One Of The Six Basic Principles Of The Constitution: Federalism One of the six basic principles of the Constitution is federalism. Federalism is a system of government in which power is shared by the national and state governments, which came into existence when the United States declared its independence in 1776. A federal system is different from a confederation, where states have most of the power, and it is different from a unitary system, where the central government is in charge. A written constitution divides the powers of the government on a territorial basis. The division is m