The Pros And Cons Of The Necessary And Proper Amendment

Improved Essays
The Framers of the Constitution failed to clarify the meaning of the word necessary and the word proper. Due to this flaw the Necessary and Proper Clause has been debated many times. Alexander Hamilton believed that the clause should be viewed broadly. While, Thomas Jefferson believed that the clause should be strictly interpreted. The Supreme Court favored Hamilton’s view in the case of McCulloch v. Maryland for the National Bank. Chief Justice John Marshall, Judge of McCulloch v. Maryland, warned that this could undermined the enumerated powers. This could be prevented with the insertion of a new provision to Article 1, Section 8, Clause 17. This provision should state, “Congress must state in each bill it passes the Article, Section, and Clause of the Constitution to which the bill relates.”

The Constitution of the United States of America gives Congress many powers,
…show more content…
(Mikhail 1047) Justice Joseph Story states that one motives for the insertion of this clause was the need to dismiss any conceivable misgivings of the national government. (Bailey) The Necessary and Proper Clause was created by the Framers of the Constitution to serve two major principles. The first principle was to expedite governmental organizations. The second principle was to help carry out the enumerated powers and is considered the most significant purpose. Due to the second principle and the flexibility of the Necessary and Proper Clause Alexander Hamilton was able to convince George Washington to create the National Bank. (Engdahl) (Vile, ECAPAA 226) Hamilton believed that the establishment of the Bank was essential to carry into effect other powers. (Vile, ECAPAA 95) The case of McCulloch V. Maryland maintained that the National Bank was constitutional under the implied powers. (Vile, ECAPAA

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Senator Hill Case Summary

    • 945 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The act removing the Court’s jurisdiction is therefore unconstitutional because it allows Congress to go unchecked in violating the Qualifications Clause of the Constitution. In Ex Parte McCardle, the removal of the Court’s jurisdiction was not for the purpose of allowing Congress to get away with an unconstitutional act. The Court therefore has jurisdiction to hear this case because that act of removal is null and void and according to Powell, Congress must seat Senator…

    • 945 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Dbq Section 8

    • 563 Words
    • 3 Pages

    "Philadelphia May 25, 1787 fifty five delegates from all states excluding Rhode Island would meet in response to Alexander Hamilton’s summons(Constitution Convention Notes). They had the soul purpose to simply revise the Articles of Confederation,yet it was obvious the articles were in need of much more. The U.S constitution . George Washington was elected chairmen of this party they would slowly resolve the problems in secrecy.…

    • 563 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The 16th amendment was a transformational event in the history of the United States Constitution by which an unregulated direct federal tax on all of the money a person makes in one year was authorized. The amendment reversed the preceding Constitutional tax structure prohibiting such taxes under which the American people had grown to be the freest and most optimistic people in the history of the world who were all in favor of a much different structure under which the scandal ridden and deeply distrusted big wigs of Washington, D.C. were granted the express written consent to reach directly into every wallet, be it that of a Wall Street tycoon or that of the average blue collar, hard working man. At that time it seemed like a great way to get back at the people who were ripping off the nation by killing all other competition and basically taking over, but would soon realize that their plan to…

    • 1399 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Identifying the reasons why the United States of America’s founding framers established the unique governmental framework is just as important as recognizing them. In a time when the framers were actively trying to quell individual political ambitions and prevent the reintroduction of a tyranny, they turned to the separation of power and checks and balances. The idea was to separate powers across the political spectrum, which would then prevent any one branch from amassing a concentration of power. Also, each branch is granted the power to check any action taken by its cohorts. Furthermore, the fact that the U.S. Constitution was the first written document of its kind only emphasizes the circumstances that the framers could not have drawn from past documents success or failures.…

    • 667 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Court had the right to review acts of Congress and the actions of the President. If a law was found unconstitutional, the court could overrule it. Marshall wrote, “It is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is.” He argued the constitution is the Supreme law of the land and it has the final say over the meaning of the…

    • 571 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Dbq Essay On Tyranny

    • 664 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Can you imagine how life would be in america if we weren’t protected from tyranny. Thanks to the constitution we don’t have to worry about that ever happening. In 1787 our founding fathers met in philadelphia to discuss a big problem, which was the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of confederation was considered as America’s first constitution. After much discussion and debate they decided that the articles of confederation would no longer be utilized.…

