The debates had calmed and compromise settled on the Virginia Plan for congressional representation. The House of Representatives — the People’s House — would most closely reflect the will of the people, and with elections every two years, that representative who chose to vote in a way that did not “represent” his constituents could easily be recalled. The Senate — whose members who would be chosen by the individual state legislatures — would become the “cooling off” feature if the House appeared to be too radical in its action.

The plan was in place. But there were other decisions awaiting resolution. Those who were most suspicious of a strengthened central government wanted written guarantees that the House would be dominate; Article I, Section 8 was written to address those concerns.

The Founding Fathers devised a system of enumerated powers — powers specifically given to each branch of government — with a safety valve of “checks and balances” to make it more difficult for any one branch to dominate the will of the people.

So, what powers were specifically enumerated to the Congress?

Only Congress can levy and collect taxes at the national level. Congress was charged with the power to declare war, to raise an army and navy for national defense, to coin money, to regulate commerce with foreign nations and between the states, to pay all national debts, and more.

Additionally, Article I, Section 2, Clause 8 notes, “The House of Representatives shall chuse [sic] their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.” The idea of impeachment was derived from English tradition, whereby Parliament could “control” ministers of the Crown by oversight and/or removal from office for inappropriate actions.

Several of the state constitutions already contained a variation of the impeachment concept, so it was a natural step to grant Congress the power of impeachment and removal from office for “treason, bribery, and other high crimes and misdemeanors.” When exercising this power, the House of Representatives must vote for impeachment and then the Senate sits in session as the jury while the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court presides.

But, the Founders were not finished when considering the most important branch of government, i.e., Article I and Congress. The final clause in Article I, Section 8 has become known as the “Necessary and Proper Clause”: “To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.” That clause has been the basis of many political arguments in the congressional chambers and among political leaders throughout the history of the national government. Is there any limit to the “implied powers” of Congress? Ah, the stories that can be told…

Did the Founders grant any other specific powers to Congress and/or the national government in general?

Yes. Congress can call the state militias into national action when a crisis has occurred or is imminent, and it has the authority to set the guidelines and process by which new states can be added to the Union. As the framers considered the balance of power between the states and the national government, they were most interested in the concept of republicanism, and Article IV, Section 4 authorizes the “national government” to guarantee that each state has organized in a “republican” form. The national government is also charged with protecting states from invasion or domestic insurrection.

Additionally, the Constitution limits the power of the national government via several specific provisions:

• Slave trade cannot be banned until 1808 or later. (This issue will continue to be kicked down the field until the issue will be resolved by armed conflict — but that is a story for a later day.)
• Money cannot be removed from the U.S. Treasury without appropriations legislation, and all appropriations bills must originate in the House of Representatives.
• Only in an emergency can the writ of habeas corpus be suspended. (Think Lincoln … another story for a later day.)
• No ex post facto laws or bills of attainder. In simple terms, a law cannot be passed that makes an act a crime when it was not a crime when the act was committed (ex post facto), and laws cannot be passed that designate a person guilty of a crime without a trial in the judiciary system (bill of attainder).
• Since the states’ rights delegates were leery of the national power of taxation, a clause was added that taxes could not be imposed on anything exported from a state.
• The national government was prohibited from requiring a “religious test” prior to holding office.
• The Constitution includes a supremacy clause specifying that the Constitution and all laws and treaties passed by the U.S. Congress are the “supreme law of the land.” State judges must also rule according to federal law, and if a state law is in direct conflict with national law, national law is supreme.

Any other pressing issues? Well, at least one. The national government is prohibited from granting titles of nobility — dashing all hopes of future “princesses” unless they choose to marry a foreign national.

Until next week, straighten that tiara…