oops, or ships of war in time of peace, enter into any agreement or compact with another State, or with a foreign power, or engage in war….” According to this clause, the states were deprived of the power to issue currency, to levy taxes freely, to keep troops in time of peace, to make a compact of agreement with another state of the U.S., or with a foreign state, and to engage in war. With the prohibition of the states from issuing currency, the United States could now avoid inflation and depreciation of currency caused by unregulated money supply. With the restriction of the states from levying taxes freely, the obstacles of the commerce were removed. Now the state congresses did not have the power to collect heavy taxes freely on goods from other states any more, thus the commerce in the United States began to thrive. With the prohibition of the states from keeping troops in time of peace and engaging in war, the territorial integrity of the United States could be guarded, and the Union could be maintained. As the power of the state governments was limited, people’s confidence in their central government was greatly strengthened. The society of the United States was being led onto a right path of development.
Although the power is restricted, the states still possess some necessary powers and exercise important functions in the United States. The Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution indicates that the states possess those powers that are not given to the Federal Government or prohibited to the states. The Tenth Amendment stipulates, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” State powers then are called reserved powers. Reserved powers are interpreted as the right to establish schools and supervise education, regulate intrastate commerce, conduct elections, establish local government units, and borrow money. In addition, a broad and generally undefined “police power” enables the states to take action to protect and promote the health, safety, morals, and general welfare of their inhabitants. All of these are functions that directly affect Americans every day and in every part of their lives.
There are still some powers that both the national and state governments can exercise. They are called concurrent powers, which include the power to tax and borrow money, to take property for public purposes, to enact bankruptcy laws, and to establish laws and courts.
Thus in the course of the U.S. Constitutional Legislation, a federal system was created by separating power between two levels of government, state and national. According to the Constitution, the Federal Government was granted certain powers, the states were given certain powers and there were certain powers that they shared. In order to overcome a series of domestic crises and keep a stable political situation, a strong central government was created. This central government was granted certain important powers while the power of the state governments was limited.
The U.S. Constitution has remained in force because its framers successfully separated and balanced governmental powers to safeguard the interests of majority rule and minority rights, of liberty and equality, and of the central and state governments. For over two centuries it has provided the basis for development of the United States and a guarantee for the stability of the country.
- Bishop, Donald M. (1985). Living Documents of American History [C]. Beijing: Press and Cultural Section U.S. Embassy.
- Jay, John; Madison, James and Hamilton, Alexander (1979). THE FEDERALIST—A Comment On THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES [C]. New York: The Modern Library.
- Locke, John (1690). Second Treatise of Government [M]. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.
- Isaak, Robert (2004). American Political Thinking: Readings from the Origins to the 21st Century [C]. Beijing: Peking University Press.
- Smith, James Morton(1986). Jefferson and Madison [M]. New York: Penguin Books USA In