A person who supports federalism, the system of government where power is divided between a central government and smaller regional governments.
From federal (Latin foedus 'covenant') plus -ist (one who practices or believes in something), formed in the late 18th century during American constitutional debates.
The Federalists were the original winning team of American politics—they argued that the states needed a strong central government to work together, which is why we have a federal system today instead of 13 separate countries.
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