(855) 4-ESSAYS

Type a new keyword(s) and press Enter to search

Necessary And Proper Clause

             The necessary and proper clause is part of the Constitution that gives Congress the power to make all laws "necessary and proper" for executing its powers. It has been used to expand greatly congressional power. It is a dramatically important part of the Constitution. Its use in court cases has varied through time. It has helped to make the Constitution adapt to the many social changes in the United States. However, it has also created a battleground of the uses of this elastic clause, which has been used to imply so many powers over the years.
             The necessary and proper clause can be interpreted in two different ways. The federal government has used the clause to abuse its power. However, it was also implemented to apply the Constitution to the changing times. It created for fewer amendments into the Constitution.
             The advocates of the interpretation of the elastic clause that gives more power to the federal government believe in a stronger central government. They broaden the powers of the federal government by using Clause 18 of the Constitution. This group feels that the federal government is using implied powers to do what is "necessary and proper" for the welfare of the citizens or in the public interest.
             Other people against the elastic clause purport that the federal government uses the clause to abuse its powers. They consider it a convenient and useful tool for the federal government to apply powers that aren't expressed. These people are strongly for States" Rights. They take solace in the fact that the elastic clause can only give the federal government powers that are related to the enumerated powers. This limits the power of the federal government in some aspects.
             In the case McCulloch v. Maryland, the federal government used the elastic clause to do what was "necessary and proper". It advocated the renewal of the charter for the Second National Bank. This was an important case for the necessary and proper clause because the court decision gave approval to this clause.


Essays Related to Necessary And Proper Clause

1. Stick That In Your Pipe And Smoke It

The state of California has the most powerful tool on their side that a state can use; that tool being the necessary and proper clause. The necessary and proper clause of Article I Section 8 states that Congress has the power to make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution for 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. ... The necessary and proper clause gave rights to the states that were not clearly defined and assigned to the national gove...

  • Word Count: 1222
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: High School

2. Federal

Dual federalism also calls for a very strict reading of the Necessary and Proper Clause as well as focusing on the idea that the Constitution is an agreement between the states and the federal government. Conversely, the cooperative form of federalism looks at the Constitution as an agreement between the people and the federal government, while allowing for a much more liberal reading of the Necessary and Proper Clause. ... If the Court simply shifts its reading of the Necessary and Proper Clause from liberal to conservative or visa versa, the way the entire structure of the governments be...

  • Word Count: 1635
  • Approx Pages: 7
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

3. Constitutional Interpretation

The last paragraph of Article I, Section 8 grants to Congress the power "to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers"--the "Necessary and Proper Clause." The proper interpretation of the Necessary and Proper Clause was the subject of a heated debate between such important figures as Alexander Hamilton (who argued that the clause should be read broadly to authorize the exercise of many implied powers) and Thomas Jefferson (who argued that "necessary" really meant necessary). ... For example, the Court has facilitated congressional use ...

  • Word Count: 1219
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

4. The Preamble of the Constitution and The Balance of Power

In this section it states that congress is able, "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." ... The elastic clause was meant to be ambiguous because at the time of the drafting of the constitution the framers could never foresee that topics and conflicts that would rise in regards to the constitution. The clause allows for the growth of the government. The "necessary and proper" clause goes back to the feeling of the framers not wanting to give a lot of power to the...

  • Word Count: 703
  • Approx Pages: 3

5. The U.S. Constitution - Limits on Government

Also included in the Constitution is the Elastic Clause. ... This is why the Elastic Clause is included- to give Congress the right to make all "necessary and proper" laws that it needs to fill its function (pg.48). Though the Elastic Clause states that the congress have the right to make only "necessary and proper" laws, there is no parameters set to what that actually means. This places a limitation on the general public because technically any law- even one that may take away rights of citizens- could be justified if those in power deemed it as "necessary and prope...

  • Word Count: 1390
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Grade Level: High School

6. United State's Supreme Court in the 1800's

Eventually, the case made it all the way to the Supreme Court, where Chief Justice John Marshall decided that Maryland did not have the Constitutional right to impose any taxes on a federal bank, and he upheld that the National Bank was constitutional, invoking the Necessary and Proper Clause found in Article 1 of the Constitution, which states that Congress has the power, "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 Of...

  • Word Count: 1928
  • Approx Pages: 8
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

7. McCulloch Vs. Maryland

This is where the Necessary and Proper clause comes in. Marshall stated that the federal government could pass laws under its implied power, the Necessary and Proper clause, which do not violate specific rules stated in the Constitution. "The bank was a "necessary and proper" means to carry out the powers given to the federal government in the Constitution and Congress did have a right to charter the bank. ... Madison [1803] were the first Supreme Court cases to bring about the Necessary and Proper Clause, which stated that any law is constitutional if it necessary and proper based on the Cons...

  • Word Count: 1154
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: High School

8. Abortion

Wade has fought its way into the courtroom recently that Congress should ban partial abortion unless the procedure is necessary to save the mother's life. ... Two partial birth abortion bans were passed by Congress but vetoed by Clinton because it didn't have any exceptions allowing it to be used when women's health comes into questions, but the law makers did their homework this time and included 6 pages on why the method is never necessary for the preservation of the health of women. ... The elastic clause or the necessary and proper clause provides flexibility to our consti...

  • Word Count: 615
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

9. Federalism and the United States

In this theory, parts of the Constitution are interpreted very narrowly, such as the 10th Amendment, the Supremacy Clause, the Necessary and Proper Clause, and the Commerce Clause. ... The second, cooperative federalism, asserts that the national government is supreme over the states, and the 10th Amendment, the Supremacy Clause, the Necessary and Proper Clause, and the Commerce Clause have entirely different meaning. A good illustration of the wide interpretation of these parts of the Constitution is exemplified by the Necessary and Proper Clause's other common name: the Elastic Clause....

  • Word Count: 2255
  • Approx Pages: 9
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

Got a writing question? Ask our professional writer!
Submit My Question