What was the major reason for the death of dual federalism?

Answer 1

Duel federalism is a system of government in which both the states and the national government have their own separate spheres. However, today the American federal system is one of cooperative federalism, where powers and policies are shared between the states and national government through 1) shared costs 2) Federal guidelines and 3) Shared administration.

The death of duel federalism came about from the realization that the two spheres could not function without each other, and oftentimes overlapped. For instance, states take advantage of categorical grants (a major component of fiscal federalism), where the national government provides money for things such as education, in return for increased competitiveness (This is the No Child Left Behind Act).

Also, the lines between national and state power have blurred, and national government has become more powerful, especially in the realm of the economy through the commerce clause. For example, in Garcia v San Antonia Metro (1985), the Supreme Court found that Congress could extend the Fair Labor Standards Act, which requires employers provide minimum wage and overtime pay to employees, to state and local governments. This overturned a previous Supreme Court ruling stating that this violated the 10th amendment. In addition, Gibbons v Ogden (1824) found that the national government could regulate interstate commerce (which basically means they can regulate anything).

In short, duel federalism died because it was outdated, and cooperative federalism is much more efficient. In fact, it may be impossible to return to duel federalism today, since states would have no way of paying for education, highways, welfare, or medicare on their own.