These are things that no popular government ought to do, and in the United States they cannot possibly be done by any existing governmental agency.

V. Powers Reserved to the State. After the framers had provided for the general powers of the federal government, and had made the needful prohibitions of power, we may think of them as having reserved to the States and to the people all the remaining powers of government. They did not formally make this reservation in the Convention, but it was understood that the powers not granted to the federal government or prohibited to the States remained to be exercised as the States or as the people of the United States might ordain. In order that there might be no mistake on this point an amendment (144) adopted in 1791 declared that "the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution nor prohibited by it to the States are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." The nature and extent of the powers reserved to the State will be the subject of the following chapter. At present it is enough to say that the framers were able to invest the federal government with supreme powers in reference to the great affairs of a nation and still leave the State supreme in most of the affairs which concern us in daily life.

Implied and Resulting Powers of the Federal Government. The powers of the federal government are accurately defined and enumerated in the Constitution (Article I, Section 8). Among these powers is one giving Congress the right to make all laws which are necessary and proper (63) for the execution of the enumerated powers. Under the authority of this right there have been exercised many implied powers, -powers which are not specifically mentioned in the Constitution, but which naturally arise from those which are specifically mentioned. For example, from the expressed power of regulating commerce (47) arise the implied powers of building lighthouses and improving harbors; from the expressed power of coining money (49) arises the implied

power of establishing mints. Hundreds of things done by the federal government are justified by the doctrine of implied powers.

The Constitution does not expressly grant to the federal government certain powers which the government of a sovereign nation ought to have. To meet this deficiency Alexander Hamilton brought forward his doctrine of resulting powers,-powers which result from the "whole mass of the power of government, and from the nature of political society rather than as a consequence of any especially enumerated power. According to Hamilton's views a new sovereign nation had been brought into being by the events of the Revolution and the adoption of the Constitution, and this nation, by the very fact of its existence, possessed all the powers a nation ought to have, whether all were mentioned in the Constitution or not. For example, he contended that if the United States should conquer a country, it would have sovereign jurisdiction in that country although the Constitution says nothing whatever about such jurisdiction. Hamilton was bitterly opposed by Jefferson and others who believed in holding the federal government strictly to the terms of the Constitution; but the doctrine of resulting powers carried the day, and Jefferson was destined to give to it its most distinguished application when he purchased Louisiana without authority specifically expressed in the Constitution.

Limitations of the Federal Government. It must not be understood that under the guise of implied and resulting powers the federal government can do anything and everything, for it is in a true sense a government of limited powers. Jefferson and Hamilton were both right. We are bound by the words of the Constitution, as Jefferson contended, but, as Hamilton contended, the words "general welfare" (45), and the "elastic clause" (63), are broad enough to permit us to do anything which is consistent with the purposes for which the Constitution was adopted.

Chief Justice Marshall, who did as much as any man to mold and direct the policy of the federal government, once said:

"This government is acknowledged by all to be one of enumerated powers. The principle that it can exercise only the powers granted to it is now universally admitted. But the question respecting the extent of the powers actually granted is perpetually arising and will probably continue to arise as long as our system shall exist. . . . The powers of this government are limited, and its powers are not to be transcended. But the sound construction of the Constitution must allow to the national legislature that discretion with reference to the means by which the powers it confers are to be carried into execution which will enable that body to perform the high duties assigned to it in a manner most beneficial to the people. Let the end be legitimate, let it be within the scope of the Constitution, and all means which are appropriate, which are plainly adapted to that end, which are not prohibited, but are consistent with the letter and spirit of the Constitution, are constitutional.'' 1

How the Federal Constitution is Amended. The fathers, when providing for the betterment of the federal government, avoided the rigidity of the Articles of Confederation, under which an amendment could be adopted only with the consent of all the States, and established easier methods of amendment. The two processes by which the Constitution may be changed are:

(1) Congress may, by a two-thirds vote of both Houses, propose an amendment, and then submit it to the States for ratification (122); (2) two thirds of the States may join in ordering Congress to call a National Constitutional Convention for the purpose of considering a desired amendment. In either case the amendment must be ratified by three fourths of the States before it can become a part of the Constitution (123).

Although it is much easier to amend the Constitution now than it was under the Articles, still experience has proved that it is very difficult in ordinary times to secure an amend

1 McCulloch vs. Maryland.

ment. The first eleven amendments came as the result of inordinate and intense State jealousy; the twelfth amendment came easily enough because it touched no great interest, and because it merely removed a palpable absurdity from the Constitution (p. 417); the last three amendments were secured only after a terrible war.

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT

1. What efforts were made to strengthen the Confederation in its last days?

2. Give an account of the work of the Convention of 1787.

3. What tests did the framers apply to each grant of power given exclusively to the federal government?

4. What matters were placed entirely under the federal control? 5. What is a concurrent power? To what matters do the concurrent powers relate?

6. Enumerate the powers prohibited by the Constitution to the federal government.

7. Enumerate the powers prohibited to the States.

8. What powers are prohibited to both governments?

9. What is the nature of the powers reserved to the State?

10. What is an implied power? What is a resulting power?

11. Explain why the federal government is one of limited powers. 12. In what two ways may the federal Constitution be amended?

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES

1. Prepare a large chart exhibiting the powers of government under our federal system. Suggestion: Let the outer circle of the figure1

sons for the grant.

represent all the powers of government, all the powers that were at the disposal of the framers. In circle A write the powers exclusively federal; in segment C the concurrent powers; in segment D the powers prohibited to the federal government; in segment E the powers denied to the State. Reserve circle B for the powers of the State.

2. Discuss each of the powers granted exclusively to the federal government and give rea

3. Explain fully this sentence: "The United States is a representative, constitutional, federal republic."

Topics for Special Work.-Limitations of the Union: 6, 236-242. Federal and State Autonomy: 9, 122-134.

1 Suggested by C. S. Tiedeman in his "Unwritten Constitution."

VIII

THE STATE

General Features of a State Government. Since each of the governments of the forty-six States is framed according to the political notions and peculiar necessities of the people of a particular section, we must not expect to find the governments of any two States precisely alike. If, therefore, we wish to get detailed information about the government of a State we must study the constitution of that State. There can be no general description of a State government that will yield such information. Nevertheless there are several political features that are common to all the States. Every State

(1) has a republican (democratic) form of government (120).

(2) has a written constitution.

(3) has the three great departments of government.

(4) has a legislature consisting of two houses elected by the people.

(5) has an executive called the governor elected by the people.

(6) must conform strictly to the Constitution of the United States.

(7) removes high officials by the process of impeachment. (8) supports a system of public schools.

(9) recognizes the common law of England (Louisiana excepted).

(10) provides for the amendment of its constitution. (11) provides for a system of local self-government.