 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 the economic situation of the country. The stipulation about commerce regulation won strongest support from big cities and centers of manufacturing industry and commerce, such as New York, Philadelphia and Boston, because they knew that the regulation of the central government would be quite helpful for the sale of their products. Alexander Hamilton, one of the most active representatives in the Constitutional Convention, pointed out that free trade in the whole nation was very profitable for any kind of business. For example, when the local market was weakened, the markets in other states and areas of the country would support the sale of the producers, thus their business could keep developing. Hamilton concluded that any farsighted businessman would see the power of the unity of the country, that they would find the unity of the whole nation would be much better than the separation of the thirteen states.
Power to Declare War
Certain military powers granted to the Federal Government involve declaring war, raising and supporting armies, regulating and maintaining navies, and calling forth the militia. In Article I, Section 8, the Constitution stipulates, “The Congress shall have power to declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water; to raise and support armies, …to provide and maintain a Navy; to make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces; to provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions; to provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia….” With these powers, the Federal Government can not only protect the land and provide guarantee for the development of the country, but also create conditions to invade other countries on the grounds that it has the power to declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal. The framers of the U.S. Constitution regarded the military power of the Federal Government as a tool to protect the domestic interests o