Chapter 4B Flashcards
Describe Congress’s expressed powers.
powers granted to Congress that are explicitly stated in the Constitution
How many expressed powers are there?
27
How are expressed powers different than implied powers?
Unlike expressed powers, implied powers are powers not explicitly named in the Constitution but assumed to exist.
Examples of Expressed Powers
- power to regulate both foreign and interstate commerce
- borrow money (allows government to pay for policies and programs it doesn’t have the money to because of the nation’s debt)
- declare war
- coin money (allowed Congress to establish stable national currency system)
- lay and collect taxes (raise money to meet public needs)
Described implied powers.
powers granted to Congress that are not explicitly stated in the Constitution but assumed to exist because they are required for the exercise of its expressed powers
Explain the roots of implied powers.
Necessary and Proper Clause - allows Congress to choose the means “for carrying into execution” the many powers given to it by the Constitution
Examples of Implied Powers
If Congress has the expressed power to…
- lay and collect taxes, then it has the implied powers to punish tax evaders and set conditions to qualify for federal funding.
- borrow money, then it has the implied power to establish the Federal Reserve System of Banks.
- regulate commerce, then it has the implied powers to establish a minimum wage, ban discrimination in workplaces/public facilities, and pass laws that protect the disabled.
- raise armies and a navy, then it has the implied power to draft Americans into the military.
What is the controversy behind implied powers?
-Some supported the elastic clause, while others worried that this broad interpretation of the Constitution would destroy the reserved powers of the state/result in too powerful of a government.
What are the two different viewpoints/philosophies that lay behind the powers of Congress?
Strict v. Liberal Constructionists:
Strict- wanted Congress to have only those powers explicitly granted to it by the Constitution
Liberal - wanted Congress to exercise implied powers in addition to its expressed powers
What role does Congress have in electing the President?
House may be called to elect President if no candidate wins a majority vote in the Electoral College (each state has one vote).
-Senate may be called to elect Vice President if no candidate wins the majority of electoral votes in that office (each senator gets one vote).
What does Congress have to do with impeachment?
- House has the sole power to impeach the President (majority vote).
- Senate has the sole power to try the President (conviction requires ⅔ vote).
Amendment Process
- an amendment may be proposed by a two-thirds vote in each house of Congress and ratified by three-fourths of the State legislatures
- an amendment may be proposed by a two-thirds vote in each house of Congress and then ratified in a state convention by three-fourths of the States
- proposed at a national convention called by Congress when requested by two-thirds of the State legislatures and then ratified by three-fourths of the State legislatures
- proposed at a national convention called by Congress when requested by two-thirds of the State legislatures and then ratified by conventions in three-fourths of the States
Necessary and Proper Clause
elastic clause; enables Congress to make the laws required for the exercise of its other powers established by the Constitution
Commerce Clause
gives Congress the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations, with Indian tribes, and among several states
McCulloch v. Maryland
Maryland law required all banks not chartered by the state to print their currency on special paper (which would result in a tax); McCulloch, cashier of the Baltimore branch of the Second Bank of the United States, refused to use the paper, claiming Maryland could not tax the federal government; Supreme Court ruled Maryland’s law unconstitutional (major victory for liberal constructionists)
Gibbons v. Ogden
a landmark decision in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the power to regulate interstate commerce, granted to Congress by the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution, encompassed the power to regulate navigation
Strict Constructionist
led by Thomas Jefferson; Anti-Federalist position; believed Congress should exercise its expressed power and only implied powers absolutely necessary to carry out those expressed powers; “government is best which governs least”
Liberal “Loose” Constructionist
led by Alexander Hamilton; Federalist position; favored broad interpretation of powers given to Congress
Impeach
to accuse; bring charges against
Limits on Use of Commerce Power
- cannot tax exports
- cannot favor Ports of one State over those of any other in the regulation of trade
- cannot require vessels bound (to or from) one state to pay taxes in another
- could not interfere with slave trade until 1808
Inherent Powers
powers that belong to all sovereign nations
Money Powers
- power to tax
- power to borrow
- power to establish laws on bankruptcy
- power to coin money
War Powers
- declare war
- power to raise and support armies
- provide and maintain a navy
- make rules for governing of nation’s military forces
- power to call forth a militia (power to organize, arm, and discipline that force)
- power to grant letters of marque and reprisal
Limits on Taxing Power
- may only tax for public purposes, not for private benefit
- may not tax exports
- direct taxes must be apportioned among the states, according to population
- all indirect taxes must be levied at the same rate in every part of the country
