CHAPTER THREE • FEdERAlISM 57
Dual Federalism
A model of federalism that
looks on national and state
governments as co-equal
sovereign powers. Neither
the state government nor
the national government
should interfere in the
other’s sphere.dual Federalism
During the decades following the Civil War, the prevailing model of federalism was what
political scientists have called dual federalism—a doctrine that emphasizes a distinction
between national and state spheres of government authority. Various images have been used
to describe different configurations of federalism over time. Dual federalism is commonly
depicted as a layer cake, because the state governments and the national government are
viewed as separate entities, like separate layers of a cake. Under the doctrine of dual federal
ism, national and state governments are coequal sovereign powers, and neither level of gov
ernment should interfere in the other’s sphere. The doctrine represented a revival of states’
rights following the expansion of national authority during the Civil War. Many people viewed
this change as a return to normal—that is, to the conditions that had existed before the war.
The Civil War crisis drastically reduced the influence of the United States Supreme
Court, which had supported the institution of slavery in the years leading up to the war.
Over time, however, the Court reestablished itself as the legitimate constitutional umpire.
For the Court, dual federalism meant that the national government could intervene in
state activities through grants and subsidies, but in most cases it was barred from regulat
ing matters that the Court considered to be purely local.
The Court generally limited the exercise of police power to the states. For example, in
1918, the Court ruled that a 1916 national law banning child labor was unconstitutional
because it attempted to regulate a local problem.^7 In effect, the Court placed severe limits
on the ability of Congress to legislate under the commerce clause of the Constitution.The New Deal and Cooperative Federalism
The doctrine of dual federalism receded into the background
in the 1930s as the nation attempted to deal with the Great
Depression. Franklin D. Roosevelt was inaugurated as presi
dent on March 4, 1933. In the previous year, nearly 1,500
banks had failed (and 4,000 more would fail in 1933). Thirty
two thousand businesses had closed down, and almost
onefourth of the labor force was unemployed. The public
expected the national government to do something about
the disastrous state of the economy. For the first three years
of the Great Depression (1930–1932), the national govern
ment did very little.
Roosevelt, however, energetically intervened in the
economy. Roosevelt’s “New Deal” included largescale emer
gency antipoverty programs and introduced major new laws
regulating economic activity. Initially, the Supreme Court
blocked many of Roosevelt’s initiatives. Beginning in 1937,
however, after a change in membership, the Court ceased to
limit the federal government’s actions. An expansive inter
pretation of the commerce clause became dominant.A child coal miner in 1909. Why aren’t there
child coal miners today? (Lewis W. Hine/Getty Images)LO4: Define the terms dual
federalism, cooperative federalism,
categorical grants, block grants,
and fiscal federalism.- Hammer v. Dagenhart, 247 U.S. 251 (1918). This decision was
overruled in United States v. Darby, 312 U.S. 100 (1940).
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