|
|
|
|
|
|
| NECESSARY AND PROPER CLAUSE | |||||
| The necessary and proper clause was established by Marshall's classic opinion in McCulloch v. Maryland. The necessary and proper clause gives Congress the ability to set up laws that carry out the express powers granted to government by the Constitution. When the Constitution was written, certain powers were granted to the government, but many of those things no longer apply in our time. The necessary and proper clause lets lawmakers make laws that apply to the current times and are still considered to be Constitutional. | |||||
| Although the only crimes which Congress is expressly authorized to punish are piracies, felonies on the high seas, offenses against the law of nations, treason and counterfeiting of the securities and current coin of the United States, its power to create, define, and punish crimes and offenses whenever necessary to effectuate the objects of the Federal Government is universally conceded. The clause has been used to organize the federal judicial system and has enacted a large body of law defining and punishing crimes, crimes that have not been specifically mentioned in the Constitution. It also gives Congress the right to utilize all known and appropriate means for collecting the revenue, including the distraint of property for federal taxes, and its power to acquire property needed for the operation of the Government by the exercise of the power of eminent domain, this has greatly extended the range of national power. | |||||
| The clause also allows Congress to charter banks as an appropriate means for executing ''the great powers, to lay and collect taxes; to borrow money; to regulate commerce; to declare and conduct a war; and to raise and support armies . . . ,'' Congress may incorporate banks and kindred institutions. Congress may authorize national banks to perform fiduciary functions, even though, apart from the competitive situation, federal instrumentalities might not be permitted to engage in such business. Moreover, they have the authority to charter corporations, often times it has been incidental to war power, for example railroad corporations, aircraft and merchant vessel corporations. | |||||
| Under the clause lawmakers are also allowed to set up currency regulations. The powers ''to lay and collect taxes, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States,' and 'to borrow money on the credit of the United States and to coin money and regulate the value thereon . . . ,'' which are reinforced by the necessary and proper clause have been held to give Congress virtually complete control over money and currency. | |||||
| The above-mentioned laws are only a few of the ones that have evolved from the necessary and proper clause. It is hard to judge whether or not this clause is in actuality proper or necessary. It has had many adverse affects on our government; some good and some that are not. The establishment of judicial review through the necessary and proper clause is perhaps one of the better results of the clause. The clause has brought our nation into a new era and has kept our laws up to speed with the times, but perhaps the federal government may be gaining too much power through this clause. Chartering corporations and establishing a national bank was a long shot in my opinion. There are certain things the government should have control over, but there are certain institutions, like banks and corporations, that are private for a reason and should remain private. The clause has allowed for the establishment of laws against certain crimes that were not listed in the Constitution, it has allowed for the establishment of a much needed judiciary system. As with all things there are advantages and disadvantages. Is the clause necessary and proper? As far as I am concerned it is necessary and at times proper, but not always proper, as is the case with chartering of banks and corporations. Consequently, the advantages to the clause outweigh the disadvantages and in my opinion justify the existence of the clause. | |||||
|
|||||