The Commerce Clause: Early United States

Improved Essays
Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 or commonly referred to as the Commerce Clause focuses on Congress authority to regulate Commerce with foreign nations, other states within the United States, and Indian Tribes. The Commerce Clause has come under increased pressure throughout the course of early United States history regarding Congresses authority to restrain state actions taken for reasons of commerce and the central authority granted to federal government. Due to the nature, vast definition of clause it has spawned decades of judicial review and debate over the limits congress can place on commerce.

Based on this week’s course readings and judicial review cases I have come to the understanding that the framers of Constitution saw that founders

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    Question #1: The first compromise was the decision to replace the Articles of Confederation rather than amend it. The initial plan of the Constitutional Convention attendees was to amend the Articles of Confederation. Two attendees, Governor Randolph from Virginia and William Patterson from New Jersey, shared their own modifications early on, known as the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan. As these plans were discussed, it became obvious that a new document was needed.…

    • 1229 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    After America declared its independence in July of 1776, Congress knew this was their opportunity to create something completely out of the ordinary, that would have to stand the tale of time. The following year, the Continental Congress created the Articles of Confederation, which ultimately divided the federal government from the state. This article wrote the ground rules for America's regulation of currency, foreign affairs and guidelines for war, but left out the States, to decipher their policies individually (1*). Ten years later, the Constitutional Convention knew that America needed to be seen as a whole, even with the separation of power. The Constitution was written to unionize the States with the Federal government, and was finalized…

    • 177 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    At a time when the nation was struggling to repay itʻs war debts as well as re-establishing itʻs trade market, the restrictions the Articles placed on itʻs governing body, impacted 3 vital areas of the economy: trade, currency, and taxes. Under the Articles of Confederation, the Continental Congress had no ability to regulate trade, except with Native Americans, as long as they did not impinge upon a stateʻs interests. Although Congress could negotiate treaties with foreign countries, which the states could not do, they could in no way influence trade deals, foreign or domestic. This led to each state having their own system of trade policies. (Brackemyre, n.d.)…

    • 390 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Our story starts when John C. Calhoun, our vice president, resigns because he does not like the tariff law. The tariff laws propose to encourage the Americans to buy Americans goods. The 1828 tariff was aimed at certain goods coming in from England. The goods were produced in New England. The Consumers in this case were people in the Southeast.…

    • 396 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    If congress deems something of interstate commerce that needs to be supervised, it will make sure that it is subject of regulations imposed by them. A state has the right to regulate its domestic commerce; it should be implemented in a manner that does not affect interstate commerce regulations imposed by congress. States are powerless to regulate commerce with Indian Tribes. The presence or absence of congressional action decides if a state may act in particular field, although congress has the exclusive power to control interstate commerce but the nature of the commerce must be examined if congress has control over it. It is up to the courts to decide the national or local character of the subject of regulation to balance the national interest against state interest.…

    • 349 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    After the Revolutionary War was won the Founding Fathers knew they had to create a document that would be able to govern the new country for many years to come. The first attempt at creating a constitution, the Articles of Confederation, proved insufficient due to the severe lack of power the national government held. To combat the nation’s problems, in the summer of 1787, the Founding Fathers met in Philadelphia to discuss a new form of government. The new constitution contained compromise about slavery, representation in the houses and many other topics that would shape the nation, and completely differed from the previous document. It laid out a system of separation of powers and checks and balances, for the newly developing country to avoid…

    • 1530 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Sedition Acts of 1798, also known as Alien and Sedition Acts, established a controversial stand point of the people. This act was passed by the Federalists and signed into by President John Adams. At the time, Federalists and Republicans were of the opposite opinions. The purpose of this act was for the Federalists to gain control and limit the power of the Republican party. According to the History.com Staff (2009), “…the Sedition Act imposed harsh penalties on anyone found guilty of making false statements that interfered with the prosecution of the war; insulting or abusing the U.S. government, the flag, the Constitution or the military; agitating against the production of necessary war materials; or advocating, teaching or defending…

