Federalism essentially is the idea that different levels of government are better suited to solve varied levels of issues based on a couple of different factors. In the United States, we generally have three levels of government. Local governments solve small issues that might affect citizens' day-to-day lives. State governments typically handle larger issues such as voting, laws across Cities and towns, etc. The Federal government takes on the largest problems that state and local authorities simply would not have the ability to tackle. Invasions from foreign countries or national currencies would be a couple of examples. Federalism is what allows a person to get a pothole filled in front of their house, (local) a highway to drive to the town over on, (state), and a court to rule on an issue between three states (federal) all efficiently and effectively.
