delegated powers

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.

• Limited Government

  • In a limited government, the power of government to intervene in the exercise of civil liberties is restricted by constitutional law.
  • Together, these two last amendments clarify the differences between the enumerated rights of the people versus the expressly codified delegated powers of the federal government.
  • Reversely, though, the Tenth Amendment codified that any delegated powers of the federal government are only authorized to be performed so long as such delegated powers are expressly delegated to the federal government specifically by the Constitution.
  • The Constitution limits the power of the government in several ways.
  • Limited government exists where some effective limits restrict governmental power.

• 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.

• Separation of Powers

  • Separation of powers is a doctrine in which each of the three branches of government have defined powers independent of each other.
  • Each of the three branches would have defined powers to check the powers of the other branches.
  • Under the nondelegation doctrine, Congress may not delegate its lawmaking responsibilities to any other agency.
  • One of the earliest cases involving the exact limits of non-delegation was Wayman v.
  • Congress had delegated to the courts the power to prescribe judicial procedure, and it was contended that in doing so Congress had unconstitutionally clothed the judiciary with legislative powers.

• Debate over the Presidency and the Judiciary

  • Most of the convention was spent deciding these issues, while the powers of legislature, executive, and judiciary were not heavily disputed .
  • By the time the rest of the Virginia delegation arrived, most of the Pennsylvania delegation had arrived as well.
  • The delegates agreed with Madison that the executive function had to be independent of the legislature.
  • The committee transferred important powers from the Senate to the president who now, for example, would be given the power to make treaties and appoint ambassadors.
  • The Constitutional Convention agreed that the house would elect the president if no candidate had an Electoral College majority, but that each state delegation would vote as a block, rather than individually.

• 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

• The Constitutional Convention

  • The delegates elected George Washington to preside over the convention.
  • The Virginia Plan was a proposal by Virginia delegates for a bicameral legislative branch.
  • Among the most controversial issues confronting the delegates was that of slavery.
  • Twenty-five of the Convention's 55 delegates owned slaves, including all of the delegates from Virginia and South Carolina.
  • It was proposed by delegates James Wilson and Roger Sherman.

• The Annapolis Convention

  • Hamilton's efforts brought his desire to have a more powerful, more financially independent federal government one step closer to reality .
  • Because of the small representation, the Annapolis Convention did not deem "it advisable to proceed on the business of their mission. " After an exchange of views, the Annapolis delegates unanimously submitted a report to their respective States in which they suggested that a convention of representatives from all the States meet at Philadelphia on the second Monday in May, 1787.
  • The report 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.
  • At the resulting Philadelphia Convention of 1787, delegates produced the United States Constitution.

• Federalists and Antifederalists

  • However, many delegates intended to use this convention to draft a new constitution.
  • All states except for Rhode Island sent delegates, though not all delegates attended the Convention.
  • The New Jersey Plan also increased the Congress' power, but it did not go nearly as far as the Virginia Plan.
  • Interested in retaining power, states were resistant to ratifying a new, stronger central government.
  • On the other hand, the Anti-Federalists also supported a House of Representative with substantive power.

• Drafting the Final Document

  • Due to the difficulty of travel in the late 18th century, very few of the selected delegates were present on the designated day of May 14, 1787.
  • During the debates, each state was allowed to cast a single vote in accordance with the majority opinion of the state's delegates.
  • Some delegates wanted to add property qualifications for people to hold office.
  • Moving by state delegation from north to south, as had been the custom throughout the Convention, the delegates filed to the front of the room to sign their names .
  • It was chaired by John Rutledge (nicknamed "Dictator John" as a reflection of the extraordinary power he had assumed as South Carolina's governor during the early days of the Revolution).