s also prevented the formation of too strong a national government capable of overpowering the individual state governments. In order to modify the separation of powers, the framers created a best-known system—checks and balances. In this system, powers are shared among the three branches of government. At the same time, the powers of one branch can be challenged by another branch. As one of the basic doctrines in the U.S. Constitution, separation of powers and a system of checks and balances contribute to a stable political situation in the United States.
Separating Powers between the Federal Government and the States
As is mentioned above, the United States was in a chaotic state after the American Revolution. Under the Articles of Confederation, all of the thirteen states only had a kind of very loose connection. They were like thirteen independent countries, and could do things in their own ways. They had their own legal systems and constitutions, made their own economic, trade, tax and even monetary policies, and seldom accepted any orders from the central government. Localism made the state congresses set barriers to goods from other states, thus trade between states could not develop. At the same time, the central government did not have any important powers to control the individual states well. As time went by, the old system became more and more adverse to the stability and development of this young country. Many Americans viewed a number of grave problems as arising from the weakness of the Confederation. They thought the Confederation was so weak that it was in danger of falling apart under either foreign or internal pressures. They appealed for reforming the governmental structure and establishing a stronger central government. This government should have some positive powers so that it could make and carry out policies to safeguard state sovereignty against foreign violations and to protect the people’s interests. This idea was embodied in the U.S. Constitution: The powers of the national government and the states were divided. The central government was specifically granted certain important powers while the power of the state governments was limited, and there were certain powers that they shared.
All those powers granted to the Federal Government by the U.S. Constitution are enumerated principally as powers of Congress in Article I, Section 8. These powers can be classified as either economic or military. As is known to all, economic and military power are fundamental and essential to a government. Possessing such powers, the U.S. central government was capable of controlling the country well, thus keeping up a stable political situation and promoting the economic development.
Economic powers delegated to the Federal Government include the authority to levy taxes, borrow money, regulate commerce, coin money, and establish bankruptcy laws. In Article I, Section 8, the Constitution writes, “The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United State; …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 a 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.” According to this stipulation, the Federal Government has gathered the most important economic power into its own hands: with the right to collect taxes directly, the Federal Government could pay its debt and provide funds for the nation’s common defense and general welfare; with the right to issue uniform currency and to determine the value of foreign currencies, the Federal Government could control the money supply and restrain inflation; with the right to regulate trade with foreign nations and among the states, the Federal Government became able to control th