Enumerated and Implied Powers Flashcards

Enumerated Powers and Clauses

• Enumerated Powers: Specific powers granted to Congress, outlined in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution. Key responsibilities include taxation, coinage of money, commerce regulation, and national defense provision.

• Implied Powers: Powers not explicitly stated but derived from enumerated powers and the Necessary and Proper Clause, enabling flexibility in governance.

• Reserve Powers: Powers retained by states under the Tenth Amendment, fundamental for state legislation concerning public health and citizen welfare.

• Concurrent Powers: Authorities shared by both state and national governments, exercised simultaneously unless exclusively allocated to national power or conflicting with national law.

Specific Clauses

• Clause 1: Grants Congress the authority to collect taxes, ensuring uniform taxation across the nation to pay debts and allocate funding.

• Clause 2: Empowers Congress to borrow money, facilitating financial management and obligations.

• Clause 3: Authorizes regulation of international and interstate commerce, promoting free trade and economic interaction.

• Clause 4: Provides the authority to legislate on naturalization and bankruptcy laws, determining citizenship processes and financial insolvency.

• Clause 5: Grants the power to coin and regulate currency, establish an exchange rate, and set weights and measures.

• Clause 6: Empowers Congress to punish counterfeiters, safeguarding the integrity of the national currency.

• Clause 7: Establishes the U.S. Postal Service, facilitating communication and commerce.

• Clause 8: Governs patent and copyright laws, protecting intellectual property rights.

• Clause 9: Authorizes the creation of lower federal courts to support judicial efficiency and case handling.

• Clause 10: Empowers Congress to punish piracy, maintaining law and order at sea.

• Clause 11: Grants the authority to declare war and set the rules of engagement for military conflict.

• Clause 12: Authorizes Congress to raise and fund an army, ensuring national defense.

• Clause 13: Empowers the creation and maintenance of a navy for maritime defense and operations.

• Clause 14: Regulates the armed forces, overseeing military structure and conduct.

• Clause 15: Grants the power to call forth the militia (National Guard) for national emergencies.

• Clause 16: Empowers the federal government to place the National Guard under federal control during exigent circumstances.

• Clause 17: Provides for the creation of, and governance over, Washington D.C. as the nation’s capital.

• Clause 18: Known as the Necessary and Proper Clause (Elastic Clause), allows Congress to enact laws deemed essential for exercising its enumerated powers, ensuring adaptability in governance.