delegated powers

(noun)

The delegated powers – also called enumerated powers – are a list of items found in Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution that set forth the authoritative capacity of Congress.

Related Terms

Examples of delegated powers in the following topics:

  • Delegated Powers

    • The delegated powers are a list of items found in the U.S.
    • Almost all presidential powers rely on what Congress does or does not do.
    • And many presidential powers are delegated powers that Congress has accorded presidents to exercise on its behalf and that it can cut back or rescind.
    • The delegated powers, also called enumerated powers, are a list of items found in Article I, Section 8 of the U.S.
    • The Tenth Amendment states that "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. " Historically, Congress and the Supreme Court of the United States have broadly interpreted these provisions.

  • The 10th Amendment

    • The Tenth Amendment states the Constitution's principle of federalism by providing that powers not granted to the federal government by the Constitution, nor prohibited to the States, are reserved to the States or the people.
    • The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

  • The U.S. Constitution

    • Delegates from these states supported the VIrginia Plan, crafted by James Madison, which included a system of proportional representation in Congress as well as an extension of congressional powers.
    • Southern delegates originally demanded that slaves be counted as a whole person while Northern delegates argued that only free people could be counted.
    • Another issue that faced the Convention was creating a balance between state and federal veto power.
    • Although the delegates agreed that the states wielded too much veto power under the Articles of Confederation, most resisted the idea that the federal government could directly circumscribe state legislative powers.
    • They guarantee a number of personal freedoms, limit the government's power in judicial and other proceedings, and reserve some powers to the states and the public.

  • The Structure of the Government

    • To achieve this it was imperative that no one division of government achieve too much power or control over other branches.
    • Accordingly, the delegates agreed on several principles.
    • Drawing on English common law and the writings of Enlightenment political philosophers, most of these plans provided for some form of separation between a legislative, executive, and judicial power.
    • Delegates from these states supported the VIrginia Plan, crafted by James Madison, which included a system of proportional representation in Congress as well as an extension of congressional powers.
    • Describe the work done by the delegates to the Constitutional Convention

  • "A More Perfect Union"

    • In addition, the Articles gave the weak federal government no taxing power: it was wholly dependent on the states for its money, and had no power to force delinquent states to pay.
    • Delegates also eventually supported the creation of "checks and balances" among three branches of government and a division of power between the national and state government.
    • Twenty-five of the Convention's 55 delegates owned slaves, including all of the delegates from Virginia and South Carolina.
    • Delegates settled on a compromise: Congress would have the power to ban the international slave trade, but not for another 20 years (that is, not until after 1808).
    • Convention delegates were successful in creating a powerful document and a United States.

  • Delegation of Authority

    • Assigning a subordinate as a project leader is a form of delegation
    • Delegation empowers a subordinate to make decisions and if properly done, is not abdication.
    • The opposite of effective delegation is micromanagement, where a manager provides too much input, direction, and review of delegated work.
    • Poor delegation, on the other hand, might cause frustration and confusion.
    • It follows that whoever wields personal influence and power can legitimize this only by gaining a formal position in the hierarchy, with commensurate authority.

  • A New Constitution

    • Drawing on British common law and the writings of Enlightenment political philosophers, most of these plans provided for some form of separation between a legislative, executive, and judicial power.
    • Delegates from these states supported the Virginia Plan, crafted by James Madison, which included a system of proportional representation in Congress as well as an extension of congressional powers.
    • The executive would be chosen by the legislative branch, which would have the power to negate state laws if they were deemed incompatible with the articles of union.
    • Not all of the delegates were pleased with the results; 13 delegates left before the signing ceremony and three of those remaining refused to sign.
    • Postage, Issue of 1937, depicting Delegates at the signing of the U.S.

  • From Annapolis to Philadelphia

    • Prior to the Philadelphia Convention, delegates met twice-—at Mount Vernon and Annapolis—to discuss changes to the Confederation.
    • The Mount Vernon delegates encouraged Pennsylvania and Delaware to join the agreement as well.
    • He had little to show for efforts to get Virginia's delegates in the Continental Congress to seek expanded powers to deal with trade issues.
    • He drafted its resolution for a constitutional convention, and in doing so brought his longtime desire to have a more powerful, more financially independent federal government one step closer to reality.
    • It expressed the hope that more states would be represented and that their delegates or deputies would be authorized to examine areas broader than simply commercial trade.

  • Congress of the Confederation

    • It was composed of delegates appointed by the states' legislatures.
    • Meanwhile, the American delegates in Paris, named by the Congress, negotiated the terms of peace with Great Britain.
    • The Congress had the power to declare war, sign treaties, and settle disputes between states, as well as borrow or print money.
    • The Congress had little power and, without the external threat of a war against the British, enough delegates to meet to form a quorum became more difficult.
    • The last meeting of the Continental Congress was held March 2, 1789, 2 days before the Constitutional government assumed power.

  • Concurrent Powers

    • Concurrent powers are the powers that are shared by both the State and the federal government, exercised simultaneously.
    • Concurrent powers are powers that are shared by both the State and the federal government.
    • These concurrent powers including regulating elections, taxing, borrowing money and establishing courts.
    • As Alexander Hamilton explained in The Federalist #32, "the State governments would clearly retain all the rights of sovereignty which they before had, and which were not, by that act, exclusively delegated to the United States. " Hamilton goes on to explain that this alienation would exist in three cases only: where there is in express terms an exclusive delegation of authority to the federal government, as in the case of the seat of government; where authority is granted in one place to the federal government and prohibited to the states in another, as in the case of imposts; and where a power is granted to the federal government "to which a similar authority in the States would be absolutely and totally contradictory and repugnant, as in the case of prescribing naturalization rules. "
    • Describe concurrent powers and how they are exercised in the federal system