Answer :
Federalists believed in a strong, central
government that had power over the states. Their opponents, the
Republicans, believed that a majority of the power should stay with the
states.
The correct answer is Federalists believed in a strong central(federal) government.
When the United States was developing the US Constitution, there was constant debate between the federalists and the anti-federalists. These two groups constantly battled over the size of the federal government. Hamilton believed that a strong federal government was necessary for the success of the United States. This was especially true considering the failures of America's first constitution. The Articles of Confederation was America's first constitution and was highly ineffective. This was due to the fact that the federal government could not collect taxes or raise a sufficient army.
To fix this, the federalists felt that a stronger federal government that had the ability to tax, regulate interstate commerce, and had control over the states would result in a more unified country.