    • 310 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A hot debate relevant for today is the question of how the constitution is to be interpreted. When writing the constitution, the founding fathers were clearly living in an ern which entailed concerns that are different from concerns today. During the constitutional convention, men discussed debated until they agree on what should become the framework for our great nation. Because of this the constitution appears to be ambiguous on many particular issues which we face today. Are we then to address those issues in light of the context in which the constitution was written, or are we to view it as a living document that’s meaning changes with time?…

    • 1027 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    5) The English magna Carta was created in 1215 to place limits on the power of the monarch. The law making body of England, Parliament, was depended on the King and Queen to pay for wars as well as the Royal Government. Similar to the deeds of the magna Carta colonial assemblies controlled their colonies funds and had some control over colonial governors. Another model for Americans was the English Bill of Rights taking place during 1689.…

    • 396 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Articles Of Confederation vs. Constitution Before the Constitution of the United States was incorporated as the Supreme Law of the Land, the Founding Fathers drafted the “Articles of Confederation”, which can be deemed as a “mini constitution” which contained many flaws and inaccuracies which the Fathers attempted to rectify and improve upon. Initially, the U.S. was not actually united in the legal sense – rather, they were a loose confederation of states (hence the Articles of Confederation) independent of national authority and supremacy. For example, the States coined their own money, taxed their own citizens, controlled their own trade and commerce – and there was no President who would oversee the States to execute the law. With these few examples demonstrating the fallacies of the Aricles, we have already grasped a few problems. Firstly, how are the States capable of conducting trade and business with each other if they individually coin different currencies?…

    • 1130 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    One provision in the Constitution is the "Commerce Clause which refers to Article1, Section 8, Clause 3 it gives Congress the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes. The commerce clause was viewed as a grant of congressional authority and as a restriction on the regulatory authority of the States" (law.cornell, n.d). The commerce clause is not clear because the Congress is the one that controls the trading and buying of foreign nation, the phrase was meant to let Americians know that the federal government and not the states are the ones that regulates who we trade with. The phrase "among the state" is a commonly used phrase that is used between the federal and state…

    • 127 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    1. What are two problems of the Great Compromise according to the anti-federalists In order to fix the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, fifty-five delegates met in Philadelphia in 1787 and debated over the political representation in Congress. Because the delegates concerned more about their own states’ interests, the Constitutional Convention faced several problems that need a lot of works to create a Great Compromise that could resolve the delegates’ disagreement and have them to sign on the Constitution. According to the Anti-Federalists, there were two problems of the Great Compromise that were the population between large and small states, and the slaves’ population between the north and the south.…

    • 800 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The argument made by Jack N. Rakove in his essay, “The Hope of the Framers to Recruit Citizens to Enter Public Life,”1 was more convincing than that made by Alfred F. Young in “The Pressure of the People on the Framers of the Constitution. ”2 Young focuses on the different motivations of the framers, while the point that Rakove is trying to make is how the framers of the Constitution of the United States3 , regardless of motivation, sought to include the common people in the affairs of the government by making political office accessible to citizens. The Constitution is designed to provide United States citizens an opportunity to run for office regardless of social standing, the balance of powers contained within prevent any one person or group…

    • 925 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In 1786 the federal government realized that America would not survive with the articles of confederation (“Articles of Confederation”). In the summer of 1787, 55 men gathered to amend the Articles of Confederation (“Constitution”). The Constitution had to have compromise for it to pass(“Constitution”). One of those compromises was the Bill of Rights (“Constitution”). There were two sides the federalist and the anti-federalist (“Constitution”).…

    • 1026 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The framers of the Constitution were visionaries who sought to establish a limited representative government which not only restricted the powers of an existing government, but also safeguarded the rights of the minority through restricting majority rule. A republic, they believed, would be the only form of government in which the liberty of the people could be preserved. Greatly influenced by the 17th century British philosopher John Locke, who advocated for the protection of natural rights of man by entering into a social contract, separation of governmental powers, and individuals’ right to consent to being governed, the founding fathers were able to incorporate such teachings into the Constitution of the United States. The American founders…

    • 1333 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays