Why did the founders want a small federal government??

Because the large federal government of England had been oppressing them for years. They rebelled against the tyranny showed to them by the British government, so after years of mistreatment at the hands of big governments, they wanted to structure their own government so that it could not oppress them. Hence, they wanted a small government that gave the people more individual power.

i believe that the answer to the question provided above is that  establishing smaller ethnic communities within larger communities  gives more chance for people to know each other more but this might lead to the  conflict between groups.