Dual federalism, also known as layer-cake federalism or divided sovereignty, is a political arrangement in which power is divided between the federal and state governments in clearly defined terms, with state governments exercising those powers accorded to them without interference from the federal government. Dual federalism is defined in contrast to

cooperative federalism Cooperative federalism, also known as marble-cake federalism, is defined as a flexible relationship between the federal and state governments in which both work together on a variety of issues and programs. In the United States In the American f ...

("marble-cake federalism"), in which federal and state governments collaborate on policy.

United States

Constitutional origin

The system of dual/joint federalism in the United States is a product of the backlash against the Articles of Confederation, ratified in 1781, which established a very weak federal government with the powers to declare war, make treaties, and maintain an army.Lowi, et al. (2012) American Government: Power and Purpose -- Brief Twelfth Edition. W.W. Norton and Company p.26-27 Fueled by Shays' Rebellion and an economy faltering under the inability of the federal government to pay the debt from the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

, a group later known as the

Federalists The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters called themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of de ...

generated support for a strong central government and called for a Constitutional Convention in 1787 to reconsider the Articles. In 1787, the Convention almost immediately dropped its original purpose of editing the Articles and instead drafted a new

Constitution of the United States The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the natio ...

. Rejecting both

confederal A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

and unitary systems, they based the new American government on a new theory of federalism, a system of shared sovereignty that delegates some powers to the federal government and reserves other powers for the states. Among other powers, the federal

legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...

could now

tax A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...

citizens and maintain a standing military, and had exclusive power over regulating

interstate commerce The Commerce Clause describes an enumerated power listed in the United States Constitution ( Article I, Section 8, Clause 3). The clause states that the United States Congress shall have power "to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and amo ...

and coining currency. In addition, while Article Six of the Constitution stipulated that federal law in pursuit of constitutionally assigned ends overrode any contradictory state law, the power of the national government was held in check by the

Bill of Rights A bill of rights, sometimes called a declaration of rights or a charter of rights, is a list of the most important rights to the citizens of a country. The purpose is to protect those rights against infringement from public officials and pr ...

– particularly the Tenth Amendment, which limited federal governmental powers to only those specified in the Constitution. Importantly, at the Convention, there was large debate over the structure of the

legislative branch A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...

, eventually solved by the

Connecticut Compromise The Connecticut Compromise (also known as the Great Compromise of 1787 or Sherman Compromise) was an agreement reached during the Constitutional Convention of 1787 that in part defined the legislative structure and representation each state woul ...

. In the traditional understanding of the discussion, the larger states proposed the

Virginia Plan The ''Virginia Plan'' (also known as the Randolph Plan, after its sponsor, or the Large-State Plan) was a proposal to the United States Constitutional Convention for the creation of a supreme national government with three branches and a bicam ...

, which allocated representation to each state proportional to its population. The smaller states, fearing a tyranny of the larger states, propose the New Jersey Plan, which gave each state equal representation in the legislative body. The states' motives for such a debate have been largely understood as a method for ensuring a strong voice in the federal government so as to maintain a desired degree of sovereignty. Further, political scientist Martin Diamond interprets the argument through a federalist vs antifederalist lens, discounting the question of state size. Specifically, he argues that the pure federalism of the New Jersey Plan and the pure nationalism of the Virginia Plan eventually came together to form the system of

bicameralism Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single gro ...

that the framers settled on. However, his theory largely goes against the usual understanding, which some have argued is based on stronger historical evidence.

