7th Grade Civics EOC Practice Test 2026 – Complete Study Resource

In a confederal system, most of the political power stays with the individual states, and the central government is intentionally weak. The states remain sovereign and cooperate on specific tasks only because they choose to delegate those powers. The central authority can do only what the states allow and often relies on the states for funding and enforcement. A historical example is the United States under the Articles of Confederation, where the national government lacked strong authority and the states kept their independence. So, the description that the states retain most power and the central government is weak best captures how a confederal system works.