American Citizenship Chapter 11 Notes Powers of Congress

Transcription

1 American Citizenship Chapter 11 Notes Powers of Congress Section 1 a. The Scope of Congressional Powers B. Congressional Power a. Congress only has the powers delegated to it by the Constitution i. Cannot do: set a minimum age for marriage or driver s license 4. abolish jury trials etc. ii. Can do: 1. Expressed Powers a. 2. Implied Powers a. 3. Inherent Powers C. Strict Versus Liberal Construction a. Originally, the split over the federalist and antifederalist was about the powers of Congress i. Strict Constructionist 1. Chapter 11 Page 1

2 2. That government is best which governs least 3. ii. Liberal Constructionists 1. b. i. Also known as a consensus 1. Section 2 c. The Expressed Powers of Money and Commerce D. The Power to Tax a. The Constitution gives congress the right to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises Article 1 Section 8 Clause 1 b. The Purpose of Taxes i. 1. c. Limits on the Taxing Power i. ii. Congress can not tax exports iii. Direct taxes must be apportioned among the states 1. iv. All indirect taxes must be levied at the same rate in all parts of the country Chapter 11 Page 2

3 1. E. Borrowing Power a. There are no restriction on the amount of money that Congress can borrow b. i. c. The public debt has grown rapidly since 1969 i. F. The Commerce Power a. i. Originally a major weakness of the Article of Confederation b. Gibbons v. Ogden, 1824 i. Arose out of a clash over the regulation of steamboats by the State of New York ii. 1. c. Limits on the Commerce Power i. Cannot tax exports ii. Cannot favor the ports of one state over those of any other in the regulation of trade iii. iv. Could not interfere with the slave trade Chapter 11 Page 3

4 G. The Currency Power a. Due to the confusion after the Revolutionary War, the framers of the Constitution called for a single, national system of hard money i. b. Congress created the first Bank of the United States in 1791 and they created paper money i. 1. ii. By 1861 the paper money was legal tender H. The Bankruptcy Power a. b. Bankruptcy i. Section 3 c. Other Expressed Powers I. Foreign Relations Powers a. Congress shares power in this field with the President i. b. Receives these powers from two sources i. ii. Implied by being the Legislative Branch 1. Chapter 11 Page 4

5 J. War Powers a. The Constitution makes the President the Commander in Chief, however Congress has strong war powers as well b. Congress has the ability to: i. ii. Raise and support armies iii. Provide and maintain a navy iv. v. Etc. c. K. Other Expressed Powers a. Naturalization i. b. Postal Power i. Article 1, Section 8, Article 7 1. Federal law to obstruct the mails 2. States can not tax the Postal Service c. Copyrights and Patents i. ii. Copyright Currently they are registered by the Library of Congress and last the lifetime of the author and 70 years afterwards Chapter 11 Page 5

6 iii. Patent Good for 20 years iv. d. Weights and Measures i. Power to fix the stands of weights and measures Article 1, Section 8, Clause 5 e. Power Over Territories and Other Areas i. Power to acquire, manage and dispose of various federal areas ii. 1. f. Judicial Powers i. ii. Right to define federal crimes and set punishments for violators of federal law Section 4 g. The Implied Powers L. The Necessary and Proper Clause a. Congress appropriates money to many programs not called for in the Constitution i. ii. This is called implied powers Chapter 11 Page 6

7 b. Article 1, Section 8, Clause 18 i. This clause has been used to expand the power of Congress to Implied Powers M. The Battle Over Implied Powers a. Began with Alexander Hamilton, as Secretary of Treasury, helped Congress set up a national bank i. b. McCulloch v. Maryland, 1819 i. Congress had created the Second Bank of the United States in Maryland ii. Maryland began taxing the bank, as a form of checks and balance 1. iii. 1. Chief Justice John Marshall used the necessary and proper clause to meet the expressed power over commerce 2. c. The Doctrine in Practice i. A principle or fundamental policy N. Section 5 a. The Nonlegislative Powers Chapter 11 Page 7

8 O. Constitutional Amendments a. i. Done 33 times b. Also call a national convention of delegates i. Never been done P. Electoral Duties a. House of Representatives may be called on to elect a President i. 1. Done in 1801 with Thomas Jefferson and 1825 with John Quincy Adams b. Also, 25 th Amendment provides for the filling of a vacancy in the vice presidency i. President nominates a successor ii. Q. Impeachment a. The House has the sole power to impeach i. b. c. Impeachment requires only a majority vote in the House; conviction requires a two-thirds vote in the Senate i. d. Andrew Johnson i. Became president after the death of Abraham Lincoln ii. 1. However acquitted by the Senate a. Chapter 11 Page 8

9 e. Bill Clinton i. Impeached by the House on an account of perjury and obstruction of justice Also acquitted by the Senate f. Richard Nixon i. In June 1972, Republic operatives attempted to break into the Democratic Party s national headquarters in Watergate Complex in D.C. 1. ii. The probe over this incident led to a long list of illegal acts iii. House voted to impeach Nixon and requested a subpoena of several tape recordings from the Oval Office 1. iv. R. Executive Powers a. Appointments i. b. Treaties i Also, the House holds the purse strings, so many times they are consulted in the treatymaking process Chapter 11 Page 9

10 S. Investigatory Power a. Has the Power to investigate issues i. ii. iii. Focus public attention on a particular subject iv. v. Promote the particular interests of some members of Congress Chapter 11 Page 10