Powers

*Exclusive powers of United States Federal Government **Lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises **To pay the debts **Provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States **Borrow money **Regulate interstate and international commerce **Establish immigration and naturalization law **Regulate bankruptcies **To coin money **Establish weights and measures **Prosecute counterfeiting **Establish a post office and post roads **Regulate patents, copyrights, and trademarks **Establish inferior courts **Regulate cases in admiralty and offences against the laws of nations **Declare war **Grant letters of marque and reprisal **Regulate the capture of prisoners of war **Raise an army **Maintain a navy **Make rules regulating the military **Provide for calling forth, regulating, and disciplining the militia **Plenary authority over the capital district **Regulating the manner of establishing full faith and credit between states **Admittance of new states **Plenary authority over all territories *Exclusive powers of state and local governments **Regulation of intrastate commerce **Conduct elections **Ratification of amendments to the U.S. Constitution **To exercise powers neither delegated to the national government nor prohibited from the states by the Constitution as per Amendment X **Property laws **Inheritance laws ** Commercial laws **Banking laws **Corporate laws **Insurance **Family law **Morality law **Public health **Education **Land management **Criminal Law **Elections **Local government **Licensing **Create its own Constitution

19th-century Supreme Court cases

Since the initial division of state and federal powers – collectively, the system of dual federalism – put forth by the Constitution, several seminal court cases have helped further clarify the purview of the federal government. One such case, '' McCulloch v. Maryland'', concerned the constitutionality of a federally chartered bank, which bankers and many legislators in Maryland opposed. Although the ability to charter a bank had not been explicitly granted to the federal government in the Constitution, federalist proponents argued such action as necessary for the federal government to exercise its constitutional power to “tax, borrow, and regulate interstate commerce.” The Supreme Court, in essence, backed Alexander Hamilton's interpretation of the Constitution over Thomas Jefferson. Thus, the bank's legitimacy was ensured by the

Necessary and Proper Clause The Necessary and Proper Clause, also known as the Elastic Clause, is a clause in Article I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution: Since the landmark decision '' McCulloch v. Maryland'', the US Supreme Court has ruled that this clause g ...

.McBride, Alex "Landmark Cases: McCulloch v Maryland" PBS https://www.pbs.org/wnet/supremecourt/antebellum/landmark_mcculloch.html A second major case regarding the respective rights of the state and federal government was ''

Gibbons v. Ogden ''Gibbons v. Ogden'', 22 U.S. (9 Wheat.) 1 (1824), was a landmark decision in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the power to regulate interstate commerce, which was granted to Congress by the Commerce Clause of the United Sta ...

'' (1824). In 1808, the Fulton-Livingston Company had been granted exclusive steamboat rights by the New York legislature, who in turn had leased ferry rights within a portion of New York to Aaron Ogden. Ogden, citing the

monopoly A monopoly (from Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situation where a speci ...

granted to him by the Fulton-Livingstone Company, had successfully prevented Thomas Gibbons from operating a ferry service between Manhattan and New Jersey. Chief Justice Marshall’s majority opinion sided with Gibbons, stating that Ogden's monopoly of the ferry service overstepped states’ ability to regulate trade. While the constitutionality of some aspects implied by the case remained vague, the decision once more reaffirmed the supremacy of federal law and diminished the power of state-sanctioned

protectionism Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulatio ...

State challenges to federal supremacy

In the decades before the Civil War, both Northern and Southern states clashed with the national government over perceived overreaches in its power. These conflicts struck at the heart of dual federalism, and reflected a fundamental disagreement about the division of power between the national and state levels."States' Rights: The Rallying Cry of Secession." (n.d.) Civil War Trust http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/civil-war-overview/statesrights.html While these political battles were ostensibly solved either through legislative compromise or Supreme Court decisions, the underlying tensions and disagreements about states’ rights would later help set the stage for the Civil War.

South Carolina's nullification doctrine

In 1828, the so-called "

Tariff of Abominations The Tariff of 1828 was a very high protective tariff that became law in the United States in May 1828. It was a bill designed to not pass Congress because it was seen by free trade supporters as hurting both industry and farming, but surprising ...

" passed the U.S. House. It was meant as a protectionist measure to help the relatively industrialized New England states against international products, but this had grave implications for the largely agrarian South. In protest and spearheaded by Vice President John Calhoun, South Carolina formulated a " nullification doctrine", in effect claiming a state's ability to ignore federal law, and rejected the tariff. The situation became especially serious when President Jackson ordered federal troops into Charleston, though crisis was averted by the drafting of a new tariff to which both sides agreed. The crisis illustrated an example of conflicting ideologies on state and federal power that was not resolved through the courts, but with discussion between elected officials.

