Week 5, Question 1

7/12/2014

Read Ch 15-16 (129-143) and answer the following questions/statements:

· Describe some of the powers the Constitution gives to the Congress. In what ways does the Constitution limit the power of Congress?

24 Comments

Lucy

7/14/2014 09:54:14 am

The constitution gave many powers to Congress. The Enumerated Powers given to Congress by the constitution are the rights to impose and collect taxes and duties, borrow money, regulate commerce with foreign nations and among states, coin money, establish post offices, declare war, and raise and support an army and navy. The Enumerated Powers are specific rights that they have. By having Enumerated powers, Congress can't stretch the amount of power given to them.

The general powers are the general welfare clause and necessary and proper clause. The general welfare clause gives congress the right to provide for the common good and defense of the U.S. The general powers are vague and protect against unforeseen events that the Congress would need certain rights to solve.

The limits on Congress in the constitution prohibit them from banning the slave trade before 1808, suspending the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus unless in emergencies, passing ex post facto laws, passing bills of attainder, taxing anything exported from a state, taking money from the treasury without passing a law to do so, and granting titles of nobility.

Suspending the writ of habeas corpus means that they suspend someone's trial and have not told them why they are in custody.

The ex post facto laws are laws that make an act a crime even though they were not a crime in the time that they were committed.

Passing bills of attainer is a legislative act that declares a person guilty of a crime and sets punishment with out a trial.

Devyn

7/15/2014 12:58:45 am

When it comes to power given to Congress, there's two kinda. Those are enumerated (power that can't be stretched in any way) and general rights (these don't really need to be manipulated). Some of the enumerated powers/rights of Congress are to collect & impose taxes, borrow money, and declare war. A general right would be making laws.

The constitution limits the power of Congress in a few ways. One example is, not abolishing slave trade before 1808. The Constitution stated it, and Congress can't change it. Congress cannot pass ex post facto laws (making an act a crime even then it wasn't when it was committed. These are just a few examples, but all the things Congress ISN'T doing, are other examples.

Devyn

7/15/2014 01:01:52 am

I agree with Lucy. All the examples she stated are all true ways the Constitution limits Congress's power. None of them put the nation in harm's way; they help us.

Lucy

7/16/2014 12:35:20 am

I agree with Devyn that all the things that Congress isn't doing are examples of what they are not allowed to do. Like bribing each other for their votes.

Claire

7/22/2014 05:30:01 am

When the Framers were writing the Constitution they had to decide how much power to give Congress. Some people wanted to use general language in the Constitution and some wanted to use specific languages. They decided the solution was to use both. The powers given to Congress using specific language are called the enumerated powers. Some of these powers are the right to impose and collect taxes and duties, declare war, raise and support an army and navy, and establish post offices. There were seventeen enumerated powers in all.

The Constitution also states the general powers of Congress. These are called the general welfare clause and the necessary and proper clause. The general welfare clause gives Congress power to "provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States". The necessary and proper clause gives Congress the power to "make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper".

The Constitution also limited the powers of Congress. Congress couldn't pass ex post facto laws. These are laws that make something a crime even though it was legal when it happened. Congress also wasn't allowed to ban the slave trade before 1808. These are only a couple of things that limited the power of Congress in the Constitution.

Devyn

7/24/2014 04:23:33 am

I agree with Claire when she said the solution was to use both specific and general language. That sort of thinking is even used in simple classroom rules today. Some rules are vague and some are very specific. Like the Constitution, it's sort of up personal judgement when it comes to vague limits. That's when the Supreme Court comes in.

Claire

7/29/2014 05:35:27 am

I agree with Devyn. There are many things that the Congress aren't allowed to do but there are other things that they aren't doing. Some of those things are because it's just common sense and others are just because they don't want to do that or haven't thought of it.

Sarah

7/30/2014 10:43:50 am

As the Constitution was being written, the Framers couldn't decide whether they should have enumerated or general powers of Congress. The Framers were able to make a compromise using some powers enumerated and others general. Some enumerated powers are collecting taxes, establish post offices, declaring war, etc. Some general powers of Congress are the general welfare clause and necessary and proper clause. The general welfare clause is providing defense for the common good. The necessary and proper clause is making laws that are necessary and proper.

The Constitution does not just give the powers of Congress, but also limits them. Some limiting powers of Congress are, banning the slave trade before 1808, taxing anything exported from a state, granting titles of nobility, etc.

Sarah

7/30/2014 10:55:24 am

I agree with Claire, the Framers were able to compromise of being specific and vague. The Framers didn't know entirely what was going to happen, but they did know that not everything to Congress could be vague.

Clara

8/3/2014 07:26:43 am

The Constitution gives many powers to Congress including:
• Make all laws which are necessary and prope
• The right to impose taxes and collect them
• Borrow money
• Regulate commerce among and between nations and states
• Coin money
• Establish post offices
• Provide for the general defense and common welfare of the United States
• Approve or reject treaties with other nations
• Declare war
• Raise and support the army and navy
• Impeach and remove President from office
There are also limits placed on Congress in the Constitution
• Cannot ban the slave trade until 1808
• Cannot suspend the writ of habeas corpus (accept in extreme cases) – this means that the government must explain why a person is being arrested and held, has to present the case/crime in front of a court of law, and if found not guilty, the person must be set free
• Cannot pass ex post facto laws – this is when a law make an act a crime even though when the crime was committed it was legal
• Cannot pass bills of attainder – this is when a law is passed stating someone is guilty and establishes the sentence at the same time
• Taxing anything exported from a state
• Taking money from the treasury without passing a law to do so first
• Granting titles of nobility

Luke

8/3/2014 01:25:14 pm

The Constitution gave Congress many including
To lay and collect taxes
To barrow money
And establish rules.

