Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;
Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;
H to show hint;
A reads text to speech;
10 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
|
Power Granted To Congress |
Section 8 |
|
|
8.10 International Law |
Congress has the power to punish pirates. |
|
|
8.11 War |
This clause grants Congress one of its most important powers: the power to declare war. Congress, and only Congress, can officially do so. (The President can't!) This clause also grants Congress one of its more bizarre powers: the power to hire pirates to attack the nation's enemies. (That's what a "Letter of Marque" is... a letter that gives a pirate official permission to do his thing in the name of the national interest. Avast, ye mateys!) Congress determines rules on Prisoner of War. |
|
|
8.12 Army |
The president is Commander-in-Chief but only Congress has the authority to pay (or not pay) for military actions. Further, Congress cannot fund military operations more than two years in the future. |
|
|
8.13 Navy |
Congress must supply our country with a Naval force. |
|
|
8.14 Regulations of Armed Forces |
Congress will create the rules and regulations for the Navy and land forces. |
|
|
8.15 Militia |
Congress has the power to call out the militia—organized units of citizen soldiers—to defend the nation from attack or armed rebellion. In modern times, the militia has been replaced by the National Guard. |
|
|
8.16 Regulation for Militia
|
Control over the militia is divided between Congress and the state governments. If the militia is called into national service, Congress pays for it and governs its actions. The states, however, retain control over who serves as its officers and how its men are trained. |
|
|
8.17 Distract of Columbia (Washington D.C.) |
Congress has the power to set up a national capital of the United States that is outside the jurisdiction of any state. Congress used this power to create Washington, DC, on swampland along the Potomac River that was originally part of Maryland. Congress also has ultimate authority over all federal military facilities, even if they're located within particular states. |
|
|
8.18 Elastic Clause |
This is the basis for all of the legislative branch's implied powers (powers not explicitly listed in the Constitution) but held to be legitimate because they are "necessary and proper" for the Congress to exercise the other powers that are listed here. Over time, this clause has been used to justify a gradual expansion in the general power of Congress and the entire federal government. |