''Prigg v. Pennsylvania''

While some Southern states resisted economic actions of the federal government, several Northern states balked at federal requirements regarding slavery. In 1842, the case of ''

Prigg v. Pennsylvania ''Prigg v. Pennsylvania'', 41 U.S. (16 Pet.) 539 (1842), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the court held that the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 precluded a Pennsylvania state law that prohibited blacks from being taken out of the free s ...

'' concerned Edward Prigg, who had been found guilty of kidnapping a former slave residing in Pennsylvania, Margaret Morgan, and her children and bringing them to her former owner in Maryland. Prigg was charged according to Pennsylvania law, which considered such an action a felony, while Prigg argued that he had been duly appointed for the task and was within the bounds of the federal

Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 was an Act of the United States Congress to give effect to the Fugitive Slave Clause of the US Constitution ( Article IV, Section 2, Clause 3), which was later superseded by the Thirteenth Amendment, and to also gi ...

. The U.S. Supreme Court declared the Pennsylvania law unconstitutional, striking the abolitionist law and heightening tensions between slaveholding and non-slaveholding states.

Nullification by Wisconsin

A similar situation arose when, in 1854, the state Supreme Court of Wisconsin declared the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 unconstitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Wisconsin Supreme Court while the Wisconsin legislature, echoing the rhetoric of South Carolina during the 1828 crisis, nullified the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision.

''Dred Scott v. Sandford'' (1857)

In 1857, continuing the debate between the national government and free states, the case of ''

Dred Scott v. Sandford ''Dred Scott v. Sandford'', 60 U.S. (19 How.) 393 (1857), was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that held the U.S. Constitution did not extend American citizenship to people of black African descent, enslaved or free; th ...

'' held that all Americans of African descent were not legally citizens, and therefore could not file suit. Thus Mr. Scott, a slave who had been brought to the free state of Illinois but later returned to slave-holding jurisdictions, and who had pursued emancipation through the federal courts, remained a slave. Though the decision was largely welcomed in the South, the decision outraged abolitionists and non-slaveholding states as another affront on

states' rights In American political discourse, states' rights are political powers held for the state governments rather than the federal government according to the United States Constitution, reflecting especially the enumerated powers of Congress and the ...

Federal power during the Civil War

The Civil War brought to a head many of the fundamental disagreements concerning the extent of state and federal powers which presidential candidates Lincoln and Douglas had debated between 1858 and 1860. Douglas, an advocate of federal government limited by a strict interpretation of the Constitution, championed the vision of America as “the confederation of the sovereign states". Lincoln, meanwhile, envisioned a more active federal government and more integrated national community, with the purview of states limited to only "those things that pertain exclusively to themselves—that are local in their nature, that have no connection with the general government". Many of these questions would be resolved by actions taken by the North’s federal government during the course of the fighting during the years after the debates. Actions taken by the North during the war, including the conscription of soldiers into a national army, as provided by the Enrollment Act of March 1863, and expanded federal control over banking with the 1863 National Banking Act, resulting in a much more robust national government in postbellum America. There exists debate over whether this increase in federal power was achieved against states’ will or whether such expanded powers were granted by the states. After the Civil War, the federal government began expanding its powers, primarily concerning itself with regulating commerce and civil rights, originally considered the domain of state governments.

Reconstruction

After the Civil War, Congress amended the Constitution to guarantee certain rights for citizens. This period brought about debate on whether the federal government could make these amendments, some arguing that this was an infringement on states' rights. However, during this time period the public began to believe that the federal government was responsible for defending civil liberties even though previously the idea was that a strong central government would be the biggest detriment to personal freedom. Regardless, the Supreme Court verified states' rights to require literacy tests in '' Williams v. Mississippi'', effectively allowing states to discriminate against black voters. In addition, the Court ruled in favor of states' rights to mandate racially segregated accommodations, so long as they were "separate but equal" in ''

Plessy v. Ferguson ''Plessy v. Ferguson'', 163 U.S. 537 (1896), was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in which the Court ruled that racial segregation laws did not violate the U.S. Constitution as long as the facilities for each race were equal in qualit ...

