Because he believed in the ability of people to govern themselves, Jefferson favored giving more power to state governments. Jefferson felt that government power should NOT be concentrated in one central or federal government, but should be spread out among the individual states as well. Similarly, he thought states should give decision-making power to their various communities. In this way, the power to govern and make decisions would lie in the hands of the people whose lives were most affected by these decisions. While Jefferson realized that the Articles of Confederation had some serious problems, he was not, like some, ready to get rid of it entirely. He liked how the Articles protected the rights of states and individuals from being taken over by a powerful federal government.