Lesson 14 : What was the conflict over the legislative power of the national government?

1. Lesson 14: What was the conflict over the legislative power of the national government? • One of the major problems facing the Framers was how much power to give the national government. • Today we will learn about the debates over this problem and how agreement was reached on the powers of Congress—the legislative branch. • When we finish, you should be able to explain how these debates affected the way the Constitution was written.

2. In what ways did the Framers believe that the Articles of Confederation had not given Congress enough power? • Congress did not have enough power to deal with trade and economic problems • Congress was not strong enough to control state governments • Framers were convinced that the state legislatures were passing laws that violated the property rights of many citizens. • Congress didn’t have the power to act directly on the people • If it passed laws, it had to depend on the states to enforce them • Congress could not raise taxes to support itself—it could only ask the states for money • Many states ignored congressional requests for funds

3. In what way did the Framers’ experience with Great Britain leave them suspicious? • It had left many of the Framers very suspicious of national power—they didn’t want the new national government to ignore their rights the way King George III had.

4. The delegates disagreed over how much power to give to each of the three branches of the national government. The problem was to create a national government that was: • Strong enough to protect the rights of the people (especially property rights), and yet • Not so strong that it would endanger those rights.

5. What did many Framers believe was the problem with using general language to describe what powers the national government would have? • General language could be interpreted to give the government the power to do almost anything it wanted to do. • General language does not provide a good way to limit the powers of government.

6. What did many Framers believe was the problem with using very specific language to write down exactly what the Congress could and could not do? • Specific language means that they would have made a list of things that Congress was allowed to do, and Congress couldn’t do anything that wasn’t on the list • But it might leave out important powers needed by the Congress to deal with unforeseen situations

7. What was the solution that the Framers came up with? • The Framer’s solution was to use both general and specific language. • The Constitution would give specific powers to Congress and place limitations on those powers. • It would also include two general clauses which would give Congress the power to deal with unexpected situations.

8. Article 1 of the Constitution deals with the powers of Congress and lists ____ (#) specific, or enumerated, powers. Some of these power are the right of Congress to: • 17 • Impose and collect taxes and duties (tariffs) • Borrow money • Regulate commerce (trade) with foreign nations and among the states • Coin money • Establish post offices • Declare war and raise an army and navy

9. Article 1, section 8 also includes two important general statements of power given to Congress. These give Congress the power to: • “provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States….”, and • Make all laws which shall be “necessary and proper” for carrying out the enumerated powers that have been given to Congress. • For example, the Constitution gives Congress the power to maintain an army and navy. The necessary and proper clause gives it the power to pass those laws that are necessary to do this. These might include the power to pass laws required citizens to serve in the armed forces

10. What have the general welfare and necessary and proper clauses allowed the Congress to do over the years? What has this resulted in? • They have allowed the Congress to greatly increase its powers • As a result, today the government is far more powerful than the Framers would have imagined it to be

11. How does Article 1, section 9 limit the power of Congress? • Article I, Section 9 was included to make sure that the government did not become a threat to the people’s rights. • It lists the things that Congress cannot do. Examples: • Cannot create a class of nobles (Framers didn’t want to be like England) • Members of Congress cannot accept titles of nobility from foreign governments • Shows how important the Framers thought it was for republican government to treat all citizens equally

12. What does Article 1, section 10 do? • Limits the powers of state governments by listing things that state governments cannot do. For example: • States cannot tax the import or export of goods • They cannot declare or carry out a war

13. Homework for Tonight • Read Lesson 15 in your text (pp. 61-65) • Answer the study guide questions for Lesson 15