''. Although Law Professor Eugene Gressman views these rulings as a "judicially directed perversion" of what the abolitionists meant to accomplish, within historical context the Supreme Court decisions seem more occupied with sustaining the system of dual federalism. In making these decisions, the Supreme Court aimed to keep in line with the idea of federalism as it then existed, balancing states' rights with the protection of civil liberties, rather than simply opposing the new amendments. For instance, in ''

Strauder v. West Virginia ''Strauder v. West Virginia'', 100 U.S. 303 (1880), was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States about racial discrimination and United States constitutional criminal procedure. ''Strauder'' was the first instance where t ...

'' the Court sided with those who wished to overturn the law that excluded black citizens from juries, which suggests that the Court was beginning to build a set of cases that enumerated rights based on the new amendments. However, in other aspects the Supreme Court reasserted states' rights in relation to the 14th Amendment in particular. In the

Slaughter-house cases The ''Slaughter-House Cases'', 83 U.S. (16 Wall.) 36 (1873), was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision consolidating several cases that held that the Privileges or Immunities Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution only pr ...

and '' Bradwell v. Illinois'' the Court supported the view that the amendment regulated states rather than individuals practicing discrimination. Both of these cases allowed states to enforce laws that infringed on individual rights.

End of dual federalism

The general consensus among scholars is that dual federalism ended during Franklin Roosevelt's presidency in 1937 when the New Deal policies were decided constitutional by the Supreme Court. Industrialization, economic modernization, and conditions surrounding the Great Depression elevated commerce to a more national level, so there was an overlap in the powers of the federal government and the states. The federal government, using the

Commerce Clause The Commerce Clause describes an enumerated power listed in the United States Constitution ( Article I, Section 8, Clause 3). The clause states that the United States Congress shall have power "to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and amon ...

, passed national policies to regulate the economy. The

Interstate Commerce Act The Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 is a United States federal law that was designed to regulate the railroad industry, particularly its monopolistic practices. The Act required that railroad rates be "reasonable and just," but did not empower ...

and

Sherman Antitrust Act The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 (, ) is a United States antitrust law which prescribes the rule of free competition among those engaged in commerce. It was passed by Congress and is named for Senator John Sherman, its principal author. ...

solidified Congress's authority to regulate commerce between states and expanded its role. This, in addition to the New Deal policies, led to the federal government and the states working together more, ending the era of dual federalism and moving America into

. However, political scientists have argued different theories concerning the end of dual federalism. As opposed to a clear transition from dual federalism to cooperative federalism, some political scientists say there was a much more complicated relationship between the states and the federal government. Rather than a competition for power, the powers of the state and federal government change according to national political movements and their agendas; a dynamic that existed both before and after the New Deal. Other political scientists see dual federalism ending much earlier than the New Deal; This would have been the beginning of cooperative federalism as the federal government identified a problem, set up the basic outline of the program to address the problem, and make money available to fund that program, and then turning over much of the responsibility for implementing and running the program to the states and localities. Daniel Elazar argues that there was substantial cooperation among the states and federal government beginning in the 19th century, leading up to the Civil War and several political scientists assert that starting from the 1870s and throughout the

Progressive Era The Progressive Era (late 1890s – late 1910s) was a period of widespread social activism and political reform across the United States focused on defeating corruption, monopoly, waste and inefficiency. The main themes ended during Am ...

, the federal government and states worked together to create national policies.

Outside the United States

The governments of

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, Australia,

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, Comoros,

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Micronesia Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of about 2,000 small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: the Philippines to the west, Polynesia to the east, and ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts and Nevis (), officially the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis, is an island country and microstate consisting of the two islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis, both located in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands chain ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, Switzerland,

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...

