Federalism's Role In Our Government Federalism has played a large role in our government since the time that the Constitution was ratified. It originally gave the majority of the power to the states. As time went on, the national government gained more and more power. It used the “necessary and proper” clause to validate its acts, and the Supreme Court made decisions that strengthened the national government creating a more unified United States. Finally, the recent course of federalism has been to give powers back to the states. Charles Montesquieu was a strong defender of the separation of powers. He believed that power should be used to balance power