What is the point of Article 1 section 8?

Why even bother with writing that section if the authors of the document just wanted them to go omg nessicary and proper to everything and anything?

 

Log in or Sign up to hide all adverts.

Section 8.

The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;

To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;

To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;

To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;

To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;

To establish Post Offices and post Roads;

To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;

To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;

To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations;

To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;

To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;

To provide and maintain a Navy;

To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;

To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of Particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards and other needful Buildings;--And

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.




Just thought that's relevant to the thread.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide all adverts.

Good job at not answering the question...

 

Log in or Sign up to hide all adverts.

I Thought It Was A Good Answer..

-mt

 

Well... I didn't think anyone would know what you were talking about offhand and most are too lazy to look, so I tried to help ya out.

Anyway, to respond to your question, they needed it in writing that they control everything, that's just how constitutions are, you lay EVERYTHING out beyond a shadow of a doubt so it can't be challenged. If there was a loophole somewhere something bad could happen politically. That's just theorycraft though, I don't have a solid answer.

 

Yeah I know because that like totally explains why they wrote it, when idiots today just go omg nessicary and proper to everything and anything...

 

If they are too ignorant to know what article 1 section 8 is, especially after the reference to nessicary and proper, then they are obviously too ignorant to answer.

 

I'm quite smart and couldn't come up with what it was offhand at 2 am without looking it up. Don't make such broad, sweeping generalizations.

Anyway, what other answer are you looking for... that's all I can really think of, it's a formality. That's what they do.

 

YEAH... seriosuly.... could you spell it right... and be completely clear, so we know what you asking???

-MT

 

Try that reading thing...

The question is quite clear.

If I wanted someone to c/p article 8, then I would have done that myself.

The mention of the phrase 'necessary and proper' along with knowing what the articles of the Constitution are should have made it easy to figure out what section 8 was.

 

You don't really get it do you... people need to see what you're talking about. They don't want to find an implied meaning, not sort through your posts to try and decypher what you're talking about. They want a link or copied text of what you're discussing to start a discussion. Just because you know what Section X of Article X is doesn't mean that 95% of the people who click on this thread will leave it not knowing what the fuck you're talking about :/

 

EXACTLY.... how about it angrybellsprout?

-MT

 

How do you not know the most basic aspects of the Constitution?

...

There are only 6 articles of the Constitution.

Hell, no wonder you can't even understand the question that I asked...

 

So post em.. and ask a clear question.

-MT

 

Why even bother with writing that section if the authors of the document just wanted them to go omg necessary and proper to everything and anything?

That is a very clear question. What in the hell about the question isn't clear? Oh that's right, you just can't read.

 

what's omg? Is it like LOL and ROFL and STFU?

Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

 

its simple, they enumerated the powers given to congress at the time of the writing of the document, and then included the necessary and proper clause in order to ensure that congress was able to make laws concerning issues that would arise in the future that were unforseen at the time.

 

Then why enumerate any powers?

Why even include article 5 if you are just going to give them an ultimate power clause?

Hell why have a Constitution in the first place if they can just do whatever they want?

 

its not an ultimate power clause, read it. the powers are enumerated to show the original intent of the article. the framers were saying, this is what we think congress is supposed to do, and what they will be able to do at present, they then included the necessary and proper clause in order to ensure that congress would be able to act on a range of similar but not exactly the same situations in the future. enumeration sets a standard and precedent of what the framers believed were appropriate undertakings for congress, the necessary and proper clause that follows allows for them to continue doing what needs to be and should be done for the country under differing sets of circumstances.
what its saying is this: here are the powers of congress, they may make any law that they feel is required in order to carry out these tasks.
its not saying they can do whatever they want, its saying here are your powers, now you can do whatever you have to do in order to use your powers.

 

How is it not an ultimate power clause?

Anything and everything they come up with can simply be justified "necessary and proper"...

Also why even include Article 5 if the Congress can just invent new powers that they have?

The Constitution isn't very open ended, it is a simple to read document. The truth behind the final clause of section 8 is that they are supposed to write laws to enforce the powers that they are granted by the rest of the section.

It isn't that hard to read, but the average american is a functionally illiterate idiot who has no idea what is even said in the Constitution and only knows a handful of propaganda buzzphrases.

"separation of church and state"

"right to bear arms"

"necessary and proper"

"right to privacy"

etc.