, and

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

also operate through federalism.Kincaid, John (01/01/2005). ''Constitutional Origins, Structure, and Change in Federal Countries'' (0-7735-2849-0, 978-0-7735-2849-9), (p. ix). The federations of Australia, Canada, and Switzerland most closely resemble the model of American dual federalism in which fundamental governmental powers are divided between the federal and state governments, with the states exercising broad powers.Lowi, Theodore J., Benjamin Ginsberg, Kenneth A. Shepsle, and Ansolabehere. ''American Government: Power and Purpose''. New York: Norton, 2012. Print. While the American federalist system allocates both legislative and administrative powers to each division of government, European federations have historically allocated legislative powers to the federal government and left constituents to administer and implement these laws. Most western federalist systems in recent years have drifted away from autonomous levels of governments with strong state powers and moved toward more centralized federal governments, as seen in the American government's transition from dual to cooperative federalism. The Canadian and Australian federal systems closely resemble the American construct of dual federalism in that their legislative and executive powers are allocated in the same policy area to a single level of government.Canada. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Department of Canadian Heritage.Australia. Constitution of Australia. Parliament of Australia. In contrast, some federal structures, such as those of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, consist of federal governments exercising broad legislative powers and constituent governments allocated the power to administer such legislation in a style similar to cooperative federalism.German Constitution. ICL - Germany Constitution. Austria. Constitution. ''The Constitution of the Federal State of Austria''. Wien: Printed by A.Raftl, 1935. Print.Switzerland. Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation. Constitutions with delegations of broad powers to the state level of government that resemble the

include the Constitution of Australia and the

Constitution of Canada The Constitution of Canada (french: Constitution du Canada) is the supreme law in Canada. It outlines Canada's system of government and the civil and human rights of those who are citizens of Canada and non-citizens in Canada. Its contents a ...

. The Australian Constitution was designed to enumerate a limited range of federal powers and leave the rest to the states. The Canadian Constitution, in contrast, assigned all residual powers to the federal government and enumerated a complete list of state powers. The

Austrian Constitution The Constitution of Austria (german: Österreichische Bundesverfassung) is the body of all constitutional law of the Republic of Austria on the federal level. It is split up over many different acts. Its centerpiece is the Federal Constitutional ...

Constitution of Germany The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Grundgesetz für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland) is the constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany. The West German Constitution was approved in Bonn on 8 May 1949 and came i ...

, and

Swiss Constitution The Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation (SR 10; german: Bundesverfassung der Schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft (BV); french: Constitution fédérale de la Confédération suisse (Cst.); it, Costituzione federale della Confederaz ...

enumerate few policy fields exclusive to the states, but enumerate extensive concurrent powers. The federations operate chiefly through legislation produced by the federal government and left to the

Länder Länder (singular Land) or Bundesländer (singular Bundesland) is the name for (federal) states in two German-speaking countries. It may more specifically refer to: * States of Austria, the nine federal subdivisions of Austria * States of Germany ...

or state governments to implement. Since 1991, Russia may also be considered a dual federation.

Origins of "layer cake" metaphor

In his second term, President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

organized the

Commission on National Goals The U.S. President's Commission on National Goals was organized in February 1960 as a non-official body whose purpose was to develop a broad outline of national objectives and programs for the next decade and longer. Composition The commission o ...

to broadly outline national objectives. Included in their 1960 report ''Goals for Americans: The Report of the President's Commission on National Goals'' was "The Federal System", a report by political scientist

Morton Grodzins Morton M. Grodzins (11 August 1917 – 7 March 1964) was a professor of political science at the University of Chicago, as well as a dean of the school and an editor at Chicago University Press. He is known for coining the term " tipping point" in ...

. In this report, Grodzins first coined the terms "layer cake federalism" and "marble cake federalism." He used the metaphor of a layer cake to describe the system of dual federalism, the separated layers of the cake symbolizing how distinct spheres of power that the state and federal governments have not been inhabited. He contrasted this with marble cake, which he saw as descriptive of federalism's status in 1960, the swirling indistinct boundaries of the cake symbolizing the overlapping and concurrent duties of the state and federal governments.