    • 664 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    His ruling established the right of judicial review and drastically redefined the notion of separation of powers along with opening the door for the expansion of judicial authority. The establishment of judicial review granted the judges power above that of the legislature. In this case, Marshall used judicial review to rule that Article 13 must be void because it directly contradicted the…

    • 415 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    This is a view held by one William J. Brennan, Jr. Equipped with degrees from Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and from Harvard Law School, Brennan was well versed in governmental studies and without a doubt spent many hours pondering the correct interpretation of the constitution. In Brennan’s “Speech to the Text and Teaching Symposium”, the Associate Justice not only responded to Meese’s argument with his own view but also rebuked the originalist view of the constitution. The truth about strict interpretation is, “in truth it is little more than arrogance cloaked as humility” claims the Justice.…

    • 1027 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Pros And Cons Of The New Constitution

    • 970 Words
    • 4 Pages
    • 7 Works Cited

    In order to resolve the differences, delegates from the majority of the states met at the Annapolis Convention in 1786. But they were not able to reach any agreeable conclusion. That led them to decide to meet again later in Philadelphia. In second convention, delegates observed that there is urgent need to frame an entirely new constitution. A key issue of conflict was the structure of the new legislative branch.…

    • 970 Words
    • 4 Pages
    • 7 Works Cited
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Ratified in March of 1781, the Articles of Confederation provided the United States of America with its first form of government. The Articles called for a loose confederation where each state continued to have its independence along with individual rights and powers. The Articles were less powerful than the state constitutions and were designed to be reactive, causing the national government to be significantly less powerful. After seeing the severe flaws the Articles contained, delegates gathered in a meeting known as the Philadelphia Convention, later named the Constitutional Convention where, unbeknownst to them, the Constitution would be created. Although the Constitution provided the United States with its first effective form of a democratic…

    • 1869 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Necessary and Proper Clause states that the Congress has the flexibility to make laws or to act where the Constitution does not give it the explicit authority to act. This gives this Congress many implied powers that it shouldn’t have. It is not fair to the American people to give a group of 1070 people these enormous powers in our government. It is much more reasonable to give the states these rights back so that they can act accordingly in times of need based on the situation in each individual state instead of having a Congress that has all of the…

    • 1096 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Founding Fathers Problems

    • 1054 Words
    • 5 Pages

    While creating the foundation for the great country we know today, the Founding Fathers faced many challenges. They couldn’t change their citizens sinful ways so they tried to make a constitution that would keep the madness at bay. They also pondered on representatives to help their people be heard more effectively and efficiently. The people also must be satisfied with the government, so the Fathers had to provide them the things that a government is responsible for. Some other critical issues were conflicting interests and majority rule.…

    • 1054 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Second Amendment

    • 680 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Have you ever been afraid of getting your second amendment taken away from you? What about the government telling you what kind of guns you can and cannot have. Your second amendment could be taken away and is even treated in many places that you go around the U.S which could scare a lot of people. In this paper we will be talking about news articles involving the second amendment,a servea given, lastly court cases involving the second amendment. Have you looked at the news lightly and how the second amendment is being treated in schools and all over in the news.…

    • 680 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Louisiana Purchase

    • 1008 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Louisiana Purchase is an event that caused a great deal of controversy during the early 1800s. This vast tract of land was purchased by Mr. Thomas Jefferson before the government had a chance to approve it. Congress did indeed approve this purchase, but it was only after they decided not to analyze the constitution too in-depth. This is the very reason that so many Americans were split on this issue. Despite the controversy, one thing is certain, the Louisiana Purchase has opened our eyes and helped us gain a better knowledge on how our constitution works.…

    • 1008 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The amendments in the constitution are what make the constitution, the constitution, and for the matter what make America, America. Without these amendments our government would be in shambles and the public would always be gasping for air, on the verge of collapsing. The first amendment in particular, fittingly, is what really brings the whole constitution together and is without a doubt the most important and useful amendment to the public. The first amendment is known as the right to practice any religion, speak freely in public, and assemble peacefully. The first amendment has made it possible for prominent figures like Martin Luther King Jr. to stand up and speak out in what they believe in and make positive changes in the world that makes it so that everyone can thrive equally today.…

    • 1577 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays