Dual federalism
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Dual federalism (also known as layer-cake federalism) is a system of governance where the federal government and state governments each have clearly defined spheres of power. Under dual federalist political systems, the federal government cannot interfere with matters delegated to state authority, and states cannot interfere with matters of federal authority.[1]
Dual federalism contrasts with interlocking (cooperative) federalism, also known as marble-cake federalism. Interlocking federalism is a system of governance where federal and state governments share power and collaborate on certain issues.[2]
Background[edit]
Under the doctrine of dual federalism, which lasted until around the New Deal era, the U.S. Supreme Court treated the federal and state governments as "separate sovereigns, each preeminent in its own fields but lacking authority in the other's."[3]
Political scientist Edward Corwin identified the following four characteristics of dual federalism:[4]
- 1. The national government is one of enumerated powers only
- 2. The purposes which the national government may constitutionally promote are few
- 3. Within their respective spheres the two centers of government are sovereign and hence equal
- 4. The relationship between the two centers is one of tension rather than collaboration
See also[edit]
External links[edit]
Footnotes[edit]
- ↑ Center for the Study of Federalism, "Dual Federalism," accessed July 29, 2021
- ↑ Center for the Study of Federalism, "Cooperative Federalism," accessed July 29, 2021
- ↑ Legal Information Institute, "Dual Federalism in the 19th and Early 20th Centuries," accessed February 21, 2022
- ↑ Virginia Law Review, "The Passing of Dual Federalism," 1950
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