Federalism: Implied Powers In The United States

Federalism is a political construction where the land is governed by two levels, local and central government, and are each given powers to regulate with distinct parameters provided by the constitution and the amendments. Although it may seem like there is a level distribution of power between local and national government, the national government reigns over local governments. The national government is supported by the constitution to do whatever is necessary and proper for the protection of the nation according to the elastic clause, which grants them implied powers which are left to be interpreted by Supreme Court. Moreover, the national government has explicit enumerated powers in addition to those implied powers, which supports the

Implied powers are not explicitly stated in the constitution; however, it grants the government jurisdiction over the land giving them permission to do whatever is necessary to protect the nation. The constitution states that the national government has the authority “To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers.” This fragment of the elastic clause enlarges the central government’s supremacy because it demines the jurisdiction of power given to the states if the government is ever in a position where it has to overrule powers enumerated for the states to preserve the safety of the nation. According to research from Cornel Law, they support the claim that the “U.S. Supreme Court expanded the powers of the federal government when it construed federal powers to include those ‘necessary and proper’ to effect the legislation passed by Congress”. Thus, if the national government ever feels entitled to disregard state power to protect the nation, than the constitution grants them the privilege to do so thus granting a majority of the power to the central

The heart of federalism lies in the constitution, and in the constitution the limits of the state are mentioned where it states that “no state shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation; grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; emit bills of credit…” among many other restrictions limiting the state power. The constitution clearly identifies the limitations of the state as well as emphasizes the immense power given to the central government through the necessary and proper clause. The constitution grants the central government to coin money, form treaties, and deal with foreign commerce as well as commission over state regulations to protect the nation. The constitution supports the claim that ultimately power should rest on the central government in case of any crisis, and since the foundation of federalism stems from the constitution, it parallels with identical ideals as the constitution in the sense that is favors national