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The Federalist No. 45 (James Madison) (The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite.
Federalism at the Founding can therefore best be described as “Enumerated Powers Federalism.” The national government was conceived as one of limited and enumerated powers. The powers of states were simply everything left over after that enumeration.
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- The Enumerated Powers
- Article I - The Legislative Branch
- The Implied Powers
- The Commerce Clause Powers
- Powers Not Specified: The Tenth Amendment
The complete text of Article I, Section 8 creating the 17 enumerated powers of Congress reads as follows:
Section 8
1. Clause 1: The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts, and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States; 2. Clause 2: To borrow Money on the credit of the United States; 3. Clause 3: To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes; 4. Clause 4: To establish a uniform Rule o...
The final clause of Article I, Section 8—known as the “Necessary and Proper Clause” is the source of the implied powers of Congress. 1. Clause 18: 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 D...
In passing many laws, Congress draws its authority from the “Commerce Clause” of Article I, Section 8, granting Congress the power to regulate business activities “among the states.” Over the years, Congress has relied on the Commerce Clause to pass environmental, gun control, and consumer protection laws because many aspects of business require ma...
All powers not granted to the U.S. Congress by Article I, Section 8 are left to the states. Worried that these limitations to the powers of the federal government were not clearly enough stated in the original Constitution, the First Congress adopted the Tenth Amendment, which clearly states that all powers not granted to the federal government are...
- Robert Longley
Questions about federalism: Federalism refers to the distribution of power between the federal government and the state governments. The Constitution sketches a federal framework that aims to balance the forces of decentralized and centralized governance in general terms.
- Article I assigns the responsibility for making laws to the Legislative Branch (Congress). Congress is divided into two parts, or “Houses,” the House of Representatives and the Senate.
- Article II details the Executive Branch and the offices of the President and Vice President. It lays down rules for electing the President (through the Electoral College), eligibility (must be a natural-born citizen at least 35 years old), and term length.
- Article III establishes the Judicial Branch with the U.S. Supreme Court as the federal court system’s highest court. It specifies that Federal judges be appointed for life unless they commit a serious crime.
- Article IV outlines states’ powers in relationship to each other. States have the authority to create and enforce their own laws but must respect and help enforce the laws of other states.
Originally including seven articles, the Constitution delineates the national frame and constrains the powers of the federal government. The Constitution's first three articles embody the doctrine of the separation of powers, in which the federal government is divided into three branches: the legislative, consisting of the bicameral Congress ...
