<P> 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 . </P> <P> 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 . </P> <P> 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 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 </P> <P> However, in other aspects the Supreme Court reasserted states' rights in relation to the 14th Amendment in particular . In the Slaughter - house cases 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 . </P>

During which period was dual federalism the dominant form of federalism in the united states