The Necessary And Proper Clause

He defines necessary very strictly citing that power given to the national government has to be absolutely necessary for the government to take that power. He continues that though it might be convenient or nice for the national government to have this power that it is not strictly necessary for the government to have. (1)

First, the Constitution guards us from tyranny by dividing powers between the central and state governments otherwise known as federalism. The Constitution expressly granted broad powers to the federal government, but not to the states. For instance, the Constitution includes the Necessary and Proper Clause, which allows Congress to make any law they deem appropriate to fulfill its duties. Instead of showing how much power that states have, the Constitution stressed what the states couldn 't do. The addition of the Bill of Rights, including the Tenth Amendment, helped to correct some of this imbalance. The Tenth Amendment reserved to the states or the people all powers either not specifically delegated to the national government or specifically denied to the states. This meant that the central and state

The Necessary and Proper clause is the clause that allows congress to better do their job. It allows them to make all laws which are ruled necessary and proper to be carried into execution by the next powers. In the US constitution article 1, section VIII it states the following, “The Congress should have power…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.” This is what the Necessary and proper clause is. If you look at enumerated powers you see that it grants powers explicitly to congress. Implied powers are granted to congress that has assumed in order to better do its job. Reserved powers are powers that the Constitution does not give to the national government and are kept by the state. The Necessary and

Some might think that it gives Congress the power to do whatever it wants to do, but that is not so. Congress should only use this clause to create legislation directly relating to an expressed power in the Constitution. The laws should only be what is necessary and proper. If legislation does not meet either of these requirements, it is not in Congress’s power to enact it. The necessary and proper clause, though sometimes used correctly, has often been misused. One example can be found in a court case that took place in 1896 (United States v. Gettysburg Electric Rail Co.). The case decided whether Congress had the power to condemn a railroad’s land. The necessary and proper clause, wrongly used, justified that Congress had the power to condemn that land and create a park. Congress argued that this decision fell under Congress’s expressed power to raise and equip armies. This is just one example of many. When the national bank was created many people thought that this stretched the necessary and proper clause. The necessary and proper clause had been stretched many times. The clause is sometimes called the “elastic clause” because of its

The Constitution was written in order to replace the Articles of Confederation and create a centralized government. Times continue to change, and therefore laws must be altered such to keep up with those changes. This was the sole purpose of the amending process of the Constitution. The purpose of the very first amendment was to allow Congress the authority to get involved with state powers that was not allowed at first. This article, Article 1, has been very controversial and confusing at times. It has been a part of our judicial system in judgment of laws and their necessity and still affects us today.

The Necessary and Proper Clause is part of Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution. Americans love the Constitution but little do they actually know about its powers. Powers, established in statements, which come along with bills from the House of Representatives, are tried by the Necessary and Proper Clause and determined Constitutional or unconstitutional.

The Constitution guarded against tyranny through separation of powers. Separation of powers is a system that divides governmental power between three branches and each branch has a different job. Document B is an excerpt from the Constitution. It was written by 55 delegates in 1787 during the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. The convention was held to make a new plan of government for the country after the Articles of Confederation were abolished. Document B says “All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States...The executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States...The judicial power of the United States shall be invested in one Supreme Court.” This quote means that Congress

One of the Articles of the Constitution is about the Legislative Branch, or the congress. It tells them what they can and can’t do to people. It shows how it will be broken up into 2 houses of government, and what lawmaking abilities they can use. It gives them a certain amount of power, which helps our country. The framers wrote this detailed description for the legislative branch so that always knew

11. Which clause states that the Constitution, and federal statutes and treaties, shall be the supreme law of the land.

8). The second reason he interpreted the constitution this way was because if the Constitution were to be interpreted loosely, it would pose a threat towards Slavery. Jefferson had supported slavery, and did not want the government to be able to gain more power through the clause, and in the long run, eventually ending slavery in America. The final reason Jefferson opposed Hamilton's interpretation was because Hamilton was using his loose interpretation to his advantage, creating a bank to further push his financial plan into motion, which was the exact opposite of what Jefferson wanted as it went against all of his beliefs. Jefferson was trying to stop Hamilton's plan, and one way was to stop the abuse of the “Necessary and Proper” clause.

An example of checks and balances is the two-third vote of Congress to approve a bill that the president has vetoed. Another provision of the Constitution that provides a means of preventing the abuse or misuse of governmental power is higher law which is to be obeyed by the government in the U.S. Constitution. The higher laws were established to protect individual rights. The government cannot use any of its power to take these rights away from any person without due process of law or in times of war. The last but not least provision that prevents the misuse or abuse of governmental power is the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights was put into our Constitution to help each person receive the rights they deserve, and to limit the government’s power in order to secure people’s rights.

(Document 2) This quote illustrates that there was no way to prevent the branches (executive, judicial, legislative) from abusing their powers. The anti-federalists feared what this strong central government would become. Reasonably, if the constitution was ratified, the federalists would have endless control. The anti federalists feared the government would become a monarchy. Perhaps the biggest argument was mentioned in The Debates in the Several State Conventions on the adoption of the Federal Constitution, “it is the opinion of this convention that certain amendments and alterations in the said Constitution would remove the fears and quiet the apprehensions of many of the good people of the commonwealth….powers not expressly delegated by the constitution… are reserved to several states.” (Document 6) This quote states that the powers that were not given to the original constitution would now be given to the states. Basically, if there was any right or law not originally in the constitution the states were given the right to adjust and look after it.

Thomas Jefferson believed in the ?strict interpretation'; of the constitution, especially the Tenth Amendment. The Tenth Amendment states,'; 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.'; Jefferson argued that since the Constitution did not specifically empower the federal government to establish a national bank, thus it could not do so. Hamilton argued for a loose interpretation. He relied on the implied powers clause which states that Congress can make all laws ?necessary and proper'; for the execution of its power.

Implied powers are powers that are given to Congress by the Constitution in which they have the power to make any law that is necessary and proper for conveying the foregoing powers. Reserved powers fall under the tenth amendment, and their purpose is to reserve powers to the states. Concurrent Powers are the powers that both the national and state governments have such as the power to retain power for the regulation of commerce.

The text does not define implied and expressed powers. It only states that the Constitution includes both. After reading the information in the text and the class study guide, I would interpret implied powers as the gray areas in which Hamilton was referring. The implied powers are the rules that are open to different interpretations and are the ones that can be used when a new law is “necessary”. Implied powers are not specific and generally vague. Expressed powers are the concrete powers. They mean exactly what they say and little or no room for different interpretation is allowed. An example of an expressed power is that Congress can declare war.