enumerated powers

Examples of enumerated powers in the following topics:

• McCulloch v. Maryland

  • The Constitution grants to Congress implied powers for implementing the Constitution's express powers, in order to create a functional national government.
  • The court determined that Congress did have the power to create the Bank.
  • Marshall admitted that the Constitution does not enumerate a power to create a central Bank but said that this is not dispositive as to Congress's power to establish such an institution.
  • Fourth, in liberally interpreting the Necessary and Proper clause, the Court naturally rejected Maryland's narrow interpretation of the clause, which purported that the word "necessary" in the Necessary and Proper Clause meant that Congress could only pass those laws which were absolutely essential in the execution of its enumerated powers.
  • The Court rejected this argument on the grounds that many of the enumerated powers of Congress under the Constitution would be useless if only those laws deemed essential to a power's execution could be passed.

• Hamilton's Achievements

  • Alexander Hamilton's broad interpretation of Constitutional powers has influenced multiple generations of political theorists.
  • Though the Constitution was ambiguous as to the exact balance of power between national and state governments, Hamilton consistently argued in favor of greater federal power at the expense of the states, especially in his efforts to strengthen the national economy.
  • Hamilton justified the Bank and the broad scope of congressional power necessary to establish it by citing Congress' constitutional powers to issue currency, regulate interstate commerce, and enact any other legislation "necessary and proper" to enact the provisions of the Constitution.This broad view of congressional power was enshrined into legal precedent in the Supreme Court case McCulloch v.
  • Maryland, which granted the federal government broad freedom to select the best means to execute its constitutionally enumerated powers.
  • This ruling has since been termed the "doctrine of implied powers," in regards to the specified powers of the federal government in the Constitution.

• Hamilton's Legacy

  • Alexander Hamilton's broad interpretation of Constitutional powers has influenced multiple generations of political theorists.
  • This broad view of congressional power was enshrined into legal precedent in the Supreme Court case McCulloch v.
  • Maryland, which granted the federal government broad freedom to select the best means to execute its constitutionally enumerated powers.
  • This ruling has since been termed the "doctrine of implied powers."
  • Though the Constitution was ambiguous as to the exact balance of power between national and state governments, Hamilton consistently argued in favor of greater federal power at the expense of the states, especially in his efforts to strengthen the national economy.

• The State Constitutions

  • Individual state constitutions were created to help define and enumerate the powers not accorded to the federal government.
  • The Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, part of the Bill of Rights, provides that "[t]he 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 Guarantee Clause of Article 4 of the Constitution states that "[t]he United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government. " These two provisions give states the wide latitude to adopt a constitution, the fundamental documents of state law.
  • The District of Columbia Home Rule Act establishes the Council of the District of Columbia, which governs the entire district and has certain devolved powers similar to those of major cities.

• The Branches of Government

  • Each branch would have defined powers to check the powers of the other branches.
  • This idea was called separation of powers, and also came to be known as a system of checks and balances.
  • Article I, Section 8 enumerates legislative powers, which include: "To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof."
  • Essentially, Congress has the sole power to make, amend, and repeal US laws.
  • Congress, however, which has the power to set the jurisdiction of the courts, may limit judicial power to review the constitutionality of laws.

• Marbury v. Madison

  • The landmark decision helped define the power of the judiciary as a co-equal branch of the government, constitutionally separate from the executive and judicial branches.
  • The petition was therefore denied, but more importantly, the precedent for the Court's power of judicial review - not specificially enumerated in the Constitution - was established.

• "We the People"

  • The United States Constitution enumerates a system of government that aims to derive its power from the people.
  • However, this does not mean the states have power to legislate on all matters.
  • Although the Constitution expressly delegates to the federal government only some of the usual powers of sovereign governments (such as the powers to declare war and make treaties), all such powers inherently belong to the federal government as the country's representative in the international community.
  • Similarly, the federal government, as an attribute of sovereignty, has the power to enforce those powers that are granted to it.
  • In addition, the doctrine of separation of powers functions as a limitation on each branch of the federal government's exercise of sovereign power.

• The Expansion of the Federal Government

  • Ogden, both of which broadly expanded the power and supremacy of the national government.
  • The petition was therefore denied, but more importantly, the precedent for the Court's power of judicial review—not specifically enumerated in the Constitution—was established.
  • The Constitution grants to Congress implied powers for implementing the Constitution's express powers, in order to create a functional national government.
  • State action may not impede valid constitutional exercises of power by the Federal government.
  • Marshall avoided the issue of exclusivity of federal powers over commerce, claiming it was not essential to the case.

• The Bill of Rights

  • 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.
  • To prevent the federal government from assuming too much power, those who opposed the Constitution, the "Anti-Federalists", demanded a Bill of Rights, specifically designed to protect individual liberties.
  • Other Federalists claimed that the new government could not violate the peoples' rights because it only had limited powers.
  • James Madison, who believed it was unnecessary to guarantee people's rights explicitly when the federal government had such limited powers, nevertheless recognized that Congress should respond to the demands of the state conventions and authored the text of the Bill of Rights, passed as amendments to the Constitution in 1791.
  • Ninth Amendment: protects the rights not specifically enumerated in the Constitution.

• The Bill of Rights

  • 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.
  • To prevent the federal government from assuming too much power, those who opposed the Constitution, known as Anti-Federalists, demanded a Bill of Rights, specifically designed to protect individual liberties.
  • Other Federalists claimed that the new government could not violate the peoples' rights because it only had limited powers.
  • Ninth Amendment: protects the rights not specifically enumerated in the Constitution.