The federal system created in 1787 continues to shape America, but there are still discussions about the role of the national government versus the state. From the beginning, the framers of the Constitution wanted to choose a system of government that was strong from a national point of view and demonstrated the existence of states. They knew that a strong central government would once lead to revolution for self-government, and that a strong state government was too weak for national problems based on the Articles of Confederation. Therefore, the only system that could match the powers of the government would be the federal system. The federal system creates a separation/division of powers to prevent tyranny or abuse by a unilateral government. Based on the United States Constitution, the original design of federalism revolved around three things. The first was to have powers expressly delegated (granted) to the national government and any non-delegated powers were to be denied. There are three types of delegated power: express, implied, and inherited power. Powers specifically granted are express, powers not enumerated but suggested by the necessary and proper clause are implied, and inherited powers exist because the United States is a sovereign nation. The second thing that originally defined federalism was that concurrent powers were to be shared between the state and the national government. The third significant thing is that all states have reserved powers that are exercised by state and local governments. Reserved powers were explained by the Tenth Amendment. “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people” (10th Amendment). Although… half of the document… g doesn't end there, in 1985 a case called Garcia arose against the decision of the Santonio Metropolitan Transit Authority. The U.S. Supreme Court would direct all laws of Congress in matters traditionally reserved for the states. This case led to a concept known as Representative Federalism. Representative federalism is “the assertion that there is no constitutional division of powers between the nation and the states, but that the states maintain their constitutional roles simply by selecting the president and members of Congress.” (handout Pg123) This meant that there was no true separation of powers between the two governments but the states had to operate according to constitutional laws. This concept lasted until 1995, after which federalism began to experience a modest revival. Nowadays the Supreme Court seems to be more respectful of the powers of the states.