The Constitution creates a federal system
Which dennys power to the Congress.

Claire

8/4/2014 08:06:02 am

I agree with Sarah. The Framers had to had to come up with a compromise so they chose to give both enumerated and general powers to the Congress in the Constitution. This made it so specific instances were covered but also gave the Congress the power to make laws about other things that come up.

Gabriella

8/4/2014 08:09:25 am

Some of the rights the constitution gives to congress are to: borrow money; regulate trade within the states and with foreign states; impose and collect taxes and duties; coin money; establish post offices; declare war; and raise and support an army and navy. Those are the enumerated powers, or more specific rights, of the congress.

The general powers are the powers to provide for the common defense and welfare. Also, to "make all laws necessary and proper."
For example, in a time of war, congress has the power to draft citizens into the army or navy because this is an extension of the right to raise and support an army.

The constitution limits the power of congress by banning them from doing certain things. Such as banning the slave trade before 1808, which was decided to settle the conflict of slavery. Also passing ex post facto laws, this means passing laws that criminalize doing something when the act was legal at the time it was done. Another example is granting titles of nobility, something that was done in England, which gave power to a certain individual without the people's vote.

Lucy

8/5/2014 08:51:59 am

I agree with Claire that it was best to use both types of writing to give congress its power.

Kevoni

8/6/2014 06:53:44 am

The Constitution give the Congress the power to control trade and economic problems, but not enough to let them control the actions of the government. Congress didn't have the power to act directly on the people or raise taxes.

Elijah S.

8/6/2014 07:48:23 am

The enumerated powers of Congress are to borrow money, establish post offices, and declare war. The general powers of a Congress are to provide for the common good and to make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper.

Elijah S.

8/6/2014 08:18:36 am

I agree with Devyn. Everything that the Congress doesn't do is what they are not allowed to do. They will stretch the law as far as they can legally.

Elijah S.

8/6/2014 08:23:02 am

I agree with Lucy. The things she listed are the things the Constitution doesn't allow the Congress to do.

Noah Holliday

8/7/2014 07:29:01 am

Some of the powers the constitution gives to congress are:
1) impose and collect taxes and duties
2) borrow money
3) regulate commerce with foreign nation and states
4) coin money
5) establish post offices
6) declare war
7) raise military troops

The Constitution limits the Congress by:
1) banning the slave trade before 1808
2) suspending writ of habeas corpus except in emergencies
3) passing ex post facto laws
4) passing bills of attainder
5) taxing anything exported from states

Makayla

8/7/2014 08:51:15 am

The Constitution gave many powers to Congress. The enumerated powers given to Congress by the Constitution are the rights to impose and collect taxes and duties, borrow money, regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the states, coin money, establish post offices, declare war, and raise and support an army and navy. Enumerated powers are the rights that can't be stretched in anyway. The Constitution includes several limits on the powers of Congress. Articles I, Section 9 prohibits Congress from banning slave trade before 1808, passing ex post facto laws, and passing bills of attainder.

Joe

8/7/2014 11:01:00 am

To lay and collect taxes, impeachment powers, oversight of the budget, to declare war, pass bills, and control money to raise military.

Sophia

8/7/2014 11:19:56 am

There were many powers given to Congress. The powers and limits are written in Article I of the Constitution, which makes up more than half of the constitution. In Article I there are ten sections. Section eight includes enumerated powers and general statements of power. The rights given to congress in the enumerated rights include the rights to impose and collect taxed and duties, borrow money, regulate commerce with foreign nation and among the states, coin money, establish post offices, declare war, and raise and support an army and navy. In section eight there are two clauses, the general welfare clause and the necessary and proper clause. The general welfare clause gives Congress the right to provide for the common Defense and general Welfare. The necessary and Proper clause gives Congress the right to pass any laws are necessary to carry out any other power. The constitution also includes limits on Congress's power in order to ensure that it does not have too much control over the people. The limits are listed in Section nine of Article I. The limits include banning the slave trade before 1808, suspending the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus except in emergencies. A writ of habeas corpus means every person who is arrested must be given a fair trail in court. Section nine also limits Congress from passing ex post facto laws, passing bills of attainder, taxing anything imported from a state, taking money from the treasury without first passing a law to do so and granting titles of nobility.

Isabelle

8/7/2014 10:20:49 pm

To have a constitutional government the government must have enforced limits on its powers. Our constitution gives each branch powers and then limits on its powers. Congress has enumerated powers and general statements of powers. The purpose of this was to have Congress be prepared for any situation. Some of the seventeen enumerated powers stated that Congress could impose and collect taxes, coin money, establish post offices, and declare war. The two enumerated powers were the general welfare clause and the necessary and proper clause. Some of their limits were that they could not ban slave trade before 1808, pass ex post facto laws, tax anything imported from a state, or grant titles of nobility. Congress is also limited by our system of checks and balances. For example, the president can veto laws.

Aiden

8/8/2014 12:21:27 am

Congress has the power to declare war, but also has a limit on declaring war. Congress can declare war, but if no one agrees with the war, then after thirty days, the troops can withdraw. Congress can also override vetoed bills. This means if they do not agree with the President vetoing a bill, they can override it.

Week 5, Question 1

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