Write a paragraph establishing a way to express the conflict facing the United States from 1777 to 1787 when the Articles of Confederation were radically altered to form a new type of government. Federalism is a cornerstone of the US Constitution and provides the structure necessary for both a federal, or national, government and the state government to co-exist in a single nation. When the Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787, it represented a compromise between those leaders of the new country who thought it best to establish a strong central, or national, government. In fact, there were some early American politicians who advocated establishing a monarchy in this country and selecting a king to rule. On the other side of the argument were the leaders who believed that a strong central government was a terrible concept; after all, the country had just fought a revolution to free itself from the grip of the central government of King George. Rather than a strong federal government, these newly elected leaders preferred to provide as much power and authority to state or local governments as possible and minimize the authority of a central government. They correctly pointed out that the states had been formed well before the new federal government.