate documents, for ratification of the U.S. Constitution (The Federalist Papers) that a Federalist government would help to preserve and protect the union (No. 15-22). .

             Within these documents, Hamilton, Jay, and Madison argued, among other points, that Federalism protected due process, limiting arbitrary action by states (Carman, pp. 272-273; "The Federalist Papers", Wikipedia). As the authors of The Federalist Papers themselves pointed out, Federalism can limit government power to infringe rights, since it creates the possibility that a legislature wishing to restrict liberties will lack the constitutional power, while the level of government that possesses the power lacks the desire (Hamilton, Jay, and Madison, The Federalist Papers, 1788, 37-84). Second, as Hamilton, Jay, and Madison argued, the length of time necessary for federal decision-making necessarily limits the speed with which a government can act, thereby protecting states and individual citizens against hasty governmental decision-making based on expediency (No. 85).

             However, there also have been, and continue to be, many valid arguments against Federalism in the United States, as it was first conceived and practiced by the Founding Fathers in the late 18th century. One is that, within smaller localized governmental units, such as local and state governments, individuals are able to participate directly in government, while at the federal level such government participation by individual citizens is impossible or nearly so ("Federalism", Wikipedia).